num_pages: 268
description: Grant Hansen confronts head on the question: "Can a good Mormon be a Democrat?" His answer is a resounding "yes". Although Hansen was raised as a conservative Republican, he tells how he became a Democrat and how that journey did not take him away from his Church but closer to it. Hansen discusses the First Presidency's letter reaffirming the Church's "political neutrality." He explains how his political beliefs and the doctrine of his Church are not diametrically opposed to each other but are closely intertwined. The author reviews some of his struggles of running for public office as a Mormon Democrat in a Republican county. The main purpose of the book is to show that there is a need for more tolerance of divergent political beliefs within the international LDS Church. Marie Hanzel, a former State Democrat Party Chairperson, wrote, "If you believe this book title contains an oxymoron, I dare you to read it." Dr. Boyd J. Petersen, a BYU instructor and the author of Hugh Nibley: A Consecrated Life, penned, "His story illustrates the sometimes difficult fight of 'swimming upstream' in a politically conservative culture, but it is also an inspiring account of one with the courage to stand up for his principles in the face of daunting opposition... I believe... Brother Nibley would be proud to be in the same church as Brother Hansen."
language: English
title: Swimming Upstream: The Education of a Mormon Democrat
publisher: Parley Street Publications