(Warning: this post will present many different viewpoints on a complex issue.)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints clearly wants its members to have charity for refugees.

Go to lds.org.  Put in the word “refugees” in a search.  87 stories came up emphasizing the importance of Christ-like love and support for refugees.

Take a look here.

In my stake in Colorado, the stake presidency has emphasized creating welcome baskets for any refugees in our area.  The Church has put out two statements in the last 13 months asking members to have charity for refugees.

And then there is this video from Elder Uchtdorf:

I think it is impossible to watch this video and not feel heartbreak for refugees.

Now having said all this, I have seen a very large number of normally reasonable people go   over the edge on Trump’s refugee ban.   Way too many people are reacting with hysteria, scorn and hatred.   Don’t get me wrong: you can oppose the steps taken by Trump.  You can march and hold peaceful protests.  But it is a sure sign you are being motivated by the wrong forces if you respond with outrage and anger.

Meanwhile, there are some things to consider.

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I quote from this Deseret News story:

Amid the controversy swirling around President Trump’s executive order banning refugees from seven Muslim countries, the LDS Church issued a statement late Saturday night urging solutions that relieve refugee suffering.

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is concerned about the temporal and spiritual welfare of all of God’s children across the earth,” the statement said, “with special concern for those who are fleeing physical violence, war and religious persecution. The church urges all people and governments to cooperate fully in seeking the best solutions to meet human needs and relieve suffering.”

On Friday afternoon, Trump signed an executive order that suspended the U.S. refugee resettlement program for four months. It also cut the number of refugees the United States will accept this year to 50,000, down from the 110,000 set by President Barack Obama.

A federal judge blocked part of the order on Saturday.

The order barred Syrian refugees indefinitely and blocked entry to anyone from countries with terrorism concerns for 90 days. The State Department said those countries are seven predominantly Muslim nations — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

That led religious faiths throughout the United States to voice concerns about religious freedom.

This is the second time the LDS Church has responded to Trump’s calls to ban Muslims from entering the United States.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a strong statement in December 2015 soon after Trump on the campaign trail called for a ban on Muslim immigration to the United States.

Like Saturday’s statement, the December 2015 statement did not name Trump or refer specifically to the controversy, but it said that while the faith is neutral in regard to party politics and election campaigns, “it is not neutral in relation to religious freedom.”

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang at President Trump’s inauguration today.  They were great.

Meanwhile, Mormon Trump haters continued to look a lot like this woman.

President Spencer W. Kimball, counseling priesthood leaders, said:

“We are concerned that too many times the interviewing leader in his personal sympathies for the transgressor, and in his love perhaps for the family of the transgressor, is inclined to waive the discipline which that transgressor demands.

“Too often a transgressor is forgiven and all penalties waived when that person should have been disfellowshipped or excommunicated. Too often a sinner is disfellowshipped when he or she should have been excommunicated. …

“Do you remember what was said by the prophet Alma? ‘Now,’ he said, ‘repentance could not come unto men except there were a punishment.’ [Alma 42:16.]

“Ponder on that for a moment. Have you realized that? There can be no forgiveness without real and total repentance, and there can be no repentance without punishment. This is as eternal as is the soul. …

“Please remember these things when somebody comes before you who has broken the laws of God.

“It is so easy to let our sympathies carry us out of proportion; and when a man has committed sin, he must suffer. It’s an absolute requirement—not by the bishop—but it’s a requirement by nature and by the very part of a man.” (In Conference Report, Apr. 1975, p. 116; or Ensign, May 1975, p. 78.)

Thoughts from readers?

A few days ago John S. Harvey sent the M* editors a question regarding the purpose of prayer. John particularly wondered what the M* community thinks about praying for the leaders of countries throughout the world.

“I’m curious *what* we should pray for?  I assume God has a plan in mind and that my asking him to change any aspect of that plan isn’t going to change the plan.  And likewise if I happen to pray in ways that are consistent with His plan I don’t think it would increase the efficacy of the plan in any way.  I assume that God is already trying to prompt leaders to do what is right (obviously many don’t).

“If I pray that hearts will be changed/softened that sounds nice, but wouldn’t God already be trying to get them to do what is right?  I know we have been commanded to pray that the opportunities for missionary work around the world will increase.  And so I do that.

“At the end of the day I’m left with the question of what should I be praying for with respect to leaders of countries throughout the world?  It seems like almost any prayer is either asking for the leader’s agency to be taken away, or for God’s plan to be changed given that God would already be trying to get them to do what is right already.”

John said that praying for Church leaders is different for him. “In the case of Church leaders much of what I am praying for is to bring my will into harmony with God’s will and for the leaders to be able to understand and accomplish God’s will.  That seems to be a very different set of motivations than any of the leader’s of countries I can think of.”

What think ye? How do you envision that prayers for world leaders work?