A Different God? Mitt Romney, the Religious Right, and the Mormon Question

As can be expected from a book published by Greg Kofford, Craig L. Foster’s A Different God? is well researched and engaging. This book begins by examining the rise of the religious right and the power it exerts on the current political landscape. Foster presents a good deal of information that most Latter-day Saints will not be well acquainted with, such as the difference between evangelical and fundamentalist Christians, the emergence of the charismatic movement, the rise and fall of the Moral Majority, and the subsequent establishment of the Christian Coalition. This background is particularly pertinent to the majority of Mormons in the western United States who align themselves with the Republican Party.

Foster also gives a concise but surprisingly comprehensive summary of the political history of the Latter-day Saints. Because official Church curriculum does not address in detail the period from about 1850 until World War II or even later, most Mormons are rather uneducated regarding their political past, particularly the theocratic era that prevailed until the Edmunds–Tucker Act precipitated several changes, including the Manifesto in 1890 and the disbanding of the People’s Party in 1891. The fact that most Mormons at the time gravitated toward the Democratic Party might surprise some of their modern descendents.

While Foster, an ardent Romney supporter, is admirably objective about the many weaknesses that undermined Mitt Romney’s run for the Republican presidential nomination, his thesis in this book is that these flaws could have been overcome if not for a larger issue that eventually doomed the Romney campaign: the Mormon Question. This book apparently went to press after John McCain had secured his party’s nomination but before he had selected his running mate, but it still has validity far beyond the 2008 presidential primaries. His thorough examination of the strong anti-Mormon sentiment that still seethes in America, especially among the religious right, will be relevant if Romney runs again in 2012 or if any other Latter-day Saint takes aim at the presidency in a future election.

Even though Foster doesn’t quite arrive at this particular destination, the sobering conclusion that his presentation inevitably yields is that if a Mormon is to be elected United States president in the foreseeable future, he or she may have to run as a moderate Republican or, perhaps even more realistically, as a moderate Democrat.

I’m merely standing up against you who have taken an obvious anti-Christian stand. You have made it your personal mission to critique anyone who questions the beliefs of mormonism, even though Christians are directed in the Bible to challenge contrary beliefs. You seem to have the same level of zeal in your beliefs as those who question mormonism.

Anyone who designates themself as the authority on religious debate needs to be watched closely.

You don’t have to hang out around FR very long to realize that for many of the posters, it IS his being Mormon.

Since you imply that you have some unique discernment abilities, the distinction that I'm about to make should be easy for you to grasp.

My point was that many freepers REALLY despise Mormonism and Mormons.

To suggest that those who regularly post on the Mormon threads hate Mormons is a false accusation. We don't hate MormonS, we hate MormonISM. The difference is an institution as opposed to the people. Most of the regular posters in these threads are ex-Mormons and/or have many friends and family who are Mormon. Are you suggesting that they hate their own family and friends? What sense does it make to hate people who are deceived by an evil institution? Hating the victim is irrational.

Your teammate, sand lake bar, should read Proverbs 26:17. I know that he considers this nothing but the words of men but the wisdom is evident:

Whoever enters a quarrel not his own is like one who grabs a passing dog by the ears.

So extreme dislike for an institution doesn’t splash over onto those who aggressively support that organization? I don’t buy it.

That’s like saying you hate Communism, but have nothing but warm fuzzy feelings for individual Communists. At some point, doesn’t a supporter of an organization become responsible for what that organization stands for?

I have no doubt you are more than happy to accept ex-Mormons, or possibly even inactive church members, but active devout members who are trying to trick others into their false religion? You don’t despise them? Really? You have nothing against Joseph Smith or Brigham Young as persons, only against their doctrines?

Christians are called to love “our enemies”. We know that we have been greatly forgiven so we desire for all to know The Truth and be forgiven also. No Christian is excited that non-believers are on a path of destruction. Instead, we try to persuade others of their need for a true faith in Christ out of love.

Christians aren't trying to win debate points and humiliate mormons. Christians in threads like this attempt to point out that mormonism teaches doctrine that is incompatible with Christianity.

So extreme dislike for an institution doesn’t splash over onto those who aggressively support that organization? I don’t buy it.

Fortunately, your opinion doesn't establish truth.

That’s like saying you hate Communism, but have nothing but warm fuzzy feelings for individual Communists.

Not disliking someone is a long ways from "warm fuzzy feelings." I've personally known Eastern Europeans (before the fall of Iron Curtain) who were members of the Communist Party because they had been brainwashed their entire lives and membership was a cultural expectation. Why hate them because they had been deceived? Particularly, since their eyes were beginning to be opened.

At some point, doesn’t a supporter of an organization become responsible for what that organization stands for?

At some point, yes but they would be the small exception rather than the rule. However, even then, I might hate what they do but not them personally. With a few exceptions, I would still view them as victims of deception. As Ephesians 6:12 tells us the battle isn't with flesh and blood (Mormons) but with powers and principalities of darkness (Mormonism).

Active and devout like BYU professors? I count several as personal friends and have since our days in the Ph.D program, years ago. One of my dissertation committee members was surprised to learn that I was an orthodox Christian and told me that the rest of the faculty assumed I was a Mormon because I was clean-cut and hung out with the Mormons. Because of my well-known opposition to Mormonism within this group, the Mormons thought that this story was hilarious.

With the case of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, I hate their actions and personally I believe they acted with evil intentions and were not just deceived. However, I can't say that for sure and God doesn't give us the right to hate them personally. We can hate their actions.

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