So what I am essentially saying -- in the last post and this one -- is that Mitt Romney flips flops because he's a Mormon leader. (That's what Mormon leaders do!)
One of my key points in other posts is I've attempted to draw an "If-Then" conclusion: If LDS theology effects social positions, then patterns of evolving theology and evolving social positions yields leaders who are all too comfortable with shifting both theology AND social positions.
We have to include the psychology of certain aspects of theological history. If a religious leader views God & historical faith leaders as ones who constantly do 100% about-faces on social positions...where theology & social positions not only "evolve" but involve total u-turns, then my premise is that when you have a leader like Mitt who has already displayed a penchant for multiple total u-turns THEN that = a socially (as in social issues) unpredictable leader.
We can agree that Mitt is totally unpredictable on social issues based upon his personal track record and based upon the historic leaders and the "god" he elevates as his role models
Therefore, what threads like these show all those FREEPERS who keep saying how "aligned" we are with Mormons re: "common values" is that the Mormon church can be liberal when it wants to...and it's been awfully convenient for that to happen more and more the last few years.
Examples:
* Homosexual rights: Mormon church supports Salt Lake City's protections for gay rights and Mormons Back Salt Lake City Gay Rights Laws
Illegal alien liberal policy nuances... note these headlines:
2 LDS branch presidents in Utah deported to Guatemala, El Salvador
* Utahpolicy.com had a headline in 2011: Considering The Disconnect Between Some LDS Church Members and Leadership on Immigration
Abortion: The official Mormon church position (see
http://www.religioustolerance.org/lds_abor.htm) is that it's "OK" for an abortion if...
(a) Incest needs to be covered up;
(b) The baby is disabled and needs to be destroyed accordingly
(c) Mom's "health" (whatever that means...distinct from saying "life" of the mother)
(d) If the abortionist says it's "OK"
(e) If the Mormon god says it's "OK" in prayer...
E alone above could "justify" abortion to individual Mormons as long it overrides the person's conscience!
And if you need further evidence of just how liberal the Mormon church leadership can be when it wants to be, then look at how Harry Reid was welcomed with such warm open arms by an all BYU student & faculty occasion for Reid to speak there: Reid gets warm reception at BYU
Too many FREEPERS somehow think that Romney's wishy-washiness is "unconnected" to his faith. Well, the Mormon leadership has shown it can be morally wishy-washy whenever it's "convenient."
It was "convenient" for the Mormon church leadership to pass homosexual rights for Salt Lake City 'cause they were coming off of what the MSM regarded "negative" media play re: Prop 8 in CA.
It was "convenient" for their missionary program to support aspects of immigrants being here illegally.
And, at times, it's been "convenient" for daughters of Mormon leaders and others to get abortions.
Certainly, it's been "convenient" for them to have a Harry Reid in Congress "watch out" for Mormon church interests.
Historically, it was "convenient" for the Mormon god to change his mind about skin color...even if he didn't change Mormon racist "sacred book" passages depicting open racism. And it was "convenient" for the Mormon church to slowly rid itself of open polygamy because their church was threatened, their menfolk were in jail, and they wanted statehood. Even then, it was "convenient" for their original leader, Joseph Smith, to engage in sex with many women even though his own penned Book of Mormon called polygamy an "abomination."
The LDS sent a group of US senators to Switzerland to try to get an exemption just for the LDS church to their new missionary policies.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700091651/No-more-US-Mormon-missionaries-to-be-allowed-in-Switzerland.html
A group of 14 U.S. senators and representatives — including LDS members such as Sen. Orrin Hatch R-Utah, Sen. Bob Bennett R-Utah, Sen. Harry Reid D-Nevada, Sen. Mike Crapo R-Idaho and Rep. Jim Matheson D-Utah – recently appealed to the Swiss government to rethink its restrictions against Mormon missionaries.
This is an article on the LDS church influencing legislation regarding illegal aliens.
"In order to allow the LDS Church to baptize and extend full membership, including calling illegal aliens to serve in voluntary positions, the Church asked U.S. Sen. Robert Bennett of Utah to quietly slip an amendment to the United States immigration act into an agriculture appropriations bill."
AND
"Thus, in 2011, many LDS legislators followed their faith leaders and passed legislation that benefits illegal aliens living in Utah despite strong personal convictions to the contrary and pressure from constituents to vote against the Church’s position.
A Utah state senator told a constituent that he was compelled to vote for SB288, which he philosophically opposed, because that was what the Church wanted him to do. (SB288 eventually became 3SHB116.)
Following final passage of 3SHB116, legislators reported that the Church wanted a bill that expressed compassion to the world and that the Church’s representatives on the Hill clearly asked legislators to vote for it.
When some legislators learned that their constituents had been told by public affairs officials that the Church was only providing information and not encouraging legislators to vote for illegal alien-friendly bills, the legislators responded that that was “an outright lie.”
http://www.cis.org/mormon-church-and-illegal-immigration