Welcome to MormonVoices. Our volunteers respond to public discussions and comments from public figures that misrepresent The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We encourage and direct Mormons to get involved in online discussions and thereby help shape the public understanding and perceptions of the Church. Please join your voice with ours, and become a member of MormonVoices.
MormonVoices is an independent organization that is supportive of, but not
controlled by or affiliated with, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
search the site
18 October 2012
Mormon feminists? Yes they exist, and they’re for Obama
October 18, 2012
Reuters
One group was not surprised to hear Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s comments about “binders of women” at the presidential debate this week – Mormon feminists.
Yes, there are Mormon feminists, and no, they do not think it is impossible to believe in women’s rights and be devout members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a religion that once allowed polygamy and places a heavy emphasis on the role of women in the home.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/19/us-usa-campaign-mormonwomen-idUSBRE89I05220121019
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Billy Graham’s Website Removes ‘Mormonism’ From Cult List
October 18, 2012
ABC News
The prominent Christian evangelist Billy Graham has taken public steps to embrace Mitt Romney for president this week, removing Romney’s Mormon religion from a list of cults on his website and taking out an advertisement that appears to urge people to vote for Romney.
Graham’s Evangelistic Association removed the word Mormon from its website, where it used to be listed along with Jehovah’s Witnesses and Scientology as a cult.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/10/billy-grahams-website-removes-mormonism-from-cult-list/
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
New Mormon bishop in Spokane has controversial past
October 18, 2012
Seattle Times (Washington)
A Spokane psychologist who helped develop controversial interrogation methods that some human-rights groups say amount to torture became the new spiritual leader of a Mormon congregation on the Spokane’s South Hill this week.
Bruce Jessen was proposed by Spokane Stake President James Lee, or “called” in the terminology of the Mormon faith, to be the bishop of Spokane’s 6th Ward. He was presented to the congregation on Sunday. He was unanimously accepted by some 200 in attendance, Lee said.
As a bishop — an unpaid, part-time position that usually lasts several years — Jessen will take confessions and help people with their personal problems, Lee said. “They just try to help people with their lives, marriages or finances,” he said.
http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2019468677_bishop19.html
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mitt Romney, Neoconservatism, and the Book of Mormon
October 18, 2012
Huffington Post
A close reading of the Book of Mormon text reveals that there are several passages which lend themselves readily to a neoconservative interpretation. (For those who need a quick primer: the Book of Mormon begins with the account of Nephi, an Israelite prophet who journeyed with his family to the New World around 600 BCE. Shortly thereafter, conflicts between Nephi and his brothers compel the settlers to split into two tribes: the Nephites and Lamanites. The rest of the Book of Mormon is an account of the religious history of the Nephites and their frequent conflicts with the Lamanites. The narrative ends in a bloody battle around 400 CE where the Nephites are completely exterminated at the hands of the Lamanites.)
Readers of the Book of Mormon will find many passages which could be readily interpreted to support a neoconservative approach to foreign policy. For example, the tendency to see the world in binary, good/evil terms would be reinforced by such passages as “whatsoever is good cometh from God, and whatsoever is evil cometh from the devil” (Alma 5:40) or “Every good thing which inviteth to good… is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ… but whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ… yet may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil” (Moroni 7:16-17).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/benjamin-knoll/mitt-romney-mormonism_b_1975540.html
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ann Romney Corrects Whoopi Goldberg’s False Claim About Mormonism Forbidding Military Service
October 18, 2012
NewsBusters
Tim Graham pointed out earlier on Thursday how Whoopi Goldberg forwarded a misunderstanding on ABC’s The View during an interview of Ann Romney – that Mormonism “doesn’t allow you to go fight” in the military. Mrs. Romney corrected this false statement: “No, that’s not correct….We have many, many members of our faith that are serving in the armed services.”
Goldberg could have just consulted Wikipedia, as the website lists four Mormon recipients of the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award for valor – one from World War I, two from World War II, and one from the Vietnam War.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Audio: Pastor Robert Jeffress Tells Christians to Vote for Mormon “Cult” Member Mitt Romney
October 18, 2012
Opposing Views
Dallas, Texas mega-church pastor Robert Jeffress recently told conservative radio host Janet Mefferd that even though GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney belongs to the “cult” of Mormonism, Americans should vote for the “non-Christian” because the Obama administration “shakes its fist” at God and “absolutely repudiates what Jesus Christ said about some key issues” (audio below).
Pastor Jeffress warned that America, under President Obama, is “about to go over the moral and spiritual cliff from which there is no return,” reports RightWingWatch.org.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A Mormon at War
October 18, 2012
New York Sun
“WHOOPI PLAYS THE MORMON CARD . . .” is the headline that went up on the Drudge Report this afternoon. It turns out to link to a story on Realclearpolitics.com about how the actress Whoopi Goldberg was attempting a “gotcha” on Governor Romney’s wife, Ann Romney, in respect of Mormons and military service. Ms. Goldberg angled into the subject by saying she believed that “your religion doesn’t allow military service.” Mrs. Romney corrected her with grace and poise and noted that “many members of our faith are serving in armed services.”
http://www.nysun.com/editorials/a-moron-at-war/88040/
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
My Take: Hard truths matter; I’m Mormon, and I’m voting for Obama
October 18, 2012
CNN
And as a Mormon, I grew up with a healthy sense of respect for worst-case scenarios. I was raised, after all, with a religious aversion to debt and a year’s supply of canned wheat, beans and powdered milk in the garage, as instructed by LDS Church leaders. The Mormon food storage tradition isn’t about end-times-paranoia: It’s a lesson passed down from our pioneer ancestors, who knew the importance of being prepared for difficult seasons so you can do right by your family and community.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Mountain Meadows Massacre Revisited
October 18, 2012
Huffington Post
The rough outlines of the slaughter are fairly clear, but questions of meaning and culpability still linger. What does Mountain Meadows say about Mormonism, a religion more recently associated with such anodyne figures as the Osmonds and the Romneys? The massacre says much more about the mid-19th-century state of Mormon-Gentile relations (stained with considerable blood on both sides) than it does about Mormonism as a religion per se.
The massacre has long stained Brigham Young’s reputation among non-Mormons in particular, as many outsiders (and a few insiders) pointed accusing fingers at him once the extent of the crime became known. Given Young’s authoritarian leadership of his church, it seems incredible that local leaders would perpetrate such a crime without his explicit authorization. At the same time, given his political objective of keeping the army away from Mormon settlements, there was no good reason for Young to order a massacre with the potential to focus the full fury of the American government on Utah.
Unless someone unearths the September 1857 diary of John D. Lee (the only person convicted and executed for his role in the massacre), an element of mystery will probably always surround the chain of events that led to the mass murder. Still, the existing evidence suggests that Young did not order the crime.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-g-turner/mountain-meadows-massacre-revisisted_b_1962285.html
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Website uses Mitt and Ann Romney’s faces to market Mormon underwear
October 18, 2012
Global Post
It almost seems like a prank pulled by political bloggers.
A website that sells Mormon underwear has photoshopped the heads of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife onto their models to… sell underwear.
Mormonssecret.com‘s homepage showcases Mitt’s head on a model’s body, with the thought bubble “I’m just glad they didn’t release the secret video of me dancing in my Magic Mormon underwear!!!”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Grumpy Old Mormon Doubles Down On Church’s Opposition To Gay Marriage
October 18, 2012
Queerty
In case anyone forgot, Mormon Elder Dalin H. Oakes of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is here to remind us that Mormons hate gay marriage.
Speaking at the LDS General Conference, Oakes, 80, bemoans how so many children are victims of societal ills like abortion, unwed mothers–then says “we should assume the same disadvantages for children raised by couples of the same gender.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Great leadership profiles of Mitt Romney
October 18, 2012
Washington Post
There is the one about how Romney’s years at Harvard defined him, a young married Mormon go-getter carrying around his father’s briefcase while putting together growth-share matrixes about balancing work and family demands. There is the one about his time turning around the Salt Lake City Olympics, where he “learned the ways of Washington and the hurly-burly of politics, mastered the news media, built a staff of loyalists and made fund-raising connections” that would be critical to his presidential run. And there is the one about his years in France, where he faced rejection after rejection as a Mormon missionary, something that surely helped to harden and mold him into the man he is today.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Professor Discusses Role of Mormons and Evangelical Christians in Election
October 18, 2012
Harvard Crimson (Massachusetts)
In a panel convened to discuss the parallels between Evangelical Christians and Latter Day Saints, Mark R. Silk ’72, a professor of religion at Trinity College, aimed to tell the “hidden story of religion in the election and in the Republican Party.”
Voter demographics from the past twenty years have shown that voters who strongly claim a religious identity usually align themselves with the Republican Party. This trend, known as the “god gap,” is most obvious among Evangelicals and Mormons, Silk said. In fact, over 75% of Mormons voted for the Republican nominee for the past 12 elections.
Both the Mormons and Evangelicals focus their rhetoric around a return to past ideals, according to Silk. “The idea of going back to the golden days is as old as civilization,” he said.
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/10/18/mormons-evangelicals-compared/
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Why Israelis don’t mind a Mormon in the White House
Israel Today Magazine
October 18, 2012
Mormons teach that they are the direct descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Book of Mormon states that the Israelite tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim were exiled from Jerusalem and settled in America. According to Mormon doctrine, this migration fulfilled the prophecy of Jacob on his son, Joseph: “Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall” (Genesis 49:22). The Book of Mormon also tells of a group from the Tribe of Judah who came to the Americas after its defeat by Babylon around 600 BCE.
On the title page of the scriptures of the Latter-day Saints there is a clear condemnation of anti-Semitism and support for a future Israel. “Yea, and ye need not any longer hiss, nor spurn, nor make game of the Jews, nor of any remnant of the house of Israel; for behold, the Lord remembereth his covenant unto them, and he will do unto them according to that which he hath sworn.” 3 Nephi 29:8
These beliefs may account for the fact that among Jews, Mormons ranked at the very top of the approval list in a report done by the Public Religion Research Institute (Jewish Values Survey, March 2012). Jews viewed Mormons more warmly than any other religious group in the survey. This positive attitude is not only the result of Mormon support for Israel. Christians also love Israel, and yet Jewish people tend to be far more suspicious of evangelical Christians.
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23439/Default.aspx
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mormonism no longer a cult, says Billy Graham
October 18, 2012
Macleans (Canada)
According to a report in the Charlotte Observer, earlier this week the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association removed Mormonism from a number of cults listed in an article on its website, with the organizations’ chief of staff saying: “We removed the (cult) information from the website because we do not wish to participate in a theological debate about something that has been politicized during this campaign.”
The move comes after Graham, 93, met with Romney, who is a Mormon, in the evangelical leader’s North Carolina home.
http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/10/18/mormonism-no-longer-a-cult-says-billy-graham/
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Graham site deletes post calling Mormonism a cult
October 18, 2012
Houston Chronicle (Texas)
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said Wednesday that it removed language from its website referring to Mormonism as a cult following a visit by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to the minister’s home.
The Asheville Citizen-Times reported (http://avlne.ws/QX55mV) that the association’s website has deleted an article from its website which listed as cults “Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, the Unification Church, Unitarians, Spiritists, Scientologists, and others.”
http://www.chron.com/news/article/Graham-site-deletes-post-calling-Mormonism-a-cult-3959648.php
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Graham family tightens ties with Romney as presidential election nears
October 18, 2012
Charlotte Observer (North Carolina)
The election-year embrace of Mitt Romney by some evangelical Christians now borders on a bear hug, given a series of moves by Billy Graham and his family that appear to say it’s OK to vote for a Mormon.
This week, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association removed Mormonism from its list of religious cults.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Billy Graham Backs Romney, Removes ‘Cult’ Label from Mormonism on his Website
October 18, 2012
South Florida Gay News
Christian Evangelist mega pastor Billy Graham removed a comment from his website that listed Mormonism as a cult following a meeting with Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney.
According to CNN, the reference to Romney’s religion, which was listed as a cult along with Scientology and Jehovah’s Witnesses was taken down after Graham’s son, Franklin, met with Romney.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Panelist describes religious influences, impacts today
October 19, 2012
Daily Targum (New Jersey)
James Johnson, a professor in the Department of Religion, said evangelicals are not the only religious group that claims a lineage to the all-but-forgotten tribes. Mormons have made this their symbol of pride as well.
“British evangelicals believe they are actually descended from one of the Biblical tribes of Israel,” Johnson said. “But there was another argument that the lost tribes actually ended up in the United States, and that’s where the Mormons come into the picture.”
With Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney capturing headlines during the pre-election debates, unfair criticism has been directed at Mormons for holding anti-American values, said Matthew Bowman, a professor of religion at Hampden-Sydney University.
“Mormons shop at T.J. Maxx just like you do,” said Bowman, author of “The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith.” “They have no desire to undermine the Republic. They don’t feel odd. They don’t feel their faith comes into conflict with their desire to be a part of American life.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Billy Graham’s lurch towards Mitt Romney risks his legacy
October 18, 2012
The Guardian (United Kingdom)
As America’s pastor for the past half century, Billy Graham has earned a reputation as a wise and holy man. But the respect he has gained as a man of unflinching, unerring principles has been severely compromised by his Evangelistic Association’s decision to remove a reference to Mormonism from its website.
The faith had been listed as a cult along with Scientology and Jehovah’s Witnesses in a section called Billy Graham’s My Answer, but the comment was taken down shortly after he and his son Franklin met with Mitt Romney, America’s most famous Mormon.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2012/oct/18/billy-graham-mitt-romney?newsfeed=true
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
WCC Preview: BYU’s Tyler Haws returns from his mission eager to pick up where he left off
October 18, 2012
Yahoo Sports
Tyler Haws admits he sometimes thinks about whether he could have helped that BYU team go even farther than the Sweet 16 had he been there to help on the floor rather than getting weekly updates from his dad via email. Nonetheless, the 6-foot-5 sophomore feels he made the right decision taking two years away from basketball to serve a Mormon mission in the Philippines.
“I never felt any regret,” Haws said. “I was happy for what was going on at BYU, but I knew I was supposed to be in the Philippines. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. That experience over there, those two years, will be something I reflect on the rest of my life.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Colbert On Romney’s Debate Challenge: Lack Of Bar Stool Experience
October 18, 2012
Talking Points Memo
President Obama did so poorly in the first presidential debate, the bar was set low for his second performance this week, Stephen Colbert said. Romney, on the other hand, had a much greater challenge. The town hall debate stage would be set with two bar stools, and Romney, a Mormon, doesn’t have a lot of experience drinking at bars.
“Only people who drink know how to sit on stools,” Colbert said Wednesday. “That’s why whenever you see someone successfully sitting on one, that is an early sign of alcoholism. The guy falling off the stool, that’s your designated driver. That’s why last night’s debate, it was such a challenge for Mitt, lack of stool experience. Where would Mitt have seen one? His kitchen counter? Everybody knows the Romney family eats standing at podiums.”
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/10/colbert-romney-stool-debate.php
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mormon open house
October 18, 2012
Highland Community News (California)
If you are not familiar with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), or are even a little suspicious of some of their Mormon friends, perhaps you should have attended the open house last Saturday night, Oct. 13) at the local Mormon Church on Central Avenue in Highland.
You would find that the Mormon Church practices many of the same tenets as other churches, such as the death and resurrection of Jesus, atonement, baptism, communion, and other basic practices. You would also find some of the friendliest people who are eager to explain their beliefs.
After a brief meeting in the sanctuary, visitors were led into a smaller room for information on the training of young men and adult men.
http://www.highlandnews.net/articles/2012/10/18/entertainment/doc508099577f7e9927512221.txt
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mitt Romney’s Dad Was Born In Mexico, Now Here’s His Immigration Plan
October 18, 2012
Huffington Post
“Saying my dad was born in Mexico? That’s the new version of, ‘Oh I have a lot of black friends,’” said Snow, who helped spearhead the effort to unseat Russell Pearce, an Arizona Mormon, former State Senate leader and a driving force behind Arizona’s strict immigration law, SB 1070.
The state law in effect creates the kind of conditions which Romney has suggested — and reiterated Tuesday — might prompt undocumented immigrants to, “make their own choice,” and self-deport. Pearce’s position on immigration was untenable, Snow said, but Romney’s is puzzling. The Mormon church’s position on the matter encourages its members to treat undocumented immigrants with kindness and concern.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stone Links: Nagel Agonistes
October 18, 2012
New York Times
One World Is Enough: Few philosophers describe themselves as “materialists” these days. The contemporary understanding of gravity as not a strictly material entity, for instance, have made “physicalist” a more common description. The Brigham Young University philosophy professor James Faulconer, in a short primer on Mormon metaphysics at Patheos, explains why Mormons, at least, remain materialists. Joseph Smith claimed, according to Faulconer, that “everything is material even if there is material that we presently cannot see or understand.” That “everything” includes God the Father, even if he is morally perfect, immortal, and otherwise so different from humans in degree as to be practically inscrutable. Faulconer thinks this materialism cashes out in at least two ways. First, he sees it as explaining why Utah “produces a disproportionate number of scientists,” and why his own university supports scientific inquiry so enthusiastically.
Second he thinks it might account for the Mormon interest in and enthusiasm for business. Without a belief in another “spiritual” world, Mormons can view practicing business in this world as another way of faithfully practicing their religion. Indeed, Faulconer hopes that precisely because Mormons are materialists, that they inhabit the only world that exists, they may be more responsible stewards of it.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/18/stone-links-nagel-agonistes/
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dysfunctional Absurdity
October 18, 2012
Martinsburg Journal News (West Virginia)
Set as one night – the night before the 20-year anniversary of aliens landing on their property – sisters Willie Mae and Faye Nettles discover shocking truths about their family’s past. On this evening they are visited by a Mormon bishop, a reptile woman and a bird-like woman – all adding to the absurdity of the night.
Trying to stave off spinsterhood, Willie Mae just wants to find a “good Mormon husband” while Faye wants the “space people” to come back and take her away.
Keith Shifflett plays the role of the transplanted Mormon bishop who has come to convert the sisters to Mormonism, but then gets caught up in their craziness.
http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/585829/Dysfunctional-Absurdity.html?nav=5076
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
New church facility in Englewood will meet LEED standards
October 18, 2012
The Record (New Jersey)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently broke ground on a new meetinghouse on Sept. 29, which will not only provide the local Mormon congregation with enhanced space for worship services, but will double as the city’s first LEED-certified building.
“We wanted to build a place of worship that was not only beautiful and special to those worship there but that would also be appealing to the local community,” said Tyler Kearl, who acts as the Caldwell Stake Director of Public Affairs. “Church members believe that the Earth is a gift to all from a loving Heavenly Father and we should, where possible, promote responsible protection of the environment.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sentenced Encinitas real estate ‘broker’ finds support, scorn
October 18, 2012
North County Times (California)
Anderson, whose husband is local Mormon bishop, added that the Coldwell Banker office never received complaints from Kenney’s clients during his four years there, based on information she heard from the branch’s manager.
Anderson also touches on Kenney’s faith. Even though Kenney has not been active in the Mormon church for several years, he still considers himself a Mormon and paid to send his three children on Mormon missions, Anderson said.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A youth in the struggle
October 18, 2012
Workers World
I grew up Mormon in the very conservative state of Utah. It was taboo to even talk about politics around my family because it would somehow “ruin our family relationships.” Despite this, towards the end of high school I was exposed to radical left-wing politics through some friends of mine and started my journey to activism.
http://www.workers.org/2012/10/18/a-youth-in-the-struggle/
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
It’s Mormon in America
October 18, 2012
City Journal (New York)
Today, some religious fundamentalists continue to rail against Mormons, while coastal sophisticates scoff at their earnest approach to life, religion, and family. Yet the methodical Mormon way, which stresses education, ambition, and charitable giving, has succeeded in ways equaled by few religious groups. Mormons enjoy levels of education and wealth higher than the national average, for example. Some 54 percent of LDS men and 44 percent of women have secured postsecondary education; the numbers for the general American population are 37 percent and 28 percent, respectively. Mormons also enjoy the nation’s highest rate of charitable giving.
And while many religious groups in the United States–including the Catholic and mainline Protestant churches, along with most non-Orthodox Jewish denominations–are struggling with declining numbers, the LDS Church is one of the nation’s fastest-growing. Its American membership jumped from 4 million to 6 million between 2000 and 2010. Its global growth over the same period was 45.5 percent, and today, most of its total membership of 14 million resides outside North America. The fastest growth is occurring in Brazil, the South Pacific, and Central America.
http://city-journal.com/2012/22_4_snd-mormons.html
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
NOTE: This is posted for those who are interested in keeping abreast what is being said around the world about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members. MormonVoices cannot and does not guarantee the validity or truthfulness of any information reported. The responsibility for the interpretation and use of this information lies with the reader. As all information comes from other news sources and has not been independently verified, MormonVoices cannot guarantee or be responsible for the security of links in the clipping service. MormonVoices will attempt as much as possible to exclude news articles containing strongly offensive language or which lead to offensive images, but cannot guarantee that some will not slip through.
Journalists
