Mormonism is a “pay as you go” religion. You don’t pay, you don’t go.
Worth noting that the name of the angel “Moroni” matches the name of the obscure capital city of the Comoros Islands, a fact which was also true in 1823 and a word that Joseph Smith would have read in his home encyclopedia. Some of the other names of Mormon prophets sound transferred from other sources too.
My take is that the LDS started out from a con job by a man who was either a con artist or perhaps a well-meaning religious reformer who needed a story and invented that one.
Either way, through some mysterious process, the Mormon faith matured into something perhaps a bit better than what it could have become, and has created a social structure that is (say what you want) better than most in today’s crazy demonic world. The state of Utah is probably one of the most livable states in America (helps of course to have a nice climate and superb scenery).
Maybe God looked down on the LDS and said, “let’s give these guys an A for effort and overlook the odd theology.” If they ever came to these conclusions themselves they might just gradually re-merge into the mainstream of evangelical Christianity, which is probably where they belong. I sometimes get the feeling that these conclusions have been reached by many in the LDS but they don’t come right out and say so. But the trend historically has been to move away from divisive theological dogma such as their former practice of polygamy and having an Apostle Prophet descended from Joseph Smith, something that was phased out in the 1960s and 1970s.
In our fight for freedom and a God-centered society, we need all the allies we can get, and the Mormons are basically on our side (and conversely, we are on their side). I wouldn’t let a-holes like Romney and Reid distort this basic fact.