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31 August 2012
Are Mormons Christians? Witherington says no.
August 31, 2012
FAIR Blog
Ben Witherington recently posted the following essay on Patheos: “Why Mormonism is not Christianity- the Issue of Christology.” It seems a perennial Evangelical claim, that, unfortunately never seems to actually engage Mormon response.
There he gives six reasons why he believes Mormons are not Christians. While I have enjoyed Professor Witherington’s biblical scholarship, I’m afraid his understanding of Mormonism is inadequate. I’ll examine each of his six claims.
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List of reliable sources on Mormonism
August 30, 2012
MormonVoices
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon church) has grown from an obscure American sect to a major worldwide branch of Christianity, but increased prominence does not always lead to increased understanding. The best way to learn about a unfamiliar belief system is to ask its own adherents rather than relying on possible misinformation or bias from others. Therefore, the church’s own websites at mormon.org and lds.org should be the starting point for anyone interested in researching Mormons. Another excellent and more systematic resource is the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, available online.
Probably almost all Mormons have had the experience of a friend or colleague reciting a “fact” about Mormon faith or practice that is actually false. Many other snippets of “common knowledge” about Mormons are based on truth but are distorted or misinterpreted.
Fortunately, there are several scholars and journalists, both Mormon and non-Mormon, who have written clear and accurate explanations of Mormon belief.
http://mormonvoices.org/1646/reliable-sources-on-mormonism
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Mormons’ respect for government
August 30, 2012
MormonVoices
Some have publicly worried that a political leader’s Mormon faith could lead to decisions in the Church’s interest at the expense of the country’s well-being. MormonVoices has no political position, makes no endorsements, and has no information or opinion on the decisions or philosophies of various Mormon leaders and candidates from various parties. However, an examination of Mormon doctrine and scripture shows that fears that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will influence political leaders are unfounded.
Separation of religious and civil authority:The Book of Mormon relates many details about an ancient culture in the western hemisphere, including its government structure. The need for separation between political and ecclesiastical authority is a common theme. For instance, when the church’s high priest was troubled by internal dissenters, he asked the king for help disciplining them. The king flatly refused to judge them for crimes that were religious rather than civil in nature. The high priest then received divine guidance in how to handle such cases in a strictly religious manner. (Mosiah chapter 26.)
http://mormonvoices.org/1640/mormons-respect-for-government
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MormonVoices Provides Helpful Research Sources for Journalists and Public
August 31, 2012
Yahoo News
“There’s so much news and opinion coverage of Mormons right now, and so much public interest, that sometimes it seems journalists are hard pressed to find accurate and easily available sources. It’s not always easy to research an unfamiliar subject, especially one as broad and detailed as an entire religious group and history,” said Scott Gordon, a Managing Director of MormonVoices. “We at MormonVoices produce our own articles designed to be helpful and informative, and realized that there is a need for additional, more detailed sources to be identified so that journalists and researchers can know where to start, at least.”
John Lynch, another MormonVoices Managing Director added: “It can be tricky to capture not just the facts about doctrine and practice, but also the nuances of culture and worldview. Mormons often see themselves portrayed in media in ways that they don’t even recognize. That’s problematic for anyone trying to find out what Mormons are ‘really’ like. The sources in our MormonVoices list not only convey basic information but also get the tone and character right.”
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MormonVoices Explains Mormon Positions on Government
August 31, 2012
Yahoo News
MormonVoices has issued a new article that analyzes what various Mormon scriptures have to say about politics. The “Mormon Moment” has been largely driven by Mormons running for, or already holding, high government offices in the United States and elsewhere. Some commentators, whether dedicated critics or just curious observers, have popularized theories that Mormons in government could be inappropriately influenced or controlled by LDS church leadership. The MormonVoices article on government shows why these fears are unfounded.
“A lot of people just don’t realize that Mormon scripture is very rich and detailed, and covers a wide range of topics relevant to every day life,” said Scott Gordon, a Managing Director of MormonVoices. “Not everyone commenting or reporting on Mormon issues can be an expert on those scriptures or even read them all, so we decided it was very necessary to provide this overview regarding government. It puts to rest a lot of the questions that some people have been speculating and worrying about.”
http://news.yahoo.com/mormonvoices-explains-mormon-positions-government-190501705.html
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The rest is history: How a Mormon scholar turned doubter, then believer
August 31, 2012
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
“I could describe many of the events of Joseph Smith’s life, but I couldn’t explain the thing that really mattered: why it all worked,” Bradley, now 42, said in a July speech at the annual Sunstone Symposium, a conference in Salt Lake City for Mormon intellectuals. “Joseph Smith wasn’t of interest because he’d been a merchant, a mayor, or even a much-married husband, but because he was the founder of a religion. And it was precisely the religious dimension I couldn’t account for.”
Besides rediscovering Mormonism, Bradley learned how to balance faith and facts, science and spirituality, reason and revelation.
Along the way, he spent time as an agnostic and atheist, then back to theist, then Baha’i, then generic Protestant before returning to the Utah-based church where he had begun.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/54790798-80/bradley-mormon-smith-faith.html.csp
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Is There Anything Wrong With Voting for a Mormon for President?
August 31, 2012
Christianity Today
For American Christians, it is helpful to remember this as the November presidential election approaches. They face a choice between a politically and theologically liberal Christian and a politically conservative Mormon. Those who prefer Barack Obama, the left-leaning Christian, likely solved their dilemma in the last presidential election. Millions of voters are now confronting a new moral question: “Is there anything wrong with voting for a Mormon President?”
The answer is “No.” In the 2012 election, voting for Mitt Romney–yes, a Mormon former bishop–is certainly a moral option for followers of Jesus Christ. For those who want a pro-life, pro-free market, pro-business, pro-defense, and “America first” champion, Mitt Romney is their man. It is no sin or dishonor of God to vote for him, even though his Latter-day Saint religion is far from orthodox Christianity.
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The Mormon moment
August 31, 2012
Associated Baptist Press
“But to really answer the question about whether Mormonism is a Christian system, you really have to go a little deeper,” Davis said in a June interview on Ed Stetzer’s The Exchange online program. “You have to look at the doctrine. You have to look at the theology of Mormonism.”
Kathleen Flake, a graduate of Brigham Young University who now teaches at Vanderbilt Divinity School, says most Christians encountering Mormonism find it a “mix of the familiar and the strange.”
In a recent Christian Century article, Flake says even Mormonism’s most unfamiliar tenets rest in some way on the Bible, viewed as the word of God “insofar as it is translated correctly.” Three other Latter-day Saint scriptures are also believed to be God’s direct revelation to Joseph Smith, the church’s “founding prophet.”
http://abpnews.com/culture/politics/item/7774-the-mormon-moment#.UEGR69aPVWV
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It’s Official: Coke and Pepsi are OK for Mormons
August 31, 2012
Washington Post
Maybe now, reporters, bloggers, outsiders and even many Mormons will accept that the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not forbid drinking cola.
On Wednesday (Aug. 29), the LDS church posted a statement on its website saying that “the church does not prohibit the use of caffeine” and that the faith’s health-code reference to “hot drinks” ”does not go beyond (tea and coffee).”
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Romney a ‘leading Mormon bishop’? That’s a misleading phrase
August 31, 2012
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
Sorry, Howard Fineman, but Mitt Romney was not a “leading bishop” in the LDS Church, nor was he ever a “high-ranking religious official.”
That’s what Fineman claims in his summary of Thursday’s Republican National Convention speeches.
Years ago, Romney was an LDS bishop in Boston but he was just one among thousands. Today, there are more than 28,000 leaders of LDS congregations across the globe, according to the faith’s website.
Mormonism’s only “leading bishop” is known as the “presiding bishop,” lives in Salt Lake City and is employed full time by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Every other LDS bishop is on equal footing.
Romney was also an LDS stake president, who oversaw several congregations in the Boston area. Currently, there are nearly 3,000 such stakes worldwide.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsfaithblog/54806544-180/bishop-romney-lds-mormon.html.csp
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Mitt Romney Tries to Convince Us That He’s Not Satan’s Minion
August 31, 2012
Slate
Last night was “Meet a Mormon” night at the RNC, part of Romney’s strategy to educate evangelicals who have decided, quite arbitrarily, that their faith is less fanciful than his. To that end a couple far too decent to be onstage told stories of Mitt Romney’s kindness during the death of their son, and a woman told of Mitt crying as he held her sick, prematurely born daughter. I found it moving, but then, I like Mormons and admire them for their over-representation in So You Think You Can Dance. What’s Romney up against? It’s surely difficult for Godless Slate readers to understand; you didn’t even know about the body’s rape pregnancy defense mechanism until this month.
Prosaic anti-Mormonism merely attempts to expose Joseph Smith as a fraudulent prophet. But if the natural world is as alive to you as it is to some Christians, sinister forces manifest where others might see mere falsehood. In this paper on Contemporary Evangelical Anti-Mormonism, sociologist Massimo Introvigne quotes preachers who believe Satan invented Mormonism to lure Christians from the true God. “New age anti-Mormons” believe Satan and his Mormon friends designed the spires of the Mormon church to represent an upside down nail, “pointing defiantly toward heaven–as if to impale the Lord Jesus anew when he comes in the clouds of glory.”
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Romney makes Mormonism part of his big night
August 31, 2012
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (Texas)
After keeping his religious beliefs mostly private, Mitt Romney highlighted his dedication to his faith in his own remarks and through the heartfelt testimony of friends Thursday night as he became the first Mormon nominee for president on a major party ticket.
The comments were a turning point for the former Massachusetts governor, who has wrestled with how much to discuss being a Mormon, a faith that faced prejudice from its earliest days and remains little known to most Americans.
http://lubbockonline.com/faith/2012-08-31/romney-makes-mormonism-part-his-big-night#.UEGaCtaPVWU
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Romney Finds Religion
August 31, 2012
Huffington Post
Republicans meeting in Tampa this week and Americans watching the GOP convention at home heard a lot about something the Romney campaign hasn’t wanted to talk about before: Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith. On Thursday night, a series of Romney’s fellow members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints took to the stage in Tampa to speak about their religion and Romney’s leadership in the LDS Church. Later in the night, Romney spent little time discussing the topic that he’s mostly avoided on the campaign trail, but he did mention the experience of having grown up Mormon in Michigan. “That might have seemed unusual or out of place,” Romney said, “but I don’t remember it that way. My friends cared more about what sports teams we followed than what church we went to.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neil-j-young/romney-finds-religion_b_1846542.html
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Romney casts himself as a disciple of a truly American religion: Success
August 31, 2012
Washington Post
Anyone looking for a Big Mormon Reveal in Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention Thursday night was surely disappointed. Romney spoke very little about the faith in which he was raised, its prayers, rituals and Scriptures, and their sustaining meaning in his life. He mentioned his Mormonism only in passing, and as if with a shrug.
He said, first off, that growing up Mormon in Michigan (not known, as Utah is, as a stronghold of the Latter-day Saints) was no big deal. “That might have seemed unusual or out of place, but I really don’t remember it that way,” he said. As young marrieds and new parents, he and Ann, like so many Americans, relied on their church community for “kinship,” he said; as they prospered, they found joy in helping others through church. Indeed, so intent was the Republican nominee to show how lightly he wore his faith, that Romney — not known even in relaxed circumstances for his comic timing — delivered a scripted Mormon joke, saying he considered asking the LDS pension fund to invest in Bain Capital, but didn’t want to run the risk of going to hell. Romney’s delivery was stiff and unfunny, but the message was clear. Catholics make Catholic jokes. Jews make Jewish jokes. Yeah, I’m a Mormon, he seemed to say. So what?
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In testimonials, Romney’s Mormon faith takes spotlight
August 30, 2012
Chicago Tribune (Illinois)
They were stories of Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith, the kind of stories the Republican presidential candidate has not said much about during his run for the White House.
There was Grant Bennett, a former assistant to Romney who described how Romney, as a Mormon pastor in the late 1970s, devoted 15 to 20 hours a week visiting sick members of his congregation, delivering meals or shoveling snow for the elderly.
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The Mormon Moment
September 1, 2012
Dallas Baptist Standard (Texas)
For Baptists and other evangelicals trying to decide how to vote in the upcoming presidential election, it also has renewed discussion of whether the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christian.
The answer is complicated. If “Christian” means an individual who has placed his faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ, Mormons would seem to qualify. “I believe in a Heavenly Father; I believe in his Son Jesus Christ; I believe in the Holy Ghost,” GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has described his Mormon faith.
For 99 percent of the world’s Christians, however, that Trinitarian formula refers to one God who exists as three distinct persons all described in the Bible. Mormonism holds a different view of the nature of God, has its own scriptures and is built on a presumption that revelation did not cease with the New Testament.
http://www.baptiststandard.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14240&Itemid=53
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Kirby: Hey, Mormons, garments aren’t secret anymore
August 31, 2012
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
Garments are a sacred subject among Mormons, or at least they’re supposed to be. We’re counseled to take the matter so seriously that we shouldn’t even mention them in public. Some of us do a better job of that than others.
During the 2002 Winter Olympics, I was interviewed by a French news crew interested in finding out more about “les Mormons.” The woman conducting the interview point blank asked me about “ze garments.”
No one had been willing to show her a pair of Mormon garments. Would I, a fellow journalist, be so kind?
I told her on camera (and partly in jest) that I would be happy to show her my underwear if she showed me hers first.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/54798825-80/garments-mormons-kirby-sacred.html.csp
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Some Mormonism basics
August 31, 2012
Worcester Telegram (Massachusetts)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded in 1830 in upstate New York and has since become one of the fastest-growing religious traditions in the world. Yet many Americans know little about the religion, and what they do know is often a caricature of the faith. Mitt Romney is the first Mormon nominated for president by a major party. For many voters, he’s the only Latter-day Saint they know.
Mormons consider themselves part of traditional Christianity, but most Christians disagree. Why?
A: Mormons and traditional Christians share many beliefs, including that Jesus was the son of God and that the Bible is the word of God. However, they differ on some fundamentals. Mormons believe their founder and first prophet Joseph Smith received revelations that restored true Christianity, which Smith said had been corrupted by other churches. Those revelations are contained in the additional scriptures that Mormons alone use, including “The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.” Mormons also differ with other Christians over the nature of the Trinity and the afterlife. A group of Mormon and evangelical scholars has been meeting for years to see where they can find common ground.
http://www.telegram.com/article/20120831/NEWS/108319772/1116
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Speakers Tell of Romney’s Kindness as Mormon Pastor
August 31, 2012
Market Watch
Grant Bennett, who assisted Mr. Romney during his stint as pastor, said Mr. Romney gave up weekends and nights meeting with people who were “seeking help with the burdens of real life.”
“Mitt prayed and counseled with church members seeking spiritual direction,” he said. “Single mothers raising children. Couples with marital problems. …. Immigrants separated from their families and individuals whose heat had been shut off.”
A couple named Ted and Pat Oparowski said Mr. Romney sought to comfort their son David, who died of cancer at age 14.
Pat Oparowski said that Mr. Romney would visit David in the hospital. When David asked Mr. Romney to help him draw up a will, Mr. Romney showed up at the hospital with a yellow legal pad and took notes as David asked that his skateboard and fishing tackle be given away to friends.
http://stream.marketwatch.com/story/2012-democratic-national-convention/SS-4-10273/SS-4-10289/
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Mormons Steal the Show at RNC’s Final Night
August 31, 2012
Tablet Magazine
First, Grant Bennett, who served as Romney’s assistant during his time as an LDS bishop, described the candidate’s unstinting devotion to his congregation. (To explain the character of the position to a wider audience, Bennett used the term “pastor” rather than “bishop,” which has different connotations to non-Mormons.)
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has an unpaid, lay clergy,” opened Bennett. “While raising his family and pursuing his career, Mitt Romney served in our church, devoting 10, 15, even 20 hours a week doing so. Like all Mormon leaders, he did so on his own time and at his own expense.”
http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/110916/mormons-steal-the-show-at-rncs-final-night
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Delegates don’t see Romney’s Mormon faith as an issue anymore
August 30, 2012
Seattle Times (Washington)
“Isn’t it nice that whatever may have happened in the past is not here, is not present in this campaign?” said state Sen. Pam Roach, R-Auburn, a Romney delegate and Mormon. “We have one spirit. We love America. We want this family to survive, and we believe it’s in trouble.”
Fredi Simpson, a Republican leader from Chelan County and also a Romney delegate, said she hadn’t heard anything about his faith in months.
“It’s not a problem,” said Simpson, who described her religious background as Catholic and Episcopalian. “The reason our forefathers came here is to not have a preference for any religion.”
http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2019032749_localconvention31m.html
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Latter-Day Sodas: Mormon Church Approves Pepsi + Coke
August 31, 2012
LA Weekly (California)
Well, it’s official — after an announcement by the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Wednesday, one mystery surrounding the Mormon faith has been dispelled for good: Caffeinated sodas are now fair game for thirsty church members.
A statement on the LDS website states that “the church does not prohibit the use of caffeine” and that the faith’s health-code reference to “hot drinks” ”does not go beyond (tea and coffee).” While that might not quite satisfy Mormons looking for an alternative to their cup of decaf coffee, it’s good news for those who can’t resist the pull of an icy can of pop (which includes Mitt Romney, who is known to have a fondess for Diet Coke while on the campaign trail).
http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2012/08/latter-day_sodas_mormon_church.php
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Mormons Hit The Mainstream
August 31, 2012
New Haven Independent (Connecticut)
As the Romney campaign put its candidate’s faith on display Thursday night at the Republican National Convention, Mormons in the Utah delegation recognized an opportunity to convince America they’re not so weird after all.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney formally accepted the Republican Party nomination for president on the final evening of the convention here. Before he did, testimonials from members of his church highlighted Romney’s Mormon faith.
As a candidate, Romney has chosen not to discuss his religion. The fact that he is a Mormon has been seen as a liability to his bid for the presidency, much as John F. Kennedy’s Catholicism was considered a liability in the 1960 presidential campaign. After months of internal debate about how to tackle the question, Romney’s advisers decided to publicly present and embrace his faith rather than run from it. Mormons, appearing as Mormons, not politicians, took the stage before Romney’s climactic appearance.
http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/mormonism_takes_center_stage/id_50217
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Photos: Bill Keller says Mitt Romney, GOP pray to Satan at RNC (Video)
August 31, 2012
Examiner
On August 31, 2012, evangelist Bill Keller released a statement publicly denouncing the prayer held at the Republican National Convention. Keller did not state exactly whose prayer he took offense with, but made it clear that he believes the Mormon religion is a cult and any prayers offered by adherents to the faith started by Joseph Smith will end up in Satan’s ears. Former police Chief Kenneth Hutchins, who is a Mormon, did offer the opening prayer for the RNC. Closing prayer was provided by New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Mitt Romney is Mormon while VP candidate Paul Ryan is Catholic. Keller did not state whether he felt Cardinal Dolan’s prayer bypassed heaven’s ears.
Keller explained his reaction to the prayer by saying he was horrified to watch a “Mormon cult member” lead Biblical Christians in a prayer to Satan. Keller stated, “Mormons do not pray to the God of the Bible, but to a mythical “god” they believe who was once a man!”
http://www.examiner.com/article/photos-bill-keller-says-mitt-romney-gop-pray-to-satan-at-rnc
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Marvin Repinski: Mitt Romney is a Mormon and a Christian
August 31, 2012
Rochester Post-Bulletin (Minnesota)
Some years ago, while doing graduate studies at Yale University, I experienced several “conversions.” One of them involved getting to know a Mormon couple who lived on the same floor of a married student housing complex.
My religious background had planted plenty of seeds of doubt in my mind, and some of them were defensive, defensive, judgmental, poisonous, and even growing into an infestation of paranoia.
Basically, it was an attitude of “Your way or my way.” !
The question, “are they really Christian?” was often, as I recall, tinged with a smirk of self-righteousness that seemed to reveal a sense of “those poor misled persons.” Among my books on various religions are several that use words like “secular, worldly, watered down, non-Christian, sect, cult, not born again, unpatriotic.” In those books there is usually a chapter on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
But at Yale, through a transition in my thinking fortified with friendship, conversation, and study, I came to believe that Mormons are Christian.
http://www.postbulletin.com/news/stories/display.php?id=1506822
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Mormons Celebrate Romney’s Religious Coming-Out
August 31, 2012
Buzz Feed
The Mormons on the floor of the convention hall here Thursday night were feeling like winners.
Not only had one of their own just officially accepted the Republican presidential nomination — marking a climax to the current “Mormon moment,” and a triumphant emergence into the American mainstream for their faith — but Brigham Young University’s football team was about win its season-opener.
As the balloons fell, Utah delegate Brent Bishop looked up from his iPhone and announced the third-quarter score to the rest of the delegation.
“Fourteen-three, BYU!” he declared. “We’re winners all around tonight!”
High-fives were exchanged. Woo-hoos were emitted. And Mitt Romney’s proudest and most loyal constituency soaked in the feeling of victory on a night when their political and religious standard-bearer finally decided to join them in the Mormon moment.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/mormons-celebrate-romneys-new-openess
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Will candidate’s Mormon faith repel or attract voters?
August 31, 2012
Dallas Baptist Standard (Texas)
The first study, produced by three prominent political scientists, including two Mormons, finds Romney’s religion hampered his 2008 presidential run and may do so again this year.
But a second, from the Washington-based nonpartisan Brookings Institution, calls such concerns “overblown” and suggests Romney’s Mormonism actually may help him court conservative voters.
http://www.baptiststandard.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14239&Itemid=53
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Eastwood’s empty chair, and Mitt’s Mormon moment
August 31, 2012
Atlanta Journal Constitution (Georgia)
“You cannot measure a man’s character based on words he utters before adoring crowds during times that are happy,” Ted Oparowski said Thursday night. “The true measure of a man is revealed in his actions during times of trouble. The quiet hospital room of a dying boy, with no cameras and no reporters — this is the time to make that assessment.”
His wife, Pat, described Romney’s many visits to their son David in his Boston hospital room. Once, he brought fireworks to shoot off (elsewhere, of course) to David’s delight. Then, as she continued, came the legal pad.
“On another visit, David, knowing Mitt had gone to law school at Harvard, asked Mitt if he would help him write a will. He had some prized possessions he wanted to make sure were given to his closest friends and family.
http://blogs.ajc.com/kyle-wingfield/2012/08/31/eastwoods-empty-chair-and-mitts-mormon-moment/
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“The Book of Mormon Girl: A Memoir of an American Faith” by Joanna Brooks
August 31, 2012
Washington Post
In “The Book of Mormon Girl,” Joanna Brooks describes her 1980s Southern California Mormon childhood in loving and witty detail: the search for a non-caffeinated beverage at birthday parties, an overabundance of greasy casseroles and a Mormon festival at the Rose Bowl featuring 15,000 sateen-clad dancers.
She was “a root beer among the Cokes,” a Latter-day-Saint oddity amid countless born-again Protestants. A friend once invited the 13-year-old Brooks to an evangelical youth gathering at which a stand-up comic ended his routine with a deadly serious warning that “the Mormon Church is a cult.”
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STAGE VIEWS: Book of Mormon Star Clark Johnsen
September 1, 2012
Playbill
What are your current/upcoming projects?
I am currently attempting to convert the world eight times a week in The Book of Mormon on Broadway. As a bonafide ex-Mormon returned missionary, the experience has been unique and wonderful beyond all description. Outside of the show, I’m spending every spare moment I can find endeavoring to write a memoir about my gay Mormon awakening, my two-year mission to Mexico, my journey out of the church, and my full circle moment: being a mormon missionary again, but this time on Broadway.
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/169574-STAGE-VIEWS-Book-of-Mormon-Star-Clark-Johnsen
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Romney appeals to disappointed Obama voters; Mormon friends relate experiences
August 31, 2012
GOPUSA
That speech is the centerpiece of the evening, and touches on themes that are both personal and political. He’ll tell stories, aides say, that haven’t been part of his campaign trail pitch. He’ll discuss his Mormon faith, particularly his time helping struggling families when he served as a church leader in Boston.
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God and man in Tampa
August 31, 2012
Romney got to “women” via “love” as well, the “unconditional love” of both parents for children, and “God’s love” for us. I thought that paragraph was the best personal theological statement of the evening, perhaps of the convention, and certainly seemed to be Romney’s personal theology. God as literally “Father” and the nuclear family are key cornerstones of Mormon theology.
But how does Romney connect this faith to policy? Not at all, as Joanna Brooks, a Mormon, writes. In her view, Romney failed Mormonism in his acceptance speech as he did not connect his faith commitments to his policy views; indeed, the policy is contradicted by his faith:
“How do individual religious good deeds for the ill, elderly, and vulnerable balance against national economic policies that disproportionately impact the ill, elderly, and vulnerable?
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Is work a punishment from God?
August 31, 2012
Washington Post
Theology also sets the stage for Mormons’ renowned work ethic, said Matthew Bowman, author of “The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith.”
Unlike most Christians, Mormons don’t believe in original sin. Rather, they subscribe to the theory of the “fortunate Fall” — that is, Adam and Eve’s mischievous meal was a good thing. It inaugurated free will and set the world’s wheels in motion.
So, when God tells Adam that he’ll have to work for his food, Mormons interpret that as sound advice for spiritual progression, not a punishment. “Mormons subscribe to the idea that work is something that will refine your soul, make you a better person and fine tune your human potential,” Bowman said.
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Local Mormons see church interest grow
August 31, 2012
Dubuque Telegraph Herald (Iowa)
This is arguably the “Mormon moment” on the national political stage. Mitt Romney is the first Mormon nominated for president by a major party and many voters want to know more about his faith.
Although the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the fastest-growing religious traditions in the world with 14.4 million members, the religion is often misunderstood. The church and its tenets have been thrust into the national spotlight with Romney’s nomination.
http://www.thonline.com/news/tri-state/article_837c6444-674d-5ebf-bab9-3b182fb935bd.html
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RNC Takes America to Church, Mormon Style, as Rank-and-File LDS Step Up
August 31, 2012
Religion Dispatches
Thursday night, the Republican National Convention took America to church–Mormon style.
And Mitt Romney had nothing to do with it.
After eighteen months of fastidiously avoiding the issue of religion–a strategy that at times conveyed the unfortunate impression that his Mormonism was something Romney felt he needed to hide–the Romney campaign invited regular rank-and-file Mormons to do the heavy lifting on religion for them.
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Mitt Romney: Wooden Pastor or Real Boy?
August 31, 2012
Religion Dispatches
How many men do you know, Mr. Oparowski asked, that would take the time out of their busy schedule to visit a boy like David?
My answer is almost every single one (and women, too). Having been raised Mormon in the heart of Salt Lake City I recognize Mormonism’s tremendous organizational imprint on Mitt’s life; his experiences echo those of my parents and grandparents, cousins, neighbors, and even my own.
An overwhelmingly lay Church, Mormonism is run by families. The laity fills all posts in the parish, performs most of the sacraments, and even takes turns giving the Sunday sermon (for good or ill), and Mitt has clearly done his share.
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/politics/6346/mitt_romney%3A_wooden_pastor_or_real_boy_/
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Mormons take centre stage
August 31, 2012
The Independent (South Africa)
A still-grieving couple – members of Romney’s church – described his caring compassion and many acts of kindness toward their teenaged son who was dying of cancer, including helping him write up a will.
“Mitt brought joy to a young boy who hadn’t experienced any for too long. He also gave the rest of us a welcome release,” said the couple, Ted and Pat Oparowski, as they recounted a heart-rending tale of parental loss.
Romney spent nearly 14 years as a lay Mormon pastor around Boston, and the act of compassion, those in his church attested, was typical of the selfless service he showed.
The invocation at the beginning of the evening was given by Ken Hutchins, who like Romney was also a Mormon leader in Massachusetts, among other remarks of praise and admiration by supporters from Romney’s church.
http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/mormons-take-centre-stage-1.1373525#.UEGiMtaPVWU
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Adam Levine flaunts anti-Mormon bigotry in tweet about Romney’s ‘magic underwear’
August 31, 2012
Twitchy
As Mitt Romney took the stage to accept the Republican presidential nomination, Maroon 5″s Adam Levine couldn’t resist putting his anti-Mormon bigotry on full display.
Oh-so-tolerant libs like Cher, Ellen Barkin, Michael McKean, Roger Ebert and countless Twitter leftists revel in their ignorant disdain for Romney’s Mormon faith. Levine dutifully added his bigoted voice to Hollywood’s seething mass of hate, happy to do his part by attacking Romney, and by extension, all Mormons.
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