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 August 2012
Insight: Mormon church made wealthy by donations
August 12, 2012
Reuters
Relying heavily on church records in countries that require far more disclosure than the United States, Cragun and Reuters estimate that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints brings in some $7 billion annually in tithes and other donations.
It owns about $35 billion worth of temples and meeting houses around the world, and controls farms, ranches, shopping malls and other commercial ventures worth many billions more.
The church claims 14 million members around the world, more than half outside the United States. All are supposed to tithe, or give 10 percent, of their income, which Mormons frequently interpret as pre-tax earnings. But only about 40 percent of Mormons counted by the church actually attend weekly services in the United States and Canada, and in many countries, including Mexico and Brazil, only a quarter of nominal members are active, according to Cumorah, an independent research group headed by a devoted, active Mormon.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/08/12/us-usa-politics-mormons-idINBRE87B05W20120812
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mitt Romney run spotlights faith, say LI Mormons
August 12, 2012
Long Island Newsday (New York)
Thea Mansuetto was nervous when Mitt Romney became the Republican front-runner and a spotlight fell on the religion both share — Mormonism. She feared it would heighten criticism of a faith she thinks many people misunderstand.
But now the Fort Salonga resident is embracing the attention as an opportunity to dispel some misconceptions about her religion.
“I think it is becoming more of a positive thing for me than a negative because I feel there’s so much misinformation out in the world,” Mansuetto, 59, said. “To a lot of people, we are just odd. This gives us a chance to clarify who we are, that we’re just your neighbors, people who do normal things.”
http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/mitt-romney-run-spotlights-faith-say-li-mormons-1.3900298
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
INSIGHT-Mormon church made wealthy by donations
August 12, 2012
Chicago Tribune (Illinois)
Relying heavily on church records in countries that require far more disclosure than the United States, Cragun and Reuters estimate that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints brings in some $7 billion annually in tithes and other donations.
It owns about $35 billion worth of temples and meeting houses around the world, and controls farms, ranches, shopping malls and other commercial ventures worth many billions more.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-rt-usa-politicsmormonsl2e8j7a08-20120812,0,7811502,full.story
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Romney should stop hiding his Mormon faith
August 10, 2012
Los Angeles Times (California)
The Republican presidential candidate seems too calculating and cautious to talk about one of the most admirable pieces of his biography. His critics, meanwhile, seem blissfully unaware of how intolerant they sound when they poke fun at, say, the “Mormon underwear” that is a confirmation of faith. These are the same people who would be righteously offended by anyone who mocked someone wearing a yarmulke or prayer shawl.
There may be some method in Romney’s muteness, as suggested a couple of weeks ago by a Pew poll that showed 55% of Americans comfortable with his faith, or unconcerned about it.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Card Swipes in Church Make Giving Easier
August 10, 2012
New York Times
For anyone who spends time pondering the cost of keeping the lights on and the staff paid at their houses of worship, the Mormon tithing slip has a sort of utilitarian beauty.
Worshipers pick one up at their local chapel, fill it out and hand over their money to a lay leader (having annotated the amounts paid by check, currency or coins, per the instructions on the slip). No annual bill, no passing of the plate. Keep the canary-colored carbon copy for your records.
The fact that the slip looks a bit like something your dry cleaner might give you when you drop off your clothes is part of its appeal. After all, worship is a regular part of many people’s lives. We need to pay for it somehow.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Romney – Taxes? or Tithing issue
August 10, 2012
Examiner
Mitt Romney disclosed in January 2012 that his investments and dividends does yield him approximately 21 ‘million’ dollars per year. This is an income figure that does not include political donations or wages earned; these are “annual dividends” and “income from investments.” This admission, then, should be an automatic disclosure that Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney pays at least 2.1 ‘million’ per year in LDS Church (Mormon) tithing. Or did he?
http://www.examiner.com/article/romney-taxes-or-tithing-issue
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Religious reaction to Mitt Romney’s announcement
August 12, 2012
WDBJ7 (Virginia)
Republican candidate Mitt Romney is Mormon and his newly chosen running mate, Paul Ryan, is Catholic.
While Romney and Ryan rallied a crowd at the NASCAR Technical Institute in North Carolina Sunday, voters here at home began thinking about how the two men of different faiths would work together.
“I think their belief systems are very similar,” says Michelle Harris, who is a Mormon. “I think they’ll be able to work well together as far as religion goes.”
http://www.wdbj7.com/news/wdbj7-local-reaction-to-mitt-romneys-announcement-20120812,0,852013.story
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Voters Don’t Care About Romney’s Religion
August 10, 2012
Reason Magazine
Remember all the media chatter during the primaries about how the “Mormon factor” could undermine Mitt Romney’s candidacy?
Forget about it.
American voters, it turns out, are mostly unconcerned about Romney’s religious affiliation or have no idea what it is.
Only 60% of voters are aware that Romney is a Mormon, 9% percent think he is something else and 32% can’t identify his faith, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center released July 26.
http://reason.com/24-7/2012/08/10/voters-dont-care-about-romneys-religion
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Historic Moment: No Protestant on party ticket
August 12, 2012
OneNewsNow
The National Journal reports that for the first time in history, one of the two major parties is nominating a presidential ticket without a member of the Protestant faith.
That fact was realized on Saturday when Mitt Romney, a Mormon, chose Congressman Paul Ryan to be his running mate. Ryan is a dedicated Roman Catholic.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=1652416
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mormon blessing would be a first
August 12, 2012
Monterey County Herald (California)
“I don’t think there’s anything to be gained politically by having a Mormon give an invocation,” said Gary Smith, the author of “Faith and the Presidency” and a historian at Grove City College in Pennsylvania.
“There are many roles that religious people can play in the convention. It would be less controversial to ask an esteemed Mormon friend or leader to do something else.”
Mormons are overwhelmingly Republican and active in civic life. Latter-day Saints long have held top positions in federal government and political campaigns. At the 2004 GOP convention, President George W. Bush chose a prominent Mormon leader and author, Sheri Dew, to give an invocation. When organizers announced the roster for the 1988 Republican convention that nominated George H.W. Bush, Mormons were among the invited spiritual leaders.
http://www.montereyherald.com/religion/ci_21295408/mormon-blessing-would-be-first
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Book of Mormon’s foggy origins
August 12, 2012
Salon
Joseph’s first great trauma at eight was a showdown between the two. His whole family had fallen ill with typhoid during the early months of 1812. His older sister, Sophronia, almost died. Joseph seemed to recover, but after several weeks, he developed painful infections, first in his armpit and then in his shinbone. Doctors wanted to amputate, but Lucy fought it. The surgeons explained the only alternative was risky surgery, which might result in Joseph’s death. Lucy’s determination held steady.
http://www.salon.com/2012/08/12/the_book_of_mormons_foggy_origins/
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1990s Mormon Feminism Ignites Church Backlash
August 12, 2012
Womens ENews
So it happened that I was there at Brigham Young University just in time to witness a remarkable upwelling of Mormon feminism, a feminism that started very simply in basement classrooms with the idea that all were alike unto God.
The university hired more female faculty in the late 1980s and 1990s, including Mormon women who had studied feminism and, finding nothing at its core incompatible with a just and loving God, dared to make it their own. One by one, Mormon feminist historians were publishing books reconstructing the lost worlds of early Mormon women, who, we learned, once commanded priesthood powers and forms of authority lost to women in the modern bureaucratic church.
http://womensenews.org/story/religion/120811/1990s-mormon-feminism-ignites-church-backlash
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Michael McKean, anti-Mormon bigot: Joins lame Ryan bashing train, then mocks ‘magic underwear’
August 12, 2012
Twitchy
Then, he tweeted his real problem with the Romney/Ryan ticket: Mormonism.
Clearly, Mr. McKean is of the bigoted Cher school of (alleged) thought: ‘Richy Rich Romney whitest man in magic underwear.’ Naturally, this brought out the other Mormon bigots on the Left.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Show Us Those Taxes
August 12, 2012
Auburn Journal (California)
I don’t think it’s going out on a limb to say that Jon Huntsman Sr. is Harry Reid’s source for Romney’s tax avoidance story. Picture this:
Harry Reid is chatting with his old friend and fellow Mormon Jon Huntsman Sr., and Huntsman has the craziest story to tell. You see, the Huntsmans – along with most citizens in the country – have decided Mitt Romney is a jerk – heck, there may be some backstage Mormon politics we’re not privy to – but whatever the motivation, Jon Huntsman Sr. has quite the story. He heard it from the guy who worked the finances at Bain Capital with Mitt Romney, Bain’s former managing director Robert C. Gay. Turns out that Bob Gay is now a business partner of Jon Huntsman Sr.
http://my.auburnjournal.com/detail/215253.html
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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
