Can Christians Vote for a Mormon?

The question of whether of not a Bible-believing, God-fearing, follower of Christ can vote for a Mormon president was asked of me today.

First off, let me start out by saying very clearly that I don't KNOW the answer to this question.  However, I will say very clearly that if Christians were waiting for the perfect Christian to run for President over these past 230 years....they would have never voted for anyone.

So what's a guy to do?  I can say with 100% certainty that the next President of the USA will be Obama or Romney.  So which one would you prefer?

The friend who asked me the question also attached an article;

Should Christians vote for the lesser of two evils?

Now, if a truly blood-bought, born-again, child of God was running for political office, the debate would be moot. But let’s face it, we will probably never be given that option (at least not on the presidential ticket). Any genuine Christian with presidential aspirations would be facing an insurmountable obstacle of opposition because the world would hate him because it hated Christ first (and no pupil or Christian presidential candidate is above His master).

Time and time again in America Christians are relegated to having to choose between the lesser of the two evils and it doesn’t appear that the upcoming presidential election will be any different.

So, with all that said, my current position is that true Christians should not have to vote if they first have to sit down and estimate which candidate is the lesser of two evils.

Although I cannot (and will not) dictate to others whether they should vote or not, my conscience tells me that voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil.

Here;  http://defendingcontending.com/2011/06/09/should-christians-vote-for-the-lesser-of-two-evils/

So clearly, this author above is of the opinion that voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil so he will not vote....since his choices are both evil.  Do you agree with him on that?  If he doesn't vote...does he have a right to complain?

And then a few hours later I received this email from Christianity Today that has three separate opinions on whether a Christian can vote for a non-Christian...in this case a Mormon.  I posted excerpts from the first opinion below:

For American Christians, it is helpful to remember this as the November presidential election approaches. They face a choice between a politically and theologically liberal Christian and a politically conservative Mormon. Those who prefer Barack Obama, the left-leaning Christian, likely solved their dilemma in the last presidential election. Millions of voters are now confronting a new moral question: "Is there anything wrong with voting for a Mormon President?"

The answer is "No." In the 2012 election, voting for Mitt Romney—yes, a Mormon former bishop—is certainly a moral option for followers of Jesus Christ. For those who want a pro-life, pro-free market, pro-business, pro-defense, and "America first" champion, Mitt Romney is their man. It is no sin or dishonor of God to vote for him, even though his Latter-day Saint religion is far from orthodox Christianity.

 

To believe otherwise is to commit to a perfectionism that would make it nearly impossible to live in this world. If a candidate must be precisely aligned with our religion before we can vote for him, biblically faithful Christians will not be able to vote for either man in the upcoming election. Nor could they have voted for Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, or Reagan. Washington and Reagan seldom attended church. Jefferson and Lincoln had disqualifying doubts about who Jesus Christ was.

 

This demand for a perfect candidate would cause Christians to eliminate most presidential candidates in every election. There will be a price to voting for Romney, of course. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will enjoy heightened visibility and influence with a Romney candidacy and much more with a Romney presidency. Pastors will have to ensure congregations know right doctrine—a desperate need for this generation of Christians in any case. Individual Christian voters will need to distinguish, perhaps publicly, between their vote for the politician and their fierce disagreement with that politician's beliefs.

 

We did not create the limited possibilities of this fallen world. We must, though, make the most righteous choices possible within this fallen world.

 

Here;  http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/september/is-it-wrong-to-vote-for-mormon-president.html?utm_source=connection-html&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_term=3740845&utm_content=135299032&utm_campaign=2012&start=1

So obviously, this author realizes we live in a fallen world everyday where ALL of our choices are imperfect.  If we are looking for perfect choices we would never vote for any mayors, or senators, or congressmen or school board officials or ANYTHING!

I have quoted this passage often but will quote it again as it pertains to this discussion; "We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one."  1 John 5:19

So no matter where we are planted in this Satanic, fallen world we will be given less than perfect choices.  Perfection will never be here for us to choose until Christ returns and sits on his throne.

Martin Luther said, "I'd rather be ruled by a wise Turk than by a foolish Christian."  I would have to agree.

If we KNOW that the most powerful man and leader of the free world is going to be Obama or Romney and you have a say in which one it will be....would YOU rather be ruled by a wise Mormon who can read a balance sheet and is against killing babies, or a foolish Muslim who has never read a balance sheet and is in favor of killing babies?

Sadly, in this fallen world in which we live, that IS your choice.