The entire Mormon faith and doctrines arise from demonstrably false information. Along with the other fallacies and inconsistencies you have pointed out, the biggest sham was no doubt the account of Lamanites and Nephites being lost tribes of Israel. The Lamanites who were the Native Americans in Smith's account, must therefore be of Semitic origins. However, extensive studies of mytochondrial DNA have proven beyond a doubt that none of the Native American tribes (both North and South American) were Semitic. End of story. This alone should make any person with reasonable intelligence throw out the entire house of tainted cards. But why then do we have intelligent men like Mitt Romney and Glenn Beck, still clinging to this steaming pile of horse pucky called the Book of Mormon? It is the same reason that so many intelligent and well meaning people cling to that even bigger pile of nonsensical excrement called the Koran - You just can't underestimate the power of tradition and group thinking. If you are raised with this stuff and are surrounded by people that think it is true, it is extremely difficult to break free of it, even when confronted with the irrefutable evidence. Breaking free is made even more difficult when you face the threat of death, in the case of Muslims, or complete ostracism, in the case of Mormons.
This is why I have a lot of compassion for people who find themselves in this situation. I will NOT condone their heretical doctrines, but I also will NOT condemn the individual. But what would this have to do with someone's choice for President? Well, I'm sure there are some that would see the inability to break free as a character flaw or weakness- a sign that in some instances, this individual may check their intelligence at the door, for the sake of their comfort and well-being. The flip side of this coin would be the incredible show of strength and character, if someone were to break free and renounce the lies. I have had the privilege of knowing and working with men who did just that in both the case of Islam and Mormonism. They are men I hold in the very highest regard, because I question whether I would have had the same courage in their circumstances.
Oh true-stu, I guess you don’t believe the BOM. What else is new? I don’t believe everything you believe either. Is this so ground breaking that different religions believe different things? Did you just come to that realization? Are we to cease being Americans over some theological doctrine? When I came over from Methodism it was not because Methodism did not have a great history and great people. I found my mindset agreed with the Mormon view of things. These are belief systems not governing systems. The BOM says nothing about estate taxes. I really don’t care what you believe as long as you try to live a good life. Is it really helpful to slam me because I happen to believe the BOM is just what it says it is? This is politics not theology. You should be happy to have our support for conservative causes, our support adds to the accomplishment. I will apologize that Harry Reid is a Mormon. Will that help?