Same here. Mitt's father and my grandfather are first cousins. I knew his father.
Looks like we could have our own Romney family reunion here at MDB. :)
Looks like all Mitt really needs to do is to simply convince all of his relatives to vote for him.
You know what, if Mitt hadn't taken an absurd right turn when it became convenient I would be a supporter. I liked the Mitt who challenged Kennedy and I liked the Mitt of his first 2 years as Governor. Reasonable, good leadership, moderate, effective. I simply can't support his far right social policies and I am becoming increasingly disturbed by his flashes of neo-conservatism. I like Huntsman. A lot.
Unfortunately I'm going to have to pick between the lesser of two uninspiring candidates this year. However, I did tell a friend last night that if Obama chooses Hillary as a running mate this go around, he'll get my vote without question. Truth be told, I really really really wish she had won the nomination and then been elected president. She's really moved to the center over the past 15-18 years and proven herself to be an effective leader.
sethpayne wrote:However, I did tell a friend last night that if Obama chooses Hillary as a running mate this go around, he'll get my vote without question. Truth be told, I really really really wish she had won the nomination and then been elected president. She's really moved to the center over the past 15-18 years and proven herself to be an effective leader.
EXACTLY what my NOM wife (who is a registered Republican) has been saying lately. Sounds good to me.
David Hume: "---Mistakes in philosophy are merely ridiculous, those in religion are dangerous."
DrW: "Mistakes in science are learning opportunities and are eventually corrected."
Mitt is a direct cousin to my aunt (I have no idea what that makes me though) and my great grandmother lived in the same colony and fled at the same time as Mitts father.
bcspace wrote:The non God-authorized practice of plural marriage is evil, yes.
Thus all Polygamy is evil because God never authorized it, even for Joseph Smith Jr. Really, I promise. I have a testimony of this.
Hearts and flowers your way!
(Nevo, Jan 23) And the Melchizedek Priesthood may not have been restored until the summer of 1830, several months after the organization of the Church.
bcspace wrote:The non God-authorized practice of plural marriage is evil, yes.
Thus all Polygamy is evil because God never authorized it, even for Joseph Smith Jr. Really, I promise. I have a testimony of this.
I echo Harmony. Jason you have it the nail on the head.
I know others here have a different view but I don't think Joseph Smith was a bad guy. I think he truly *believed* in what he was doing but nevertheless, in the case of plural marriage, what he was doing was a very very bad thing.
Same here. Mitt's father and my grandfather are first cousins. I knew his father.
Looks like we could have our own Romney family reunion here at MDB. :)
Looks like all Mitt really needs to do is to simply convince all of his relatives to vote for him.
sethpayne wrote:
You know what, if Mitt hadn't taken an absurd right turn when it became convenient I would be a supporter. I liked the Mitt who challenged Kennedy and I liked the Mitt of his first 2 years as Governor. Reasonable, good leadership, moderate, effective. I simply can't support his far right social policies and I am becoming increasingly disturbed by his flashes of neo-conservatism. I like Huntsman. A lot.
Unfortunately I'm going to have to pick between the lesser of two uninspiring candidates this year. However, I did tell a friend last night that if Obama chooses Hillary as a running mate this go around, he'll get my vote without question. Truth be told, I really really really wish she had won the nomination and then been elected president. She's really moved to the center over the past 15-18 years and proven herself to be an effective leader.
I agree with sethpayne. Besides, with Hillary, you get perhaps the best person to be a senior adviser to the president: Bill Clinton. Remember the good old days of a balanced budget, high employment, strong investment markets, etc.?
sethpayne wrote:I know others here have a different view but I don't think Joseph Smith was a bad guy. I think he truly *believed* in what he was doing but nevertheless, in the case of plural marriage, what he was doing was a very very bad thing.
The need for cognitive consonance means most every human truly *believes* in what he or she is doing, or else would not do it.
Trying to peg an individual as a 'bad guy' or a 'good guy' is a usually fruitless exercise, and such labels simply deflect critical analysis of specific conduct. The question is not whether JSJr was a 'good guy' or a 'bad guy'. The question regarding his sex with women other than Emma is whether that was good conduct or bad. I say that conduct was bad.
sethpayne wrote:I know others here have a different view but I don't think Joseph Smith was a bad guy. I think he truly *believed* in what he was doing but nevertheless, in the case of plural marriage, what he was doing was a very very bad thing.
The need for cognitive consonance means most every human truly *believes* in what he or she is doing, or else would not do it.
Trying to peg an individual as a 'bad guy' or a 'good guy' is a usually fruitless exercise, and such labels simply deflect critical analysis of specific conduct. The question is not whether JSJr was a 'good guy' or a 'bad guy'. The question regarding his sex with women other than Emma is whether that was good conduct or bad. I say that conduct was bad.
I agree with you that the conduct was bad. What I meant to convey was that I see no fraud in Joseph Smith in relation to the Book of Mormon, and other revelations which makes him a true mystery.
Then there is the question of how he got so many people to corroborate the story about the gold plates, visions in Kirtland etc...
Certainly the wine helped at Kirtland and the witnesses had a vested interest in the Book of Mormon but nowhere, at least to my knowledge, do we see any indication of intentional fraud. This leads me to believe that all of these men reported things they truly believed they saw and heard. I have no explanation for it.