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29 August 2012
Jonathan Hinton Westover
August 29, 2012
Mormon Scholars Testify
On one particular evening, after twelve hours of sitting in a small classroom studying the gospel, teaching methods, and the Korean language, I felt physically, mentally, and spiritually depleted and was at a moment of crisis as my doubts/questions continued to plague me. I pleaded with my Heavenly Father to provide me with at least some answers to my questions and to have my doubt taken away. In that moment I was overwhelmed and felt completely enveloped by my Savior’s love. I had the undeniably clear and distinct answer come to my heart and mind that none of it mattered; that of course the institutional church is imperfect, that of course leaders make mistakes, that of course teachings and interpretations of doctrines change over time (this is all part of learning line-upon-line), and that, just like any institution in the history of mankind, the church has messy aspects of its history (as imperfect people in an imperfect world do
their best to know and follow the will of the Lord). Furthermore, I realized that it is OK to sincerely question and to not have answers to every question, that there are many unknowns, and that a testimony of the gospel is primarily a matter of personal faith and devotion. And without a doubt I knew that I was in the right place, doing what I was supposed to do. This personal conviction and testimony was greatly strengthened while, as a missionary, I shared the gospel of Christ with the Korean people.
http://mormonscholarstestify.org/3093/jonathan-hinton-westover
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Mormons who served as leaders with Mitt Romney to address Republican convention
August 29, 2012
Boston Globe (Massachusetts)
Mitt Romney will offer voters a window into his Mormon faith Thursday night before accepting the Republican presidential nomination when the man who succeeded Romney as president of the church’s Boston stake delivers a prayer of invocation.
Kenneth Hutchins, a Walpole native, will address the Republican National Convention in Tampa, accompanied by his wife, Priscilla.
“I am honored and stunned,” Hutchins told the Deseret News in Utah last week, adding that he planned “to be in good enough shape … to travel to Tampa and do what Mitt has asked.”
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Ann Romney delivers a Mormon moment for Mormon women
August 29, 2012
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
Ann Romney, who addressed the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night, was the first person there to mention the word, Mormon.
“When Mitt and I met and fell in love, we were determined not to let anything stand in the way of our life together,” Romney told the delegates. “I was an Episcopalian. He was a Mormon.”
Eventually, she converted to Mormonism and the couple reared their children in the LDS faith.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsfaithblog/54789059-180/romney-mormon-mitt-lds.html.csp
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Mitt Romney Holds Mormon Faith Close Through Political Rise
August 29, 2012
Huffington Post
Mitt Romney has largely shied away from discussing his Mormon faith on the campaign trail, choosing instead to make his record as a businessman the central focus of his bid for president. That may change Thursday, as Romney accepts his party’s nomination at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla.
Along with emphasizing economic issues, the convention will prominently display Romney’s experiences as a Mormon church leader to help package him as a down-to-earth and empathetic candidate, and to counter criticism that he is privileged and out of touch with ordinary Americans. A member of Romney’s former church near Boston is scheduled to speak Thursday. Biographical films emphasizing Romney’s work as a ward bishop — akin to a church pastor — counseling the poor, the sick, immigrants, troubled couples and wayward kids, will play on the big screens.
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The Case for Noblesse Oblige
August 29, 2012
New York Times
One useful way to think about Mormon culture is to envision an outpost of old-fashioned Yankees dropped down in the Mountain West. The early Mormons were Anglo-Saxon Northeasterners who wended their way west, WASPs who dropped the Protestantism and added polygamy but otherwise kept many of the habits of their New York and New England forebears: a communitarian spirit and a flinty work ethic, and an attitude toward their own success that mixed self-effacement and noblesse oblige.
Ann Romney was not born into Mormon culture, but she’s a quasi-WASP by birth and breeding, and her marriage to Mitt Romney clearly united like with like. (“I was Episcopalian, he was a Mormon,” she said Tuesday night, straining to make an affinity sound like an impediment.) The purpose of her prime-time address was ostensibly to humanize her husband, to make him seem more like the lovable Everyman that presidential candidates always pretend to be. But her speech was actually most effective when it was confirming the impression that Romney is less a relatable 21st century kind of guy than an unusual sort of throwback – the last of the WASP aristocrats, the latter-day heir of the Cabots and Saltonstalls and pre-Texas Bushes, offering himself up to serve a country where his species long ago ceased to rule.
http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/29/the-case-for-noblesse-oblige/
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The Risks And Rewards Of Romney’s Faith Story
August 29, 2012
National Public Radio
Romney comes from a prominent Mormon family. He’s held important leadership positions in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But he rarely talks about his faith. When he does, he seems uncomfortable.
In a recent interview on the Catholic television network EWTN, and in another in Cathedral Age magazine, Romney discussed his faith in broad terms. He never used the word “Mormon.”
But Joanna Brooks, a professor at San Diego State University and a Mormon herself, is encouraged that at the very least, he’s beginning to open up.
“I think one of the unintended consequences of his reticence was he gave off the sense that there’s something to be ashamed of in Mormonism, something to be feared,” Brooks says.
http://www.npr.org/2012/08/29/160189316/the-risks-and-rewards-of-romneys-faith-story
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Rich Mitt
August 29, 2012
Salt Lake City Weekly (Utah)
Reid vs. Romney probably struck most Americans as so much partisan bickering.
But for Utahns, Mormons specifically, the weeks-long debate over Mitt Romney’s taxes had a back story. Because Mormons have a love-hate relationship with wealth. And Romney, the LDS faithful’s great hope for political validation, is very wealthy.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are a little conflicted about that. Or they should be.
http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/article-436-16407-rich-mitt.html
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Expat dispatches: From a fellow Mormon, how Romney’s religion would affect his presidency
August 29, 2012
Globe and Mail (Canada)
While it’s true that Mormons are overwhelmingly conservative and Republican, especially older voters and those in the western United States (where most Mormons live), I have been surprised at the number of Democrats here at Brigham Young University. While Mr. Romney is still the candidate of choice at his alma mater, there is certainly a much higher likelihood for a university-aged Mormon to vote for Mr. Obama than there is for a Mormon who is 40 or older.
Though I don’t get a vote, I am undecided. On one hand, I appreciate the numerous social advancements made during Obama’s presidency. I prefer his immigration policy and usually his foreign policy to Mr. Romney’s. But I don’t love “Obamacare” and I believe more has to be done to fix the American health care system. Mr. Romney’s economic credentials are impressive, I like his plan for the economy, and, like many Americans here in Utah and around the country, my top voting priority would probably be advancing the economy. But you’ll certainly see a lot of people here at BYU and in the Mormon community who are decidedly in the camp of either candidate.
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How Mitt Romney Decided To Start Talking About Mormonism Again
August 29, 2012
BuzzFeed
On Tuesday night, Ann Romney publicly used the word “Mormon” for the first time in more than a year — marking a new turn in a five-year debate inside Mitt Romney’s circle about how to handle his faith.
Since Romney announced his second presidential campaign 15 months ago, his strategy in dealing with questions about his Mormon faith could be boiled down to three steps: duck, dodge, and weave. But in the past two weeks, the candidate and his team of advisers have made a dramatic about-face in their approach to the religion question; allowing reporters to tag along with the family at church, instructing surrogates to cooperate with cable news specials about Mormonism, and devoting valuable primetime chunks of the Republican convention to anecdotes about the candidate’s church service — an unexpected series of moves that comprise, as one campaign adviser conceded, “a total 180.”
The official explanation for the sudden shift in strategy is that the campaign was always waiting for Tampa — where they would have tight control over the choreography and the narrative — to start telling Mitt’s Mormon story.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/how-mitt-romney-decided-to-start-talking-about-mor
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Romney ready to reveal his Mormon soul
August 29, 2012
Financial Times
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c5a7badc-f1c1-11e1-bda3-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz24yoJWBQP
For months, Mitt Romney has been speaking about his Mormon faith only when pressed. On Thursday night, when he accepts the Republican party’s nomination for president, his religion will be celebrated in prime time like never before.
Mr Romney’s faith is, by all accounts, an enormous part of his life. His former colleagues at Bain Capital, the private equity group he helped found, still marvel at the 30-odd hours he put into church work each week even while brokering multimillion dollar deals.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c5a7badc-f1c1-11e1-bda3-00144feabdc0.html#axzz24ynwiFJR
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Mormons Consider What Romney Nomination Means For Faith
August 28, 2012
WBUR (Massachusetts)
As she introduces her husband to delegates at the Republican National Convention tonight, Ann Romney may talk about how her family’s Mormon faith shapes their lives.
For the first time the Romney campaign invited a handful of reporters to attend a Church of Latter-day Saints service with the Romneys a couple of weeks ago.
And top aides say Mitt Romney welcomes a chance to talk about his faith, and his role as bishop in the church, in his acceptance speech Thursday night. Mormons are nervous, and excited.
http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2012/08/28/mormons-romney-nomination
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But — He’s a MORMON!
August 28, 2012
Patriot Post
While much Mormon salvation is based on works, this is not to say that works are not good. Mormons are meticulous in performing the tasks that lead to their salvation, and many of them serve society and the individual quite well, in fact in an exemplary manner. The Mormon practice of not imbibing in alcohol, caffeine, or tobacco can have numerous health advantages. No alcohol results in no DUI’s and no drunken binges. No beating your wife or kids. An even temperament. That’s a good thing. A requirement that you give at least 10% of your gross income to the church is a positive thing. Spending two years on a mission, serving others, is a good thing. Staying chaste before marriage and faithful to your wife is a good thing. These Mormon practices have a very direct and beneficial impact on society. They try very hard to be “good” people.
David Neeleman, a Mormon, is CEO and founder of JetBlue Airlines which is uniquely profitable in its industry and has revenue over $1 billion annually. According to author Jeff Benedict, “the fact that his customers, his employees, his business partners, and his competitors know he’s a Mormon motivates him to work extra hard at being fair, honest, and trustworthy, and leading by example. ‘I believe the Mormon Church is one of the most misunderstood organizations on the planet,’ Neeleman said. ‘Yet we are held to a higher standard. I have to be an example and live my life in the business world the way people believe I should.’”
http://patriotpost.us/commentary/14555
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Should You Marry Your High-School Sweetheart?
August 29, 2012
Slate
Conventional wisdom might hold that the Romneys’ Mormon faith diminished their likelihood of divorce, but religion actually plays a somewhat complicated role in the success of a marriage. The divorce rate for Mormons is slightly higher than that of the general population during the first three years of marriage, probably because Mormon women marry younger than their non-LDS peers. Mormons who make it through that adjustment period, however, are more likely than other Americans to remain married. In addition, Ann Romney was an Episcopalian when she met Mitt, but, by some accounts, she was raised in a largely nonreligious household. That would render her more likely to divorce than people raised by more religious families.
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Mia Love tops Google searches after ‘rousing’ speech at GOP convention
August 29, 2012
The Hill
Mia Love, a 36-year-old black Mormon congressional candidate, exploded onto the national stage with her speech at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night.
By Wednesday, “Mia Love” had become the fastest-rising search term on Google.
If Love defeats incumbent Rep. Jim Matheson (D) in Utah’s newly formed 4th district, she will become the first black Republican woman elected to Congress.
In her speech, she talked about how her parents came to the United States from Haiti with “$10 in their pockets and a hope that the America they heard about really did exist.”
She also went on the offensive against President Obama, claiming that he doesn’t value entrepreneurship.
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Fellow Mormon Mia Love Sends Strong Message to GOP Convention
August 29, 2012
Gather Politics
Mia Love is one of the hot topics of conversation today. Not only is the Mayor or Saratoga Springs, Utah a likely candidate for Congress, making history as the first African-American female to be elected, but she is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In other words, a Mormon, just like Mitt Romney.
http://politics.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981596290
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Mia Love: African-American, Mormon, Republican
August 29, 2012
College News
Mia Love isn’t just the mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah. She is Utah’s first black female mayor, now in the running to be the first black Republican woman in Congress. And, by the way, she’s Mormon. So it’s no wonder she caused a splash during her two-minute speech last night at the Republican National Convention in Tampa.
http://www.collegenews.com/article/mia_love_african-american_mormon_republican
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Black Mormon candidate Mia Love hits the national stage at RNC
August 29, 2012
The Grio
Mia Love, the 36-year-old black Mormon woman running for a U.S. House seat in Utah, officially launched onto the national stage Tuesday night with a speech at the Republican National Convention that mixed her own personal story with sharp attacks on President Obama.
http://thegrio.com/2012/08/29/rnc-mia-love-hits-the-national-stage/
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Ralph Reed on Religious Robocalls, Mitt’s Mormonism, and Whether Good Kochs Go to Heaven
August 29, 2012
New York Magazine
The evangelicals have a history of being uncomfortable with Mormons.
Sure, that is certainly true. But there’s one thing that you’re not appreciating. If you understand the religious and cultural history of America, no religious minority group, to my knowledge, has ever been as thoroughly persecuted, discriminated against, chased from one end of this continent to the other because of opposition to their theology and, in many cases, religious bigotry.
I am proud as an American, and particularly proud as a conservative evangelical, that we have nominated a ticket that is the first ticket in U.S. history without a protestant on it. And, that ticket, with a Mormon, and a devout Catholic, is going to get more evangelical votes, both in raw numbers and as a percentage of the vote, than any candidate in the modern political era.
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/08/ralph-reed-on-robocalls-mormons-and-koch.html
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GOP ‘built’ around out-of-context remark; Tampa’s black Mormon birther delegate
August 29, 2012
MSNBC
The Atlantic’s James Fallows, Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart, and Lehigh University’s Dr. James Peterson discuss whether you can build a big tent campaign around an inaccurately edited line uttered by the President – and Capehart reports on the black, Mormon birther Ron Paul delegate he met at the convention.
http://video.msnbc.msn.com/martin-bashir/48832316/#48832122
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In Mormonism, men are just as religious as women
August 29, 2012
Scripps News
In the general population, women go to church more regularly than men, pray more often, read scriptures more frequently and are more likely to describe themselves as “spiritual.” By any measure, women are more religious than men — except in Mormonism and the more traditionalist wing of Judaism.
“LDS women and men have the same level of ‘religiosity,’” political scientist David Campbell said in a recent speech to the Fort Douglas Officer’s Club on the University of Utah campus. “They are equally likely to describe themselves as ‘active,’ attend church, attend the temple, read the scriptures, pray … say that religion is important in their life, that they accept all church teachings, pay tithing and hold a calling.”
Campbell, a Mormon who teaches at Notre Dame University, was reporting some of the findings of a 2012 poll of 500 self-described Mormons. The researchers found unexpected gender differences on the question of the all-male priesthood. Women were much more likely to strongly disagree with the statement, “Women do not have enough say in the LDS Church.”
http://www.scrippsnews.com/content/mormonism-men-are-just-religious-women
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Who Is Ann Romney?
August 28, 2012
National Review
Ann apparently wasn’t entirely sold on Mitt from Day 1. But more interesting is what happened when she took a more serious interest in him — and in his Mormon faith. Ann was raised in a household that was not so much blandly irreligious in the consensus Protestant fashion but actively hostile to organized religion, which her father considered a crock and a waste of time. While Mitt was away on his missionary work, Ann contacted his father to arrange to learn more about Mormon teaching, very much against the wishes of her father. But George Romney was a forceful man, and he persuaded Ann’s parents to allow her to meet with Mormon missionaries, under the condition that she did so under family observation. The result was that Ann ended up joining the church — and eventually bringing a few siblings along with her, and eventually her mother as well.
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/315129/who-ann-romney-kevin-d-williamson
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Only on Brody File: Mike Huckabee Tells Skeptical Evangelicals That They Should Vote for Romney
August 29, 2012
Christian Broadcasting Network
Mike Huckabee: I think there’s no need for Mitt Romney to be reluctant to talk about his faith, and his relationship with his church. I know there’s a sensitivity and I’ve heard of all of the talk about some people saying, ‘Oh, I am not sure if I want to vote for a Mormon.’ I think that’s nonsense, and here’s why.
I may not be Mormon, but I am so grateful for the Mormons’ position on issues that are of great importance to me. Let’s face it. Prop 8 would never have happened in California had it not been for the Mormon Church, they were there. Financially, they were there organizationally, would not have happened. So, I’m far more able to identify with all the Mormons than I am with the Democrats, that are an easy call for me.
So I’m telling all of my evangelical friends that say well, should I vote for a Mormon? I say yeah, why not? I mean, because when we talk about it, it doesn’t matter where he goes to church; it matters where he’s going to take the country, that’s what really becomes important to me.
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