Romney: Attacks On Mormon Religion Troubling

CBS 4 MIAMI ^ | 23 JUNE 2007 | AP

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

(AP) SALT LAKE CITY -- Mitt Romney said Saturday that criticism of his Mormon religion by rival GOP presidential campaigns is happening too frequently.

“Clearly, any derogatory comments about anyone’s faith—those comments are troubling. The fact they keep on coming up is even more troubling,” Romney said during a fundraising trip in the home state of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Mormon church is one of the fastest-growing religions and claims about 12.5 million members worldwide. But many evangelical Christians in crucial primary states such as Iowa and South Carolina consider the faith a cult.

Romney’s remarks follow an apology from GOP rival John McCain’s campaign for comments about the Mormon church allegedly made this year by a volunteer.

Also recently, Republican presidential hopeful, Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, issued a similar apology for a campaign worker’s e-mail to Iowa Republican leaders that was an apparent attempt to draw unfavorable scrutiny of Romney’s religion. Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani apologized after the New York Sun noted that a campaign aide had forwarded to a blogger a story about unofficial Mormon lore. Legend has it that a Mormon would save the Constitution, the story said. The campaign aide passed the story along with a note: “Thought you’d find this interesting.”

Romney said in a large presidential race there always will be some volunteers or workers who cannot be controlled. But he said the difference between derogatory comments that originated from the McCain campaign and others is that the Arizona senator has not personally apologized to him.

“In the case of Senator Brownback and Mayor Giuliani ... they called immediately. They each spoke with me personally. I don’t have any issue with that at all,” Romney said.

He said McCain “can do whatever he feels is the right thing. There’s no need for me to suggest how people respond to things that go on in the campaign.”

Tucker Bounds, a McCain campaign spokesman, said the McCain campaign has already apologized.

“It’s a very sincere apology. There is absolutely no place for those type of comments in our campaign,” he said.

Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, said he had not spoken with McCain since the last presidential debate, on June 5.

Romney used a fundraiser hosted by Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller to criticize the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. It banned unregulated, unlimited contributions from corporations, unions and wealthy individuals to national political parties and federal candidates.

“The bill ought to be repealed,” he said. “It’s been the wrong course for American campaigns.”

Romney said he favors unlimited donations as long as they are immediately disclosed on the Internet.

Romney was attending fundraisers in Salt Lake City and in Logan on Saturday.

[MHGinTN]

Your perspective is skewed to suit your presuppositions. The effect will be at the ballot level, in tallying of conservative voters who opt to just avoid voting if a cult follower is the Pubby nominee. Wishful thinking may be cumfy, but it is not useful in planning how to defeat the DNC leftivization of America.

[tantiboh]

~”God, according to Mormonism, is an extraterrestrial humanoid from a planet near the star “Kolob.””~

We believe that God has a physical body like ours, albeit perfected and glorified. It follows, then that He must physically be somewhere.

~”This humanoid had sex (physically) with Mary to produce Christ.”~

This is a blatant lie about LDS beliefs. We do NOT believe this. Jesus was conceived via the power of the Holy Ghost.

~”Christ, also, like his father, with Lucifer his alleged brother, are allegedly from the same planet.”~

We know that we existed prior to this life. We lived with God. Was it on the “same planet?” Who knows. But Christ was our spiritual brother. So was Lucifer. The difference is that Lucifer rebelled and was, as a result, cast out with his followers.

These lies and misrepresentations are beginning to wear thin on me... How many times on FR have I addressed these same issues? Must be 8 or 10.

[tantiboh]

~”Sure, if that includes baptizing the dead in secret ceremonies...”~

We don’t baptize the dead. We baptize people vicariously for those who are dead. Good grief.

~”...and each man being a god of his own planet.”~

Why should I settle for just one?

[tantiboh]

~”I have lived among Mormon majorities at various times in my life and would have to observe that while life there may be a bit dull for some tastes (few bars, night clubs and whorehouses)...”~

LOL

You can find a lot on the Internet these days.

[tantiboh]

“Would you consider Mr. Anton LaVey’s religion an issue if he were running for president?”

If he were a liberal (which I can only assume a Satan-worshiper to be), then no.

Find me a conservative Satanist, then we’ll talk.

[sasportas]

You and several other fellow Mormons have taken me to task about my Mormon-Mohammedan comparison. You Mormons are just playing coy, you know what I meant, but for those who may not:

The prophet Mohammed came along centuries after the fact - the “fact” meaning the completion of the Bible, Old and New Testaments - and caused the Hadith and Koran to be written. Writings superimposed upon the Bible, writings which in effect subverted the supreme authority of the Bible. Mohammed claimed the Bible is full of errors and he, as prophet of God, has the divine right to correct it. He has preeminence over the Bible.

An angel is alleged to be the source of Mohammed’s inspiration. Mohammed is raised to the position of “the prophet” of Islam by reason of being singled out for this visit from the angel and given his alleged “revelation.”

Now, lets use the same words above except for substituting a bit here and there.

The prophet Joseph Smith came along centuries after the fact - the “fact” meaning the completion of the Bible, Old and New Testaments - and caused the the book of Mormon, Doctrines and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, etc., to be written. Writings superimposed upon the Bible, writings which in effect subverted the supreme authority of the Bible. Joseph Smith claimed the Bible is full of errors and he, as prophet of God, has the divine right to correct it. He has preeminence over the Bible.

An angel (Moroni) is alleged to be the source of Joseph Smith’s inspiration. Joseph Smith is raised to the position of “the prophet” of Mormonism by reason of being singled out for this visit from the angel and given his alleged “revelation.”

I think you should be able to catch my drift.

These are the points Mormonism has in common with Islam that I meant, not the things you describe. My comparison has to do with written authority. The written authority of the Bible vs the authority of Mormon literature (book of Mormon, etc.), and Mohammedan literature.

[tantiboh]

~"http://www.saintsalive.com/mormonism.html"~

Not tryig to start a fight, bt you need to read a little about just what the LDS thinks and teaches"~

Try using authoritative sources, rather than repositories for specious anti-Mormon screed. That way, you're less likely to start a fight.

[sasportas]

These lies and misrepresentations are beginning to wear thin on me.

Point number one: this thread has many postings on these matters, quotes from the Pearl of Great Price, your written authority, and Mormon leaders. Hence, if anybody is lying it is you.

Point number two: if you aim to be a Mormon apologist, defending the false prophet Joseph Smith, you best not be so thin skinned. His lies are so blatant though, no amount of armor will help.

[RaceBannon]

Using quotes from Mormon documents is innacurate?

now, that’s rich.

[RaceBannon]

if you are so full of love, why are you instigating further animosity?

Guess you’re not as loving as you thought, eh?

[RaceBannon]

So the expressed purpose, and the only one written in the Charter, was to establish colonies in the new World as a Christian evangelical witness to the native peoples.

So, how did it work out? Didn’t Joseph Smith say it woud be successful?

Show me just how successful it has been.

Cus it aint.

[RaceBannon]

I forgot someting.

remind me how Jamestown worked out as far as evangelization of the Indians

Then tell me how Plymouth did

You guys just dont get it, Smith was wrong on all counts, we NEVER caused the Indians to all convert, only onezees and twozeees

[cherry]

I suppose that its okay for the “Saints” to deride everyone else.....afterall, they are the saints.....

[MHGinTN]

Clear parallels, which lead some to suspect demonic involvement in the advent of these 'alternate' revelations first with Islam and the Koran, then Mormonism and the texts they hold sacred. Why else would Joe Smith try to rewrite the entire Bible so as to include false prophecies of himself, as if these were left out when the Old Testament was written for humankind or lost when the Torah was presented to humankind?

At fourteen and fifteen, Joe Smith was no more than a conman dupe being used to 'divine' the location of treasure on dupe-able farmers' lands in New York state. By the time he 'translates' the book of Mormon, he is a brilliant prevaricator given to bold assertions he claims are from God via Angels and he is able to lead away unsuspecting females whom he 'marries' (but of course, Mormonism Apologists would have us believe there was no sex with these duped females, some of whom were already married to other men and in some cases other Mormons, some of whom left their marriages and went west with smithism's entourage).

When he joins the Masonic Lodge, he 'discovers' temple rituals lost to humankind that he 'restores to temple worship'.

When he begins taking Hebrew language lessons, he 'discovers' thousands of words not written in the Hebrew text of the Torah and even goes so far as to divide Hebrew words in order to change the meaning of sentences--see the rewrite of Genesis in the Joseph Smith translation of the Bible.

And of course we have the absurdity of Smith claiming that God sent via seer stones translation of 'reformed Egyptian' in obscure, contrary meaning King James English with the book of Mormon 'translations'.

It is sad that so many good people are so thoroughly taken in by this conman, even to this day.

[FastCoyote]

[Mitt Romney said Saturday that criticism of his Mormon religion by rival GOP presidential campaigns is happening too frequently.

“Clearly, any derogatory comments about anyone’s faith—those comments are troubling. The fact they keep on coming up is even more troubling,” Romney said during a fundraising trip in the home state of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ]

Of course, once Romney pulls Mormonism off the table from criticism, then it is a tacit endorsement of his religion. It also means Scientologists, Muslims, HeavensGaters, Wicca, etc. should also be given a free ride.

Beyond that, Romney has a Mormon fundraising committee run through BYU and directed by one of the 12. Does this mean that Mormon fundraising and the quid pro quo that comes with it should be off limits?

Does it also mean that the Whitehorse Prophecy can never be mentioned by anyone, and a law to that effect will need to be made? Perhaps like Campaign Finance Reform, a candidates religion cannot be even mentioned 1 year before the election.

I just think it’s fascinating that religion can be surgically cut out of the process, so that one candidate can avoid scrutiny of his fringe beliefs. Religious freedom does not mean censorship of the discussion of ones religious beliefs.

[Not just another dumb blonde]

And don’t forget that they believe they will become gods themselves. This Mormon religion is blasphemous to say the least. Sorry to any here that are Mormons, but that’s the way it is. They are NOT a christian faith. They are a cult. They don’t believe that Jesus Christ is our salvation. That alone makes them non-christian. We are saved by Grace not by works. I suppose I will get flamed, but Satan is the leader of this religion. He’s not called the “great deceiver” for nothing.

[FastCoyote]

[Clearly, any derogatory comments about anyone’s faith—those comments are troubling.]

“So if we criticize radical Islam, is that troubling? Romney’s comment is way too sweeping.”

Which goes to what I’ve been predicting for quite a while. Because Mormonism does hold to strange tenets (seer stones, multiple Gods, Celestial polygamy, etc.), Romney has no choice but to be silent about his faith, AND to also censure all discussion of Mormonism.

The end result of the “religion doesn’t matter in politics” mantra we keep hearing is that the subject will have to be censured in a heavy handed way - in the end provoking even greater protests and discussion.

I’ve been called a bigot for bringing up these issues, but my point has always been that you only need 5% of Evangelicals to walk on this issue to destroy Romney as a presidential nominee in the general election.

Dr. Laura Schlesinger always stresses the need for people to be of the same faith in a marriage (or at least be aware of the problems), but when we marry a politician for eight years of a presidency, it seems like we stick our heads in the sand.

[DieHard the Hunter]

> Does freemasonry have anything to do with religion?

So you don’t have problems with Freemasons then. Good: your country was founded by quite a few of them, and they believe in religious tolerance.

So it’s just the Mormons and Wiccans that you disapprove of? And maybe the Jehovah Witnesses, if they ran for office ay. Anyone else?

[sasportas]

Maybe you posted something about this that I missed. What is this about the whitehorse prophecy?

[FastCoyote]

“Harry Reid is a Mormon, yet there are no attacks on him.Why?”

There should be. I believe he is one who “got his planet too soon”, and acts accordingly. But Nevada is heavily Mormon and so such discussion gets squished.