Mormons and Mitt Romney

What surprises me is the media???s lack of investigation and condemnation of the practice of many evangelical religions to spread bigotry about not only Mormons, but individuals of many other faiths. The distinction between helping individuals of one???s faith understand differences between their faith is often necessary in any religion and should result in understanding. I have attended many evangelical services in which other religions have been mentioned, in particular Mormons. The prevailing feeling afterward by individuals attending is not one of concern over the ???lost??? but one of significant contempt. The sophistication with which these messages are shared are not intended to bring about agreeable understanding, but animosity toward another (Which as an aside does not seem to fit normal so called ???Christen??? ideals.) Although not as significant as what occurs in the middle east, the motivation and end result is the same, one of bigotry and lack of mutual respect for another human being. It is interesting that this group that spreads bigotry is so opposed to the bigotry spread by so called terrorist. It is also interesting that these groups tend to have the most success among less educated people. Anyone who has lived in the south would agree that although the people are generally kind, they aren???t the most educated in the US. In fact, the only two major metropolitan areas that Romney won in the south were Nashville and Atlanta, the only two cities that house Ivy League caliber universities (Vandy, Emory and GA Tech). I guess in the final analysis, my question is what is it going to take. Do Mormons need a modern day holocaust before the south is exposed and condemned for its bigotry and it is no longer OK in mainstream America ??? the founder of religious liberty? When is the media going to say, enough is enough. We had slavery in the south and used the bible to justify it ??? now we know it is clearly wrong (it took outside insight to bring this about ??? the south didn???t come to this conclusion on their own (many still fail to see the problem). Who in the media is going to stand up and say, ???although I don???t believe what these Mormons believe, they are human beings and this type of bigotry is wrong ??? just as all other forms of bigotry are wrong. You are free to not agree with them, but as soon as you start using tactics which engender feelings of contempt for another people you have crossed the line.??? Protecting this group is no less the responsibility of conscientious journalist than protecting any other minority group.

What surprises me is the media???s lack of investigation and condemnation of the practice of many evangelical religions to spread bigotry about not only Mormons, but individuals of many other faiths. The distinction between helping individuals of one???s faith understand differences between their faith is often necessary in any religion and should result in understanding. I have attended many evangelical services in which other religions have been mentioned, in particular Mormons. The prevailing feeling afterward by individuals attending is not one of concern over the ???lost??? but one of significant contempt. The sophistication with which these messages are shared are not intended to bring about agreeable understanding, but animosity toward another (Which as an aside does not seem to fit normal so called ???Christen??? ideals.) Although not as significant as what occurs in the middle east, the motivation and end result is the same, one of bigotry and lack of mutual respect for another human being. It is interesting that this group that spreads bigotry is so opposed to the bigotry spread by so called terrorist. It is also interesting that these groups tend to have the most success among less educated people. Anyone who has lived in the south would agree that although the people are generally kind, they aren???t the most educated in the US. In fact, the only two major metropolitan areas that Romney won in the south were Nashville and Atlanta, the only two cities that house Ivy League caliber universities (Vandy, Emory and GA Tech). I guess in the final analysis, my question is what is it going to take. Do Mormons need a modern day holocaust before the south is exposed and condemned for its bigotry and it is no longer OK in mainstream America ??? the founder of religious liberty? When is the media going to say, enough is enough. We had slavery in the south and used the bible to justify it ??? now we know it is clearly wrong (it took outside insight to bring this about ??? the south didn???t come to this conclusion on their own (many still fail to see the problem). Who in the media is going to stand up and say, ???although I don???t believe what these Mormons believe, they are human beings and this type of bigotry is wrong ??? just as all other forms of bigotry are wrong. You are free to not agree with them, but as soon as you start using tactics which engender feelings of contempt for another people you have crossed the line.??? Protecting this group is no less the responsibility of conscientious journalist than protecting any other minority group.

In America, freedom of religion prevails; it should never have become a point of distraction in this man's race for president. The serious aspect of Romney's actions was his right to pour his personal fiances into this vaudevillian race for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. This is a "system problem" folks, and it must be stopped. We have to maintain our Elector College, but we must make a soft Con change regarding elections in our great nation, or we'll be deluged with more "Ken dolls" running for the highest offices in the USA.

This candidate put more people out of work than any other candidate, and he made millions doing so. We must demand far more from candidates, and work diligently to stop the puppet-masters who rule over such candidates. This is reality time. If you love America, you'll investigate, seek truth, study, and make your own decisions, regardless of the media, and advertising. Just turn off ads! That'll send a loud signal to American corporations who fund these people. We have more to do than waste time and effort on those who dream of the golden parachutes--we need to rescind those, too.

How do you figure he made Mormons uneasy? He received over 90% of the Utah vote with no connection other than religion. No other candidate received such a high percentage in any other state.

I don't think he made to many Mormons uneasy. He got 90% of the Utah vote with no connection other than the religion. No other candidate got near that high of a percentage in any state.

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS, I wasn't uneasy. If the facts of my faith made me uneasy, I feel it wouldn't be my faith.

This is a headline in search of a story. As a devout Mormon, nothing Mitt did made me uneasy in the slightest, including the things mentioned in the article.

Brigham Young (who later went on to have 50 wives) when he first was commanded to practice polygamy passed a funeral on the way home and said he envied the departed. I'm proud of my heritage, but I certainly am not anxious to run out and marry an extra wife or 3.

And the thought that any LDS member would have any problem reading the Gideon's bible is ludicrous.

This article is just another transparent MSM effort to undermine Romney's character. Thanks a lot.

Joseph Smith was visited by BOTH God and Jesus!!? I didn't know that. What did he serve?

Joseph Smith was visited by BOTH God and Jesus?! I didn't know that. What did he serve?

It is somewhat ironic that so many "real" Christians say that Mormonism is a cult. The truth of the matter is that both Mormonism and the more traditional sects of Christianity are equally cults. Just because the traditional sects of Christianity are older doesn't make them any less cult-like, especially since they all worship a man who claimed divine powers. They are no different than followers of David Koresh.

GustoMaybe- I have a serious question for you, why is it your church makes people pay to learn and convert? Why is it when Christ got baptized that there was a voice from Heaven stating Jesus was his son and the Holy Ghost was sent in the form of a dove? With the trinity idea it seems the baptism and events surrounding it were peculair if they're already together.

It is sad in a way that this is even an issue, as a person's faith should be just that - personal and not a major criterion for a (Republican) candidacy. Even worse, though understandable and predictable, Romney's attempts to "mainstream" his faith hurt him both ways - alienating fellow Mormons and failing to convince Evangelicals. Let's face it, if you appear to be flip-flopping your faith, what else could you possibly hold sacred?!? This brings me back to the wisdom of our founding fathers about separating church and state: it is us who have chose to try to circumvent this - to our detriment - by introducing religion and religious convictions as a substitute for (secularly) evaluating the moral and ethical character of those who would lead us. As spiritually-committed as I am, I would still rather have a moral and ethical atheist as President than a failed, disingenous believer. Ultimately, I'm pretty clear that what we are told is rarely what candidates actually believe anyway, but if we continue to demand that they tell us certain stories (and, in some cases, lies) of a religious nature, then we will get what we asked for and not the principled leadership that we desperately need. Seems to me that if we just stuck to what we learned in our (secular) high school civics class, we'd be better off....

There is a misconception throughout the media and therefore the country that the LDS church is strictly concervative and Republican. This is untrue. Many members of this church (like me), cannot identify with the GOP because we believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ, and the planks in the Republican platform do little to support these teachings. I did not vote for Brother Romney for a variety of reasons but mainly because he is a Republican.

Mormonisn is a cult, Noit a religion.

Ms. Atkinson,
Thank you for writing a piece on at least one aspect of the Mormon perspective. You have your sources for your information, and likey some extrapolations or interpretations of interviews or polls that support your writing. Obviously there are those that will disagree (see the other comments for a demonstration of that), and those that may agree. Whether you are sympathetic to the LDS faith or not, it would be nice to see someone in a position such as yours to write a true in-depth examination of hte (perhaps alleged?) bias against the LDS church. In other words, use the unbiased point of view and really examine this issue. It was done at one time by others concerning the issue of women's suffrage, later concerning the issues surrounding 'separate but equal', more recently with gay rights.

Just a thought.

Everybody calm down, all that happened was that Romney should have run as a decent guy and instead he ran as a mormon hit squad. Its a shame.

No, members who read their Sunday school lessons as they are supposed to know that Brigham Young abhored the idea of poligamy and "desired the grave" when he was asked to practice. It is in this light that Romney was speaking and would resinate with Joseph Smith's sentiments as well.

A tenant of the faith is obeying the law of the land, so putting his oath of office above (anything that might interfere with it) is normal.

Romney never dissed his faith. I have been listening carefully since he declared his campaign and I am a Mormon. I can see how many less-studied members would be initially shocked by what he said in some cases, but nope. I knew what he meant and he remained completely loyal while speaking very accurately; he's an articulate and honest man totally devoted to his faith and his country at the same time.