SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a congratulatory statement to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Monday after their win in the 2020 election was formalized by United States electors.
The statement read:
We congratulate President-elect Joe Biden on his election as President of the United States. We also congratulate Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
We invite people everywhere, whatever their political views, to join us in praying for this new administration and for leaders of nations around the world. Praying for those in public office has been a practice of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since its founding. The men and women who lead our nations and communities need our prayers.
We thank President Donald Trump and Vice President Michael Pence for their public service and wish them and their families well in their future endeavors. We commend all those who engaged in the election process at a national or local level. Their participation in our democratic process, by its nature, demands much of those who offer themselves for public service.
May our local, national, and world leaders be blessed with wisdom and judgment as they fulfill the great trust afforded to them by the people of the world.
The well-wishes came later than previous presidential elections — the church released similar statements congratulating Trump on Nov. 9, 2016, and congratulating then-President Barack Obama on Nov. 6, 2012, for his reelection. The church did also send "best wishes" to newly-elected Obama on Jan. 16, 2009, in conjunction with the announcement that leaders would attend the inauguration. No record of congratulatory statements for elections before then was immediately available on the church's website.
