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21 May 2012
Mormonism in the News: Getting It Right ‘ May 21
May 21, 2012
Today’s edition of “Getting It Right” includes stories about Mormons’ view of the Trinity, lay leadership, youth Church service and political neutrality. Other stories contain inaccuracies about polygamy and who can enter Latter-day Saint meetinghouses.
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/mormonism-news-getting-it-right-may-21
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If Lamanites were black, why didn’t anyone notice?
May 21, 2012
FAIR Blog
I have elsewhere argued that this skin of blackness was a metaphor for a spiritual state rather than a change in pigmentation.[3] While there are arguments to be made for or against that proposition, the decision as to whether a “skin of blackness” is a description of a physical or spiritual change should be decided upon something stronger than personal preference for one reading or the other. The text is the final arbiter of such questions. What might the text tell us to help us decide?
What would be ideal is to find a place in the text where some Nephite said something like “Oh, I see by your black skin that you are a Lamanite.” That doesn’t happen. What we do get are some situations in which a difference in pigmentation should make a difference in an event. We do have a couple of those, but what we find is that what should make a difference, doesn’t.
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Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith tangles with a quirk of Arkansas history
May 20, 2012
Washington Post
On Sept. 11, 1857, a wagon train from this part of Arkansas met with a gruesome fate in Utah, where most of the travelers were slaughtered by a Mormon militia in an episode known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Hundreds of the victims’ descendants still populate these hills and commemorate the killings, which they have come to call “the first 9/11.”
Many of the locals grew up hearing denunciations of Mormonism from the pulpit on Sundays, and tales of the massacre from older relatives who considered Mormons “evil.”
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A truce between Obama and Romney on faith
May 21, 2012
CNN
Romney’s lifelong membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is seen by some as a major liability, especially among evangelical voters and voters who don’t know much about Mormonism.
After word of the proposed Wright campaign, Democratic pundits argued that if Obama’s old pastor was back on the table, Romney’s Mormonism should be, too, including the church’s checkered history on the issue of race.
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/21/a-truce-between-obama-and-romney-on-faith/
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Romney’s Mormon faith ‘at the center of who he really is’
May 21, 2012
Minneapolis Star-Tribune (Minnesota)
What makes the piece all the more interesting and salient is news earlier this month that Mormons now are among the fastest growing faith groups in the U.S.
“The 2012 Religious Congregations and Membership Study … shows that the mainline Protestants and Catholics who dominated the 20th century are literally losing ground to the rapid rise of Mormons and, increasingly, Muslims,” the Religion News Service reports.
In Minnesota, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the third-fastest growing denomination between 2000 and 2010, with 30,603 followers.
http://www.startribune.com/blogs/152312705.html
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The Book of Anti-Mormon
May 21, 2012
Reason
Go here to read the whole piece, which discusses the current race as well as the last one. And stay tuned to Reason for more on the subject: I have an article coming up in the August/September issue arguing that, despite some high-profile moments of anti-Mormon bigotry on the campaign trail, by historical standards Mormonism enjoys a high level of acceptance in America today. Strange stories about the church still circulate, but we are a long way from the days when the popular perception of the faith featured a wild mélange of mind control, assassinations, secret sexual lodges, and conspiracies to subvert the republic.
http://reason.com/blog/2012/05/21/the-book-of-anti-mormon
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Mormons and Demons
June 2012
American Spectator
In January, the anti-defamation group Mormon Voices released the document “The Top 10 Anti-Mormon Statements in 2011.” It tried to be fair and balanced, drawing slightly more examples from “right” sources than from “left” ones. Instead, it gave a surprising preview of things to come.
Several of the lefties were big names: Christopher Hitchens, Harold Bloom, Bill Maher. The most prominent names on the other side of the ledger were Rev. Jeffress and Ben Ferguson. Other contributors included an associate publisher of World Magazine, a host for Focal Point radio, and a guest on Fox and Friends who speculated that another candidate could “get a lot of money” from the Christian Coalition, “because Romney, obviously, not being a Christian…”
http://spectator.org/archives/2012/05/21/mormons-and-demons/
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Romney Is Mormons’ Path to the Christian Mainstream
May 20, 2012
Bloomberg
Unlike McCain, Romney was always mystified by evangelicals’ rejection. As a deeply believing Mormon, he actually, sincerely (yes, sincerely) believes that his moral values are equivalent to those of evangelicals.
And as a Mormon, Romney is a participant — indeed, he is the most important participant — in the long-term project of convincing mainstream American Protestants that Mormonism is a normal denomination like all the others. Given this historic opportunity to “normalize” Mormonism, Romney is acting not opportunistically but on deeply felt principle. By embracing evangelicals and being embraced by them, he is bringing Mormonism into the denominational scheme that characterizes mainstream American Christianity.
Short-term politics is therefore making a long-term historic difference. Evangelical Protestants who once believed that Mormonism was a deviant sect, not a legitimate denomination, may come to believe something very different as they prepare to cast their votes for a Romney. The practice of pluralism can come first. The beliefs can come later.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-20/in-romney-mormons-see-path-to-christian-mainstream.html
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In Romney, Mormons see path to Christian mainstream
May 21, 2012
Miami Herald (Florida)
And as a Mormon, Romney is a participant – indeed, he is the most important participant – in the long-term project of convincing mainstream American Protestants that Mormonism is a normal denomination like all the others. Given this historic opportunity to “normalize” Mormonism, Romney is acting not opportunistically but on deeply felt principle. By embracing evangelicals and being embraced by them, he is bringing Mormonism into the denominational scheme that characterizes mainstream American Christianity.
Short-term politics is therefore making a long-term historic difference. Evangelical Protestants who once believed that Mormonism was a deviant sect, not a legitimate denomination, may come to believe something very different as they prepare to cast their votes for a Romney. The practice of pluralism can come first. The beliefs can come later.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/21/2810699/in-romney-mormons-see-path-to.html
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Washington Post uses 1857 Mormon massacre in Romney hit piece
May 21, 2012
Examiner
Most may not recall the Sept. 11, 1857 Mountain Meadows massacre, where a group of Mormons tricked, then killed 120 men, women and children who were making their way to California looking for a better life.
Now that a Mormon is running to be President of the United States, the massacre that was the subject of a 2007 movie, “September Dawn,” is making its’ way into presidential politics, courtesy of the so-called “mainstream media.”
http://www.examiner.com/article/washington-post-uses-1857-massacre-romney-hit-piece
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WaPo: Hey, did you hear what that Mormon militia did 150 years ago?
May 21, 2012
Hot Air
The best part of this story is their pretext for running it, the supposedly real possibility that something that happened between Mormons and Christians 150 years ago might cause Romney to lose … Arkansas. The same state where Obama’s struggling to win the Democratic primary.
I’ve seen some impressive concern-trolling in my day, but concern-trolling and Mormon-baiting in the same piece is bravura stuff. Alternate headline: “Mitt Romney, terrorist spawn?”
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Axelrod: Mormon Attacks are Off Limits
May 21, 2012
Daily Beast
According to David Axelrod, President Obama’s senior campaign adviser, attacks on Mitt Romney’s career at Bain Capital are fair game, but jabs at his religion are off limits. He told CNN’s Candy Crowley: “And we wish that Gov. Romney would stand up as strongly and as resolutely constistently to refute these kinds of things on his side. Instead he’s amplified them in the past. And he’s put logs on that fire. And that’s not leadership.” Axelrod was referring to the attack ads by a pro-Romney super PAC that attempt to associated President Obama with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, which Romney did, in fact, reject.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2012/05/21/axelrod-mormon-attacks-are-off-limits.html
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TheDC’s Jamie Weinstein: From Mormonism to Jeremiah Wright, everything’s fair game when you run for president
May 21, 2012
Daily Caller
President Obama’s senior campaign advisor David Axelrod said Sunday on CNN that Mitt Romney’s Mormonism is “not fair game” during the presidential campaign.
He’s wrong.
Mitt Romney’s Mormonism is indeed fair game, as is President Obama’s long-time association with the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. That’s because Obama and Romney are running for the presidency of the United States of America, not some dingbat city council seat. And when you are competing for the highest office in the land – the most important elected position in the entire world – everything is fair game. Everything.
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Why I’m A Mormon
May 21, 2012
Salt Lake City Weekly (Utah)
I normally try to avoid hearing what other people think about a book before reviewing it-but in the case of Why I’m a Mormon, someone else’s reaction was the reason I wanted to read it. I was in a Deseret Book store in Bountiful when a man picked up a copy from the display table, noted Democratic Sen. Harry Reid was one of the 53 essayists, and said in a loud voice, “Harry Reid, huh? I wonder what he has to say for himself!” He got laughs from the other patrons. Everybody understood. What was a leader from the party of abortion and gay marriage doing in an LDS book?
From that moment, I couldn’t wait to get a copy. On the flip side, the glares I got while reading it at a Salt Lake City Beans & Brews are a story for another day.
The book is one of many recent examples of how the LDS Church is moving to portray itself to the outside world as more diverse, cosmopolitan and tolerant than might be expected, while its traditional base of members-particularly in Utah-seems determined to keep the faith’s stereotypical, conservative culture. For example, the church has supported anti-discrimination ordinances protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination in employment and housing, and it has endorsed an approach to immigration that focuses on keeping families together, decrying harsh enforcement. However, Mormons in the Utah Legislature actively oppose anyone passing laws that would agree with the LDS position on either issue. It’s that tension between the traditional “peculiar people” and the church’s expansive campaign of “We’re just like you” that makes this book an interesting read during the “Mormon moment” of Mitt Romney’s presidential run.
http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/article-36-15929-why-im-a-mormon.html
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Mormon temple in Carmel will be a draw
May 21, 2012
Indianapolis Star (Indiana)
A new Mormon temple that will begin rising in Carmel this fall will draw not only the curious, but potentially thousands of faithful pilgrims across the state.
Officials with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are likely to re-draw geographic boundaries that currently send about 42,000 Mormons to temples in Chicago and Louisville, Ky.
That means some members who live in the northern stakes (there are 11 such areas in Indiana) may get redirected away from Chicago toward Carmel, where Indiana’s first Mormon temple will be built a block west of U.S. 31 on 116th Street.
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Four Mason students graduate Mormon seminary program
May 21, 2012
Mason Buzz (Ohio)
Four Mason High School seniors graduated Sunday from the seminary program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Connor Noe, Michael Duplisea, Kayla Christensen and DJ Belnap were among students honored for completing the intensive four-year program.
Students met for 50 minutes before their first classes at Mason High School and studied the Old and New testaments, Book of Mormon and the history of Mormon faith. To earn their graduation certificate, they had to attend all four years with an 80 percent attendance record and complete all courses of study.
http://masonbuzz.com/2012/05/21/four-mason-students-graduate-mormon-seminary-program/
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Politico’s Byers: When Will Media ‘Teach’ That Mormons Loved Polygamy and Racism?
May 20, 2012
NewsBusters
Politico media reporter Dylan Byers is impatient with the media: “When will we talk about Mormonism?”
He means the negative stuff: “I’m talking about a national conversation about the Mormon faith, including its past practice of polygamy (which was renounced by the church in the 19th century) and its exclusion of African Americans from the priesthood (until 1978). That sort of thing.” Does he watch anything?
Byers touted CNN analyst (and major Obama suckup) Roland Martin said that if the GOP wanted to bring back the Rev. Jeremiah Wright controversy, they would be “putting Mormonism on the table… putting on the table how African Americans were treated by the Mormon religion.” Byers did not note that Martin was an apologist for Rev. Wright right up until the point that he started embarrassing Obama in 2008. Incredibly, Roland’s standard for Wright was he was fine when carefully edited by the liberal media, but a reckless, egotistical loose cannon to be captured live on C-SPAN (especially when he started babbling about AIDS being a racist government conspiracy).
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Hyping the humble: Sports Illustrated’s Jabari Parker profile
May 21, 2012
Chicago Reader (Illinois)
The SI profile is a nice piece, mainly focusing on Parker’s Mormon upbringing and the decision he’ll have to make in two years: whether to enter the NBA draft or go on a two-year Mormon mission. His older brother is quoted as saying, “If you have a desire to serve God, there is nothing that can replace a mission.”
http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2012/05/20/hyping-the-humble
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Cursed Since Birth: Romney, Race, and the Politics of Religion
May 21, 2012
All Hip Hop
According to Richard Abanes in his book, One Nation Under Gods, the belief in Black inferiority by the Mormon Church is based on a “cosmic war” between the armies of “Christ and Satan” eons ago, and those who were “indecisive and or less valiant” in the war were born Black. Hence, the origins of the curse.
Also, Richard and Joan Ostling in their book, Mormon America, claimed that noted Mormon leader, Brigham Young (after whom the university is named), once said that it was the law of God that if a white person had sex with a “seed of Cain” (a dark-skinned person), the penalty was, as they say on the streets, KOS (Kill On Sight).
http://allhiphop.com/2012/05/21/cursed-since-birth-romney-race-and-the-politics-of-religion/
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Look Westward, Candidates
May 21, 2012
The Atlantic
But Republicans could benefit from the Western states’ continuing economic woes. Nevada has the highest unemployment rate in the country, at 11.7 percent. Unemployment in Arizona (8.2 percent) and Colorado (7.9 percent) is close to the 8.1 percent national average but still in the bottom half of states. Las Vegas and Phoenix were two of the markets hardest hit by the housing crash. Romney’s Mormon faith also could give him a boost in Nevada and Arizona, which have sizable Mormon populations, if he inspires an increase in turnout — though Mormons are reliable voters, and largely Republican, to begin with.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/05/look-westward-candidates/257460/
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Dustin Lance Black: The Power of Dreaming
May 21, 2012
Advocate
There’s a scene in the film in which Ed Harris’s character is seen in his magic Mormon underwear. Explain what these are for people who have never dated a Mormon.
[Laughs] Garments are what they’re called, actually. There are churches and temples. Once you’ve gone through the temple and the temple ceremonies you can wear the garments, which are symbolic in many ways but they also have a lot of TK around them about protecting you from evil. It’s a longstanding tradition to wear them. Men get them when they’re about to go on their first mission and woman get them when they’re about to get married. You’re supposed to wear your garments under your clothes at all times. In Mormon culture people will look to see if you’re wearing the garments, if they’re sticking out from the neckline or sleeves. They go down quite low. Women will sometimes feel the leg of the man they’re going on a date with to see if he’s wearing them to see if he’s a good Mormon. If you’ve got them on then you’re a catch.
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Heresies and candidates
May 21, 2012
World Magazine
Heresies to the left of us, heresies to the right of us: They all volley and thunder. Some evangelicals say they won’t vote for Romney because he espouses Mormonism, which could well be viewed as a Christian heresy. They worry that a President Romney would increase the prestige and influence of the Latter-day Saints, especially abroad. That’s a legitimate concern.
http://online.worldmag.com/2012/05/21/heresies-and-candidates/
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NYT’s Shear Rips Drudge, Breitbart, Accuses GOP of Racial Attacks on Rev. Wright
May 21, 2012
NewsBusters
Actually, Democrats in this election cycle have been quite active in mocking the Mormon faith, and the Times itself has contributed with its own juvenile humor. Columnist Charles Blow reacted angrily to comments on the breakdown of minority families during a debate: “Let me just tell you this Mitt ‘Muddle Mouth’: I’m a single parent and my kids are *amazing*! Stick that in your magic underwear.”
In the paper’s online Room for Debate January 30, “What Is It About Mormons?” contributor Ian Williams was flippant: “While it’s easy to be seduced by a church known for its practicality, its financial acumen and its commitment to both self-betterment and worldly outreach, I wouldn’t buy the underwear just yet.”
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NOTE: This is posted for those who are interested in keeping abreast what is being said around the world about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members. MormonVoices cannot and does not guarantee the validity or truthfulness of any information reported. The responsibility for the interpretation and use of this information lies with the reader. As all information comes from other news sources and has not been independently verified, MormonVoices cannot guarantee or be responsible for the security of links in the clipping service. MormonVoices will attempt as much as possible to exclude news articles containing strongly offensive language or which lead to offensive images, but cannot guarantee that some will not slip through.
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