Truth. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1901-1908, 1905-09-09
CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP.

ClUlZSHSHlp! NO, uuJ IL Souiu w VI
ated. The process would be quite
simple, and not productive OF hard
ship to any one. 1t will be conceded
that every mans first duty is to God;
| it will also be conceded, and with
strong emphasis, that Christians
first duty is to God. 1t then follows,
as a matter of course, that it is his
duty to carry his Christian code OF
morals to the polls and vote them.
Whenever he shall do that, he will
not find himself voting for an I'M
clean man, a dishonest man. When
ever a Christian votes, he votes
against God or for Him, and he knows
this quite we'll God is an issue in
every election; He is a candidate in
the person of every clean nominee
on every ticket; His purity and His
approval are there, to be voted for or
voted against, and no fealty to party
can absolve His servant from his
higher and more eXacting fealty to
Him; He takes precedence of party
duty to Him is above every claim of
party.
Christians and the Ballot.
If Christians should vote their
duty to God at the polls, they would
carry every election, and do it with
ease. They would elect every clean
candidate in the United States, and
defeat every soiled one. Their pro-
digious power would be quickly re-
allied and recognized, and afterward
there would be no unclean candidates
upon any ticket, and graft would
cease. No church organization can
hn in hn
elect men of foul character to be it's
shepherd, it's treasurer, and superin-
tendent of it's Sunday school, 1t
would be revolted at the idea; it
would consider such an election an
insult to God. Yet every Christian
congregation in the country elects
foul men to public office, while quite
aware that this also is an open and
deliberate insult to God, who can not
approve and does not approve the
placing of the liberties and the we'll.
being of His children in the hands of
Infamous men. 1t is the Christian
congregations that are responsible for
the filling of our public offices with
criminals, for the reason that they
could prevent it if they chose to do
it. They could prevent it without or
ganizing league, without framing a
platform, without making any
speeches or passing any resolutions
in word, without concert of any
kind. They could accomplish it by
each individual resolving to vote for
God at the polls-that is to say, vote
for the candidate whom God would
approve. Can a man imagine such a
thing as God being a Republican or
Democrat, and voting for a criminal
or BLACKBOARD merely because party
loyalty required it? Then can we
imagine that man can improve upon
Gods attitude in this matter and by
help of professional politicians in
vent better policy? God has no pol
ltics but cleanliness and honesty. and
1t is good enough for men.
A mans second duty is to his fam
lily. There was time when a clergy
mans duty to his family required him
to be his congregations political
slave, and vote his congregations
ticket in order to safeguard the food
and shelter of his wife and children.
But that time has gone by. We have
the secret ballot now, and a clergy
man can vote for God He can also
plead with his congregation to do the
| like.
Perhaps. We can not be sure The