Free Republic

...Romney keeps his focus simple: fix the economy. But others are fixated on something else: his faith. SNIP Some call it a cult... Yet Mormons call themselves Christians, which raises eyebrows, especially within evangelical circles. Shawn McCraney is a former Mormon who now hosts a show called, 'Heart of the Matter," where he witnesses to Mormons in Salt Lake City. "...I didn't know the Lord and that led me to an internal angst." "What happened was I came to realize that there was nothing I could do to get myself right before God -- where with Mormonism...it's you have to...

Most faithful members feel their testimony wouldn't falter if they heard something negative about the church. It has been observed, however, that some stalwart members with real testimonies have fallen away -- and continue to fall away -- because of information that conflicts with how they understand the gospel, scripture, revelation, prophets and prophecy or church history. Having periods of doubt isn't a sin and it isn't abnormal. Statistics show that while about 95 percent of Americans believe in God, nearly half -- including those who consider themselves to be religiously devout -- seriously question their faith from time to...

In less than 200 years The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has grown from a handful of converts in a farm house in Fayette, N.Y., to a world-wide church of more than 13 million members with an average increase of about one million new members every three years. While the LDS Church is the fourth largest Christian denomination in the U.S., more than half of the members live outside of the U.S. Although hundreds of thousands of new converts join the church each year, there are also members who leave the church every year. Why do some people...