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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — When Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter and other constitutional officers were sworn into office Friday, they used Bibles that not only had deep personal meaning but also triggered reminders of their family history, faith and important life milestones.
The Lewiston Tribune (http://bit.ly/1BPYGRd) reports that the Idaho Lt. Gov. Brad Little was sworn in using a Bible printed 126 years ago in Scotland. Little's great-grandparents presented the Bible to his 24-year-year-old grandfather in 1894, as he was preparing to immigrate to America. It was then passed down his aunt.
"When she died, the relatives came over and cleaned out the house," Little said. "They grabbed the guns and whisky, but left all the books. This was one of the treasures left behind."
Meanwhile, Attorney General Lawrence Wasden used a King James Bible given to him by his parents 50 years ago.
"That was the Bible they gave me when I was baptized," Wasden said. "I've carried it with me ever since."
As a member of Mormon faith, Wasden said children are baptized at the age of 8. The event is a solemn one, focused on the promise they're making to God and God's promise to them.
Wasden said he keeps the Bible in his office desk as a reminder of that early commitment.
"It has great significance to me" he said. "There was never any question what Bible I would use (for the swearing in)."
In Idaho, there is no requirement that officials must swear on Bibles. However, many officials choose to use one. They have the option to use a Bible, along with adding the phrase "so help me God" while reciting the oath of office.
Otter, who took the oath for governor for the third time Friday, used a New American Bible that belonged to his father.
"He didn't have it when I was first elected (to the Legislature) in 1972," Otter said. "But when I took my first oath as lieutenant governor in 1987, Dad introduced me and brought his Bible. I got it when he died."
The Republican governor didn't always agree with his father, who ran for the Idaho Legislature as a Democrat in 1974 the same time Otter was running as a Republican in a separate county.
Otter described his father a "Roosevelt Democrat" who was a devout Catholic.
"We separated on what government should and shouldn't be," Otter said. "When I ran against Marjorie Ruth Moon for lieutenant governor in 1986, she'd stay with my folks when she was in Weiser. Frank Church, Cecil Andrus, they stayed with them as well. Of course, I was welcomed there, too."
Freeland writer Hannah Rosefield, who has studied the history of oaths, says people have been swearing into office on Bibles for more than 1,000 years in England.
"In the absence of a structured royal government, certain transactions were conducted at the altar, with participants swearing on a gospel book," she noted in a story last year. The tradition later transitioned to America.
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Information from: Lewiston Tribune, http://www.lmtribune.com
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