Welcome to MormonVoices. Our volunteers respond to public discussions and comments from public figures that misrepresent The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We encourage and direct Mormons to get involved in online discussions and thereby help shape the public understanding and perceptions of the Church. Please join your voice with ours, and become a member of MormonVoices.
MormonVoices is an independent organization that is supportive of, but not
controlled by or affiliated with, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
search the site
12 June 2012
Invite Mormons to Tell Their Own Story
June 12, 2012
In an interview with the Mormon Channel, Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the Church’s Presidency of the Seventy gives advice that can be helpful to journalists and others producing content about the Church: invite Latter-day Saints to tell their own story.
“We don’t want to push or force our message on anyone,” Elder Clayton says. “But we want to tell our message when we’re invited to do so and when it’s opportune to do so, in a way that is attractive and fair from every point of view.”
We understand that journalists need to use a variety of sources in their quest for accurate and balanced reporting about the Church, and we are grateful to those who allow us to participate in the discussion.
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/invite-mormons-tell-own-story-elder-clayton
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Joy Behar Wants to See Romney’s House Burn Down: ‘Who’s He Going to Call, the Mormon Fire Patrol?’
June 12, 2012
NewsBusters
BEHAR: I mean, I’d like to see his house burn, one of his millions of houses burning down. Who’s he going to call, the Mormon fire patrol?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I’m a Mormon, Not a Christian
June 12, 2012
New York Times
I am confident that I am not the only person – Mormon or Christian – who has had enough of the acrimonious niggling from both sides over the nature of the trinity, the authority of the creeds, the significance of grace and works, the union of Christ’s divinity and humanity, and the real color of God’s underwear. I’m perfectly happy not being a Christian. My Mormon fellows, most of whom will argue earnestly for their Christian legitimacy, will scream bloody murder that I don’t represent them. I don’t. They don’t represent me, either.
I’m with Harry Emerson Fosdick, the liberal Protestant minister and former pastor of Riverside Church in Manhattan, who wrote that he would be “ashamed to live in this generation and not be a heretic.” Being a Christian so often involves such boorish and meanspirited behavior that I marvel that any of my Mormon colleagues are so eager to join the fold.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/13/opinion/im-a-mormon-not-a-christian.html
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Romney, guarded about his Mormonism, faces the Lieberman challenge
June 12, 2012
Jewish Telegraph Agency
By contrast Romney, the presumed Republican presidential nominee, seems to prefer silence in handling his Mormonism in public. It’s a stark contrast to both Lieberman and Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy, a Roman Catholic who in 1960 famously said he would not take political guidance from the Vatican.
“It’s clear his campaign made a decision that it is not interested in talking about his Mormonism, not its doctrines or theology, his experiences as a church leader, how it shaped his family,” said Patrick Mason, the chair of Mormon studies at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, Calif. “He’s always said ‘I’m not running to be pastor in chief.’ ”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
For Mitt Romney and other Mormons, missions are like a ‘refiner’s fire’
June 12, 2012
Washington Post
Today, some 57,000 Mormon missionaries march across the globe, proselytizing in public squares, knocking on doors and handing out religious tracts, often for nine or 10 hours a day, in fair weather and foul.
More than a million Mormons have served missions since Joseph Smith founded the church in 1830, LDS leaders say, volunteering for a duty once described as “a mix between monastic life, a fraternity pledge and pest-control salesmanship.”
Most Mormon missionaries endure a grueling regimen of prayer, study and proselytizing. They put careers and college on hold and move to mission fields where rejection is the norm. Some have been beaten, mocked, caught in gang crossfire, even killed. Romney himself was in a serious car accident and roughed up by a team of soused rugby players.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
For Mitt and other Mormons, missions are like a ‘refiner’s fire’
June 12, 2012
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
Today, some 57,000 Mormon missionaries march across the globe, proselytizing in public squares, knocking on doors and handing out religious tracts, often for nine or 10 hours a day, in fair weather and foul.
More than a million Mormons have served missions since Joseph Smith founded the church in 1830, LDS leaders say, volunteering for a duty once described as “a mix between monastic life, a fraternity pledge and pest-control salesmanship.”
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/faith/54291973-78/mission-mormons-church-missionaries.html.csp
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Black Mormons face a political choice like no other
June 11, 2012
USA Today
Darius Gray, former head of Genesis, a long-standing support group for black Mormons, sees this historic choice between two members of traditionally outsider groups as evidence of a “marked change for this nation, a maturing too long in coming. You can take joy that both groups are now players on the scene.”
Unlike white Mormons, the vast majority of whom side with Republicans, African-Americans overwhelmingly vote Democratic. So black Mormons look at Obama, the Democrat, and Romney, the Republican, and find themselves caught between political perspectives: Many still lean liberal, others have switched parties after joining the church, and some find themselves going back and forth.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2012-06-11/black-mormons-politics/55533764/1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Analysis: The unexpected evangelical silence on Mitt’s Mormonism
June 12, 2012
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
In 1998, the Southern Baptist Convention held its annual meeting in Salt Lake City, the symbolic and organizational heartland of Mormonism. Some 3,000 Southern Baptist volunteers went door to door with the intent to evangelize Mormons; and the denomination even produced a book called Mormonism Unmasked, which promised to “lift the veil from one of the greatest deceptions in the history of religion.”
When Romney delivered his “Faith in America” speech in 2007, the Southern Baptist response was to label Mormonism a “theological cult” and “false religion.”
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54289481-78/mormonism-cult-romney-evangelicals.html.csp
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mitt ally: Mormons have extra dose of patriotism
June 12, 2012
Washington Examiner (DC)
When quizzed if Romney’s religion or ties to conservative Utah will make him a different kind of president, Lee, also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said that Mormons like Romney have an optimistic view of the United States.
“Mormons sort of have an extra chromosome when it comes to American exceptionalism,” he said. “Mormons do have an added dose of a belief in American exceptionalism,” he said.
“We believe that this is a choice land that it’s a great place to be. We believe that the founding of America was something that was brought about with a degree of divine intervention and certainly inspiration,” said Lee, who added that all presidents arrive in the Oval Office with a heightened belief in the nation.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Book of Mormon stolen in Arizona recovered in DC
June 12, 2012
Sacramento Bee (California)
Federal authorities have arrested a man in the theft of a rare first-edition copy of the Book of Mormon from a suburban Phoenix bookstore.
Mesa police said Tuesday that FBI and U.S. marshals searched the apartment of Jay Linford in Washington, D.C., and recovered the book that’s valued at about $40,000.
The edition is one of 5,000 printed in 1830.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/12/4557508/book-of-mormon-stolen-in-ariz.html
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Police: Rare copy of Book of Mormon stolen from Arizona store recovered in DC; Man arrested
June 12, 2012
Washington Post
Federal authorities have arrested a man in the theft of a first-edition copy of the Book of Mormon from an Arizona bookstore.
Mesa police said Tuesday that the FBI and U.S. Marshal’s Service served a search warrant on the Washington, D.C., apartment of Jay Linford and recovered the rare book that’s valued at about $40,000.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stolen Book of Mormon Found in Washington D.C.
June 13, 2012
ABC News
Federal authorities have arrested a man in Washington D.C. for stealing a rare, first-edition copy of the Book of Mormon from an Arizona bookstore.
Police in Mesa, Ariz. said the FBI and U.S. Marshal’s Service found the book in the Washington D.C. apartment of Jay Linford. The 182-year-old book was reported missing on May 28 by Helen Schlie, the owner of Rare and Out of Print Books and Art. The book was valued at $100,000.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/06/stolen-book-of-mormon-found-in-washington-d-c/
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stolen Book of Mormon found; man arrested
June 12, 2012
Tucson Citizen (Arizona)
Police have recovered an original Book of Mormon stolen from a Mesa bookstore last month and have arrested a suspect in the theft, officials said Tuesday.
Agents from the U.S. Marshal’s Service and the FBI served a search warrant at an apartment in the Washington, D.C., metro area and recovered the original 1830 copy of the book.
http://tucsoncitizen.com/arizona-news/2012/06/12/stolen-book-of-mormon-found-man-arrested/
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Book of Mormon stolen in Arizona recovered in DC
June 12, 2012
Boston Globe (Massachusetts)
Federal authorities have arrested a man in the theft of a rare first-edition copy of the Book of Mormon from a suburban Phoenix bookstore.
Mesa police said Tuesday that FBI and U.S. marshals searched the apartment of Jay Linford in Washington, D.C., and recovered the book that’s valued at about $40,000.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2012/06/12/book_of_mormon_stolen_in_ariz_recovered_in_dc/
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sen. Mike Lee: Mormons have ‘added dose of a belief in American exceptionalism’
June 12, 2012
The Hill
Mormons have an “added dose of a belief in American exceptionalism,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) told The Washington Examiner on Tuesday.
“Mormons sort of have an extra chromosome when it comes to American exceptionalism,” said Lee, a Mormon senator from Utah. “Mormons do have an added dose of a belief in American exceptionalism.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
‘I am sexually attracted to men yet my marriage is wonderful’: Gay Mormon with a wife and three children outs himself on his blog
June 12, 2012
Daily Mail (United Kingdom)
A homosexual, devout Mormon who is married to a woman and has three children has outed himself via a blog post.
Josh Weed from Auburn, Washington, wrote a detailed post last Thursday on The Weed, his blog, which explored his life as a closeted gay man.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
From ‘sacred underwear’ to Victoria’s Secret: The devout Mormon woman who chose love over faith when her husband became an atheist
[NOTE: This article contains photos of temple garments which may be offensive.]
June 12, 2012
Daily Mail (United Kingdom)
Maren Stephenson, 27, was a devoted Mormon wife and mother in Utah who imagined a life of faithful service to the Church and an eternity spent with her husband of eight years, Sean.
And then, out of the blue one night, Sean shook her world by turning to her in bed and telling her that he no longer believed in God.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mormon’s Secret: Get Into Mitt’s Pants!
[NOTE: This article contains photos of temple garments which may be offensive.]
June 12, 2012
FireDogLake
Mitt Romney’s secretive attitude towards the press and public is no secret, and nor is his special underwear. And while reporters may not get to ride on Mitt’s magic bus, now thanks to the folks at Mormon’s Secret, even we gentiles can experience a briefing Ă la Mitt:
Want authentic Magical Mormon Underwear made from a futuristic lightweight nylon that feels magical and looks otherworldly? We’ve got you covered. The top parts of Magical Mormon Underwear have masonic symbols hand-stitched into the fabric, and are superlatively comfortable.
http://lafiga.firedoglake.com/2012/06/12/mormons-secret/
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5 Wives Vodka angers Mormon community
June 12, 2012
Oregon Faith Report
Who knew that bureaucrats would ban vodka simply for being tasteless? Jeff Anderson prefers inoffensive alcohol. And as Idaho State Liquor Division Administrator, he has the power to get his own way. Ogden’s Own Distillery in Ogden, Utah, makes a middle-shelf vodka brand called Five Wives Vodka—clearly referring the Salt Lake City-based Mormon church’s polygamous heritage. The liquor has been selling well in Wyoming and Utah, both of which have strong Mormon populations, and regulators there have had no problems with it. But according to Anderson, more than a quarter of Idahoans are Mormon and find the brand offensive.
http://oregonfaithreport.com/2012/06/5-wives-vodka-angers-mormon-community/
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
‘Sinner’s Prayer’ among proposed resolutions
June 12, 2012
Baptist Press
– In a second proposal posted on the site by McKissic, “Resolution on Racist Statements in Mormon Source Documents,” McKissic says the Mormon Church has “denied and denounced racism” but has “yet to denounce the racist teachings” contained in books they hold as authoritative. McKissic specifically mentioned The Book of Mormon and Pearl of Great Price.
Baptist Press asked Tal Davis, a former interfaith witness consultant with the North American Mission Board and now executive vice president of MarketFaith Ministries (http://www.marketfaith.org) of Tallahassee, Fla., for comment.
“It is certainly true that the extra-biblical scriptures of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) contain divine curses as indicated by dark skin,” Davis stated. “It is also clear that evangelicals reject the historicity and authority of those extra-biblical sources. That being said, in LDS ecclesiology any revelation(s) received by the church’s living prophet (president) supersedes anything in their scriptures. In 1978 then-LDS President Spencer Kimball supposedly was told by God that the curses were no longer in effect and that ‘all worthy male members of the Church may be ordained to the priesthood without regard for race or color.’ I fear the proposed resolution will be perceived as casting undeserved aspersions on LDS members and hinder Baptists reaching Mormons with the true Gospel.”
http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38021
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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.
Journalists
