“Now, change one little word in your question as applied to U.S. Presidents (at least some of them) & you might get a different response: “Can you point us to any elements of Christian theology in which these presents attempted to expose on U.S. citizens while in office?” The answer to this question is “yes.” Yes, Teddy Roosevelt “exposed” his Christian faith and beliefs while in office (as has others). “
What is wrong about being exposed to an idea or belief system? What justifies censoring what religions a person is exposed to? What it sounds like here is an attempt to prevent people from finding out about Mormonism from Mormons.
“Example 1: The Book of Mormon was anti-polygamy; but then its original prophet WAS a polygamist”
The BoM indicates there are time where polygamy is allowed by God and time where he forbids it. Our practice has been consistent with that.
“Example 2: LDS said black skin was a “curse” and prevented blacks from the priesthood. Then they changed their mind in 1978.”
There was a time when only Levities could hold the Priesthood and only Israelites could become Christians. That was changed by revelation to Peter. Brigham Young said a day would come when blacks would be allowed by God to hold the priesthood too and the revelation to allow that came in 1978. Several times before then the leaders of the Church sought to know from God if the time had come and were told no. No reason for the ban was never revealed and the speculations of individuals are not doctrine of the church.
“Example 3: LDS were largely anti-slavery in history. But then you get curious pro-slave owner “Scriptural” passages like Doctrine & Covenants 134:12.”
The verse in no way endorses slavery, it only outlines how missionaries in areas where slavery is legal should work within the law. They should not attempt to provoke a rebellion or endanger the life of a slave by going behind the back of the owner. In the NT a Christian, Paul sent a runaway slave Onesimus back to his master, Philemon.
“Example 4: Except for the doctrine of grace and some others, just about all of the major distinctions between LDS & the historic Christian faith doesn’t even come from the Book of Mormon. What that means is that LDS theology itself “evolved””
The purpose of the BoM was to restore the fullness of the gospel. The gospel is faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. The BoM adds significant clarity to what people have argued over in the Bible for ages on those topics.
The gospel is a part of the plan of salvation. Our understanding of the plan of salvation did grow over time as more and more information was revealed and added to what we already had, but the implication that what was already known changed over time is false in spite of several dishonest attempts to make it look so by taking bits of things out of context.
“Example 5: LDS position on abortion. If you read the LDS position on abortion (particularly the one I’ve seen written for LDS bishops), it initially comes across as “pro-life.” But as you read it carefully, you realize that the holes in this cheese”
The church will not take action against a member who gets an abortion because of rape, incest, or if the pregnancy is judged by the appropriate medical authorities as endangering the life of the mother. The church is also very clear that just because those conditions exist doesn’t automatically mean an abortion is justified or acceptable to God. We believe in personal revelation, and a mother-to-be in that situation has a duty to take the matter up with God personally. She will also answer to God personally for what she does.
There is a lot of garbage out there being posted by people whose motives are not related to being truthful and accurate about Mitt or about Mormons.
WOW! Can I poish your shoes sometime? Well Said!
As these positions became untenable in the larger American society, coincidentally the Mormon prophets received revelations that resulted in their being modified or abandoned.
So the reason I reject the Mormon faith is that its God seems to be a careful observer of American public opinion polls, changing His laws in accordance.
Because I reject that faith does not mean I hold any animus against Mormons personally or as political candidates. I would vote for Mitt over a Democrat without a second's hesitation.