For Most, Mormonism Remains A Mystery

Romney's Religion In The Spotlight As The GOP Hopeful Prepares To Give A Speech On Faith

(AP)  Polygamy, missionaries on bicycles and the Osmonds.

What most people know or think they know about Mormons might be summed up in those few words. The renowned Tabernacle Choir and, perhaps, quarterback Steve Young could also fit on that list.

Despite 170 years of history, much about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - the church of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney - remains a mystery to most.

Questions about his faith, which some mainline religious groups discount as a non-Christian cult, have dogged Romney throughout his campaign, and on Thursday he'll tackle the issue at the George H.W. Bush Library on the campus of Texas A&M University.

Romney isn't expected to focus on the details of Mormonism, but it's in those details that evangelicals and other Christians sometimes break with Latter-day Saints.

The fundamental issue: the nature of God.

"Christians and Jews have always held that there is a great gap between creator and creature. God is God and we're not," said Richard Mouw, head of the Pasadena, Calif., Fuller Theological Seminary. "Mormons believe that God and humans are of the same species. In our eyes they have tried to bridge that gap in ways that really is a fundamental violation."

Mormons also disavow belief in the Trinity - that the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one - instead believing the three to be individuals united in a single purpose.

Many non-Mormons dispute claims that the faith's central text, the Book of Mormon, is a valid account of Jesus' dealings with ancient Americans. Mormons believe the book was translated through revelation by founder Joseph Smith from a set of buried golden plates. It's one of three texts from Smith, who also drafted his own version of the Bible, altering many of its passages in light of what he said were errors that had crept into modern translations.

"The Bible has almost a talismanic significance to evangelicals and they simply don't like the idea of anybody changing it," said Randall Balmer, professor of religion at Columbia University. "Here you've got an additional testament of Jesus Christ and a source of continuing, authoritative revelation. It simply rubs evangelicals the wrong way."

Smith founded the church in 1830, 10 years after a vision near his family home in Palmyra, N.Y. The original church had just six members, mostly members of Smith's family. Today the church claims nearly 13 million members worldwide and is rapidly growing. With about 5.7 million members in the United States, it is the nation's fourth-largest church.

Culturally, socially and politically, Mormons and evangelical Christians should have no trouble finding common ground.

Mormon culture centers on faith and family, with church activities and callings - from teaching Sunday School to leading Boy Scout troops - filling the calendar.

A patriarchal society, Mormons hold up the traditional family as the ideal, with women encouraged to raise children instead of work outside the home.

Healthy lifestyles are promoted through the faith's "Word of Wisdom," which warns against the use of alcohol, tobacco and "hot drinks," including coffee and tea.

Mormons tithe 10 percent of their incomes to their church and are encouraged to serve proselytizing missions.

Mormons oppose gay marriage and denounce gambling. They've largely supported the war in Iraq and twice voted overwhelmingly for President Bush. The church opposes abortion, except when the health of the mother is at risk.

Officially, the church is politically neutral. It doesn't endorse candidates, and it encourages members to vote their consciences.

From the beginning, Mormonism set itself apart from other faiths in both culture and doctrine. Modern leaders don't dispute the differences - a church Web site says the faith is "not Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox but holds a unique place in the Christian world as restored New Testament Christianity."

"We believe (the church) was lost after the times of Christ and his apostles and required to be restored through a prophet," said M. Russell Ballard, a member of the Mormon church's second-tier of leadership, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. "Think in terms of Abraham and Moses ... Joseph Smith to us is just the Moses of our day."

[denn034]

No member of the United Church of Christ has ever run before until Obama. Why isn''t Obama''s religion an issue? Regarding Mormonism''s mystery, history books mention it but, they do so in a 19th century way that leaves people ill-informed regarding the much different 20th century Mormons, that''s what contributes to the mystery. Erroneous books and stereotypes do as well. The fact remains though that Mormons are no different than others, one wouldn''t notice them in a crowd. Romney''s running will be good for no other reason that removing the errors and correcting the erroneous stereotypes. Just some thoughts.

[luvcomments]

There''s no mystery about Mormonism. At first I thought I''d maybe found a hate site but then I checked with practicing and non-practicing Mormon friends of mine and they assured me all this is true. Very enlightning and I had already thought I knew quite a bit about them.
http://www.macgregorministries.org/mormons/mormon_index.html
But we must all come to our own conclusions after our own investigation.

[gkc99]

"Mormon culture centers on faith and family, with church activities and callings - from teaching Sunday School to leading Boy Scout troops - filling the calendar."

But don''t try to join your son to a Mormon boy scout troop unless you are LDS yourself. They don''t take "kaffirs".

[mrmazerati]

Mormonism is complete ***. As is every other religion. Fairy tales are for children. Think for yourselves.

[realpatriot1]

mrmazarati,

I do think for myself and I think you''re an intellectually arrogant idiot.

You can include atheism, agnosticism, and pantheism in the category of Fairy Tales as well. Whether you like it or not they are also a form of speculative faith based upon ignorance of the unknown.

If you keep thinking for yourself you may realize that none of us are in a position to judge what gives meaning to the lives of others.

[realpatriot1]

denn034,

Don''t let the haters get you down. I don''t think much of Romney as a candidate but his religion won''t stand in his way.

If there''s a religion that inspires more fear and loathing than the LDS it''s the Jehovah''s Witnesses
and America already elected one in the case of Dwight Eisenhower. The voters who will decide the election are far more tolerant than the the bitter crew on this site and the church membership of candidates is not at the top of their concerns.

[strunke]

FlangeSqueal-

You are obviously so close minded and full of hate it''s no surprise you are a Shillary supporter.

mrmazerati-
Wrong, typical spiteful athiest. "I don''t get it so I''m giving up!" and shouting down whoever disagrees.

I''m not a mormon, but there are a lot of negative things said about them, that are very unwarranted. They are for the most part good people. There are exceptions, as there are with everything. I don''t know whether or not it is a true cult. I don''t think it is the right way to God. But let them pursuit it how they will. We are all free to disagree, but not to stop them practicing their religion. Romney is a modern mormon, not the wierd kind. He is also much closer to a Christian then any of the Democrat nominees.

[hobbes1831]

ask mormons about God having *** with mary....

[hobbes1831]

ask temple mormons about swearing secrecy over pain of death (slitting of throat, i believe).

the very nature of God...mormons believe He was a sinful man who was "exalted" to godhood...just as each mormon can be...is a PRETTY BIG DIFFERENCE!!!!!

"oh, let''s not squabble about small differences in our faith like me becoming a god or your eternal, holy God once being a sinful man."


romney won''t mention that...or that polygamy is still seen as good...and is only renounce for p.r. reasons

[hobbes1831]

and NO i won''t vote for a mormon...and YES it is because of his religious beliefs. i don''t want a candidate that literally thinks he will be god someday. and that''s my right.

[sevenveils]

gold plates, special glasses to translate sacred text, humans are aliens, american indians are the lost tribe of israel, many levels of heaven achievable upon what is payed to the church, church leaders in direct contact with the supreme being, murder to recover and hide church documents...

Many mysteries indeed.

[rowdytexan2]

I don''t care whether Mitt Romney is a Mormon or a or a proctologist! He is still just another spoiled little rich boy, shades of what we''ve already got!

If he had a moral bone in his body he would be outraged at the travesty that his party has made of this country. And his loyalty and support of it only shows ignorance.

As a new testament Christian, I do have to question a religion that blieves the pathway to heaven has to be lined with cash. And one that you have to pay your way to get into when all it takes is a good heart, a glad heart, and respect of your fellow man for goodness and mercy to follow you into eternity.

[myidoncbs]

13 million members, all giving 10% of their money to the mormon "church"... that''s a WHOLE LOT OF MOOLA! Besides being a non-Christian cult, it''s a BIG BUSINESS raking in those suckers'' money.

PS to realpatriot1: atheism and agnosticism are definitely NOT forms of "speculative faith based upon ignorance of the unknown." Atheism is the absense of belief in God, and agnosticism is the disbelief in any claims of ultimate knowledge. They may be speculative, but they are not "faith".

But, then again, most people who think they have "faith" actually do not. They have a bunch of illogical beliefs (dogma) that they cling to, in order to help them get to sleep at night. Faith is believing in something, based on evidence. For example, if the sun comes up every day, you might begin to have faith that the sun will come up tomorrow. Just believing in whatever crud some religious wacko preaches is not faith; it''s more like superstition.

[jcr103]

Most reasonable people understand Mormonism is not a cult or religion shrouded in mystery. But, evangelical Christians and,sadly, the idiot fringe in society are not necessarily reasonable people. They tend to project their own ignorance upon things they do not understand or are different from their own experiences.

[jcr103]

--Hey tiddsanbeer--

You''ve got it all wrong homes. It''s not liberals who rehash worn old stereotypes about Mormonism monotonously but the ultra-conservative right. You''re spending all this time bashing the wrong people.

[ontheleft]

Romney doesn''t stand a chance of getting nominated, so the issue is moot.

[gunownerdan]

Seems like once a cult gets enough members, it becomes a religion.
At nearly 6 million members in the US, I think we can now call Mormonism a religion.

[watcher269-2009]

Where''s the story of how the Bush Administration deleted 10 million emails between 2003 and 2005?

They broke the law - why isn''t Katie the Bimbette looking into this story?

[nstag8ter]

jmcgilvray, you are a liar! Joseph Smith never said that. Why when people dont know about something, they just make something up?! Do you want to sound important? Or just spread another lie about people you do not know? Every thing Mormons believe is in the open @ LDS.org. Nothing is omitted. Look for yourselves.

[strunke]

jcr103-
You don''t even know what an evangelical christian is.

jmcgilvray-
I can quote just as many that say the opposite and you know that, so what?

The Christians didn''t want gold or land. That is a ignorant and stupid statement. In fact pretty much everything you said was completly wrong and misguided. PROGRESS, and natural cultural/technological evolution (survival of the fitest) is what happened to "your people". Christianity had NOTHING to do with what happened, open your mind, hate is blinding. Greed and monarchial-imperialism is what happened. MAN (NOT God, not Christians, not Jews, not MORMONS) is what happened, the sooner you realize that the more enlightened you will be. Christians and Jews have and will be the most persecuted people in the world. This 2,000 years B S shows your complete ignorance of the history of civilizations and this world. Think before you speak and act self-righteous and delusional.

[nstag8ter]

FlangeSqueal,
Spoken out of pure ignornce! You must be a Democrat. If you knew anything about Jesus at all it would surprise me. But you are free to your opinion as am I. If you dont know, just repeat what you have heard some one else say. Make you sound really knowledgeable.

[perception5]

It hard to believe in 2007 that America''s liberal MSM wolfpack is concerned about Mitt''s religion.

They, the wolfpack, claim that the conservatives care but they don''t because Mitt has picked up several major conservative endorsements.

The real reason why this issue keeps coming up is because America''s wolfpack press is trying as hard as they can to de-rail Mitt before he can win the GOP nomination. They know that if Mitt gets through to the next round he will beat Hillary Rotten-Clinton by a large margin.

Other Mormons have run for president in our history from both parties. Morris Udall, a Democrat, ran in 1976 and Orin Hatch, a Republican, I believe ran in 1996.

America''s corrupt liberal MSM wolfpack press needs to bring diversity to their "dens of liberals". They need to include not exclude moderates and conservatives...........NOW!

[tomtomasters]

Jesus was against violence. I find any religion that does not stand against violence not a religion. The Mormon Church authorities claim to not voice their opinion of who people vote for; but it is a lie, because they all vote Republican. Mormons are the first to take up arms, as Joseph Smith was armed while in a Prison Cell, and when people tried to disarm him, he ensued in a gun battle that took his life. Truly if he was a Prophet of the Lord, he would know of how Jesus reacted when the guards came to take him away. He neither fought nor condemned, but asked his father in heaven to forgive them. All organized Religions in America are frauds. They lie, cheat, and do not really do the good things of the Lord. They all argue. Religion should always be a personal practice, that looks and does favors for the Lord not for mankinds greed or Church Organizations, or supporting wars, and ungodly behavior. Mormons support War, the Book of Mormon is nothing but War. They are a War based Religion. I stand against War, violence, and falsehood. Yet I am banished from Celestial Glory, because of it. Go pound Salt Lake up your Grand Canyon Utah.

[skyk-2009]

FlangeSqueal,
Spoken out of pure ignornce! You must be a Democrat. If you knew anything about Jesus at all it would surprise me. But you are free to your opinion as am I. If you dont know, just repeat what you have heard some one else say. Make you sound really knowledgeable.


Posted by nstag8ter at 06:38 AM : Dec 06, 2007
+ report abuse

What happened to respect for our Constitution? It''s unbelievable what people like this have done to it. Article SIX of that ONCE great Document says as plain as it can be said that we have NO right to impose any Religious TEST on our officials, yet the Religious Reich INSIST on trashing that great Document. Why? All you fundies should go get a copy of Senator John Kennedy''s speech to the Southern Baptist on this subject. Now there was a GREAT man who spoke OF the Constitution and it''s REQUIREMENTs on our leaders. He say''s loud and plain... the Seperation of Church and State MUST remain and we MUST protect it!! He joins a list as long as our history saying the same thing.

[davea0511]

wow! so much hate.

[klingon69]

romney won''''t mention that...or that polygamy is still seen as good...and is only renounce for p.r. reasons
Posted by hobbes1831 at 10:09 PM : Dec 05, 2007
All religions have splinter groups. The LDS have a few also. There is a group of them that felt that the leader of the church should be a direct descendant of Joseph Smith. Another splinter group (which we''ve heard a bit about in the news) believes in polygamy.

[hobbes1831]

ask temple mormons about swearing secrecy over pain of death (slitting of throat, i believe).

the very nature of God...mormons believe He was a sinful man who was "exalted" to godhood...just as each mormon can be...is a PRETTY BIG DIFFERENCE!!!!!

"oh, let''''s not squabble about small differences in our faith like me becoming a god or your eternal, holy God once being a sinful man."

[jordieb5]

First off it makes me laugh that it was said "Mormons also disavow belief in the Trinity - that the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one - instead believing the three to be individuals united in a single purpose. " Those belonging to the mormon church believe in the Trinity, That the father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are three seperate beings, being ONE in puporse! So that to me discredits this WHOLE article. Secondly it was said that mormons are a cult... how? How is it a cult when people believe in the same thing? What Proof do you have that mormons are a cult? And to think that All mormons vote republican is a flat out LIE!!! You obviously don''t know many mormons, because I, infact, have met many that vote democratic. True a lot of them do vote republican, because that group seems to have the same views that they. But never once has a church member came and said they HAD to vote republican! Another point, What is the issue with calling God Heavenly Father. ARe we not taught that we are his children on this earth, therefore, he is our father in heaven. Kind of simple. Maybe if you people would stop over analyzing everything you might actually have a good point to make. But i have YET to read one. And Mormons not being christian... Isn''t the basic definition of being christian believing in CHRIST.... hmm.. lets see... Christ is a center point for Mormon belief... oh look i think they are christian.

[jordieb5]

continued from below....


honestly most of you people are Completely stupid and need to stop hating on people that have a different view then you. How many times do you see a mormon writing some article about lets say... Catholics, and completely distorting everything they believe in. It is completely STUPID! If you want to know something about the mormon religion, why don''t you go talk to someone who has credit to actually be talking! Then if you don''t agree, fine they aren''t making you believe what they do. So all in all, go get a life. Just because people don''t believe the same as you doesn''t mean they are a cult. Heck they might as well be, and then they can take over the world!! WHOO HOO!!!
And why don''t we look at Romney for is political views. honestly I hope he wins office for president just so you people will see that he is a decent man. And aren''t we a country that seperates church and state... well here is a prime example that we aren''t. So be like Nike and Just do it... SHUT UP!!!!!

[anon_imus]

No matter what Romney says... He belongs to Mormonism also known as The Latter Day Saints, also known as LDS, which is classifed as a non-Christian cult worldwide.

For those who want the FACTS it''s simple... TYPE IN THE WORDS non-christian cults.

Like it or not, regardless of what Romney or anyone else says... Mormonism is at the top of the non-christian cult list consisting of 242,000 websites world wide on GOOGLE SEARCH

[jordieb5]

Who cares what google says... I could type in Pathetic people... it has a list consisting of 452,000 you could be at the top of the list, does that mean you are pathetic... no! Just because someone can get mormons to the TOP of a list, doesn''t mean it is true. Obviously you are completely stupid and have no idea what christianity is.

According to dictionary.com this is what a christian is

1. of, pertaining to, or derived from Jesus Christ or His teachings: a Christian faith.
2. of, pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ: Spain is a Christian country.
3. of or pertaining to Christians: many Christian deaths in the Crusades.
4. exhibiting a spirit proper to a follower of Jesus Christ; Christlike: She displayed true Christian charity.
5. decent; respectable: They gave him a good Christian burial.
6. human; not brutal; humane: Such behavior isn''t Christian.
%u2013noun 7. a person who believes in Jesus Christ; adherent of Christianity.
8. a person who exemplifies in his or her life the teachings of Christ: He died like a true Christian.

that is the truth. Since Mormons believe in christ, teach about christ, they are in fact Christians!

[redfish251]

he could be the antichrist

[gunownerdan]

Seems like once a cult gets enough followers, it can then be called a religion.
Mormonism has almost 6 million members in America, is this enough yet? If not how many more do they need?

[khorn713]

Mormons are good people with good standards. I don''t think that Mitt should be judged by his religion, one thing I really like is that he is big on families, which does not seem to be important to the majority of American people. We need stronger families so that America doesn''t fall apart.