Mormon Grassroots: Mormons for Equality and Social Justice

This is the first of occasional posts looking at various Mormon-related grassroots political organizations.  To inaugurate this series, Crystal Young-Otterstroman, co-media director of Mormons for Equality and Social Justice was very gracious in subjecting herself to the following email interview.

1. Why and when was MESJ formed? 
Mormons for Equality and Social Justice (MESJ, pronounced “message”) was formed in January of 2002.  James Tobler founded MESJ after some spending some time post-mission thinking about social justice. In his words:

The message of social justice very much connected with my sensibilities of goodness and of the struggle between right and wrong. I started to get involved in different political organizations and labor unions but found them lacking, for the most part, a spiritual element. That, to me, is essential to any movement that claims to be fighting for the greater good.

2. What are the priorities of MESJ? 
MESJ dedicated to being “anxiously engaged” (D&C 58:27) by working on the gospel values of peace, equality, justice, and wise stewardship of the earth in a spirit of Christ-like charity and concern.  We do this by (1) by raising awareness in LDS communities of the inequalities and injustices that exist in the world today, (2) by actively participating in political processes to resolve these issues, and (3) by promoting and engaging in humanitarian service. 

3. Why is there a need for a “Mormon” organization with your purpose? 
I can second James sentiments in question #1 – I personally have been involved in a myriad of political and social justice organizations and while they’re all great and many are fulfilling, the are all missing the spiritual component, which is why I personally am an advocate for social justice, equality, and good environmental stewardship in the first place.  Scriptures such as “True religion is this: to take care of the fatherless and widowed”, zion “had no poor among them”, “all are equal before good”, “be ye an ensign of peace unto the nations”, “multiply and replenish the earth” etc. were important to my thinking and important to every member of MESJ.  But we can’t talk about these scriptures, we can’t add the spiritual and uniquely LDS view on these issues in other groups.

3B: Are there other organizations you cooperate with that are/are not Mormon?
MESJ loves partnering with other organizations.  The Salt Lake City chapter of MESJ partners heavily with CORC (the Coalition of Religious Councils) and Crossroads when it comes to our legislative advocacy. This last session we worked with CORC to lobby for or against various poverty and non-compassionate immigration bills (against in that case). MESJ of SLC is also a member of the Utah Coalition for Clean Air which is an extremely large organization that has been behind a number of the good environmental bills this last season.

4. Why should Mormons be interested in MESJ?
Mormons should be interested in MESJ or MESJ-like organizations because it’s in our doctrine to care about social justice, to care about peace, to care about equality and good environmental stewardship, etc.  In a word, to be Christian. For some great quotes visit our library.

5. Are people who aren’t LDS invited to join?  What message do you hope to convey to others outside the Church? 
MESJ is open to everyone.  To those outside of the Church we hope to be a bridge between them and the Church.  We try very hard to emulate and proclaim Elder Wirthlin’s message from the last general conference: that “The Lord did not people the earth with a vibrant orchestra of personalities only to value the piccolos of the world. Every instrument is precious and adds to the complex beauty of the symphony. All of Heavenly Father’s children are different in some degree, yet each has his own beautiful sound that adds depth and richness to the whole.”  Those outside of the Church often assume that those inside of the Church instantly are judgmental of their lifestyle choices and beliefs because they are different.  MESJ agrees with Elder Wirthlin – everyone is welcome and different is OK.

6.  Are there particular parts of the Gospel that inform MESJ’s focus?
All of the scriptures inform MESJ and it’s purpose and focus in activism.  Our mission statement lists a number of influential scriptures to us:

As Latter-day Saints, we come from a heritage of people who had “a vision of a different world, a world where injustice and oppression, poverty and ignorance would be dispelled and a world where men and women would be brothers and sisters” (Alexander B. Morrison, in Church News [14 Oct. 1995]: 4 ). We have been urged by Church leaders to work towards making that vision a reality in today’s world by being “full participants in political, governmental, and community affairs,” “using gospel principles as a guide and…cooperating with other like-minded individuals” (First Presidency letter, 15 Jan. 1998, in Ensign [Apr. 1998]: 77 ).

LDS scripture and prophetic teaching speak out strongly for social justice: for peace, equality, democracy, human rights, and wise stewardship of the earth’s resources. Latter-day Saints are enjoined to “plead the cause of the poor and the needy” (D&C 124:75 ) and to work towards a society in which “there [are] no poor among [us]” (Moses 7:18 ). We are challenged to “renounce war and proclaim peace” (D&C 98:16 ). The Book of Mormon teaches that “there should be an equality among all” (Mosiah 27:3 ) and calls us to stand against racism, gender inequity, and injustice on the principle that “black and white, bond and free, male and female;…all are alike unto God” (2 Nephi 26:33 ). The scriptures commend democracy, constitutional law, and human rights (Mosiah 29:26; D&C 98:5; D&C 101:77 ), while speaking harshly against inequity, exploitation, oppression, and violence (2 Nephi 20:1-2; 3 Nephi 24:5; D&C 38:26; Moses 8:28 ). Scripture teaches us that we are stewards of the earth and its resources, which should be used “with judgment, not to excess” (D&C 59:20 ).

As Latter-day Saints, we seek the guidance of the Spirit and look to the teachings of Church leaders in our efforts to achieve equality and social justice in our communities and the world at large.

 7. Is MESJ’s main organization on the internet or does it have a physical presence?

MESJ is comprised of a national steering committee comprised of a president, vice-president, outreach director, NGO liasion, librarian/archivist, newsletter editor, the chairs of each of the MESJ chapters and co-media/public relations directors.  Each MESJ chapter is largely autonomous when it comes to planning activities and events.  The national steering committee is a resource for the chapters and basically keeps everything organized.  There are MESJ chapters all over the US: Salt Lake City, Logan, Utah County, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Madison, Boston, New York, Washington DC, and Wichita KS.  MESJ also has a sister organization in The Netherlands. [MESJ Chapters can be found here ]

8.  Is there an online site for MESJ and its members to interact or discuss issues?  Can you recommend any sites or blogs for like-minded people to visit (official sites or otherwise)? 

MESJ ’s website is www.mesj.org.  MESJ does not maintain a blog, but it ’s official discussion board is LDS-left found on Yahoo Groups.  It is very active.  The “bloggernacle” is very diverse and huge.  On a personal note I am very fond of Feminist Mormon Housewives, however MESJ is not affiliated with any one blog.

 9. How can your members  participate in MESJ? 

Members participate in MESJ by joining a chapter.  If there is not a MESJ chapter near you, then just get together 4 friends and start one yourself!

10. How active is MESJ? How often do you have activities or meetings?
Each chapter has various degrees of activity.  In addition to my role as the national Media Co-Director, I am also the chair of MESJ of SLC.  MESJ of SLC holds monthly Progressive FHE’s (Family Home Evening) that discusses various issues.  Once a quarter we invite a guest speaker.  MESJ of SLC also puts together two major humanitarian service projects a year.  In terms of legislative involvement, we larger piggyback on the planned efforts of other organizations such as the afore-mentioned CORC and UCAA.  Both have full time staff that investigate the bills and plan various advocacy efforts.  We support them by inviting our members to participate in their events.  We also help CORC organize it’s annual Faith Days by sponsoring LDS Faith Day at the Hill. 

11. What future plans or goals do you have?  Do you have specific plans for the upcoming U.S. elections?

MESJ as a national organization does not endorse parties or candidates, but individual chapters have that option.  MESJ of Boston recently got some great press about their endorsement of Barack Obama.  Our future plans all focus on working as hard as we can to make the world a better place and work for the values and issues mentioned in our Mission Statement.

12.  Has all the attention on the Romney campaign and the Church had an impact on MESJ? 

Several members of MESJ have been approached to make statements about Romney in the Press.  I myself was in a Washington Post article.  Because we do not endorse, we had no position on Romney as a candidate, but we have spoken out on some things as we felt that many of parts of his platform were not conducive with LDS belief.  However MESJ did not in any way campaign against him.  Several MESJ members on an individual effort organized some things, but not MESJ itself.  Some examples of individual efforts include Mormons Against Romney [site now private but discussed at Get Religion] and Mormon Peace Project . 

13.  If someone wanted more information about MESJ what do you recommend they do?
I recommend that they check out our website www.mesj.org.  If they have specific questions, feel free to email us at info.

Many thanks to Crystal and MESJ for taking the time to answer all these questions.  

(Possibly) Related posts:

1. “Mormon Church Issues Statement in Support of Gay-rights Ordinances”