An online petition objecting to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s plan to sing at the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump is drawing wide support from Latter-day Saints and others, topping 15,000 signatures Monday.
The choir is part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)
The petition asks LDS leadership to decline the invitation for its world-famous choir to sing at the Jan. 20 swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., because doing so would “harm this spectacularly talented and beloved choir’s image.”
Trump “does not reflect the values of Mormonism” nor represent the diversity of the faith’s 15.6 million members around the globe, the petition states. The choir’s participation also would wrongly suggest that the Utah-based denomination and its members support the incoming president’s “agenda, values and behaviors.”
Latter-day Saints (LDS) leaders announced last week that the choir would perform. Not all 360 singers will make the trip, but church officials have said about 215 are expected to volunteer.
The choir previously sang at swearing-in ceremonies for George H. W. Bush (1989), Richard Nixon (1969) and Lyndon Johnson (1965). It performed in inaugural parades for George W. Bush (2001), George H. W. Bush (1989) and Ronald Reagan (1981).
A lifetime Mormon, Randall Thacker launched the petition within hours of the announcement.
A majority of the petition’s signers purportedly are Mormons from across the U.S. and around the world. Many express being “saddened and perplexed” by the decision to send the choir and urged church leaders to, “in the name of all that’s holy,” reconsider.
editor@ugchristiannews.com
