Romney Isn't so Mormon after all

[_beastie]

I'm beginning to suspect Romney really is a liberal Mormon. His father defied the wishes of the brethren in regards to civil rights, so it could be a family tradition.

[_Sethbag]

I read that his dad kept liquor in the house to serve to non-member guests. That's not very TBM. You guys have seen the letter from Apostle Delbert Stapley to George Romney where Romney basically gets called on the carpet for supporting civil rights for black people, right?

[_Jason Bourne]

Of course, I have to admit I'm also suspicious of his answer. Just how liberal of a Mormon would you have to be to not believe God has talked to people since Mormons? I'm beginning to think one reason Romney has foot in mouth disease. "I marched with MLK", "I've been a hunter all my life", and now "God hasn't talked to people since Moses". He'll be called on this.

Perhaps it's not that he doesn't think God talks to people as it is that he knows more about his religion than he's letting on. Perhaps he doesn't want his bishop to know that he knows about the multiple accounts of the First Vision, and how Joseph kept changing it. Now that would be hilarious! A closet NOM in the White House!

Perhaps he is just sick of all the fricking inane and asinne questions!!!! MOVE ON PEOPLE! Were new articles necessary about this one damn answer. What the hell about the comment Huckabee made about the Jesus and Satan being brothers. How the hell does the LDS view of the pre earth life and the familial relationships there make any more a difference then a Catholic that prays to Mary or an EV believing they are going to be raptured in without a moments notice. How about an president that believes in the rapture? He/she may be pre-occupied with his free ticket our and not worried about the repercussions of his actions? Now in practicality I do not think that many EV presidents would be impaired by that belief. But you get my point? Really most believers in most religions are able to live a fairly normal life and live in the here and now and while their religious views certainly impact who they are, mostly in I think social issues, most are pretty normal. This is true for Mormons, EVs, Fundies, Muslims, etc.

I think the religious issue in politics is just becoming ludicrous. And I think is is fairly unique over the past 15 to 20 years or so and relates to the rise of the religious right. Time to move on. Leave Mitt, Huckabee, Rudy, Hillary, Obama and all alone about this.

[_Jason Bourne]

I'm beginning to suspect Romney really is a liberal Mormon. His father defied the wishes of the brethren in regards to civil rights, so it could be a family tradition.

I hope so! And George Romney in my hero in this regards. I am glad he ignored the inappropriate letter he got from was it Stapely?

[_Gadianton]

I think it's possible he never had a shred of interest in what the church teaches or what the Bible of Book of Mormon really say. An old boss of mine, who is a very rich and successful Mormon and I'm thinking probably even knows Romney, used to give these company lectures (I was the only Mormon in house) and as a rhetorical tool drop some Bible or religious trivia that was false and really awkward given there were Christians in the crowd who studied the Bible regularily. We're talking about one hell of a gifted over achiever, but the religion was entirely pragmatic. I think for Romney, he's probably learned more about his religion in the past few months than he ever knew. I think unlike Hinckley, he's probably genuinely stumped on some of these questions.

[_truth dancer]

Hi Jason,

Here is the problem as I see it... :-)

You come from a position where the LDS church seems pretty normal, with regular folks who happen to believe a few different things than mainstream Christians.

You do not seem to realize that most non-members do not experience Mormonism in this way.

Mormonism to many folks is very odd, cultish, strange and filled with some very unusual doctrine not to mention a history of fighting against some important laws of our country. There is often a fear of Mormons because of their unusual doctrine.

Rightly or wrongly, this is often the opinion of non-members.

I do not think it is unreasonable for people to ask a presidential candidate who is wanting to be the most powerful man in the world, questions about his beliefs and his religion that they view as destructive, odd, cultish, or harmful. I'm NOT saying it is any of these things, I'm saying this is the impression of many folks around the world.

~dancer~

[_beastie]

I hope so! And George Romney in my hero in this regards. I am glad he ignored the inappropriate letter he got from was it Stapely?

Yes, it was from Stapely and can be read here:

http://www.boston.com/news/daily/24/delbert_stapley.pdf

I also have a huge amount of admiration for George for his response. And perhaps it is a family tradition that church leaders are not always right, and one can be a faithful member and disagree with the brethren on issues. I've often wondered if families that have a history of access to powerful positions in the church might be more inclined to this position than others, due to their close-up view of how it works.

I would never vote for a republican right now anyway, for various reasons, but this does make me feel a bit less negative about Romney in general. Well, aside from the fact that he seems to suffer from foot-in-mouth and resume inflation.

[_Trevor]

So I personally like this answer of Romney's, although I understand that it conflicts with Mormon teachings and will cause Mormons to wonder what kind of Mormon he is. (as I am) If he really doesn't think God talks with people, then he'll make important decisions in a more responsible manner.

Of course, I have to admit I'm also suspicious of his answer. Just how liberal of a Mormon would you have to be to not believe God has talked to people since Mormons? I'm beginning to think one reason Romney has foot in mouth disease. "I marched with MLK", "I've been a hunter all my life", and now "God hasn't talked to people since Moses". He'll be called on this.

Well, he may lie when he gets questions like these, but do they have to be stupid lies?

[_The Nehor]

Romney: "I don't recall God speaking to anyone since the time of Moses and the burning bush."

Obviously Romney hasn't talked to Nehor lately.

His loss I'm afraid. You think he'd at least remember the whole Jesus episode though.

[_beastie]

Well, he may lie when he gets questions like these, but do they have to be stupid lies?

That's why I say he suffers from foot-in-mouth disease. He exaggerates (or some would say lies) about things that, if he thought about it for two minutes, he should realize will be probed and exposed. And yes, that's stupid.