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27 September 2012
The Mormon In Mitt
October 8, 2012
Time
On the eve of America’s bicentennial in 1976, a leading authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rose to speak at the Mormons’ biannual General Conference in Salt Lake City. “Can we maintain our basic freedoms, peace and prosperity for another 200 years?” he asked, rhetorically, before continuing, “The answer to this question is yes, if we shall individually repent and conform to the laws of the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ.”
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2125510,00.html
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Disciplinary hearing delayed for Mormon blogger
September 27, 2012
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
A Mormon blogger — accused of apostasy for writing critical web essays about LDS history, temple worship and contemporary issues — has been given a reprieve, for now.
The church disciplinary council set for Sunday to decide whether to excommunicate David Twede has been postponed “due to scheduling conflicts,” Allan Pratt, Twede’s LDS stake president in Florida, said in a statement Thursday. “It will be rescheduled for a later date.”
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54979428-78/twede-church-lds-mormon.html.csp
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Mormon leaders postpone excommunication hearing for critic of church, Mitt Romney
September 27, 2012
Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
The Orlando editor of MormonThink.com said the church has postponed a disciplinary hearing that could have resulted in his excommunication for writings critical of the church and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, a fellow Mormon.
Eric Hawkins, a spokesman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, quoted Orlando-area church officials who said the postponement was due to a scheduling conflict and would be rescheduled.
David Twede, 47, who edits the website that challenges church’s teachings and official positions, previously posted a letter from a regional church leader that said he might face disciplinary action on Sunday, including possible excommunication, for “apostasy,” an offense accusing him of trying to lead followers away from the church and its teachings.
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David Twede, Mormon Blogger And Romney Critic Threatened With Excommunication, Will Have To Wait To Hear Fate (UPDATE)
September 27, 2012
Huffington Post
David Twede, the Mormon blogger who made international headlines after he said he was threatened with excommunication because he criticized church practices and Mormon Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, is off the hook — but only temporarily.
Twede, who lives in Orlando, Fla., and is the managing editor of the independent website MormonThink.com, was scheduled to meet with his church disciplinary council Sunday. Local leaders had accused him of “apostasy” in mid-September, and his fate as a church member was supposed to be decided at the council meeting.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/27/david-twede-mormon-blogger-excommuncation_n_1920614.html
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Mormon website editor’s church discipline hearing suspended
September 27, 2012
Chicago Tribune (Illinois)
The Florida-based editor of a Mormon-themed website facing disciplinary action and possible excommunication over his writings said on Thursday his Orlando-area church leaders had suspended a hearing to decide his fate.
David Twede’s posts on MormonThink.com offer his account of the history of the church’s political involvement, criticism of fellow Mormon and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, and the author’s take on Mormon beliefs about the nature of God and temple ceremonies.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-mormon-disciplinebre88r040-20120927,0,62065.story
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Hearing with Mormon critic postponed
September 27, 2012
WDBO (Florida)
WDBO has learned that the Orlando-based editor of MormonThink.com will not be taking part in a hearing that could have resulted in his ex-communication.
The church has postponed the hearing with Davie Twede.
Twede told WDBO last week that that the church has not been happy with his writings critical of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Romney is a Mormon.
http://www.wdbo.com/news/news/local/hearing-mormon-critic-postponed/nSNRN/
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Romney and Mormons Who Use Medicaid
September 27, 2012
Huffington Post
In a recently-publicized video, Mitt Romney criticizes people in the United States who rely on government programs such as Medicaid and argues that they don’t “take personal responsibility and care for their lives.” This group includes the elderly, the underemployed and a significant number of young Mormons like me.
Last year the Salt Lake Tribune reported that “44 percent of births to parents who listed ‘student’ as their occupation” in Utah in 2008 were funded by Medicaid. About 39 percent of those births occurred in Utah County, home to a population that’s about 80 percent Mormon and to LDS Church-owned Brigham Young University. As the wife of a BYU graduate student, I know that using Medicaid to finance childbirth is a common decision among our student peers. LDS student families also take advantage of low-income housing, WIC vouchers and other assistance. Restrictions on student employment, caps on student loans, and the high costs of insurance premiums and maternity deductibles don’t leave many other choices.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/catherine-jeppsen/romney-and-mormons-who-use-medicaid_b_1904699.html
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Will Mormon critics of Mitt Romney be excommunicated?
September 27, 2012
National Post (Canada)
Friday morning, LDS Church spokesman Michael Purdy responded to The Daily Beast report: “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.”
http://life.nationalpost.com/2012/09/27/will-critics-of-mitt-romney-be-excommunicated/
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Where President Romney Would Go to Church
September 27, 2012
Time
New faces are by no means rare to the Third Ward-the church averages 25 new converts a year, making it the Mormon church’ s highest baptizing ward in the area. Some 250 people attend gatherings every Sunday, and a total of 650 people from nearly two dozen countries are on the membership roll. Services are warm and people are friendly. When I visited on a recent Sunday, a suited young elder performed a rendition of “I Have been Changed for Good” from the hit musical Wicked to honor the service of departing missionaries. Congregants piled hundreds of cans of food in the foyer for an upcoming citywide food drive they spearheaded with other downtown churches. Everyone sang “Humility our Savior,” a Mormon hymn with the same melody as the “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus,” a Methodist standby. And the rotating preaching responsibilities fell to an elderly African-American woman, a retired couple, and a young Kenyan woman, who all spoke on the subject “We are our brother’s keeper”-which happens to be a hot topic in the presidential campaign.
http://swampland.time.com/2012/09/27/where-president-romney-would-go-to-church/
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D.C. Third Ward Mormons would welcome Romney, even though most are Democrats
September 27, 2012
Washington Post
If Mitt Romney wins the presidency, one decision about life in Washington would be made for him: his church. Mormonism mandates that followers attend their assigned local congregation, called a “ward,” and folks at the Third Ward on 16th Street NW are already revved up with excitement.
Well, kind of.
They’re mostly Democrats, including the sort of President Obama supporters that Romney was secretly videotaped disparaging in his now-notorious remark about “the 47 percent” of Americans who don’t pay federal taxes.
But the Third Ward congregants don’t seem inclined to hold a grudge.
“I hope he doesn’t end up making that move [to the White House], but if he does, I’d welcome him with open arms,” said Corban Tillemann-Dick, 26, who works phone banks for Obama’s reelection.
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BRITT TOWERY: Take a short journey into Mormon territory
September 27, 2012
San Angelo Standard Times (Texas)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, better known as Mormons, could be said to be, not counting the original Indian religions, America’s first religion.
By “first” I mean that it was the first church to be founded, formulated, discovered, revealed, organized or whatever verb you want to use in the United States of America.
Back in my seminary days (soon after Noah’s flood) the Mormons were considered to be a religious cult, in much the same way we (the orthodox) regarded Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Little classroom time was spent on Mormons. They were mostly in far-off Utah, which in those days was like a foreign country to us Texans.
http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2012/sep/27/britt-towery-take-a-short-journey-into-mormon/
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Clear up misconceptions
September 27, 2012
Northwest Herald (Illinois)
Anyone is welcome to visit any Mormon church at any time. It says on the outside of every Mormon chapel, “Visitors Welcome.” Mormon temples are open to the public prior to dedication. After dedication, you must be a member of the church in good standing and have a recommendation to enter a temple.
Part of being a member in good standing is to pay an honest tithe, 10 percent of what you make. This is similar to donations that other churches collect.
http://www.nwherald.com/2012/09/25/clear-up-misconceptions/aq0aovj/
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Mormon Ladies Click Tongues Disapprovingly at Ann Romney’s Lack of Temple Garments
September 27, 2012
Jezebel
During Ann Romney’s appearance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, the aspirant First Lady wore what can only be described as a tiered black leather power suit, for the stay-at-home wife and dominatrix who wants to be taken seriously at business biker meetings. Or something. Mistress Romney’s suit didn’t only raise eyebrows among people concerned about the getup’s breathability under the hot stage lights; it also left some Mormon ladies scratching their heads — where were her temple garments?!
Temple garments are clothing items given to adult members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints during something called an “endowment ceremony.” They’re basically cotton underwear worn day and night as a reminder to religious adherents that they’ve made a vow to the church, and they’re required by dress code for any adult wishing to enter a temple. For women, the garments are cap sleeved tee shirts with a scooped or sweetheart neckline and lightweight shorts that end just above the knee, thus making it all but impossible for LDS women to wear short skirts or spaghetti straps or other “immodest” clothing.
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Obama campaign: Reid speaks for himself
September 27, 2012
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
When Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid spouted off on a conference call with reporters that he agrees with an opinion piece saying Mitt Romney isn’t the “face of Mormonism” and has “sullied” the faith they share, it apparently wasn’t something President Barack Obama’s campaign had planned.
“Sen. Reid speaks for himself,” the Obama campaign said in a statement to The Salt Lake Tribune on Thursday, nearly a week after Reid rattled off a litany of things he disagrees with Romney about.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsoutofcontext/54981074-64/reid-romney-campaign-obama.html.csp
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Harry Reid takes unfair swipe at Mitt Romney’s faith
September 27, 2012
Boston Globe (Massachusetts)
Some members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have been bracing for a public feud over their faith ever since Mitt Romney first ran for president. What they surely didn’t expect was that it would be generated by a fellow Mormon, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. He claimed this week that Romney has “sullied” the Mormon faith with his “47 percent” comments. Mormons, said Reid, have a mandate to help the needy. But that doesn’t require an automatic commitment to federal spending programs. Reid was wrong on substance, but also in his approach: Inviting a conversation about Mormon teachings at this stage of the campaign can only serve to fire up critics of Mormonism. Whatever his intentions, Reid’s comments were off base.
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Does Reid’s attack on Romney show a Mormon split?
September 27, 2012
Standard Examiner (Utah)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has repurposed an argument recently made by Greg Prince, who, like Reid, is a Mormon: Mitt Romney’s dismissive comments about the 47 percent of Americans who pay no income tax do not adequately represent the spirit of a faith “whose official mantra is ‘to take care of the poor and needy throughout the world.’ ”
Prince – a family friend of mine – mostly wanted to tell non-Mormons that not all Mormons sound like Romney. (“Judge Mitt Romney as you will, and vote for or against him as you will,” he wrote in the Huffington Post.) Reid, however, was making a political point, saying that Mormons who live in swing-state Nevada should “understand that Romney is not the face of Mormonism” and is, rather, hiding from their mutual faith.
http://www.standard.net/stories/2012/09/27/does-reids-attack-romney-show-mormon-split
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Rubin: The media’s double standard
September 27, 2012
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said over and over that a “source” told him Mitt Romney paid no taxes for 10 years. Now he says that he agrees with a blogger that Romney has “sullied” the Mormon faith and that the presidential nominee is “not the face of Mormonism.” This is disgraceful, yet the story is nowhere to be found in the mainstream media.
It is not as if Reid is some anonymous, low-level staffer. He is the majority leader in the U.S. Senate. Yet such vile comments get less attention than does a birther outburst from Donald Trump.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/54979134-82/media-president-reid-double.html.csp
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Reid calls out Romney on their shared Mormon faith
September 26, 2012
KETK (Texas)
The nation’s highest ranking Mormon in elected office said Monday that Republican presidential candidate is “not the face of Mormonism.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, made the remarks in a conference call Monday, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
http://www.ketknbc.com/news/decision-2012/reid-calls-out-romney-on-their-shared-mormon-faith
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Dialogue On Mormonism Offered At Pilgrim Congregational
September 27, 2012
The Chattanoogan (Tennessean)
The Adult Education class at Pilgrim Congregational Church, 400 Glenwood Drive, during the month of September has been studying the Mormon Church, and the class on Sunday, will have a dialogue on Mormonism, led by Jonn Mulry and other former Mormon church members who are now members of Pilgrim. The class meets at 10 a.m. in the pastor’s office.
http://www.chattanoogan.com/2012/9/27/235256/Dialogue-On-Mormonism-Offered-At.aspx
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Mia Love, Black Female Mormon Mayor in Utah, Receives Racist Hate Mail
September 27, 2012
Atlanta Black Star (Georgia)
Mia Love, the African-American Mormon mayor of Sarasota Springs, Utah, who became a nationally known figure after her speech at the Republican National Convention, received racist and disturbing photos in the mail that she says were sent to her because she “poses a problem to the policies of the Obama administration.”
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COLUMN: Columnist offers further explanation of Mormon beliefs
September 27, 2012
Weatherford Democrat (Texas)
The Mormon church does accept the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price as divinely inspired authoritative standard works. Whenever a prophet speaks under the influence of the Holy Ghost, those words are authoritative and represent the mind and will of the Lord (2 Peter 1:20-21). God in all ages of the world communicated with his children through prophets. The prophet Amos taught, “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets (Amos 3:7). Just as the words of ancient biblical prophets (and apostles) were authoritative to those early Christians who were privileged to hear them, we also accept the words spoken by prophets whom God has raised up in these latter days to prepare mankind for Christ’s second coming. Since God sent a prophet, John, to prepare the way for Christ’s first coming, wouldn’t it seem consistent that Christ would send prophets to prepare the way for Christ’s second coming?
Yes, we do believe that the Bible is the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. It is a fact that omissions and errors have crept into the Bible as it has been translated down through the ages. However, it is inaccurate to suggest that Mormons believe that the Bible is far below the other standard works because it is full of errors. I have great love for the Bible. I firmly believe that individuals and nations have been and will be greatly blessed by abiding by its teachings and precepts.
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Damarcus Harrison cleared to play
September 27, 2012
ESPN
Harrison is from Greenwood and played one season at BYU. He chose to transfer after learning his planned Mormon mission had been delayed and the Cougars didn’t have a scholarship for him to play there this season.
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Report: BYU transfer Damarcus Harrison granted immediate eligibility at Clemson
September 27, 2012
NBC Sports
Add in the injuries suffered this summer by Jaron Blossomgame (broken leg) and Devin Coleman (torn Achilles tendon) and it was rather apparent that Clemson needed another body.
Enter Harrison, whose college plans were thrown for a loop when his two-year Mormon mission was delayed for a year to 2013.
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Cronkite faculty associate publishes book on gay rights, Mormonism
September 27, 2012
Downtown Devil (Arizona)
When Walter Cronkite School faculty associate Michelle Beaver took an in-depth reporting class as a student at ASU, a seed was planted. Beaver chose to write about a topic that piqued her curiosity: the relationship between gay rights and Mormonism and the select few who identify with both categories.
Twelve years later, that seed has grown into a full-fledged story. Beaver published her book, “Romney’s Gay America: Mormon Leaders, Same-Sex Rights — Bridging the Gap,” online in late July this year.
http://downtowndevil.com/2012/09/27/31174/mormon-beaver-gay-romney/
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Stephen Mansfield: September Blogger of the Month
September 27, 2012
Christian Post
You have researched and written about a number of topics. What led you to research and write about the Mormon/LDS faith?
I try to pay attention to the leading faith trends in the world. This is important for me as an author but also as a Christian. I was intrigued by doing a book on Mormonism not only because Newsweek dubbed our period in history a “Mormon Moment” but also because several polls indicated most Americans know nearly nothing about the faith. The combination of my own interest in the Mormon ascent, this present “Mormon Moment,” and the opportunity to help Americans understand a faith that is defining their times was too tempting to pass up. I started writing the book before Mr. Romney became the Republican nominee, so while his candidacy heightens interest in Mormonism, it wasn’t a motive for doing the book.
http://blogs.christianpost.com/blogger-month/stephen-mansfield-september-blogger-of-the-month-12191/
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Portland Lesbian & Gay Film Festival: 5 movies that will be in the spotlight
September 27, 2012
The Oregonian
The festival, which kicks off Friday at Cinema 21 and continues through Oct. 6, features “The Falls,” a shot-in-Portland drama about gay Mormon missionaries that’s a timely look at sexuality and faith.
Two Mormon missionaries start to have doubts about their faith when they become aware of their attraction to each other, aware that there’s no place for gays in the LDS church. Director Jon Garcia shot this quiet drama here, though he gives Portland a small-town feel that’s suitable for the story of oppression and loneliness.
Garcia gets terrific performances out of Nick Ferrucci and Benjamin Farmer, who try to convert an Iraq War veteran but end up smoking pot with him. When another missionary discovers their secret affair, they must weigh their hope of having a place in the Mormon community with their personal desires. The struggle makes the film more about honesty than religion, which gives it universal appeal.
http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/index.ssf/2012/09/portland_lesbian_gay_film_fest.html
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Annie: Honesty works only partially for ex-boyfriend
September 27, 2012
Sun Herald (Mississippi)
My boyfriend of seven months recently ended things suddenly. “Ethan” is Mormon, and I’m Lutheran. We were planning a future together. Ethan claims he wants to go on a mission and cannot prepare to do God’s work while having a girlfriend. He said we could still be friends.
But here’s the thing. He started hanging out with “Susan” the same month he broke up with me. He told me she was a “new friend” and also Mormon. He denied there was anything between them.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/09/27/4212331/annie-honesty-works-only-partially.html
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Some Mormons Fasting To Help Romney’s Campaign, Debate Performance
September 27, 2012
Huffington Post
A number of Mormons seem to think that fellow believer Mitt Romney, now slumping in the polls, needs a little divine intervention for his performance at the upcoming Oct. 3 presidential debate.
They’ve been circulating a request via email that sympathetic Latter-day Saints join them in forgoing food and water on Sunday in a collective effort to support the candidate.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/27/mormons-fasting-romney-campaign_n_1920454.html
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Local Church Members Help With Hurricane Clean-up in Louisiana
September 27, 2012
Sandy Springs Patch (Georgia)
Sandy Springs and Dunwoody members of the Mormon Church spent last week in La Place Louisiana assisting with clean-up from Hurricane Issac.
The were joined by more than 1,100 members from around the country in the Mormon Church’s Helping Hands program.
Dena Brett, director of Public Affairs at the Church of Latter Day Saints in Atlanta, said president, Jermaine Sullivan was informed of the need for assistance in La Place only a few days before the volunteers departed. They traveled to LaPlace with chain saws, hammers, crowbars, utility knives, brooms and rakes as well as their own food, water, work clothes, sleeping bags and tents.
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JWOWW’s got quite a ring on it. Ann Romney’s underwear debated.
September 27, 2012
Los Angeles Times (California)
Ann Romney wore a stylish black leather outfit on the “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” on Tuesday night with a scalloped skirt just short and tight enough that it set off much commentary and questioning in a Mormon chat forum about whether she was or wasn’t wearing the “temple garments” — a kind of underwear — worn by most adult Mormons.
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Richard Dawkins Pokes Fun at Romney’s Confusion Over Plane Windows
September 27, 2012
Christian Post
Dawkins, the author of bestseller The God Delusion, previously criticized Romney via Twitter by mocking several tenets of the presidential candidate’s Mormon faith, calling him a “gullible fool” in the process.
“No matter how much you agree with Romney’s economic policy, can you really vote for such a massively gullible fool? He is a Mormon Bishop!” Dawkins tweeted on Sept. 9.
“Bible & Koran genuinely old, written in the language of their time. Book of Mormon written by 19th (century) charlatan. Romney too stupid to see it,” Dawkins’ tweets continued, referring to Joseph Smith, who founded the Mormon religion after he claimed he was visited by an angel in the 1980s.
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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.
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