I asked someone close to me how he came to the political persuasions and opinions that he held. I mentioned that I had been taught by my parents and then developed it from there. He instantly answered that it was by studying the doctrine of the Gospel. He said he had no political opinions until after his mission when, for a period of years, he lost his right to attend the temple. Because he missed those blessings, he began studying the doctrines of the temple and later of heaven. He explained how it evolved from there over several years. He said it wasn't that the doctrines of the Gospel taught him to be a particular party loyalist. It was because they taught him to ask how he could be true to Gospel doctrines and be part of a political party that supported positions that were inconsistent with the Gospel such as abortion, same-sex marriage, free drug abuse, socialism, and others.
We discussed that this was why the Church had moved to "Come Follow Me - a home-centered, Church-supported plan of study." So many of the Church members were expecting the Church to feed them the pablum of "be nice" without exerting themselves to feast on the meat of the Gospel. We discussed how one cannot develop spiritual strength while only consuming spiritual food for babies in the Gospel once they were no longer babies. The Spirit couldn't guide them, if they weren't seeking to understand deeply the doctrines and words of the prophets. This meant more than merely reading scripture, but actually digesting through discussion and meditation.
