Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Letter claims LDS conspiracy
The Salt Lake Tribune ^ | 01/01/2008 | By Thomas Burr

Posted on 01/02/2008 2:48:01 PM PST by restornu

With primaries near, mailer says Romney part of a Mormon plot to oust the Constitution

CLINTON, Iowa - Another anti-Mormon mailer, this one alleging Mitt Romney is part of an LDS Church conspiracy to topple the government, has hit voters' mailboxes in Florida, continuing a string of attacks on the presidential candidate's faith just days before the first primary contest.

The rambling letter, from an organization calling itself the Freedom Defense Advocates, alleges Romney is running for president at the bidding of church leaders and that Mormons are a violent people who want to overthrow the U.S. Constitution.

"Help me sound the alarm that one day the Mormon Church plans to replace the Constitution with a Mormon theocracy," reads the letter, signed by John Boyd.

"Mitt Romney's political success indicates this may be sooner than most have thought. Do you really want a president who believes he will someday become a god? Is that who you want occupying the most powerful position in the world . . . the United States presidency?"

It was unclear Monday how many voters received the mailer, though the group said it was "widespread." The Romney camp said it had only heard of one recipient.

Boyd says he runs a political action committee, though no group by that name has registered with the Federal Elections Commission or the Internal Revenue Service.

The letter - which is also posted on the group's Web site and makes a plea for donations - is one of a string of attacks on Romney's Mormon faith in the past few months in the states with the earliest presidential primary balloting.

South Carolina voters received a Christmas card raising the specter of plural marriage, and phone calls critical of the Mormon faith were reported in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Romney traveling press secretary Eric Fehrnstrom said the letter was a ''contemptible piece of literature and whoever is behind it ought to be ashamed of themselves.''

But Fehrnstrom said the campaign is not going to ask for an investigation and is focused on winning the early Iowa caucus and other primaries and not on the dirty politics going on under the radar.

"Is it a concern? Sure. Whenever people engage in this type of gutterball politics, that is a concern," Fehrnstrom said. "But the vast majority of people that we meet, either in South Carolina or other parts of the country, they don't look so much to what church Mitt Romney belongs to, but they look at the values that he shares with them. Mitt Romney's values are as American as you can find."

Boyd, from Lynchburg, Va., declined to say who belongs to his group or how many mailers went out and to where, but he said it is ''widespread all over the U.S.'' and in the thousands.

He said he shipped out the letters "because Romney is a member of the Mormon cult" and people need to know his plans so he can be stopped. He accuses the campaign of a direct connection to the LDS Church, but offered no direct evidence.

"We just want to alert the voters in these early states, in these key states, the truth of what the church is," Boyd said. Asked what he thought of the Romney campaign's response, he said, "It's not despicable. [But] if telling the truth is despicable, I guess we're guilty."

The St. Petersburg Times first reported on the letter on Monday and noted that the group's Web site was registered Dec. 6 - the day that Romney gave a much heralded speech in College Station, Texas, on the role his faith would play if he were elected.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: lds; romney
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061 next last
To: Old Student

I agree , I could care less about his religion .

I do think that Romney and his supporters are making an issue of his religion more than anybody else .


41 posted on 01/02/2008 3:38:03 PM PST by Neu Pragmatist (Fred Thompson : Truly Conservative and Truly pro-gun ... unlike some others we know ..)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]

To: greyfoxx39

You nailed it .


42 posted on 01/02/2008 3:38:27 PM PST by Neu Pragmatist (Fred Thompson : Truly Conservative and Truly pro-gun ... unlike some others we know ..)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 40 | View Replies]

To: restornu; greyfoxx39; MHGinTN; Elsie; Zakeet

43 posted on 01/02/2008 3:41:31 PM PST by SkyPilot
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: restornu
Below is the source's webpage:

Freedom Defense Advocates

They list a Mail drop in Lynchburg, VA. The page offers a printable version of the letter so it is possible some other group mailed the letter to Iowa.

44 posted on 01/02/2008 3:42:02 PM PST by Anti-Bubba182
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: greyfoxx39; Vaquero

Leave Mitty Alone! He's a Human!

45 posted on 01/02/2008 3:47:17 PM PST by SkyPilot
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 40 | View Replies]

To: restornu

“The rambling letter, from an organization calling itself the Freedom Defense Advocates, alleges Romney is running for president at the bidding of church leaders and that Mormons are a violent people who want to overthrow the U.S. Constitution.”

Even I, “he who deserves a special place in hell”, don’t believe the above. However, if you think that is a stiff rap, wait till the DailKos and moveon.org moonbats magnify the peepstone and secret handshake and Whitehorse Prophecy stuff a thousand times into a real conspiracy.

But I guess an eight year religious war is what some people are praying for. And truthfully, even if Mitt isn’t on that path, there will be the Warren Jeff fringe who will be.


46 posted on 01/02/2008 3:52:28 PM PST by FastCoyote (I am intolerant of the intolerable.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: AuntB
But Fehrnstrom said the campaign is not going to ask for an investigation

Hmmmm.

47 posted on 01/02/2008 3:53:09 PM PST by Graybeard58 ( Remember and pray for SSgt. Matt Maupin - MIA/POW- Iraq since 04/09/04)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Neu Pragmatist
“I do think that Romney and his supporters are making an issue of his religion more than anybody else .”

I disagree. I’ve seen quite a bit of anti-Mormon sentiment around, inclusive of FR. Perhaps I’m just noticing it more because I am Mormon. If I were Baptist, I might feel the same way about attacks on Huckabee. It’s kind of hard to tell.

48 posted on 01/02/2008 3:53:30 PM PST by Old Student (We have a name for the people who think indiscriminate killing is fine. They're called "The Bad Guys)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: CholeraJoe
Why would anyone want plural marriage? 4 wives, 4 weeks of PMS per month. Do the math, people.

I think they eventually syncronize, so it would be only one week.

A truly HORRIBLE one.

49 posted on 01/02/2008 3:57:09 PM PST by Gorzaloon
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: Neu Pragmatist; Old Student; sevenbak; Reaganesque; Rameumptom

Unless you are a retread you only been here since March 07 so you are lacking the history here the very mention of Mormon or LDS on FR would caused all the sharks to circle around.

So attacking the LDS has nothing to do the sarcasm towards Mitt playing victim as some here like to spin it.

Its just that he is a magnet to those bigots out there as well as in here who might even be some of them here who also out there.

A few have in the past brag about going door to door of the LDS home and leaving anti LDS message, other have bragged at going to places where a pageant was going on being part of the antagonist groups.


50 posted on 01/02/2008 4:06:22 PM PST by restornu (Teach them correct principles and let them govern themselves ~ Joseph Smith)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: restornu
"I beseech you today to enlist in this effort to shine the light of truth on the darkness of Mormonism.

Yours for the Truth,

John Boyd, Ph. D.

P.S. Time is of the essence. I must hear from you today. With every passing day, the Mormon propaganda machine deceives more and more Americans into falling for their fraudulent “gospel.”

And with your gift of $25 or more, I will send you my DVD entitled, “Will the Latter Days Saints Church Take Over the American Government?” For a $50 or more gift, you will receive that DVD in addition to “Is the Temple the Way to Ecstasy or Doom?” They’re part of my DVD encyclopedia of Mormonism, so please, return your reply form and gift today. Freedom Defense Advocates A political action committee -- gifts are not tax deductible National Processing Center, P.O. Box 12101, Lynchburg, VA 24506-2101

A friend/apologist of Reverend Huckabee?

Apparently, there's lots of $$$$$$ in ignorance and hate.

51 posted on 01/02/2008 4:16:49 PM PST by EverOnward
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: restornu

they were just pinged and will be here soon..


52 posted on 01/02/2008 4:17:57 PM PST by BlueMoose
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: EverOnward

Apparently, there’s lots of $$$$$$ in ignorance and hate.

**********************************************************
these hate groups are driven by money. I have gone to web site linked here and was amazed at the cost of having one of the hate mongers speak. John Boyd may now be getting his bank account full from his followers.


53 posted on 01/02/2008 4:23:28 PM PST by BlueMoose
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: restornu

This is just disgusting. I’m LDS and I’m appalled at these accusations. In my whole life in the church, never have I EVER heard of such a thing ever being taught!!! We’ve always been taught to love our country, be good citizens, and honor the Constitution. This garbage makes me sick.

You know, the funny thing is that the more this kind of crap goes on, the less I want to be involved in the political process.


54 posted on 01/02/2008 4:23:59 PM PST by VegasBaby (*sigh* Are the primaries over yet???)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: restornu; tioga
does someone really think people will fall for this?

Some here on FR have posted threads here and beleive it so why not those in the heartland.

Yeah. Just cut-n-paste it to the religion forum and see what kind of replies you get.

It's on the internet. It must be true!

55 posted on 01/02/2008 4:24:33 PM PST by uglybiker (I do not suffer from mental illness. In fact, I'm enjoying every minute of it.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: restornu

Heh went to their web site and some of it is copy-paste almost word for word from some of the posters here at FR. Either they have the same source or they are the same people.


56 posted on 01/02/2008 4:41:07 PM PST by Domandred (Eagles soar, but unfortunately weasels never get sucked into jet engines)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: VegasBaby
You know, the funny thing is that the more this kind of crap goes on, the less I want to be involved in the political process.

Vegas, hang in there. America needs more informed Patriots voting, not less.

I think this letter is written by an opportunist who is laughing all the way to the bank as people who want to believe anti-Mormon myths keep sending him money to regurgitate his collection of anti-Mormon stuff he found using Google. I think it's likely he has no interest in religion or politics - just money.

Fortunately, the more ridiculous conspiracies people try to spread, the more people realize how absurd the claims are.

57 posted on 01/02/2008 10:38:23 PM PST by esarlls3
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 54 | View Replies]

To: AuntB

Mormons consider the rest of us to be heathens so why does it surprise people that there is a back lash


58 posted on 01/02/2008 10:45:26 PM PST by cherry
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: SkyPilot
My mother had a first cousin named Mitty.....

well his name was really Amerigo(pronounced Amer-e-go...not like you and I learned about that Vespucci guy). Lord knows how they got Mitty outta that one.....

anyway I don't care what religion Romney is.....that is not my concern as long as its not Muslim. My problem with Mitt is that he is NOT A CONSERVATIVE. Period.

The Kirk/Spock picture was from Star Trek IV where Kirk was trying to explain some of Spock’s quirks during a time travel sequence to the 1980’s and he made the faux pas of saying

he was part of the free speech movement at Berkley back in the 60’s

then whispered...

....took a little too much LDS

59 posted on 01/03/2008 3:25:18 AM PST by Vaquero (" an armed society is a polite society" Heinlein "MOLON LABE!" Leonidas of Sparta)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 45 | View Replies]

To: Gorzaloon

I don’t know how long it takes to synchronize, though. At one point in my life, I lived with wife, daughter and sister-in-law and they didn’t synchronize in 6 months. Seemed like someone was always crabby.


60 posted on 01/03/2008 5:14:32 AM PST by CholeraJoe ("At last my arm is complete!" Sweeney Todd)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson