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22 September 2012
Mormonism in the News: Getting It Right | September 21
September 21, 2012
Today’s “Getting It Right” features a video from PBS that includes comments that Mormons believe in Christ, the Bible and modern revelation; a brief primer on Mormon beliefs from the Los Angeles Times, and a story from WWLTV in Louisiana about 1,000 Mormons who volunteered to gut homes after Hurricane Isaac.
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/mormonism-news-getting-it-right-september-21
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LDS Church says disciplinary claim is ‘patently false’
September 21, 2012
Deseret News
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today said that suggestions by a Florida man that he is being excommunicated by the church for writing negative articles about Mitt Romney are “patently false.”
In a statement issued Friday afternoon, LDS Church spokesman Michael Purdy denied that David Twede, who is described in The Daily Beast as “a scientist, novelist and fifth-generation Mormon,” is facing church discipline “for having questions or for expressing a political view.”
“The church is an advocate of individual choice,” Purdy said. “It is a core tenet of our faith. Church discipline becomes necessary only in those rare occasions when an individual’s actions cannot be ignored while they claim to be in good standing with the church.
“Every organization, whether religious or secular, must be able to define where its boundaries begin and end,” Purdy added.
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Editor of Web Site May Face Mormon Excommunication
September 21, 2012
New York Times
The editor of a Web site that encourages Mormons to question church history and doctrine has been told that he faces a church trial and possible excommunication because he is an apostate who is trying to lead church members astray.
Mr. Twede’s situation was first reported on Friday by the Web site The Daily Beast, which suggested that Mr. Twede was being disciplined because he had posted several articles on MormonThink critical of Mr. Romney.
In an interview, however, Mr. Twede said he was not certain that this was the reason he was facing excommunication. He has also written posts on his personal blog, linked to MormonThink, about how he recently started attending church again after five years as an atheist. He described how he had struck up a friendship with a Mormon he called Pat and had e-mailed materials to Pat and Pat’s spouse that he hoped would shake their faith.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/22/us/web-site-editor-may-face-mormon-excommunication.html?_r=0
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Is Criticizing Mitt Romney an Excommunicable Offense? No.
September 22, 2012
Religion Dispatches
According to Stack, the major precipitant for the disciplinary council was not the essay questioning Romney’s political independence from the Church but rather a Mormonthink.com article that publicly disclosed details from LDS temple ceremonies, an act viewed by observant Mormons as an offense and a desecration.
According to Goodstein, local LDS Church leaders called Twede into an impromptu Sunday meeting, interrogated him as to whether he was a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”–a phrase often used among Mormons to describe anti- or ex-Mormons who pose as faithful members in an effort to lure others away, and issued Twede a summons to a disciplinary council on charges of “apostasy.” Twede had acknowledged on his blogsite that he had attempted to influence a couple he met at church by emailing them frank information about controversial aspects of Mormon history, while concealing his own identity as an editor of Mormonthink.com.
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LDS blogger, a Romney critic, faces church discipline, but why?
September 21, 2012
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
There’s a story circulating on the Internet and in the mainstream media that a Mormon blogger in Florida faces LDS Church discipline for writing critically about GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
That’s not really what’s happening, said the blogger, David Twede, at least not the political link.
In recent days, the blogger has blasted Romney as part of his critique of Mormonism, its beliefs about the nature of God and its temple ceremonies.
But, Twede told The Salt Lake Tribune on Friday, his LDS leaders never brought up Romney, a Mormon, in their exchange with him. Though not supporting the Republican standard-bearer, Twede apologized to Romney, saying, “I didn’t mean for [the story] to go this way.”
Indeed, plenty of Mormons across the country are critical of Romney — in public and often — but none has been threatened with any church sanction.
“It is patently false for someone to suggest they face church discipline for having questions or for expressing a political view,” LDS Church spokesman Michael Purdy said in a statement. “The church is an advocate of individual choice. It is a core tenet of our faith.”
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54944698-78/church-lds-twede-romney.html.csp
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Mormon writer critical of Mitt Romney says he faces excommunication
September 21, 2012
Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
A church spokesman in Salt Lake City would not confirm or discuss disciplinary actions, saying they are confidential and local.
However, spokesman Michael Purdy added in an email: “It is patently false for someone to suggest they face Church discipline for having questions or for expressing a political view. The Church is an advocate of individual choice. It is a core tenet of our faith. Church discipline becomes necessary only in those rare occasions when an individual’s actions cannot be ignored while they claim to be in good standing with the Church. Every organization, whether religious or secular, must be able to define where its boundaries begin and end.”
Twede said the church is unhappy with “doctrinal dissent” in MormonThink, which includes contributions from critics and defenders of the faith. His own writings claim the church has “acted unfavorably on issues such as Nazism, race and women’s rights” and censored members whose political ideologies were not aligned with those of the church.
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Mormon writer says he faces excommunication
September 22, 2012
Dubuque Telegraph Herald (Iowa)
However, spokesman Michael Purdy added in an email: “It is patently false for someone to suggest they face church discipline for having questions or for expressing a political view. The church is an advocate of individual choice. It is a core tenet of our faith. Church discipline becomes necessary only in those rare occasions when an individual’s actions cannot be ignored while they claim to be in good standing with the church. Every organization, whether religious or secular, must be able to define where its boundaries begin and end.”
Twede said the church is unhappy with “doctrinal dissent” in MormonThink, which includes contributions from critics and defenders of the faith. His own writings claim the church has “acted unfavorably on issues such as Nazism, race and women’s rights” and censored members whose political ideologies were not aligned with those of the church.
http://www.thonline.com/news/national_world/article_cb8fa6cf-f8c8-5794-b41b-792a17761083.html
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Writer says blog miffs Mormons
September 21, 2012
Monterey County Herald (California)
The Orlando-based managing editor of MormonThink.com, an online magazine that challenges Mormon teachings, said he faces excommunication because of his writings — including some critical of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, a Mormon.
David Twede, 47, has been summoned to appear before the disciplinary council of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Orlando on Sept. 30, when he could face “disfellowshipment or excommunication,” according to a letter he posted on his blog.
The letter stated that Twede was “reported to have been in apostasy,” an offense in which a member attempts to lead people away from church teachings.
http://www.montereyherald.com/religion/ci_21604235/writer-says-blog-miffs-mormons
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Mormon editor faces excommunication
September 22, 2012
Bend Bulletin (Oregon)
The editor of MormonThink, a website that encourages Mormons to question church history and doctrine, has been told that he faces a church trial and possible excommunication because he is an apostate who is trying to lead church members astray.
David Twede’s situation was first reported Friday by the website The Daily Beast, which suggested that he was being disciplined because he had posted several articles critical of Mitt Romney. The church said that was not the case.
http://www.bendbulletin.com/article/20120922/NEWS0107/209220317/
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Mormons Want to Excommunicate Romney Critic
September 21, 2012
Daily Beast
A Mormon in good standing, Twede has never been disciplined by Latter Day Saints leadership. But it now appears his days as a Mormon may be numbered because of a series of articles he wrote this past week that were critical of Mitt Romney.
On Sunday, Twede says his bishop, stake president, and two church executives brought him into Florida Mormon church offices in Orlando and interrogated him for nearly an hour about his writings, telling him, “Cease and desist, Brother Twede.”
Mormon leaders have scheduled an excommunication “for apostasy” on Sept. 30. A spokesman for the church told The Daily Beast that the church would not be commenting for this story.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/09/21/mormons-want-to-excommunicate-romney-critic.html
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2011 Taxes: How Much Did Romney Donate To Anti-Gay Mormon Church?
September 21, 2012
New Civil Rights Movement
The Mormon Church (LDS), while it no doubt does excellent charity work, also was the primary supporter of California’s Proposition 8, which we now know was an unconstitutional ban on same-sex marriage in the Golden State. The Mormons, or the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) worked tirelessly to pass the constitutional amendment in 2008, and, as many believe, is also the primary funder of NOM, the National Organization For Marriage.
The LDS Church leadership urged all Mormons to “do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment by donating of your means and time.”
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Romney writes off only a portion of LDS charity to keep tax rate up
September 21, 2012
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
The couple’s donations to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints appear to be almost double the 10 percent tithe faithful members are asked to give to the Salt Lake City-based faith.
In addition to Romney’s direct contributions to the LDS Church, he also gave to the faith through his charity for a total of $3.07 million last year, according to his campaign. The campaign also said Friday that the Romneys have given, on average, 13.45 percent of their income annually to charity, including the LDS Church.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/54943992-90/romney-tax-percent-romneys.html.csp
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News roundup: Romney’s ‘twisted’ interpretation of Mormon self-reliance
September 21, 2012
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
Happy Friday. When Mitt Romney made his unfortunate comment about the 47 percent of Americans who are stuck on the government dole, he was partially harking back to Mormon beliefs in self-motivation, says author Lisa Miller. However, as a religion professor points out, Romney has a “twisted” belief in the Mormon’s “self-reliance.” [WaPost]
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsoutofcontext/54940917-64/romney-obama-trib-campaign.html.csp
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Mormon Harry Reid blasts Mitt Romney’s Mormonism
September 21, 2012
Twitchy
Sen. Reid says he agrees with Gregory Prince op-ed saying Mitt Romney “is not the face of Mormonism”; “he has sullied the religion.”
On September 19, in response to the release of the non-bombshell “secret” Romney tape, author Gregory Prince penned a Huffington Post column in which he castigated Mitt Romney for his views on government dependents. According to Prince, himself a Mormon, Romney very poorly represents the tenets of the Mormon faith:
That face of Mormonism is the one that calls on some of its members, particularly bishops and stake presidents, to devote as many hours gratis to their church jobs as they do to their professional jobs. It is the one that summons up extraordinary acts of love, compassion and generosity, often in response to the deepest tragedies of life — and death.
But it is not the one that dismisses out-of-hand half the population of the United States by saying, “My job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.” As a bishop and stake president, Romney worried about those very people. Indeed, he worried far more about them, and spent far more time and means in assisting them, than the others in his flock who were more fortunate.
http://twitchy.com/2012/09/21/mormon-harry-reid-blasts-mitt-romneys-mormonism/
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Romney’s Family
September 21, 2012
Mountain Home News (Idaho)
The presidential nominee’s great-grandfather Miles was asked in the late 1880s by Mormon officials to go to Mexico to create a colony where Mormons could practice polygamy far from the harassment of U.S. officials. It was there that Mitt Romney’s grandfather Gaskell and father, George, were born into an increasingly prosperous family and Mormon community.
But in 1912, George, then 5, and his family fled, with thousands of other Mormons, to the U.S. — chased out by Mexican rebels and largely leaving their wealth behind.
http://www.mountainhomenews.com/blogs/1397/entry/49593/
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Spittler siblings set to begin mission work
September 21, 2012
Brenham Banner (Texas)
Brenham siblings Robert and Kathryn Spittler are beginning months-long Mormon missions that will take one to another country.
Robert is a May 2012 graduate of Brenham High School who played “Wilbur” in the Brenham High School production of “Hairspray.” He will serve for two full years in the Bolivia, Santa Cruz mission, which will require him to become fluent in Spanish.
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Mormon devotion something to admire
September 22, 2012
Daily Illini
While I sat in Winkler’s office this week, I couldn’t help but wonder how LDS members persevere on a campus that rarely glorifies God.
“If a student comes from a place where they have a solid base of the Church, then they really cling on to the few LDS members that are here,” Winkler said thoughtfully. “They might have roommates or friends with different lifestyles, so they want strength from fellowship. The Institute is where they can find that.”
It makes sense. We all want someone to relate to, don’t we? Mormons on campus may be in the minority, but small numbers doesn’t mean small hearts. These believers are passionate about the LDS Church and what it stands for. And that, I think, is something to admire.
“After meeting with Mormon missionaries during my freshman year, everything just made sense,” Byrd said. “I would cry every time I met with them because I felt like I was hearing something powerful and true. I still feel that way. It’s changed my life.”
Walking through college is certainly not easy, but having spiritual guidance makes all the difference. I’m not a Mormon, but that is one thing I can wholeheartedly agree with. Over at the Institute, that help is abounding for LDS members and even those who are just checking the religion out.
http://www.dailyillini.com/article/2012/09/505be8a574ff0
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Q&A: A brief primer about Mormon beliefs
September 21, 2012
Los Angeles Times (California)
Mitt Romney is the first major-party nominee for president who is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — the Mormons. Here is a brief primer about Mormon history and beliefs:
Who are the Mormons?
The LDS Church claims some 14 million members, more than half outside the United States. Most American Mormons live in the West, with more than a third concentrated in Utah. American Mormons are overwhelmingly white (88%) and Republican-leaning (74%), according to the independent Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-mormon-primer-20120921,0,7228654.story
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Mormonism’s polygamous pioneer
September 22, 2012
Irish Times
The character who emerges from Turner’s elegantly written and well-researched biography is a man for whom the word “protean” might almost have been invented. He became one of the foremost colonisers of American history, leading the Mormons on a perilous journey to the Great Basin and laying claim to approximately a sixth of the western United States. “We are the soul and the mainspring of the west,” he declared with some justification in 1870.
Young faced down federal attempts to curtail Mormon autonomy in general and on controversial issues such as plural marriage in particular. In doing so, writes Turner, “he brought many of the key political issues of mid-19th-century America into sharp relief: westward expansion, popular sovereignty, religious freedom, vigilantism, and Reconstruction”.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2012/0922/1224324252402.html
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Romney’s conservative roots lie in Mormon faith
September 21, 2012
Los Angeles Times (California)
That worldview, focused on church and not government, is part of the culture of American Mormonism, paradoxically rooted in both self-reliance and communitarian idealism. It may help explain the roots of Mitt Romney’s conservatism, which in many ways mirrors the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
When Romney said in a secretly recorded video that 47% of Americans lacked personal responsibility and believed they deserved government entitlements, it reflected a conservative political view rooted in the idea that freedom demands responsibility.
But it also may reflect his history as a Mormon bishop, whose duties included giving the needy among his flock a hand up — but never a mere handout.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-mormon-conservatism-20120921,0,3934557.story
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Mormon Moment
September 22, 2012
Miami Herald (Florida)
With “clean” rap music thumping, the scene at the dance at a Mormon chapel is as unbridled as any school dance, except that the girls’ modest dresses cover their shoulders and no one is embarrassed to do the chicken dance.
With a backwards red baseball cap adding swagger to Bien-Amie’s white shirt-and-tie church outfit, the Atlantic High School senior laughs at the sight of supposedly strait-laced Mormon kids cutting loose.
“They don’t expect us to do this, to have this much fun,” says 18-year-old Bien-Amie, who lives in Delray Beach and was born in Haiti to a family that was Roman Catholic before converting eight years ago.
There are about 137,000 Mormons in Florida, a small fraction of the church’s U.S. membership of about 6 million but an 81 percent increase since 2000, according to the 2010 U.S. Religion Census. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or LDS, has more than 18,000 members from Key West to West Palm Beach.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/22/3014112/mormon-moment.html
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Mitt, Moochers, and Mormonism’s “Other” Legacy
September 21, 2012
Religion Dispatches
There are many stories on which a Mormon is raised: narratives of the elect, America and the Constitution, the latter days, and free agency–all of which play a role in Mitt Romney’s “severe” conservatism. The bombshell release of video in which he trumpets his disdain for moochers, and reveals a remarkably casual approach to Middle East politics, all resonate with the Calvinist heritage of Mormon theology, as well as with principal Mormon narratives. But Mormonism also holds the seeds of a decidedly progressive politics–a possible Mormon liberation theology.
Does Romney’s religion matter? It’s a question that has been asked many times this election season. My answer, below, is in two parts, as I journey from end times theology (the “latter days”) through Mormonism’s radical social and political past.
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Mark Steyn: ‘Barack & Hillary at the movies’
September 21, 2012
Orange County Register (California)
What other entertainments have senior U.S. officials reviewed lately? Last year Hillary Clinton went to see the Broadway musical “Book of Mormon.” “We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others”? The Book of Mormon’s big showstopper is “Hasa Diga Eebowai,” which apparently translates as “F*** You, God.” The U.S. Secretary of State stood and cheered.
Why does Secretary Clinton regard “F*** You, God” as a fun toe-tapper for all the family but “F***, You Allah” as “disgusting and reprehensible”? The obvious answer is that, if you sing the latter, you’ll find a far more motivated crowd waiting for you at the stage door. So the “Leader of the Free World” and “the most powerful man in the world” (to revive two cobwebbed phrases nobody seems to apply anymore to the president of the United States) is telling the planet that the way to ensure your beliefs command his “respect” is to be willing to burn and bomb and kill. You Mormons need to get with the program.
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/obama-372333-clinton-government.html
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Mormon History And Theology: Missouri Is Land Of Zion And Location Of Second Coming
September 22, 2012
Huffington Post
In 1831, Mormon founder Joseph Smith declared that the righteous would gather in Independence, Mo., to greet the Second Coming of Jesus Christ — just one of the prophecies that estranged his faith from traditional Christianity.
Thousands of converted Mormons moved from Ohio and upstate New York to claim their New Jerusalem. Disputes with Missourians led to a bloody Mormon War that ended only when the state’s governor issued an “extermination order” to expel Smith’s followers.
Today, few places are better to contemplate the evolving — but still uncertain — relationship between Mormonism and the country where it was founded.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/22/for-mormons-missouri-rema_n_1905057.html
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New Mormon house of worship debuts today
September 21, 2012
San Antonio Express News (Texas)
On a nearly 5-acre property in rural west Bexar County, a new worship facility for the Mormon faith has taken shape.
The exterior walls of white limestone and desert stucco resemble the motifs of the many new suburbs in this rapid-growth area.
Inside, the gym floor sparkles with new varnish. Wood panels glisten with cherry stain. A pavilion and picnic table outside stand ready near oak trees.
Three congregations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began meeting there a month ago, relieving overcrowding in another facility nearer to the city. Today, the congregations plan an open house at the 16,500-square-foot structure.
It is the third LDS facility in the San Antonio area to go online in the past two years. Leaders said steady growth has prompted new construction in areas of current and future development.
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A Conversation With Avraham Azrieli Author of The Mormon Candidate
September 21, 2012
Examiner
My first urge is to tell a good story that my readers will enjoy. The subjects that ignite passion in me, by definition, are thought-provoking, such as religion, ideology, conflicted love and friendship, etc.
The Mormon Candidate, which I conceived long before Romney was nominated as presidential candidate, nevertheless is very timely as the Mormon Church is one of the most successful religious organizations in America today. Many people work with Mormons or live next door to them, yet know very little about the LDS Church, its history, theology, and temple rituals, which are secret and open only to Saints.
http://www.examiner.com/article/a-conversation-with-avraham-azrieli-author-of-the-mormon-candidate-1
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