Mormons and Mitt Romney

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.

You found a couple of Mormons who didn't like his comments about polygamy? If the LDS Church was a one-state church with fewer than a million members maybe you could get away with such sweeping generalizations. You'll find Mormons today in every major city of the world. I don't know any that complained about Romney's comments and I'm a Mormon Bishop. I've never met a Mormon that was wistful for polygamy. We understand it as part of our history but also recognize how difficult it must have been. He was being honest about how foreign and hard to comprehend it is even for a Mormon today whose descendents practiced it. Mine did as well, but I can't fathom practicing it. The church discontinued it 100 years ago.

Romney targeting evangelicals was clearly overly optimistic, but understandable for a Republican. Since no Mormon has ever been a serious contender I think the bigotry towards fellow Mormon Republicans was under radar. But the reality is the evangelical movement is determined to demonize Mormons as not Christian and as a cult. Likewise we can't expect much more from Romney's fellow Republicans. Huckabee refused to say Mormons are Christian and hurled a classic anti-Mormon talking point at a New York Times Magazine reporter. McCain sat next to his Mother and laughed with Chris Matthews as she ridiculed Mormons on MSNBC. If candidates were a part of similar anti-Semitic or anti-Catholic jokes they wouldn't get my and many other votes. The media would likewise rightly condemn them.

Ironically, a Mormon stands a better chance to become president as a Democrat. The highest-ranking Democrat, Harry Reid, is a faithful Mormon and his own party selected him.

Sally - your article is way off base... You seem to be painting all LDS members into a box or group. I would go as far as calling the article prejudice. The easiest way for someone who is prejudice to get thier point out is to make it look like members of the same group are in agreement with the author's coments. Mitt spoke so highly of his wife ANN! To me and many others it was clear she and his kids were priority one. His faith two and work (campaign 3). By the by that is how we blasted, hideous MORMONs are taught to live. I sense had you been in Navou, IL some 180 years ago you would have joined the many others who went as far as to tar, feather and killed my ansestors. At very least this article is misinformed and a very LIBERAL attempt to paste a label on Mitt and fellow faith members...

I think people are too judgmental. Every word can be taken so critically that a candidate makes. Romney was a talented, intelligent, hardworking person that lived a respectable life. I feel that he is certainly more intelligent than the other contenders in his party. We could of had his talents to help run our county. We are the losers.

Romney made me uneasy, but not for the reasons listed above. It was his politics that put me off. I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I saw most of the comments made by Romney above as a way of reaching out to faith-based communities that misunderstand Mormonism fundamentally, squinting at doctrinal and practical minutiae to discount the religion and the culture entirely. This article supposes that all Mormons are a homogeneous bunch, who think and act alike at all times and places. How utterly ridiculous. I read the Holman Christian Standard Bible.