They Shoot Mormons, Don't They? Religious Bigotry, alive and well today

Saundra Duffy

[Saundra Duffy]

They Shoot Mormons, Don't They? Religious bigotry, alive and well today

May 4, 2007 - by Saundra Duffy-Hawkins

“I wouldn’t vote for a Mormon for dogcatcher, much less President of the United States!” There’s a lot of that kind of hateful rhetoric going around since Mitt Romney decided to throw his hat in the ring – as if Mormons are some kind of hideous evil monsters. The loudest anti-Mormon shouts, sad to say, are coming from America’s so-called “Christian right”. How can Mitt Romney hope to get a fair shake in this spiritually polluted atmosphere?

There was another man running for President who faced the same dilemma – John F. Kennedy – only he was the target of anti-CATHOLIC bigotry. In his 1960 speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, JFK said the following: “. . .I believe in an America where religious intolerance will someday end - where all men and all churches are treated as equal - where man has the same right to attend or not attend the church of his choice - where there is no Catholic vote, no anti-Catholic vote, no bloc voting of any kind - and where Catholics, Protestants and Jews, at both the lay and pastoral level, will refrain from those attitudes of disdain and division which have so often marred their words in the past, and promote instead the American ideal of brotherhood.” John F. Kennedy Library & Museum (Speeches, 1960). By the way, if you listen to the audio version of JFK’s speech, you will hear the hurt and frustration in his voice and the unfair treatment surely must have caused many a sleepless night.

Fast forward to 2007 where JFK might as well have been “whistlin’ Dixie”. The hostility toward Mormons today, in my opinion, is even worse than that suffered by JFK. Although it is said that JFK lost about a million votes to religious intolerance, Romney stands to lose even more if the anti-Mormon evangelicals hang together.

According to Media Matters for America - “. . . a Web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media” - FOX News is not reporting accurately on the level of evangelical hostility to the Romney run. Media Matters for America points out that among evangelical leaders rejecting Mormons: Shirley and James Dobson (National Day of Prayer and Focus on the Family, respectively), the Southern Baptist Convention (collectively), Pat Robertson (Christian Broadcasting Network), and Dr. D. James Kennedy (Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Florida). “Among many conservative evangelicals – who comprise a significant part of the Republican base – Mormonism is considered an un-Christian cult.” Media Matters for America (2007)

While stumping in Florida, a man in the audience stood up during the Q&A portion and said the following to Romney: “You, sir, you’re a pretender. You do not know the Lord. You’re a Mormon.” Media Matters for America (2007). This is the kind of un-American, disrespectful treatment Mitt Romney will apparently have to endure throughout the entire campaign – as if just being a Mormon is reason enough to open the floodgates for free flow of pent-up hatred and vindictiveness.

For the record, the Mormon bashers know full well that the official name of Romney’s church is “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints” and the members should rightfully be called “members of the LDS Church” but the words “Mormon” and “Mormonism” have an aura of negativity so they prefer to use the “M” word as if it were dirty.

Less than five minutes cruising around the official LDS website (LDS.org) will show anyone who’s interested that the Church is a Christian organization, with Jesus Christ at the Head. There are no paid clergy – all are volunteers. Humanitarian aid is legendary. Members of the LDS Church believe in strong family values; they are patriotic, they are law-abiding upstanding citizens of their community. Many LDS young men right out of high school go on two-year missions – you know, the guys on bikes – and during their mission they don’t date, read newspapers, go to movies or watch TV; but rather they dedicate two years of their lives to serving others. Many women go on missions as well, and couples, only theirs is 18 months in length but the obligations are basically the same. Most members do not shop or go out to eat on Sundays – reminiscent of the good old days when shops and stores were closed in obedience to the Commandment, “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy”. If they can help it, LDS Church members do not work on Sundays, either, preferring to spend the day at church and with their families. Church members are encouraged to store up a year’s supply of food and water so they will be able to care for their families in the event of an emergency. The LDS Church believes in self-sufficiency and self-reliance but in the event of a financial hardship the Church distributes food and supplies through their welfare (Bishop’s Storehouse) program. Members of the LDS Church do not drink alcohol nor do they use illicit drugs; they do not drink coffee and tea. A Mormon in good standing, therefore, will not be found in a drunken stupor puking her guts out at 3 a.m. anywhere in the world. Furthermore, members of the church are encouraged to dress modestly, be polite and courteous. And members of the LDS Church are faithful tithe payers. Come on, people, what’s not to love?

So what on earth is their beef, the anti-Mormon zealots? Why is there such disdain for the LDS Church and its members? In Hugh Hewitt’s book, “Mormon in the White House?” he states his thesis that the fierce anti-Mormon sentiment among main-stream Christians stems from one or two or all three of the following factors (in order of importance):

1) “It is just too weird.

2) “A Mormon president will supercharge Mormons’ missionary work.

3) “If there is a Mormon in the White House, Salt Lake City will call the shots, at least on the biggest issues.” Hewitt (2007, p. 221-227)

Hugh Hewitt has written an exquisite book about the Romney campaign and overcoming the “Mormon problem.” It’s a good read and I highly recommend it. Of the three problem points listed in the previous paragraph, Hewitt believes – unless some unforeseen blunder destroys his chances – none of the three is insurmountable for Mitt Romney. (Plus, he has the best hair.)

Well, I’m no Hugh Hewitt, not even close; he’s an icon on the conservative radio talk show circuit. Hewitt could talk circles around me (I’ve seen him in action in Sacramento); he’s brilliant; he’s well educated, well read, no doubt a genius, plus he’s kind of cute. I’m basically a “nobody” – an overweight grandma – but after having researched for this paper, I have come to a totally different conclusion as to why there is such in-your-face angst over Romney’s religion of choice: It’s all about money, power and control (in that order). I think they’re (the evangelical religious bigots, that is) scared half to death and are revving up their attacks, not to save souls, but to save their reputations (which if tarnished would lead to financial ruin).

As I said, all one must do is browse around the LDS official web site to see what the LDS Church believes and stands for. Any reasonable person would conclude that Mormons are not evil monsters at all. In fact, they are God fearing, Christ believing, Holy Ghost following people going about doing good. “You will know them by their fruit” and the LDS has plenty of fruit and they are willing to share.

Earlier, I stated that some high-powered ministries have publicly condemned Mormons: Shirley and James Dobson, the Southern Baptist Convention, Pat Robertson, and Dr. D. James Kennedy – just to name a few. There are hoards of others. Sunday after Sunday, preachers, evangelists, reverends and ministers from all Christian denominations pound the pulpit with anti-Mormon rhetoric. I heard the message loud clear when I was a Baptist and when I tiptoed through evangelical/Pentecostal territories. Was I ever miffed when I later learned for myself the Gospel truth about the LDS Church.

Just think about it, please. If Dr. D. James Kennedy, for example, who wrote the book, The Wolves Among Us, were to admit he’d been wrong in labeling the LDS Church a “cult” that leads unwary ignorant people astray (to hell), what would become of his multi-million-dollar ministry? Suffice it to say, there’s big money to be had by sale of books, tapes, CD’s, videos, and other anti-Mormon propaganda, not to mention speaking engagements and world-wide religious crusades. We’re talking trillions, all told. I realize the anti-Mormon aspect of these ministries is but a small portion of the business, but if the truth came out, that they had been using falsehoods about the LDS Church as a cash cow, their entire empires could tumble.

The ABC News program 20/20 aired on March 23, 2007, exposed the lavish lifestyles of some of the top evangelical preachers – million dollar mansions and personal jets. ABC News - 20/20 (2007) (Again, the LDS Church has no paid clergy.)

It’s nothing new. Severe harassment and persecution has been the lot of the LDS Church since it’s inception in 1820 when a 14-year-old boy named Joseph Smith saw visions and communed with heavenly beings. Rather than discuss the spiritual aspects of the LDS Church, however, let’s stick to facts of history. Taken from a college-level early American history textbook, Joseph Smith, upon experiencing the visions and visitations, believed “that God had work for me to do, and that my name should be for good and evil among all nations, kindreds and tongues.” Ayers, Gould, Oshinsky, and Soderlund (2004, p. 292). The textbook continues, “They were met with hostility virtually everywhere they went . . . . As the movement gathered momentum, hundreds of people joined the church; entire congregations of churches of other faiths joined . . .” Ayers, Gould, Oshinsky, and Soderlund (2004, p. 293)

During the dark time of American history when slavery was flourishing and when Native Americans were forced from their lands, the pioneers of the LDS Church also suffered at the hands of unscrupulous politicians, governmental leaders, and angry hate-filled mobs. “In the face of relentless persecution, Joseph Smith, the founder of the church, had led his flock to Illinois. There they had established the town of Nauvoo, which by the mid-1840’s had become the largest city in Illinois with over 15,000 people. . . In June 1844, a mob of non-Mormons broke into the jail where Smith was being held and killed both him and his brother. . .The Mormons abandoned Nauvoo in the spring of 1846 as anti-Mormons pounded the town with cannon, destroying the Great Temple. In a well-coordinated migration, 15,000 Mormons moved in stages to the Great Salt Lake.” Ayers, Gould, Oshinsky, and Soderlund (2004, p. 334-335) Many walked all the way and many died along the way, including innocent babes.

Joseph Smith at one time was tarred and feathered by a mob. No jury, no trial, no judge – and they had planned to castrate him, too. On October 27, 1838, the then governor of Missouri issued an “extermination order”: “The Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary . . .” Far West History (n.d.) Please note that the order called for exterminating “Mormons” making no distinction between men, women and children, and indeed women and children were subject to the extermination order.

In an event known in LDS history as “the Haun’s Mill Massacre”, precipitated by the extermination order, 30 to 40 LDS families were surprised by some 200 to 250 militia. After the smoke cleared, seventeen LDS people lay dead including a ten-year-old boy. Thirteen LDS members were wounded including a woman and a seven-year-old boy. “A few Missourians returned the next day and took plunder.” LDS FAQ (n.d.) No Missouri militiamen were killed but three were wounded. Just a few years earlier, the LDS folk who died that day had been members of other churches - Congregational or Methodist or Baptist or Presbyterian.

In l976, Governor Bond of Missouri officially rescinded the extermination order and presented apologies for the “unfortunate developments” it caused. Quoting from Governor Bond’s Executive Order: “WHEREAS, Governor Boggs’ order clearly contravened the rights to life, liberty, property and religious freedom as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, as well as the Constitution of the State of Missouri; and . . . Expressing on behalf of all Missourians our deep regret for the injustice and undue suffering rescind Executive Order Number 44 dated October 27, 1838, issued by Governor W. Boggs. . .” Far West History (n.d.) The individuals who harassed, abused, and even murdered Mormons in cold blood were never tried for their crimes.

I read Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and it really touched my heart. There he was, suffering for the Lord in jail, and these religious leaders with highfalutin titles on the outside wrote an open letter (“A Call for Unity”) in which they criticize King’s tactics and basically blame King for the racial turmoil of the time. Though you can tell King is upset and hurt by the attack – made worse because he’s stuck in jail and can’t confront the religious leaders face-to-face – his response is gentle genius. “I wish you had commended the Negro sit-inners and demonstrators of Birmingham for their sublime courage, their willingness to suffer, and their amazing discipline in the midst of great provocation. One day the South will recognize its real heroes.” Barnet and Bedau (2005, p. 881)

King has a few choice words for the Church, too: “If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.” Barnet and Bedau (2005, p. 880)

King signs off with “Yours for the cause of Peace and Brotherhood”.

There’s an eerie commonality between what JFK and MLK endured at the hands of the religious bigots of their day and what Mitt Romney is facing today. I hope and pray that Romney will be able to fend off these undeserved attacks from the religious hypocrites with the same grace, dignity and God-inspired resolve displayed by the other two.

A few popular bumper stickers read: “Honk if you love Jesus” and “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven” or “Jesus is my co-pilot”. Yet, apparently, these same bumper-sticker Christians are the ones waging war against Mitt Romney’s run for the Presidency solely on the basis of his chosen faith in a Church that bears the name of the Savior of the world.

References

ABC News - 20/20 (2007). Philanthropic donations come from your heart, but where do they end up? Ex-money manager says "enough!" to secretive Christian Ministry spending. Glenn Ruppel & John Stossel. United States: ABC News.

Ayers, E. L., Gould, L. L., Oshinsky, D. M., & Soderlund, J. R. (2004). American Passages - a history of the United States - Volume I: to 1877 (2nd ed.). Belmont, California: Thomson/Wadsworth.

Barnet, S., & Bedau, H. (2005). Letter from Birmingham Jail. Current Issues and Enduring Questions - a guide to critical thinking and argument, with readings (7th ed., pp. 867-882). Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Far West History. (n.d.). The Extermination Order and how it was rescinded. Retrieved April 28, 2007, from http://www.jwha.info/mmff/exorder.htm

Hewitt, H. (2007). A Mormon in the White House? 10 things every American should know about Mitt Romney. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, Inc.

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. (1960, September 12). Address of Senator John F. Kennedy to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association. Retrieved April 22, 2007, from http://www.jfklibrary.org

Lds Faq. (n.d.). What was the Haun's Mill Massacre? Retrieved April 28-2007, 2004, from Brigham Young University Web Site: http://ldsfaq.byu.edu/view.asp?q=57

Media Matters for America. (2007). Fox News whitewashes evangelical hostility to Romney's faith. Retrieved April 22, 2007, from http://mediamatters.org/items/printable/200702280002

[restornu]

Which came first the Chicken or the Egg?

When the Lord gives more updates on this I will be glad to share it with you!:)

[P-Marlowe]

When the Lord gives more updates on this I will be glad to share it with you!:)

Just a quick yes or no. Do you agree with this statement:

"God, the Eternal Father was once a mortal man who passed through a school of earth life similar to that through which we are now passing. He became God - an exalted being - through obedience to the same eternal Gospel principles that we are given opportunity to obey today"

Is that what the LDS Church still teaches?

[restornu]

What I do know God always was God, but complete comprehension of the mystery of God that is up to the Lord to reveal!

1 Tim 3
16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

[DelphiUser]

Huntington said, but now they have come to fight us & you for when they kill us they will kill you.’

War mentality anyone?

The reason for the deletion of this passage in a pro-Mormon edition of Hamblin’s narrative is INDEED clear:

What a pant load! We don’t have an copy of the letter, we have what someone says they remember being in a letter that we have no proof actually existed. There are many reasons someone will say lots of things, and I am not going to go into them. I deal in facts in one clear category, deductions in another, third wit, and fourth questionable statements that say more about the person saying them than the person they are being said about. This quote falls in the last category.

In light of this information, it doesn’t take a Sherlock Holmes to deduce what Young told the Indians in that meeting ten days before the MMM.

Really, Sherlock, when can I have a verbatim report? I may have to add fifth column, “Bald Assertions, Unsubstantiated Statements and Assumptions”; this would fall into that category.

It also doesn’t take a great brain to understand why someone tore the next page out of Hamblin’s diary: it probably gave more details of Young’s “counsel” to Hamblin, Huntingdon, and the Indians as to what to do with the Baker-Fancher train.

While the fact that it is missing is interesting, it proves NOTHING either way. Maybe this was removed because Brigham young told them not to harm a hair on the heads of the party. Maybe it had a really unflattering drawing of Hamblin’s wife drawn by Hamblin while he waited and she didn’t like it and insisted it be torn out. Maybe BY asked for a piece of paper to write something else down on. Maybe he needed toilet paper real bad! The point is you don’t know. You are attributing motive and fact to fit your agenda, which is not truth, it is opinion. (You are entitled to opinion, just don’t call it truth) Bagley documents in “Blood of the Prophets” where pages of journals and other incriminating documents were torn out and destroyed, to eliminate the “paper trail” of evidence which points to Brigham Young’s involvement in the MMM.

ROTFLOL

Blood of the prophets is so discredited, I am surprised you are quoting it.

From a trial lawyers review of the evidence presented in the book: (http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=509)

Bagley is too confident of his evidence, if one can call much of what he relies on evidence. "Too well, too well thou tell'st a tale so ill"5 could be said of Bagley's work. Dark, macabre, and depressing, Bagley's work is not for the fainthearted who may have little knowledge of the actual events.

CC I had expected … More.

[restornu]

I am sure you never ponder if your not condition by the tradition of men whose ways are not the God ways!

[greyfoxx39]

I know it's difficult not to rise to the bait that some are so adept at throwing out there. But as we saw in the case of a poster now thrown into outer darkness, our case will only be held against us if we protest very much.

I try to remember that the lurkers on this thread (as in the case of one who spoke out earlier) see what it happening and judge accordingly.

[DelphiUser]

Anyone agree with me that the “looney” tag is quickly becoming a personal attack?

That's just loonie! (No attack intended, but the humor is intentional)

[P-Marlowe]

What I do know God always was God, but complete comprehension of the mystery of God that is up to the Lord to reveal!

Then you must disagree with the quote.

Tell me, is that still taught as doctrine in the LDS Church?

[restornu]

You might find the below post to be instructional, even if seven will not answer you directly:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1828301/posts?page=1392#1392: Bless you sevenbak, you're still caught in the 'created being can be equal with God' rut. MHGinTN Why yes I am! Except Jesus was never created, he existed from the beginning, as did we all.
1,392 posted on 05/09/2007 1:36:41 AM EDT by sevenbak

Isa. 43
10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

Because Jesus was the only begotton Son of Heavenly Father!

It polite to flag one when you try to assail them!

[colorcountry]

Well Delphi, we all know we should trust a Mormon trial lawyer over an historian to tell us historical facts now don’t we?

Shall I now post a link to the site that thouroughly debunks your “trial” lawyer.

This is an e-mail Bagley sent in response to this critique.

I’ve often wondered what web tricks the boys at the Y use to give Crockett’s crap such a web presense, but as novelist John Nicholson observed in one of those stereotypes with some truth to it in “Mickelson’s Ghost,” Mormons are good with computers.

Crockett’s article is typical apologist sludge: half truths supported by outright falsehoods. We debated the particulars on the Mormon-Library Yahoo list, and I assume the exchange is still there, even tho he insists I never refuted his attacks. I believe our debate exposes his lies for what they are. The bottom line, however, is his failure to present an alternative theory to the case.

I have not, however, ever written a detailed response and don’t intend to. “Blood of the Prophets” speaks for itself and facts are facts: for all Sumner Howard’s big talk, he was bought and paid for (as revealed in “Innocent Blood: Essential Narratives of the MMM,” one of the next volumes in the Kingdom series). Brigham Young’s coverup of the crime is a fact, and as Juanita Brooks and Robert Cleland said fifty years ago, he was no simpleton. The current attempt to paint him as Mr. Magoo is silly—he was much closer to Dr. Moriarty.

[MHGinTN]

Resty, there is no disagreement that God IS and exists un created. The heresy in Mormonism as conveyed by sevenbak is that we humans were with God in the beginning, thus humans, at least Mormon humans, are not created beings.

[restornu]

Well, you were raised with a belief in Jesus Christ/God. I was raised in a belief of a glorified man/god. It is no wonder we took different paths. I hope you still retain your true relationship with Jesus Christ that you once had....you know the one in whom you placed your faith to atone for ALL your sins (and not just the ones you couldn’t overcome)

What you are missing is that "God the Father like the Only Begotten Son, Jesus" was always sinless and man isn't!

[Utah Girl]

So there's a difference between "structure" and a "super structure," between being managed and being micro-managed. LDS missionaries are micro-managed.

You're probably right. But the effort is successful. BTW, the couple missionaries (those in their fifties, sixties, seventies) do have more latitude in their actions when they are on a mission. That's because they are older and have a lot more experience.

[restornu]

I know the original cuplet but whose source are you quoting?

[colorcountry]

Also excerts from a review in September 2005 by a guy named “Rollo Tomasi” posted on FAIR his review of Crockett’s article, .....

I found Mr. Crockett’s review very interesting, although I confess that the latter half is filled with legal procedures, rules and jargon that I found rather dull (I’m sure most lawyers here would love it, though). Mr. Crockett tells us up front that part of his focus is on the “legal aftermath” (p. 200), and he’s not kidding, so non-lawyers may not find this analysis terribly stimulating. As to be expected from the title of his review, Mr. Crockett spends a lot of time discussing the “evidence” (“various classes of evidence,” “exculpatory evidence,” “hard evidence,” etc.) from a legal view, but at times I felt that unless the “evidence” he discusses meets his standard of what is admissible in a court of law, or that appeared in a trial transcript or other legal pleading, it is easily disregarded or discounted.

As even we non-lawyers know, a lot of evidence, facts, truth, etc., do not make it into a case for various legal reasons, but this doesn’t mean the evidence is not true, just that it’s “inadmissible.” Thus, Mr. Crockett’s chastisement of Juanita Brooks, Will Bagley, and others for using evidence that Mr. Crockett does not consider “worthy” because of admissibility rules, seems disingenuous to me. The study and history of the MMM is not purely a legal case … it is also history that must never be forgotten. This, if nothing else, Brooks and Bagley and others have done (although we may disagree with their conclusions), rather admirably, imo. And their history should not be slapped down simply because a lawyer doesn’t think their “case” can be made in court. Legal cases often are not concerned with moral culpability.

As all lawyers, Mr. Crockett is writing as an advocate. Not surprisingly, his advocacy favors what the LDS Church has said all along in denying any culpability (moral or legal) for what happened at Mountain Meadows; his paper would not have appeared in the FARMS Review if it were written otherwise. Thus, I find that Mr. Crockett goes to great lengths to explain away evidence that appears awfully damning of Church leaders’ role and culpability in this sordid affair. This is to be expected, I guess – I see this tactic often employed by LDS apologists (especially those who write for FARMS).....

[greyfoxx39]

Private mail

[greyfoxx39]

On an encouraging note, I just saw this regarding the Pope on the Reuters news site: "Speaking to reporters on the papal plane en route to Brazil, he also said Catholic politicians who support abortion should be excommunicated, reinforcing the Church's hard line in a debate over birth control in a region that is home to nearly half of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics."

Wonder if this would impact the Kerrys and the Kennedys?

[DelphiUser]

I think it is sad that a church (no matter which one) would keep family members from being present during a ceremony that is supposed to be so important.
So you think in the time of Jesus those who were not of him and did not have a convenant with him should allowed their worldly self into those sacred places because its not fair?

But I'm not a member of any of those churches, so if others want to put up with that stuff, that's up to them.

It is not about you it is about obeying the Lord!

Let me help, in Jesus's day the unworthy were not allowed in the temple either. If you were unclean you would not be allowed into the wedding, if your oil in your lamp ran out you would not be allowed in (see the parable of the ten virgins)

restornu, as you were...

[colorcountry]

Speaking of the Pope did you read this comparing the Popes visit in Brazil to one made by Apostle James Faust in 1998:

While pontiff, Pope John Paul II made a two week visit to Brazil and visited several impoverished areas. So moved by the need he saw, the Pope donated his papal ring to one of the communities.

(See NY Times, Brazilians Welcome Pope but Question His Perspective, LARRY ROHTER and IAN FISHER http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/world/americas/09pope.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp).

In May 1998, Mormon First Presidency Member James Faust during a temple dedication in Allegre Brazil recounted the sacrifice made earlier by Argentine Mormons to build a temple in Sao Paulo Brazil. Faust “emphasized the need for Saints to sacrifice for temple building. He told how members in Argentina found ways to donate during the construction of the São Paulo Temple. They gave the gold from the dental work in their mouths to help pay on the temple. He said that he had purchased some of the gold fillings for more than the market price to impress upon the minds of congregations the nature of the sacrifice made by these members” (Church News, 9 May 1998).

(See http://www.exmormon.org/mormon/mormon087.htm; post Subject: If you can’t pay, then we’ll take your gold fillings! Date: Sep 17 17:30 ,Author: Makurosu).

[MHGinTN]

Sadly, the power of US democrats is such that the Papacy excludes demonspawn like Kennedy, Harkin, and Boxer from the excommunicable. Truly, the politics draped upon the Church sully the Holy Father as well.