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

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


TOPICS: Your Opinion/Questions
KEYWORDS: boggsforgovernor; cuespookymusic; election; lds; mormon; mormons; romney; whitesalamanderblues
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To: Colofornian
Re: Other LDS office-holders and their track record vs. a potential LDS president, I've already explained that in detail on this thread. You'll have to go to posts #251, #280, and #290, where I do make distinctions between the two.

Yes and I followed with the Mike Leavitt and others. Did you get your SS check yet?

381 posted on 05/04/2007 11:09:30 PM PDT by sevenbak (A LIE travels around the world while the TRUTH is still putting on its boots -Winston Churchill)
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To: sevenbak
Ah, but he saw Jesus didn't he? Standing right there on the right hand of God, the two of them looking down at Stephen. Perhaps this is not the best reference for you to use ina settign like this, unless you want to discuss the trinity belief vs. the LDS belief of a separate Father and Son.

You and other LDS are the ones hung up on the Body issue, despite Jesus' clear teaching that "God is spirit" (John 4:24). The fact that Stephen could see both Father and Son together has never been an issue to the historic Christian church. It's only an issue to folks whose founder is famous for his "strange God anyhow" statement as he probably tried to imagine the Father's head stuck onto Jesus' neck with each operating a limb...etc.

Since the Father has no physical body, yet can manifest Himself, there's no issue at all of two manifestations, who are still one. I am one with my wife. We're still two manifestations. So what?

382 posted on 05/04/2007 11:10:39 PM PDT by Colofornian
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To: sevenbak
Yes and I followed with the Mike Leavitt and others. Did you get your SS check yet?

What???

383 posted on 05/04/2007 11:12:26 PM PDT by Colofornian
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To: Saundra Duffy

If recognizing a lie is bigotry count me in.


384 posted on 05/04/2007 11:17:39 PM PDT by Manic_Episode (Some mornings, it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps...)
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To: Colofornian
Sure he’s a spirit, but he’s also a glorified resurrected being.

Luke 24:39
Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.I am one with my wife. We're still two manifestations. So what?

Finally something we can agree on, (in addition to the apostacy thing) he said the same thing in his prayer to the father for His apostles:

John 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us:

385 posted on 05/04/2007 11:18:53 PM PDT by sevenbak (A LIE travels around the world while the TRUTH is still putting on its boots -Winston Churchill)
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To: sevenbak
D&C 123:2 For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it—

Okay, again, we can agree just based upon the parable of the wheat and the tares along w/Matt 25:1-10 that there's going to be folks in perhaps most churches who think they are heaven-bound, and there's a surprise waiting them. So the first part of that D&C statement I don't have heartburn with...but then to go on and claim that "they lie in wait to deceive" is simply one of Joseph's "clear the deck" phrases...throw enough mud at every church member of 1830 America and the rest of the world, and you're bound to hit some folks...but sorely miss most.

Listen, why didn't you just go to that BoM passage where Joe says there's only two churches...Christ's church and then the devil's church.

Tell you what. Why don't you have the "Elect Mitt Committee" do a TV ad where he cites this verse. He could say: "I believe in the Book of Mormon. For example...[cits verse]. My church is the Church of Jesus Christ. If you don't belong to it, guess who you belong to?"

386 posted on 05/04/2007 11:19:59 PM PDT by Colofornian
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To: sevenbak
he’s also a glorified resurrected being.

Listen, the resurrection of JC is the heart of the gospel (see 1 Cor. 15). If the Father was also resurrected, it, too would be the heart of the gospel.

D&C constantly refers to the BoM being "the fullness of the everlasting gospel."

So we know all about the father's resurrection in the BoM, right, since it's the full gospel, and since it's the heart of the gospel? Right? Wrong! Not a word in the Book of Mormon.

387 posted on 05/04/2007 11:22:15 PM PDT by Colofornian
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To: Sherman Logan
However, please be aware that there is much more to the story of the early Mormons. It is interesting that of the hundreds of bizarre cults running around America at the time, only the Mormons provoked massive popular resistance.

Well, there were reasons for all of that but that was then and this is now.

Mountain Meadows Massacre

388 posted on 05/04/2007 11:22:23 PM PDT by Polybius
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To: Colofornian
Yes and I followed with the Mike Leavitt and others. Did you get your SS check yet? What???

Different poster:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1828301/posts?page=345#345

389 posted on 05/04/2007 11:22:46 PM PDT by sevenbak (A LIE travels around the world while the TRUTH is still putting on its boots -Winston Churchill)
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To: sevenbak

I’ll check in tomorrow...talk w/you later


390 posted on 05/04/2007 11:24:55 PM PDT by Colofornian
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To: Colofornian
So do you really believe that all Churches that preach Christ all do it out of the love of Christ and that no one (besides us evil Mormons of course) does it to deceive men for money or other reasons?
391 posted on 05/04/2007 11:27:53 PM PDT by sevenbak (A LIE travels around the world while the TRUTH is still putting on its boots -Winston Churchill)
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To: Colofornian
Tell you what. Why don't you have the "Elect Mitt Committee" do a TV ad where he cites this verse. He could say: "I believe in the Book of Mormon. For example...[cits verse]. My church is the Church of Jesus Christ. If you don't belong to it, guess who you belong to?"

That's the last thing he would do, but you seem to think it's the first thing he would do.

392 posted on 05/04/2007 11:29:14 PM PDT by sevenbak (A LIE travels around the world while the TRUTH is still putting on its boots -Winston Churchill)
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To: Colofornian
Listen, the resurrection of JC is the heart of the gospel (see 1 Cor. 15). If the Father was also resurrected, it, too would be the heart of the gospel.

Wait, please explain something to me. I really want to know, and I'm tired of fighting, it does neither of us any good, and certainly doesn't' invite a spirit of learning and understanding.

Please explain this for me. If your belief is that the Father and the Son are one (not in unity but form and being), then why wouldn't the Father have that same Body that Jesus was resurrected with? He didn't discard it after ascending to heaven. The angels attending His ascension said "this same Jesus would come in like manner"

393 posted on 05/04/2007 11:33:54 PM PDT by sevenbak (A LIE travels around the world while the TRUTH is still putting on its boots -Winston Churchill)
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To: PAR35

Exactly. I wouldn’t vote for a candidate just because he’s Catholic or this or that.

I’ve learned quite a bit on this forum and the more I read about Mitt from his supporters is enough to make me question a vote I’d possibly cast for him. One poster gave me an in-depth opinion, not based on him being a Mormon, but on his record and his lifestyle and on the issues that matter to me. I’ll go with that and everything else I can find on him and not on what people of his faith call anyone who questions the faith, bigots.

I’d never vote for someone just because he was a member of a certain religious affiliation - heck, that would mean I would have voted for John Kerry because he claimed to be a Catholic and that didn’t happen.


394 posted on 05/04/2007 11:44:48 PM PDT by Twink
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To: Saundra Duffy

Oh good! I want to see how many people get the joke...:) It’s not much fun if I have to explain it every time.


395 posted on 05/05/2007 12:06:45 AM PDT by GOP_Raider (FReepmail me to join the FR Idaho Ping List.)
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To: sittnick

I wish he were more Mormon as well.

I am LDS, and he just seems too watered down at times.


396 posted on 05/05/2007 12:18:51 AM PDT by Choose Ye This Day (Don't let the Gang of Three (Pelosi, Reid, Hillary) fight the War on Terror.)
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To: Saundra Duffy
"My Ward is the best Ward in the whole wide world. We are small and poor but we are rich in the Spirit and in love. You seem to make fun of our testimonies. I have a testimony of the truthfulness of my Church and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Missionaries came over today and helped my husband paint the garage. Those fine young men deserve our respect. I don’t like it when people put them down. I am grateful for their service, love and sacrifice."

I would be the last to say there are no positive elements to the Mormon way of life. But I have also "witnessed" many corrosive effects (and why should Mormon "witnesses" be any more important than "gentile witnesses" including myself and others who have noted the same things? Unless of course you believe Mormons are SUPERIOR to other Christians?????????????).

Generically, what I have witnessed multiple times in business and political situations is that Mormons are clannish and nepotistic within the Church, believing they have a greater right to money and power than others (getting their planet early). One example is Harry Reid. Another was a Temple Mormon I was involved with in a deal worth thirty million, who I am now about to report to the IRS for tax evasion. Another tried to trump up fraud charges against a CPA I know to hide embezzlement within a company. My boss is a Jack Mormon atheist who left the church because of inconsistencies. Then there is Joseph Smith himself and his Kirtland bank. I have more examples, but you get the idea - I have no trust of Mormons in positions of power.

These types of problems haven't been noted only by me, but also by a number of people on this very thread who lived in predominantly Mormon communities. They stem not from the everyday Mormon concepts of clean living, but from doctrinal problems deep within the theology that separates Mormons distinctly from Christian Churches. If you were able to excise the Joseph Smith prophecies from your church, becoming only a Christian Denomination, you would have a body with commendable attributes and I would applaud you. But I suspect that will not happen.

Here is where you will call me a bigot for not putting Mormons on an equal footing with everyone else. But that is sad logic indeed because your Religion is founded at its core on the idea that every other Christian and Jew is an apostate going to hell ( see here: http://www.mrm.org/topics/rebuttals-rejoinders/response-latter-day-saints-who-say-we-never-criticize-christian-churches ) In other words, your religion is verrrry bigoted against Gentiles.

So, I am very sorry that your religion is founded on demonstrably false chicanery by Joseph Smith, but the documentation is quite irrefutable. As phony as a $3 dollar bill signed by Joseph Smith, one might say.

I am also sorry that many Christians and Jews, myself included, will not vote for Mitt Romney because we view these doctrinal problems as rising well beyond the level of petty squabbling to the point where our worldviews are disjoint. But that is the reality of the situation and it would not be truthful to deny what is as clear as day. I will never vote for someone who believes they are on the path to becoming God, and this is just a stepping stone.

397 posted on 05/05/2007 5:14:59 AM PDT by FastCoyote
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To: TAdams8591

[”As a Roman Catholic, I find it appalling that some people would not vote for Romney simply because he’s Mormon”

Me too. I so agree with you.]

What about if he were a Muslim, or a Satanist, or a Santerian, or a pacifist Bhuddist, or a nihilist atheist, or a Wiccan, or a Scientologist, or believed himself God incarnate? Is there any point at all where you would consider religion a disqualifier? Or are your moral convictions the consistency of the Pillsbury Doughboy?


398 posted on 05/05/2007 5:21:03 AM PDT by FastCoyote
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To: Saundra Duffy

I hope you read the complete thead and realize that your statement of preachers railing against Mormonism isn’t true. I don’t doubt that it has happened. BUt I suspect it happens very rarely. Maybe it happens more often in places like Utah.

I’m not the only one who thinks you are lying.

Only once can I recall hearing a preacher speak ill of another faith. He mocked the Baptists for believing ‘once saved, always saved.’

You suffer from an extreme case of victimhooditis. You come across to me as someone who has her faith in her church strengthed by percieved persecution. Thats just sad.

I doubt most members in my church even know any mormons or know anything about their faith. I’ve said it before, I don’t even know of any LDS church in the area where I live.

I knew almost nothing of Mormonism until I joined FR. I have read up on it and have found it very interesting and similar in some ways to the church I was born into. Those people too believe that whenever they are mistreated or someone says something about them that is unkind, it must mean that they are on the right course.


399 posted on 05/05/2007 5:48:54 AM PDT by JRochelle (Al Sharpton: Its hard out here for a race pimp.)
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To: Saundra Duffy
I think you're overstating your grievances. Certainly, Romney has no intention of playing a victim card or emphasizing (or hiding) his Mormonism.

You overestimate Dobson's influence. Robertson is done and needs to be wheeled off the stage.

Richard Land, probably the single most influential Southern Baptist on political matters, has said a number of positive things about Romney and indicated he could vote for Romney and that Mormonism doesn't break any deal.

I don't think the debate serves the interest of electing Romney well. I'd also note that there is quite a lot about Mormon history and some of its leaders that you choose to ignore.

In general, Mormons would be doing Romney a big favor by not making his candidacy about Mormonism. If you succeed in making him "the Mormon candidate", he'll lose. But he can win if he is "a candidate who happens to be Mormon".

Beyond all that, given that Mormons are only 1.6% of the population but represent about 5% in Congress, the idea that there is some unassailable anti-Mormon bigotry is kind of silly.

If Mitt doesn't make it about Mormonism, then it's not about Mormonism. Maybe you should consider whether you're helping him or hurting him. There is, you know, a number of anecdotes in science about how a given scientist stated that he would greatly prefer to have his theory attacked by his most vocal scientific opponent than defended by his greatest amateur fan.

You're really not doing Mitt any favors here.
400 posted on 05/05/2007 5:52:52 AM PDT by George W. Bush (Election Math For Dummies: GOP รท Rudi = Hillary)
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