Steve Benson's interview about Mitt

[_Livingstone22]

I should not have read the article. I quit posting over at RfM because of people like Benson and SLCabbie, who seem to have a strange litmus test for what makes a true ex-Mormon. Frankly, the guy behaves like a prick over there..

..the Steve Benson show is not the face I would want put on ex-Mormonism.

I concur, Trevor. I'm glad I didn't waste my time to read the article.

He never even represented me when he was a Mormon. He was my ward's high councilman back in the day (so I guess you could say he was my representative). A few days after he published the "Book of Moron" cartoon lampooning Mormon Ev Mecham (the soon to be "ex"-governor) he spoke in Sacrament Meeting about being Christlike. Lot's of tension in the room that Sunday as a number of members got up and walked out in protest as he began to speak.

I don't think he really ever fit the LDS template. And certainly I agree he doesn't represent my views from the outside looking in.

oop. Sorry TD, I guess the thread was about Mitt.

Could you give us some more information on what The Book of Moron controversy was all about? I have never heard of this. I was under the impression that Steve Benson was married to Cindy Benson who authored A Struggle to Peace (an anti-Mormon tract that I found on my front door in New Mexico and in a public bathroom in Salt Lake)--but apparently she is married to Richard Benson. I can't even get my bitter ex-Mormons straight anymore, there are so many.

[_Inconceivable]

Could you give us some more information on what The Book of Moron controversy was all about? I have never heard of this.

Off topic again, sorry (and a snoozer too).

Ev Mecham was Governor of AZ in the ? late 80's. He was extremely right wing conservative. He had great ideas in bringing stability and transparency to the government but was a very abrasive/contentious and stubborn man. He was an easy target for those that wanted him out mainly because of his mouth. They trumped up charges against him (that he was never convicted of) and impeached him. A handful of his accusers were convicted a year or so later in government sting operations. I didn't particularly like Mecham because of his personality. But he had a few bold ideas.

Because Mecham was open about his faith, Benson took the opportunity to distance himself from that of Mecham's beliefs by drawing the political cartoon "The Book of Moron" - Mecham shown flying through the air holding the book so titled. It infuriated people on every side. At the time Benson was syndicated with The Arizona Republic and I guess some papers of other states as well as being one of the talking heads on the local PBS TV news station. He was also in the Tempe West Stake High Council and representative of the ward I attended. As a Mormon (at the time), I was deeply offended at the portrayal of how my Mormon book was cast in the cartoon. I can't recall the exact timing but within the year Benson also made that famous flight to SLC to visit his grandfather and decide it was all a crock.

ok, who cares. Back to Mitt.

[_truth dancer]

I'm not a fan of making a presidential campaign about religion.

Our country is facing so many challenges that need addressing and I for one could care less what church a president attends, or even IF she attends, so long as the issues are attended to.

Having said this, the church in my opinion, doesn't have a good reputation for honesty toward the Government, and some of the issues/teachings in the early church specifically, and even some of the current covenants give reason for pause.

If elected, I do not think Romney would do anything to harm the country, but I feel pretty certain he would be arm and arm with LDS leaders. But, he is smart and saavy and knows what it takes to get elected and I trust him when he indicates he will not bow to LDS authority, or put the LDS church's wishes or needs over those of our country.

~dancer~

[_Infymus]

Some recent posts that may be of interest concerning Mitt Romney:

Tal Bachman: "Mutating Mitt"
Link: http://www.mormoncurtain.com/topic_mitt ... _202475934

Steve Benson: " After "The Speech": 10 Top Extreme Beliefs Of Mitt The Mormon, Kooky Candidate From Kolob"
Link: http://www.mormoncurtain.com/topic_mitt ... 2094256083

Bob McCue: "Should Anyone Be Concerned About Mitt Romney's Mormon Beliefs? "
Link: http://www.mormoncurtain.com/topic_mitt ... 1920180496

Outside the mainstream, Benson is far more harsh (as he's always been).

[_Infymus]

If elected, I do not think Romney would do anything to harm the country, but I feel pretty certain he would be arm and arm with LDS leaders. But, he is smart and saavy and knows what it takes to get elected and I trust him when he indicates he will not bow to LDS authority, or put the LDS church's wishes or needs over those of our country.

I'm still not convinced. Mormons are "magical thinkers". I still cannot trust that Romney will not be somewhat influenced by or open doors for LDS Inc. And the hoopla surrounding a "Mormon President" - Mormons will beat that drum for years.

/Eyeroll

[_the road to hana]

I was under the impression that Steve Benson was married to Cindy Benson who authored A Struggle to Peace (an anti-mormon tract that I found on my front door in New Mexico and in a public bathroom in Salt Lake)--but apparently she is married to Richard Benson. I can't even get my bitter ex-Mormons straight anymore, there are so many.

Steve Benson was married to Mary Ann Benson until they divorced a year or so ago after thirty years of marriage.

[_Infymus]

I was under the impression that Steve Benson was married to Cindy Benson who authored A Struggle to Peace (an anti-mormon tract that I found on my front door in New Mexico and in a public bathroom in Salt Lake)--but apparently she is married to Richard Benson. I can't even get my bitter ex-Mormons straight anymore, there are so many.

Steve Benson was married to Mary Ann Benson until they divorced a year or so ago after thirty years of marriage.

I didn't know that they had gotten a divorce. Maybe this is why he left RFM for quite a while, and then came back with a vengeance.

I really like Steve. I've had some great personal conversations with him over the years. He has kept in touch with me to correct, update or add articles (I have over 200+ articles of his).

Recently he has become more cynical and I've stopped culling posts that do not deal with Mormonism or recovery. I respect him greatly. He has quite the opinion about Santa Claus.

[Guest]

I should not have read the article. I quit posting over at RfM because of people like Benson and SLCabbie, who seem to have a strange litmus test for what makes a true ex-Mormon. Frankly, the guy behaves like a prick over there, and he hardly comes off better in this piece. In fact, I would bet that the reason he seems even the least bit tolerable in this piece is because others were editing him. It is a shame that someone who has offered real insights into the upper echelons of the Mormon hierarchy/royalty can't behave like an adult consistently enough to develop a little gravitas and hence real credibility. Anyone who indulges in rhetoric like "weird Mormon God" in a somewhat serious publication is begging to be dismissed by anyone with an ounce of soberness.

Seems to me that the ex-Mos are lacking in some much-needed PR. I'm not saying the LDS Church does it extremely well, but the Steve Benson show is not the face I would want put on ex-Mormonism.

Count me as someone else who thinks that Benson is an A-1 jackhole. He appeared to have this pathetic psychological need to be King of the Pond over at RfM. His on-line personna is arrogant to a fault, dogmatic, and unreasonable.

He is, however, extremely articulate and a very witty writer. He could be an effective spokesperson for the Ex-Mo community if he could put aside all his other baggage. Not sure I'd want him speaking for me, though, as I had more than one run-in with him over on RfM, and he was invariably a jerk.

I also disagree that no one will vote for someone who wears his religion on his sleeve. George W wore his on his sleeve. It didn't hurt him and probably helped. Huckabee has made it a campaign strategy to wear his religion on his sleeve. We'll see how it goes. I won't vote for him for this very reason. I don't want a rabid EV as president, not only because I distrust EV's (I believe that they have distinctly anti-Liberal/Pluralism instincts), but because I worry about whether he'll empower the fruitcake wing of the EV's (and their scary brothers in arms the dominionists) even more than W has. I see religious fanaticism as the greatest threat to the health of our republic today, and I worry about embedding it even more into our public life. Let those who believe in Biblical literalism preach their religious supersitions in their own homes, I don't want them basing public policies on what iron-age pastoralists would have done.

[_KimberlyAnn]

I was under the impression that Steve Benson was married to Cindy Benson who authored A Struggle to Peace (an anti-mormon tract that I found on my front door in New Mexico and in a public bathroom in Salt Lake)--but apparently she is married to Richard Benson. I can't even get my bitter ex-Mormons straight anymore, there are so many.

Steve Benson was married to Mary Ann Benson until they divorced a year or so ago after thirty years of marriage.

I didn't know that they had gotten a divorce. Maybe this is why he left RFM for quite a while, and then came back with a vengeance.

I really like Steve. I've had some great personal conversations with him over the years. He has kept in touch with me to correct, update or add articles (I have over 200+ articles of his).

Recently he has become more cynical and I've stopped culling posts that do not deal with Mormonism or recovery. I respect him greatly. He has quite the opinion about Santa Claus.

I've had a few run-ins with Steve, especially over Santa Claus!

Steve is such a Scrooge.

He should keep his Santa-hating mouth shut.

KA

[_Mercury]

Seems to me that the ex-Mos are lacking in some much-needed PR. I'm not saying the LDS Church does it extremely well, but the Steve Benson show is not the face I would want put on ex-Mormonism.

I am in total agreement. Steve is trying to do what his family has done for several generations: Use a marginalized version of celebrity in order to further his ego.

RFM is triage for doubting Mormons but unfortunately it does not scale well in dealing with the long term needs of conversation involving Mormonism. Steve is a big fish in a little pond, milking sensationalized stories of his grandfather.