Last month, Elder Oaks and our area 70 were here (Dallas / Ft. Worth) to train Priesthood leadership.  There was a 2-hour Q&A session that followed. A bishop, who had concerns about undocumented residents in his ward (and we have a lot--this is Texas), asked a question similar to yours, Lundy.  Elder Oaks said this: "Did you know that it is illegal to transport an undocumented resident in your vehicle?  That means if you give them a ride to the temple, you are breaking the law."  He then went on to explain that the church is not a law enforcement agency, and that the church cannot be expected to enforce laws that the government cannot or will not. His final counsel to members concerned about their "civic duty" toward undocumented residents: "Don't worry about it. You have more important work to do in the Lord's kingdom."

I have difficulty with the concept, too.

When I got commissioned in the AF, all of us cadets lived by the motto, "I will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor will I tolerate any who do."  As a citizen, I believe I have a duty to uphold the law. If I knew an employee was embezzling money, I would turn her in. Most companies encourage it and even have incentives for it.  If I saw someone breaking into my neighbor's house, I would turn him in. Most communites have neighborhood watches and Citizens on Patrol groups for that very purpose. I don't know why this issue is different.  I suppose I'll follow the counsel I've received until I do understand it. D&C 58:21 will be problematic for me in the meantime:  Let no man break the laws of the land, for he that keepeth the laws of God hath no need to break the laws of the land.

I was recently told that "per capita" conversions to the church are actually higher in Mexico than anywhere else. Is this true?
If so, why do those folks south of the border feel they need to come here to convert?

I am against amnesty. It has proved itself a failed "fix" when Reagan tried it in 86'.
Coming in undocumented, pushes these people into more situations where breaking the law becomes necessary; driving with no insurance, driving with no lic, etc. Pretty much all "services" (medical, education, etc) provided for these people (and us too) are at our expense. They pay ZERO dollars back into the system, which they so willingly take out of.

Don't even get me started on the recent murder of a rancher down in southern AZ.
I feel it was a warning from the scum bag drug cartels to other ranchers in the area to leave their drugs alone (he had recently found and turned in some 100# or more of marijuana). But... this puts all the ranchers in the unsavory position of having to wonder about every illegal who crosses their land, about every scum bag lawyer who would sue them for even detaining the illegals.
If I owned a ranch there, I'd have to ask myself... do I shoot first and ask question later? ... do I shoot first and dump the body in a nearby mine shaft? ... do I shoot first and leave the body for the vultures and then later call in what appears to be a shoot out among drug runners? ... do I purchase some real high end night vision and shoot anyone carrying bundles across my land (day or night)?
OR... do I sell the land (which I probably can't get squat for) and move further north, since my sh!t bag government won't do a thing to help me???

Sorry, rant off. 

Lund...... you must be a bundle of fun at Fast Meetings.....    

This article appeared yesterday in the editorial section of the Arizona Republic:   http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2010/05/18/20100518arizona-immigration-law-mormon-church.html

It starts off with this story:
"José Corral was seriously considering joining the Mormon Church.
"For weeks, Corral, 45, a fourth-grade teacher, met with Mormon missionaries at his home in Laveen to read the Book of Mormon and prepare for his baptism. Corral, a Catholic and the father of two preteen daughters, was especially drawn to the church's commitment to family values.

"I was really interested. I thought, you know, it is going to be really good for the kids," said Corral, a legal permanent resident from Mexico.

"Then, Corral said, he found out that state Sen. Russell Pearce, a Republican from Mesa and sponsor of Arizona's tough new immigration law, is a member of the church. Corral said he told the missionaries to stop coming because he considers the law to be anti-immigrant and anti-Hispanic.

"I decided I did not want to expose my kids to a religion that has members that hate other people because they are different," Corral said."

I invite you all to read the entire article if you like.   I responded by writing a letter to the editor entitled  "Mormons Should Oppose Illegal Immigration".   I doubt it will get printed since that rag is very pro-illegal immigration and amnesty. 

Shortly after reading that article in the Arizona Republic editorial page I dashed off the following letter to the editor.   No sign of it being printed.   I hoped it would draw further discussion.

Mormons Should Oppose Illegal Immigration
 
The main mission of the Mormon Church is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and where feasible, promote charitable works all over the world.   But I note that many Mormons think that this includes bringing oppressed and impoverished people into the U.S.A., regardless of how much they burden Americans with lower wage scales, overwhelm our medical and social welfare systems, disrupt our countrys social fabric, and increase our national debt.   They seem to see no wrong in permitting illegal aliens access to the benefits that legal Americans and legal aliens paid for.   They condone legislation, already proven not to work, that would allow unlimited amnesty for illegals already here.   To then I would say:

 
1.) Does this Article of Faith still apply, or not? "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law." It is illegal to come into this country without permission, just like it is everywhere else. So this one doesn't matter anymore?
 
2.)I don't blame those folks for wanting to come here. But they should do so in accordance with our laws. Besides, the vast majority who come here don't accept the gospel. In fact, many of them are lawbreakers who commit extremely violent crimes against our citizens. It is easy to recite the catechism of "helping the poor people" and overlooking everything else, but what will those members say if their daughters or granddaughters are on the receiving end of being gang-raped by multiple individuals at once.  (This happens more than people realize, but it is not reported on the news because they don't want to "upset the immigrant community." Go to VDARE.com and read the accounts there).
 
3.)The Church has counseled members to stay within their respective countries to build up their own stakes. If LDS members in America would listen to the warnings we have received about secret combinations in our day, they wouldn't let the modern-day Gadianton robbers at the Council on Foreign Relations and the Ford Foundation use their influence to batter down our borders and destroy our country, all the while supporting the entrenched and corrupt socialist elite in Mexico who continue to amass wealth, even as they export all of their poverty to us. What a deal, eh?
 
4.) How do our immigration laws make it hard for people to come unto Christ?  They can't do so in their own nations?  They are doing so all over the world.  The largest population of members outside the U.S. is in Mexico and Brazil. They can't accept the gospel there? With that kind of logic, let's bring the whole world to the U.S., give them all jobs, houses, and cars, and then they'll all accept the gospel, and the Millennium will be ushered in.
Give me a break.
 

Well, I see both sides.

I have a former missionary companion who stayed in Ecuador as he was counseled to do.

He went to medical school. Got his Ecuadorian MD. He went to school in Argentina to specialize as a pediatrician. Returning back to Ecuador he has served twice as a Bishop and once in a Stake presidency.

He has come to the US twice and working for peanuts here in odd jobs for 6 months he can earn more than working two years as a pediatrician in Ecuador.

He would love to have his entire family come to the US to live. His wife's sister was lucky enough to get she and her children here. They are thriving as illegals in Utah.

Having spent time south of the border... in Mexico, Panama and Ecuador I can see why anyone would want to come to the U.S.

Sad thing is, with the way Obama is ruining our country, it soon won't be so inviting to them.

AZ is in a depression. Nope, not a double dip recession, it's full blown depression. Way more than 15% unemployment and with SB1070 more illegals are leaving AZ every day.

The three Spanish speaking units in our stake are slowly dwindling away.

I fully support SB1070 but it truly has caused further damage to our already fragile economy . I am only working 3.5 to 4 days a week now where two years ago I was working 5 to 5.5 days a week. We've started dipping into savings.

Mahonri, Old age and senility may have corrupted my memory, but I seem to recall a few years ago you wrote something to the effect that your Area 70 said we should or it was Church policy to accept illegal immigration without opposing it.   I think it would have been our Area 70 also, as our home in in Mesa, AZ.   Grapevine/Insider info has it our stake president is concerned about it and is or was trying to find out the Church's position on some aspect(s) of it that would apply to illegals serving in church callings.   Do you recall any more details.       

Apparently it's not just the "Brethren" who feel strongly on both sides of the issue.   I probably attract more opinions on this subject than most members in our ward and stake because of my participation in the Constitution Party, the John Birch Society, and the East Valley Tea Party here in AZ.   There is definitely division among members on this issue.   Division that gives rise to anger.   So I can understand why, as Roper told us, Elder Oaks told a Priesthood leadership group  "Don't worry about it. You have more important work to do in the Lord's kingdom."   That statement combined with what Elder Eyring told a group of us Church and Family History missionaries about the First Presidency's awareness of the illegal immigrant situation and opinion that we will just have to live with it, tempts me to forget the whole thing and write it off as a tragic situation.   Yet I still feel strongly the drive to oppose illegal immigration and amnesty however I can.