An Open Letter to Our Sisters

September 29, 2018

Did you hear of us for the first time this week? We are as surprised about that as you are! But we are very grateful for the chance we now have to introduce ourselves and to extend a heartfelt invitation to you to join us in our work. It is the work of building a nation that functions and lives up to its promise. We have been laboring to create a space where every Mormon woman who wants to make a difference, regardless of her political affiliation, can come and be supported in that effort. To those who have already joined us, welcome to that space! To those who have not yet joined us, we invite you to do so here.

Mormon Women for Ethical Government (MWEG) is a nonpartisan group dedicated to the ideals of decency, honor, accountability, transparency, and justice in governing. We strive always to be guided by our discipleship to Jesus Christ and His teachings. Our goals are to oppose unlawful and/or unethical proceedings and to promote positive change. We are deeply committed to peacemaking, as elaborated in our six core Principles of Peacemaking.

Many individuals want to make a difference; that isn’t unique to members of our faith. And while, like others before us, we plan to be an instrument for change in the civic sphere, we hope to accomplish this in a way that is deeply rooted in our heritage as strong Mormon women. This heritage drives us to be relentlessly optimistic about what is possible, to tirelessly work to bring about good, and to be peaceful in our speech, actions, and processes. We understand the spiritual power that comes from a unity enjoyed uniquely by true followers of Christ.

We are rigorously nonpartisan. We do not pick sides but only seek to do what is ethical and right. We have many reasons for this, but fundamentally, we see how partisanship has negatively impacted national and local politics, so we believe it is time to try something different. We work from neutral ground. This doesn’t mean you have to leave your personal political ideology at the door; none of us do. But we do ask that as you work with, talk to, and learn from women in MWEG you are committed to being open to their ideas and respectful of their opinions. We expect them to extend that same courtesy to you. Will this be uncomfortable sometimes? Maybe. But it is extremely rewarding — and quite productive! That said, as an organization we do not endorse candidates, align with political parties, or promote partisan agendas. That isn’t who we are.

Finally, we do not presume to speak for all Latter-day Saint women, and we make that clear at every opportunity; we are a private organization that is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We do, however, fully sustain, honor, and support the Church’s doctrines and leaders. We use the word Mormon in our name because we are not simply a group of women dedicated to ethics in politics. We are a group of sister-saints whose unity, mission, purpose, inspiration, process, solidarity, and drive toward Christ-like behavior is rooted in our peculiar faith. At the same time, we wholeheartedly welcome those who are not of our faith to join with us as we work toward our mission of promoting ethics in government.

*Photo by Melissa Askew on Unsplash.