The LDS Case for Kamala

Why Latter-day Saints Should Vote for Kamala Harris in 2024

By: Mark E. Koltko-Rivera

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

In this book, I make the case that, strictly from a Latter-day Saint (LDS) point of view, Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, is a better candidate for the office of U. S. President than former President Donald Trump, a Republican. I make this case on the basis of each candidate’s behavior, proposed program, and documented history, especially in terms of their attitude towards the U.S. Constitution and the principle of the rule of law.

Recently, some Latter-day Saints have become focused on the degree to which issues of personal character and morality disqualify Donald Trump from the American presidency. All of this is quite true. But it is nowhere near enough as an explanation for why Trump should be rejected, in favor of Harris, which is why I wrote this book.

Donald Trump is not just disqualified from the presidency because he is personally immoral. Beyond that, his orientation to the presidency itself—his approach to governance, as it were—endangers one of the most important gifts of the Lord to the American people: the Constitution of the United States; Trump also shows disdain for the rule of law in general. By contrast, Kamala Harris is, by all appearances and her documented behavior, a moral individual who values the Constitution and the rule of law.

In Chapter 1 of this book, I describe the special significance that the U.S. Constitution has for Latter-day Saints, and I consider which of the two candidates will likely better defend it, and the rule of law in general. In Chapter 2, I consider potential objections to Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate. In Chapter 3, I give my recommendations for the Latter-day Saint voter in 2024—choosing a President and more.

Mark Koltko-Rivera converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while attending Haverford College in Pennsylvania. He served for two years as an LDS missionary in the Japan Okayama Mission. He has served in the Church as a home teacher, a Gospel Doctrine Sunday School teacher, a bishop’s counselor in two wards, and a member of a stake high council. He has published about the Latter-day Saints in Sunstone, Dialogue, and Psychotherapy.

Mark Koltko-Rivera holds a doctoral degree from the Department of Applied Psychology at New York University (NYU). He is an elected Fellow of the American Psychological Association. For his scholarship, he has received several awards: the Margaret Gorman Early Career Award in the psychology of religion (from the Society for the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality), the Carmi Harari Early Career Award for Inquiry (Society for Humanistic Psychology), and, on two occasions, the George A. Miller Award for an outstanding recent article on general psychology (Society for General Psychology). He has taught at NYU, the University of Central Florida, Hunter College—The City University of New York, and elsewhere.
He was born and raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City, where he long lived in the East Village. He graduated from Regis High School (NYC), and holds an undergraduate degree from Haverford College and a master’s degree from Fordham University.

Dr. Koltko-Rivera has four grown children and twelve grandchildren. He is the author of The Rise of the Mormons: Latter-day Saint Growth in the 21st Century (2012), and Latter-day Saint Women and the Priesthood of God: A Believer’s Exploration.