SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — As both presidential campaigns have stepped up efforts to win over voters in western swing states who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a top church official urged members on Saturday to “avoid what is harsh and hateful” in the heat of election season. Dallin H. Oaks , the top adviser and likely successor to 100-year-old church president Russell M.
Nelson , encouraged congregants at the faith's twice-annual general conference to steer clear of contention and be peacemakers in their communities one month out from the Nov. 5 election. The devil is the father of contention, which can stir up anger and stall important policy changes, he told a room of 18,000 church members in Salt Lake City and thousands more watching on a livestream.
“As we pursue our preferred policies in public actions, let us qualify for his blessings by using the language and methods of peacemakers,” said Oaks, the second-highest-ranking leader of the faith known widely as the Mormon church. The faith's leaders strive to remain politically neutral. But they sometimes give general advice about how members should approach key elections.
About 7 million of the faith’s 17 million worldwide members live in the United States, many in the battleground states of Arizona and Nevada, and in solidly red Utah and Idaho. Latter-day Saints have been a reliably Republican voting bloc for decades, but many have half-heartedly embraced Donald Trump since his first r.