Election Day here in the US is less than two weeks away. For whatever reason, there seems to be much more interest in this election than we have seen in recent decades. How should Sligo members and members of the wider Sligo community vote in this election? I can already see the knitted brows and the screwed-up faces in reaction to my question. However, the only answer I have to the question is that they have a right to vote and if they do they should do it wisely and safely.
The more serious question is, how should Seventh-day Adventists relate to voting? Early Seventh-day Adventists were not keen on politics or on voting. As far as they were concerned, presidents and members of congress had no solutions for the real problems of society. Only Jesus did, and He was coming soon. David Hewitt, who was a highly respected member of the Battle Creek Church, said in 1856, “My brethren, shall we spend our time in political campaigns, . . . when we so soon expect Christ in all the glory of His Father, and all the holy angels with Him, when He shall sit upon the throne of His glory?” Review and Herald, Sept. 11, 1856.
Ellen White wrote in Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 475, ““We cannot safely vote for political parties; for we do not know whom we are voting for. We cannot safely take part in any political schemes. We cannot labour to please men who will use their influence to repress religious liberty, and to set in operation oppressive measures to lead or compel their fellow men to keep Sunday as the Sabbath.”
It is fair to conclude that early Adventists were anti-voting, but by 1865, a clear change in the attitude of Adventists toward voting was seen. The General Conference voted the following position in that year: “Resolved, That in our judgment, the act of voting when exercised in behalf of justice, humanity and right, is in itself blameless, and may be at sometimes highly proper; but that the casting of any vote that shall strengthen the cause of such crimes as intemperance, insurrection, and slavery, we regard as highly criminal in the sight of Heaven. But we would deprecate any participation in the spirit of party strife.” Review and Herald, May 23, 1865.
The catalyst for an even greater step by Adventists in the matter of voting was their temperance work. They had a “horse in the race” and were keen to see that horse win. So, from being against voting approximately 25 years earlier, in 1881, they were actually encouraging members to vote: ““Resolved, That we express our deep interest in the temperance movement now going forward in this state; and that we instruct all our ministers to use their influence among our churches and with the people at large to induce them to put forth every consistent effort, by personal labor, and at the ballot box, in favor of the prohibitory amendment of the Constitution, which the friends of temperance are seeking to secure.” Review and Herald, July 5, 1881.
The state mentioned was Iowa and the occasion was a camp meeting. Not everyone was comfortable with the inclusion of “and at the ballot box.” Ellen White was asked to give her views on the matter and came down on the side of retaining the wording. This was a major step for the fledgling church.
So, where does the church stand on the matter of voting today? Paul, Gordon, Undersecretary of the White Estate, in an article in 1980, titled, The Right to Vote…Shall I Exercise It?, sums it up best: “While an individual member of the church has a right, if he so likes, to cast his vote, the church as such should hold itself entirely aloof from politics. It is one thing for the individual members of the church to vote, and another thing for these same individuals in their church capacities to endeavor to influence political measures.” https://whiteestate.org/legacy/issues-voting-html/, Accessed, Oct, 21, 2020.
James Standish, Director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty in the South Pacific Division and a friend of Sligo Church, also gives sound counsel: “So should we quiver in a corner paralysed by indecision? Better to treat voting like every other complex moral decision we face on a daily basis. Put our lives in God’s hands, asking for His guidance as we prayerfully consider how to vote, and trust in His grace should we fail to comprehend His guidance. After all, nearly every nation in the South Pacific is what Ellen White termed a “favoured land” in which every voter has a voice. Let’s prayerfully and humbly cast our votes to advance the common good.” Adventist Record, August 28, 2013.
So, should I or should I not vote? It’s up to you. However, if you do decide to vote, do so primarily for the advancement of God’s kingdom and for the common good of your community and the citizens of the United States.