Donald Trump’s call to ban Muslim refugees and immigrants last December created more than disapproval among my fellow Mormons – it brought back nightmares from our past.
In early August, Trump acknowledged he has a “tremendous problem in Utah.” For a state that has been safely Republican for over fifty years, Trump is up only nine points in Utah according to a Salt Lake Tribune poll. Last year, the popularity of Trump’s call to ban Muslim refugees encouraged governors to protest their states’ participation in hosting refugees. In contrast, Utah’s Governor, Gary Herbert, stood alone as the only GOP governor to welcome Muslim refugees. While acknowledging that government must take precautions to address the security concerns of Syrian refugees, Herbert demonstrated the Mormon belief that religious prejudice should never accompany American deliberation concerning those in need.
In an interview with Herbert, NPR’s Renee Montagne noted that the wounding of three Mormon missionaries in the Brussels terrorist bombings last March, is the sort of tragedy that “can generate backlash, stiffening attitudes, and reshaping policies, not so in Utah.” To help others understand Utah’s sensitivity to the refugee crisis, Governor Herbert explained some Mormon history. “We have a history as a state that was founded because of exiled Mormons who were kicked out . . . [by an] extermination order. You could kill Mormons just like you could kill deer. We even had a president, Rutherford B. Hayes, who said to Europe, please do not let any more Mormons migrate to America. . . When people
come to Utah, we welcome them.” Mormons are not looking at strangers when news cameras flash images of Muslim refugees fleeing their homes: they see themselves.
Religious refugees settled and established this country to be a refuge. America has championed the idea of being a beacon to the world, a “city on a hill,” where all men no matter their race or religion are treated equal. For centuries many of our American ancestors immigrated to this country with a hope for a better life where they could live free from oppression.
Unfortunately, the incendiary rhetoric of this election cycle causes us to forget that the story of Muslim refugees is the American story. This political rhetoric aimed at the least among us leaves Americans insensitive to the struggles of refugees, immigrants, and besieged neighbors in our own communities. The popularity of Trump’s quest to ban Muslim refugees indicates a significant change in the American political thought of our common citizen, creating fear through prejudice. Americans have begun looking at these men and women as political problems to be solved rather than fellow human beings with families who need help. There are national security concerns with Syrian refugees, but we must remember that religious and racial discrimination is not what has made America great.
As a Christian nation, we know there is a better way. For example, in the April General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, church leaders encouraged Mormons around the world to serve refugees in their communities and participate in efforts to help those overseas. Elder Patrick Kearon’s sermon reminded Mormons that Christ repeatedly exhorted his followers to love your neighbor as yourself. “The Savior knows how it feels to be a refugee—He was one. . . Truly, ‘pure religion and undefiled. . . is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction’ and to ‘look to the poor and the needy, and administer to their relief that they shall not suffer.’” America has stood for these principles since the Pilgrims fled here for refuge.
As presidential candidates promise to reestablish American greatness, let us not forget that America has found greatness not in wealth or military power but in loving our neighbors as ourselves. American exceptionalism is inseparably connected with the family who befriends a newly arrived refugee, the citizen who helps teach an English class to immigrants, and the volunteer who spends his time practicing job interviews with the unemployed. Elder Kearon’s words are applicable to all Americans in remembering that the struggles of refugees “may be a defining moment in their lives,” however it “does not define them . . . but our response will help define us.”
Lee is a junior studying politics and journalism.