Report: Jon Huntsman ‘Set Aside’ Mormonism To Drink Liquor While In China
by Alex Alvarez | 12:50 pm, June 24th, 2011
Jon Huntsman is well-traveled and, as it turns out, exceptionally polite – even willing to compromise certain beliefs for the comfort of his hosts. Take a look, for instance, at this rather charming anecdote from Real Clear World:

Talking to his associates from his time in China, one hears near-universal respect for the man and his views of America’s role within the world – even to the point of turning his time away from the states in China into a potential political asset, an instance of confronting communists with a case for freedom. They’ll tell you Huntsman truly does view his role as one of duty and service to the nation – even to the point of setting aside his Mormon religious views on drinking alcohol to drink the disgusting baijiu liquor which is mandatory at Chinese events (I’m told Huntsman would drink the clear alcohol once and then switch to water, hoping no one noticed after the first round).

The article provides an in-depth look at Huntsman’s views regarding issues like bringing troops home from Afghanistan, “nation building at home,” and matters of foreign policy, so it’s definitely worth a read to get to know him better.


http://www.mediaite.com/online/report-jon-huntsman-set-aside-mormonism-to-drink-liquor-while-serving-in-china/

Actually, there are plenty of Mormons who feel the same way.

snb Wrote:
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> Actually, there are plenty of Mormons who feel the
> same way.


Oh ya! Only the fanatical Letter of the Law believers stick to the WofW like glue.

Personally, all the Mormons I know who are active in their church wouldn't drink alcohol or coffee just to be polite. It's hammered into them so hard from childhood, they just wouldn't do it. They're basically afraid of it. Think of how many people come on here excited to talk about their first drink.

bookish Wrote:
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> Personally, all the Mormons I know who are active
> in their church wouldn't drink alcohol or coffee
> just to be polite. It's hammered into them so hard
> from childhood, they just wouldn't do it. They're
> basically afraid of it. Think of how many people
> come on here excited to talk about their first
> drink.

Some will. My mom would take a drink if offered one at a party and nurse it. She didn't drink much or any of it, but she disliked drawing attention to herself. A lot act like they have been offered poson though

Well, only Mormon celebrities are allowed. The ordinary can't get away with that kind of thing without snubbery by their peers.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/25/2011 12:12AM by suckafoo.

I have never known a TBM to do this, ever! Jack mormons do but not TBMs...

I don't think Hunstman is TBM.

I don't think Huntsman is claiming that he is a TBM.

of his mormon roots. That is just like saying, "I used to be mormon," if you ask me.

He is a complex person, just like every single one of us, and is trying to be honest about his relationship with religion.

I think he views himself a culturally a Mormon, coming from a Mormon family, but not necessarily believing the specifics of Mormonism. In my opinion, that is a respectable place to be in life.

A lot of Mormons also hide their sins, and wouldn't talk to you about it.

I actually know several Mormons who go to church, wear garments, and get drunk every time I see them. There are a lot of legitimate views on Mormonism.

Actually, if you read every 15th word in D&C 132, it says that Mormons can drink liquor if they're traveling to another country that requires a passport.

Just sayin'...

Ron

I still don't want his supply-sider a** in the Oval Office.

The idea is to give them (TSCC or the wealthiest) your money, they will work magic, and IT (blessings or jobs) will return to you. They are the wise ones who know how to do these things, and the sheeple need them, because they are the true magicians. The sheeple cannot work this magic on their own. The sheeple need their wisdom, which of course is self-serving, and not interested in the sheeple, except to suck their life, wealth, and time from them.

The goal is a defacto aristocracy where the upper class owns you likes TSCC owns you. So sheeple, hand over the power over your own lives, bow down, and serve your feudalistic overlords.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2011 09:56PM by atheist&happy:-).

He wants the TOP of the ticket. If you've heard of some of the things he's been doing with his campaign, you'd believe so, too. (I won't go into that here because of the politics prohibition.) In any case, I see areal possibility of him being nominated on the top of the ticket, with Bachmann as the running mate.

I don'tthnk he is that strong as a Mormon, but since I don't agree with him politically I probably wouldn't vote for him. I do like hi a lot better than most of the current crop of Republican presidential wannabes.

I never drank alcohol, coffee or tea until my 30s. I certainly wasn't dogmatic. It's just the way I was raised. I don't know where Huntsman is from, but if he's from Utah he probably just pays lip service to Mormonism for social reasons if he sets aside the Word of Wisdom while he's in another country. That reminds me of the joke about taking two Mormons fishing, because if you just take one he'll drink all your beer.

He is evasive as to how much he believes. His wife and daughter are Episcopalian, I think. At least the wife used to be and the daughter was married in an Epsicopal ceremony. His adopted Indian daughter is being raised Hindu. Doesn't sound that devout to me.

I called a friend in Salt Lake whose child was friends with one of the Huntsman children when Jon was governor there. She swears that Mary Kaye is LDS and wore garments. She said more than once she saw Mrs. Governor wearing shirts she obviously had garments under.

I couldn't guess how Mormon Mary Kaye is - maybe she was just conforming to the culture in Utah the way her husband drank to fit in with the Chinese. But according to my insider contact, she is at least LDS.

I bet Huntsman just tows the Mormon like to keep relatives happy or it was useful for his political career in Utah. I bet if he just came out and declared it a fraud his stake in the Huntsman fortune would be eliminated.

Frankly, I find people who are fake repulsive. I was a fake Mormon for years and the best thing I ever did was come out of the closet and spit on the church and leave. In my experience jack Mormons are loved more than honest Mormons who express their doubts about the church.

of the TBM formula. (His mother is Karen Haight, daughter of Apostle David B. Haight.)

But then, again, I don't think Gordon B. Hinckley was a TBM either. He believed in the power of the organization as a collective and he believed in how good it was for someone like him to be able to harness and direct that power.

Guys like Huntsman and Romney have a tricky balancing act to do. The knee-jerk support that they get from Mormons provides a launching pad for their political ambitions, but it also can be a handicap in the later stages of their political careers, when they're shooting for national office. They can't look like they're just dumping their affiliation with the LDS church at an opportune time, because that would look too unprincipled and opportunistic, so they continue to play all of these spinning and winking and qualifying and hedging type games to see if they can strike just the right balance. (Sort of the way that Hinckley handled his dealings with non-Mormon media.)

In reality, they have more in common with the other multi-millionaire politicians that dominate D.C. than they do with any of the ordinary Mormons who idolize them.

I think a lot of people from Mormon pioneer stock feel the pride in what their ancestors accomplished. I think some in the church value the organization and some of the history over the doctrine. Staying in the church is no different than playing politics. You have to give people the illusion of what they want to see and then live your own life in private. Mormons love Mormons who get national and international notoriety. Just being Mormon and having the last name Huntsman automatically buys you a lot of backing from the sheeple.

I don't know if I'd call him a fake Mormon at this point. Time will tell I guess, but the example of sharing a drink with Chinese dignitaries seems like an example of cultural respect and following the spirit of the law instead of the letter of the law, like most Mormons seem to do. I respect him for this action and wish more Mormons can understand the difference between letter vs spirit of the law.

Not only did I set Mormonism aside in China, I also set it aside everywhere else I have been on this planet.

But I don't drink much because it makes me sleepy. ;o)

did not 'set aside' Mormonism to drink liquor.

Rather he was 'set apart' from Mormonism to drink liquor.

Just like Joseph Smith stated "Liquor Down!"

I like poison,... I mean wine, vodka, coffee, a little of this and a little of that.

Huntsman is a Jack Mormon. He wouldn't have anything to do with Mormonism if it weren't politically expedient. He probably drinks alcohol and coffee in his private life.

That makes him like 2/3 of Mormons.