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18 July 2012
City OK’s Mormon chapel
July 18, 2012
Queens Times Ledger (New York)
The city approved an application Tuesday that will allow the Mormon Church to build a chapel that exceeds zoning regulations on 33rd Avenue in Flushing, much to the dismay of civic organizations and Community Board 7.
The city Board of Standards and Appeals voted unanimously to approve the application, which would allow the chapel to have a larger floor area than what is allowed in the zoning code, according to the BSA.
“The civic world is disappointed by the BSA’s decision, and we will wait for the report to decide what our next move will be,” said Paul Graziano, a zoning expert who has called into question the church’s claim it requires more space than would be allowed by law to effectively operate.
http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2012/28/mormonchurchapproved_ne_2012_07_19_q.html
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Mormon church to rise in Flushing
July 18, 2012
The Real Deal
The Mormon church, which counts presidential contender Mitt Romney as a member, has been making plenty of headlines of late. Now the Salt Lake City-based church has plans to build a church in Flushing, Queens.
With a unanimous vote, the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals yesterday approved the construction of a Mormon church more than one and a half times the size of what’s permitted under current zoning regulations, the New York Daily News reported. The new structure will sit atop 145-13 33rd Avenue, a plot that the Mormon Church, formally known as the Church of Latter-day Saints, owns.
http://therealdeal.com/blog/2012/07/18/mormon-church-to-rise-in-flushing/
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Kinsley: Playing the Mormon card
July 19, 2012
Los Angeles Times (California)
Mormons believe some pretty wacky things, but then so do Jews, and Muslims and more mainstream Christians. Furthermore, Romney is a much more devout Mormon than Kennedy was a Catholic.
The important point is that Romney may be a fool even to want to bottle up his faith and pack it away for the duration because it could be the best thing about him. It certainly humanizes him, which he needs.
This occurred to me while reading Walter Kirn’s wonderful essay in the current New Republic about growing up Mormon. Even though he has long since left the church, and never came close to observing all its precepts, Kirn admires Mormonism as “our country’s longest experiment with communitarian idealism, promoting an ethic of frontier-era burden-sharing that has been lost in contemporary America, with increasingly dire social consequences.”
Kirn offers several examples of extraordinary kindnesses the Mormon Church and its members have done, in the spirit of community, for his own family and for him. The article certainly opened my eyes, and Romney is not just a member but a leader of this organization. He shouldn’t be pushing his Mormonism into a corner and hoping people will forget about it. He should be making it a central part of his campaign. It’s far and away the best thing I know about him.
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Scientology and Mormonism Too Close for Comfort: Why the Katie Holmes Divorce Means Bad News for Romney
July 18, 2012
Policy Mic
Another sect of Christianity is equally regarded by society as weird and different, and it too has a major celebrity on the public stage. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, more commonly known as the largest branch, Mormonism, has been at the center of popular culture for the past year thanks to South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s masterpiece, the musical The Book of Mormon. The show is a religious satire using Mormons as a lens to critique American culture, including imperialism and consumerism, but openly teases a religion in which members must wear specific religious undergarments at all times and are sent to all corners of the earth as missionaries. While there are 6 million Mormons in the United States and only 25,000 Scientologists as of a 2008 survey, Mormonism shares some practices that may be considered bizarre and strange equal to those of the Church of Scientology — and most Christians do not accept it to be as valid as the Catholic and Protestant sects, which are more popular and considered more vanilla. GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has made significant gains winning over the Bible Belt by reasserting his belief in the basics of Christianity without ever having alcohol or caffeine and is now the glittering celebrity of Mormonism just as Cruise was for Scientology.
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The Mormon Question
July 18, 2012
ABC News
Tricia Erickson’s “Can Mitt Serve The Two Masters?: The Mormon Church Vs. The Office of the Presidency of the United States of America” delves into the practices of Mormonism while comparing those values with those of Romney which she believes to be socially and fiscally liberal.
Not all authors reject the idea of Mormons serving in the Oval Office, but they do recognize its challenges. “The Mormon Faith of Mitt Romney: What Latter-Day Saints Teach and Practice” written by non-Mormon pastor and author Andrew Jackson presents an inside look into Romney’s faith providing its history as well as potential implications Romney will face if elected president.
“The Mormon Quest for the Presidency: From Joseph Smith to Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman” written by co authors Newell G. Bringhurst and Craig L. Foster analyzes the quest of politicians running for the presidency and struggling to defend their Mormon faith through their journey. Some of the 11 American politicians who ran for the highest office include: Joseph Smith, Morris “Mo” Udall, Orrin Hatch, Jon Huntsman Jr., and father of GOP candidate George Romney.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/mitt-romney-summer-reading-list/story?id=16802404#3
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Who Knew? 10 Celebrities Who Are Former Mormons (PHOTOS)
July 18, 2012
Wet Paint
Following the publication of the Twilight series, written by Mormon Stephenie Meyer, a spotlight was cast on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Many have analyzed Meyer’s stories, saying that religious teachings undoubtedly “run deep.” Others, like the saga’s star Robert Pattinson, say Meyer “doesn’t mean any of that.”
Either way, it’s sparked an interesting discussion on the topic — even more so with the presence of Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney, an outspoken Mormon. The debate has prompted many celebs to come out either in defense of or against the church. More often than not, however, we’re seeing stars who had roots in these teachings but chose to go another way as they grew up.
http://www.wetpaint.com/network/gallery/who-knew-10-celebrities-who-are-former-mormons-photos
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Business Week takes on the Mormons
July 18, 2012
Providence Journal (Rhode Island)
Bloomberg Business Week is gutsy. Usually big-time journalistic outlets are leery of taking on religious groups. But its cover story, by Caroline Winter, for the July 16-22 edition is headlined “Inside the Mormon Empire .. and thou shalt build a shopping mall, own stock in Burger King, and open a Polynesian theme park in Hawaii that shall be largely exempt from the frustrations of tax…”
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Boy Scout’s Policy Captive to Anti-Gay Religious Groups
July 18, 2012
Huffington Post
Critics of the ban on gays say the national council holds to it in deference to the religious conservatives, particularly those in the Mormon church, who dominate scouting. The Mormons charter more than 26,000 Boy Scout and Cub Scout troops — more than any group in the country. They provide not only a guaranteed supply of young members — more than 410,000 at last count — but also enormous financial support. The position of the Roman Catholic Church, which charters 17,000 troops with 345,000 members, is clear. Reversing the ban on gays could cost the Scouts hundreds of thousands of members, by some estimates.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wayne-besen/the-boy-scouts-stick-to-k_b_1682820.html
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‘Soy Mitt Romney’ — the Softer Side
July 18, 2012
Bloomberg
Kelly Romney, a second cousin of Mitt Romney, in the Mormon community of Colonia Juarez, Mexico. The candidate’s father, George, was born in Mexico, and he still has extended family there, relatives born and raised in the border state of Chihuahua who support his candidacy but not his tough stance on immigration.
http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2012-07-18/soy-mitt-romney-the-softer-side/
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LDS church plans temple in Tijuana
July 18, 2012
UT San Diego (California)
The Mormon Church has had a long history in Mexico, dating back to the first baptisms in the state of Sonora in 1876. Next month, the church plans to break ground on a temple in Tijuana, the 13th in Mexico.
The site is in eastern Tijuana, at the foot of Tijuana’s Cerro Colorado, on Insurgentes Boulevard. It would serve Baja California and the Sonoran community of San Luis Río Colorado.
The Tijuana temple would be the newest in Mexico since one was completed a decade ago in the northern industrial city of Monterrey. Only one other border city, Ciudad Juárez, has a temple. For Baja California residents, the closest temple is now across the border in San Diego.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jul/18/lds-church-plans-temple-in-tijuana/
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We must combat religious bigotry, especially Islamophobia
July 18, 2012
National Catholic Reporter
And while I’m on the subject, I also want to decry the cover of Bloomberg Businessweek for its anti-Mormon bias and disrespect. It has Jesus saying to a young, kneeling Mormon: “And thou shalt build a shopping mall, own stock in Burger King and build a theme part in Hawaii that shall be largely exempt from the frustrations of tax …”
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/we-must-combat-religious-bigotry-especially-islamophobia
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Is going without sex actually harmful?
July 18, 2012
HLN
“It stems from my religious beliefs,” 34-year-old virgin Skippy Jessop told Dr. Drew. “Obviously, I’m from Utah and I’m Mormon and Mormon by choice and I’m a virgin by choice … and there are a lot of positives that come to me because of that.”
He further explained, “You never get an STD if you never have had sex before. I don’t have to worry about kids — you know — a girl walking up and saying, ‘This baby is yours’, because I have not had sex before.”
http://www.hlntv.com/video/2012/07/18/going-without-sex-actually-harmful
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The Real Story of Romney’s Olympic Turnaround
July 18, 2012
Time
As Romney takes a victory lap this summer in London, where the Summer Games begin July 27, a closer look at his Olympic exploits reveals a more complicated story. Nobody disputes that Romney played a major role in the 2002 Games’ success. But some Utahns criticize Romney for embellishing the problems he inherited to inflate the scale of the turnaround. And if Salt Lake was a test case for Romney’s leadership, it was also a controlled experiment, one that unfolded in the capital of the Mormon Church–which, like the rest of the U.S., had a vested interest in the Games’ success. As President, Romney would face fierce resistance not only from a hostile opposition party, but also factions of his own.
http://swampland.time.com/2012/07/18/the-real-story-of-romneys-olympic-turnaround/
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Scott Prior for Arizona Senate asks Sen. Rich Crandall to be a “man” and apologize to the woman
July 18, 2012
Tucson Citizen (Arizona)
With that said, I am in favor (as a woman and as an independent voter) of Scott Prior for Arizona Senate. I don’t agree with everything Scott believes in, but he’s the best one for the job in this nasty political climate we are living in here in our state. I know I might upset some of my Mormon friends because Crandall is a Mormon and I realize the Mormon Temple is located in Mesa, AZ, but I have had it with corrupt politicians who abuse their power and make threats against women.
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