Sen.: Romney Should Give Speech On Faith

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney probably should give a speech to declare he's not a captive of the Mormon church, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch said Tuesday.

"There's a concern that his religious beliefs might interfere with serving all people. There's no question they do not," said Hatch, also a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "He needs to put that problem to bed."

Hatch spoke to The Associated Press after making similar comments during an appearance at Utah Valley State College in Orem.

He said there's much "misinformation" in the public about the Mormon religion, though he declined to offer any specifics.

"All Mitt has to do is make it very clear that he's his own man. ... He doesn't tell the Mormon church what to do but neither does the Mormon church tell him what to do," Hatch told AP.

"I've been in the Senate for 31 years," he added. "I have yet to have the leadership of my faith tell me what to do."

Hatch has endorsed Romney for president, calling him a "financial genius" who could solve problems in Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare.

Earlier this month, Romney told voters in New Hampshire that his advisers had warned against a speech explaining his Mormon faith, but he didn't rule it out.

The Mormon church did not immediately respond to a request for comment after regular business hours Tuesday. A campaign spokeswoman, Gail Gitcho, said a speech "dealing with faith and values" remains under consideration.

"Governor Romney appreciates Senator Hatch's support and values his opinion," she said.

In a Pew Research Center poll in September, a quarter of all Republicans said they would be less likely to vote for a Mormon.

Mormons refer to the Old and New Testaments, but they also believe that authentic Christianity vanished a century after Christ and was restored only through church founder Joseph Smith. Smith revised - and in his view corrected - large sections of the Bible before he was murdered in Illinois in 1844.

Mormons also consider their church presidents to be prophets.

In September 1960, John F. Kennedy, a Roman Catholic, told Southern Baptists that he did not speak for his church and the church did not speak for him.

"All he needs to do is address it like JFK did," Hatch said of Romney.

"Only a small segment of Christian churches are concerned about people of the Mormon faith not doing the best for all people," Hatch said.

He noted that he and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., are active members of the Mormon church, political opposites "but very good friends - and friends of the Gospel."