Posted on 05/04/2007 5:46:36 AM PDT by 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
Hey, you know that's not possible. FC's Urim and Thummim won't work that way. I hope FC hasn't been using them for such ill gotten gains.
Mosiah 8:13 And the things are called interpreters, and no man can look in them except he be commanded, lest he should look for that he ought not and he should perish. And whosoever is commanded to look in them, the same is called seer.
Kolob isn't a planet, it's a star, closest to the throne of God, and has a 1000 year rotation. This is why God's days are 1000 years.
2 Pet. 3: 8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
Bookmarked, thanks! LOL
I've often wondered why the Anti Mormons always refer to Joseph Smith as Joe. It's a nickname only given by the detractors, certainly he, his family or friends didn't use it.
Should we start calling St. Peter Pete?
How many others can we come up with. It would seem 11 of the 12 had an easier way to say it as well. Pete, Andy, Jim, Phil, Bart, Tom, Matt, Jim, Thad, Sims, Jude...
Used to be. These days, the number is around 60%; about 40% are church-going.
Darn Californians keep moving east. It’s hitting us pretty hard in CO too.
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2886596
Of course SLC is even smaller percentage of LDS. How do you think Rocky got all big headed? ;-)
“What’s up with the 3 dollar bank note posted repeatedly ad nauseum? Banks issue notes, and early banks did this all the time. Don’t forget that this time was also riddled with bank failures all over the country. The Kirtland bank failure was no different than anywhere else.”
Except Kirtland was a failure by a Prophet of God (supposedly). A charlatan, necromancer, stone seer who if he were legitimate could have foreseen the grief it would cause his followers. Oh, but I know the dance jig by now, he was a prophet, except when he wasn’t a prophet, and had revelations, except when they were overriden by later revelations, and he could do magical martyr thinks, except when he couldn’t.
And monkeys fly out of my butt, except when they don’t.
Actually, they did.
See Origin of Mormonism, by Anna R. Webster Eaton, 1881.
Are you really going to force me to dig out letters, diary entries, etc., further demonstrating that he was known among friends and intimates as "Joe"?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1708500/posts?q=1&;page=251
You obviously have forgotten that I am not mormon, only married to one. You them proceeded to get childish much like you are now. Like this little nugget;
Go ahead and make up whatever you want about me in whatever order, you obviously have a big coprolite you want to give birth to, so be my guest.
Oh, btw, you did claim to sleep with a "mormon" and now you deny it. You again show that you have no ethics or credibility.
You made the errors in judgement, not the folks who you dislike solely because of their religion and their individual behavior. Granted, they made the decisions to behave in the manner that they did, but again, you paint all mormons with your petty brush. "Burn me once shame on you, burn me twice shame on me", you might try thinking about that sometime as you claim to have been burned numerous times.
You might do well to remember who you've attempted to ridicule and the words you speak. I will continue to call you out on your lies and mischaracterizations.
SZ
Yes, I was aware that Kolob is claimed to be a star. Not knowing what name, if any, was assigned to its "planet," I just called it the "planet of Kolob." Next time I'll call it "the planet orbiting Kolob," ok? I know what sticklers you mormons are when it comes to consistency and exactitude.
BTW, the star "Kolob," is not accounted for on the List of Stars With Confirmed Extrasolar Planets.
Maybe that planet should be referred to as "the planet orbiting the Hidden Star of Kolob."
I know, I know -- astronomers just refer to Kolob by a different name. It's really there. Really. Joe Smith said so.
Okay, I'll give you yet another source for the fact that he was called Joe by his friends and intimates.
BTW, this source is from the website of a Mormon apologist [emphasis mine] --
Here ya go!
Yet another reference to him as "Joe Smith," this time in a contemporary New York Sun editorial, that praises and defends him [emphasis mine].
This guy is certainly no detractor --
I guess he didn't get the memo about not calling Smith "Joe."
Yes, she was his half-sister (Gen 20:12) and also his wife, according the Bible --
As for Smith's claim in Pearl of Great Price that God told Abraham to lie to Abimelech, it is found nowhere in the Bible.
In the Biblical account, neither God nor Abraham lied. Abraham let Abimelech make his own assumption and God took care of the rest, appearing before Abimelech in a dream and (again) letting Abimelech make his own assumption.
Both my premise and my conclusion are true.
“BTW, the star “Kolob,” is not accounted for on the List of Stars With Confirmed Extrasolar Planets.”
Who knows? Might be a couple thousand galaxies over. The cosmos are pretty big, after all.
“How quickly you forget what you’ve said in the past. Do you not recall being called a Chickens*** for not answering my posts to you in this thread?”
There’s that coprolite I suggested you just had to give birth to, delivered right on time.
“You obviously have forgotten that I am not mormon, only married to one.”
Like I know you from Adam, or like I keep a history of every nut I encounter on Free Republic. Heck, you don’t know diddly about me either, so it is a bit peevish to be asking me to remember your background.
“You them proceeded to get childish much like you are now. Like this little nugget;”
[Go ahead and make up whatever you want about me in whatever order, you obviously have a big coprolite you want to give birth to, so be my guest.]
Childish? Hardly, just ask a child what a coprolite is and see if they know. Still, I’ll stand by that one, you obviously have a bee up your bonnet and need to “destroy” me somehow by making things up, so have at it.
O”h, btw, you did claim to sleep with a “mormon” and now you deny it.”
I don’t deny it, I slept with one but not the other, so sue me. Probably should have married the divorcee I slept with, but it simply didn’t work out for financial reasons. I was dirt poor then, but not now. It’s called “the Miracle of FastCoyote”, available soon in bookstores.
“You again show that you have no ethics or credibility.”
People here know a hell of a lot more about me than they do you, so my credibility is out there to judge. As far as ethics go, I’ve given ample testimony to corrupt Mormon ethics that makes my iniquities pale in comparison. So don’t go casting stones (unless they are seer stones you found in a well near your van down by the river. I could use a new seer stone.)
“You made the errors in judgement, not the folks who you dislike solely because of their religion and their individual behavior.”
Well, the errors in judgement made by Mormons because of the god-Man structure of their religion stand on their own, whether anyone likes poor fastcoyote or not (which I care not a twit about). At least I try to admit and correct my errors in judgment, instead of calling them prophetic revelations and then having a revelation that I was full of it (polygamy anyone? blacks as the children of Caine anyone?).
“Granted, they made the decisions to behave in the manner that they did, but again, you paint all mormons with your petty brush.”
Well, normal people reading this thread from beginning to end will find plenty to be concerned about a Romney presidency. My “petty brush” has been filled out by quite a few people (ex-Mormons and those more versed in scripture), to the point where I consider my insights to be backed up and overshadowed by others.
“Burn me once shame on you, burn me twice shame on me”, you might try thinking about that sometime as you claim to have been burned numerous times.
I have. That’s why I no longer do business with Mormons. Works out great: no more nepotism of Mormon cronies, no more using company funds to proselytize, no more strange superstions, no more holier than thou attitudes.
“You might do well to remember who you’ve attempted to ridicule and the words you speak. I will continue to call you out on your lies and mischaracterizations.”
Actually, I’m trying to forget as many stupid posters as I can, because they are in conflict with my self image as Prophet and God of Earth. Sort of the way Joseph Smith adherents reject all the negative information about him. By the way, have we met before?
“Hey, you know that’s not possible. FC’s Urim and Thummim won’t work that way. I hope FC hasn’t been using them for such ill gotten gains.”
Actually my boss, the ex-Mormon, has won $100,000 (net $70,000) this year, so you can’t be too sure.
Thanks for the insight into your faith. Personally, if you checked my posts, I am against Mitt Romney in the primary because of his johnny come lately conversion to conservative principles, not his LDS faith. I do find it black helicopter politics,example,”the mormon plan for america” that Romney is hiding in caves with other mormons trying to take over the world. However, if he uggh, gets the nomination, I am going to work tirelessly for him to defeat Billary. Hopefully you can respect why I am not voting for Romney. His supreme court nominees will be decent and he will bound at least by his rhetoric to conservative principles. However, Hunter for president.
Anyway, it's been fun, but life is too short. I'll leave those who belittle my faith with this... Cheers.
Acts 5: 38-39
38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:
39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.
Later all.... Go Jazz!!!
What ever made you think you have to answer all every day is a new day!
Sorry for bringing this up but when the bank that Joseph Smith envisioned failed, it was at the same time that banks all over the U.S. failed. It was a national disaster. People are people.
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