The folks at MormonThink are looking to compile some data on things that may affect how LDS and others vote as it relates to Mormonism and Mitt Romney. Some examples:

When Mitt first ran for president, I was flooded with emails from TBM relatives on how Mitt was going to fullfill the White Horse Prophecy.

Some nonLDS people are concerned with the oaths Mitt took in the temple e.g. 'consecrate yourselves, your time, talents, and everything with which the Lord has blessed you, or with which he may bless you, to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for the building up of the Kingdom of God on the earth and for the establishment of Zion'. I don't see where the presidency is exempt from this.

The fact that Mitt believes in a real, live prophet that receives revelation from God and he might attempt to influence Mitt's decisions.

The Mormon male entitlement syndrome that he got just being raised within a special group of people that believes they are superior in their knowledge of God's world and destined to become a god in the next life.

What other Mormon-related issues can you think of that voters may be interested in for this election?

Lately I have heard members quietly, almost secretly, declare Obama as the anti-christ.

Do others know of this?

Yes I have heard this mentioned a few times. I'm pretty sure a good majority of TBMs believe he is the anti-Christ.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/2012 02:50AM by Dee Lightsum.

My wife (neither of us is LDS) says she is really concerned the LDS Church is going to use Mitt as President as an example to spread Mormonism, and she said she heard someone on a conservative radio show really going off about how voting for Mitt was like promoting Mormonism. Problem for conservative Christians is they don't see much in Obama, either.

The claims that the Book of Mormon is about real people and events has clearly been debunked. The claim that the native peoples of the Americas are descended from immigrant Jews is also clearly false.

The inability to reality test beliefs is okay for my plumber, but not for the POTUS.

Also, does Mormonism teach an apocolyptic version of end times? (I am non-Mormon and have heard different versions of this.) If so, would he view it as his religious duty to move the world closer to an armegedeon final confrontation between good and evil in order to usher in the return of Christ?

Regarding end times stuff, I seem to recall a big part of it is thought by mormons to involve Jerusalem/the state of Israel being established and some things going on there, which would be relevant to foreign policy.

Mormon views on Jews/Israel in general are also worth noting, what with the whole Mormons vs. gentiles thing, and how they refer to themselves as Israel.

Can anyone recall anything about the above stuff about the second coming/millennium, etc? It's all hazy, but then my parents did always hang out with fringe conspiracy theorist types...

And I don't think he would try to bring on Armageddon, but would probably be influenced to take certain positions and reactions. I think that might in part explain his support for Israel, beyond that being a standard conservative shtick.

"I don't see where the presidency is exempt from this."

NO MORMON is exempt from those oaths and I am telling every non-Mormon I know about them. Here is why: when he was governor of Massachusetts, he was on the hot-line to Salt Lake City every time there was legislation regarding something the Mormons thought they should be sticking their noses in, like marriage equality, for example. So we already have evidence that he has hewn to his temple oaths and considers them as being more important than his secular oath of office as the governor of a U.S. state.

What about the white supremacy doctrines in the Book of Mormon? It seems like Mitt should be required to publicly denounce those before the election.


In addition to all those "dark and loathsome" and filthy references, here are a few gems:

3 Nephi 2:15 And their curse was taken from them, and their skin became white like unto the Nephites;

Jacob 3:8 O my brethren, I fear that unless ye shall repent of your sins that their skins will be whiter than yours, when ye shall be brought with them before the throne of God.

2 Nephi 5:21 And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them.

The text of the Book of Mormon and other Mormon scripture equate righteousness with skin color.

Romney was 31 years old at the time the Church lifted the ban which means that for a significant portion of his adult life he accepted his church’s teaching that blacks are inherently inferior.

Does he still believe that he is more "valiant" or “worthy” than blacks by virtue of being born white?

If he didn't believe that people of color were inferior during his adult life before the ban was lifted, then why did he remain a member – tacitly supporting the ban and its doctrinal underpinnings?

Did he counsel members to not accept this church teaching when he was a church missionary, bishop or stake president?

Did he ever privately question or protest the racist doctrine?

Did he ever use his prominent position to lobby church leaders for change?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/05/2012 08:34PM by caedmon.

Fundamental fairness toward:
Women
Gays
Poor
Working class

When I realized mormonism was a ruse, my political tether snapped and I flew left like a tetherball flying away from a pole.

Not just mormonism, but all religious conservatism is inherently UNFAIR and prejudiced.

Mitt's mormonism, by several accounts of polls I've seen, is more bothersome to liberals than to religious conservatives. That's true of me for sure.

The risk of his campaign, by the church's own admission, is that it will politically polarize mormons and turn off left-minded members and prospective members. That's what happened to me.

He wooed the right...at the expense of the left. That's what he MEANT to do among the electorate, but the church is doing the SAME thing to its members (like Prop H8). Mormonism is sacrificing its liberals. They pay lip service (like the Google ads about their political "diversity" and "neutrality"), but they are still transparently dogmatic in favor of conservatism.

Non-Mormon here: I'm concerned about those oaths he took (separation of church and state is important in so many ways); the fact that his inner circle seems to be made up of Mormons that stand to make a lot of money at the people's expense (and hardship) and Mitt seems very receptive to a mutual aid and profit society with them (this is the case with all other politicians, but in this case I think it may be far more pervasive); and yeah, the end times goofiness mixed with a really shocking amount of foreign policy naivete scares the crap out of me.

Then there's the bit about the second class status of gays, brown people, women, the poor, the working class, non-Mormons....
Lastly, it could mean Mormons will step up their recruiting drives and general busy bee activity...which could cause the other fundies to start doing the same out of competition fears...oh...no...

Watching it from the shores of Australia and hope that he doesnt get in! All Mormons will declare this as a forfilling of prophecy to have a Melcezedick priesthood holder(High Priest) as President. Came across this quote "The United States should have a foundation free trom the influence of clergy" George Washington, Revolutionary War General and President of the United States.

The talk by Ezra Taft Benson, "14 Fundamentals in Following the Prophet"

http://www.lds.org/liahona/1981/06/fourteen-fundamentals-in-following-the-prophet

There it is on the Church's own website.

Basically the Prophet can say ANYTHING about ANYTHING and all good Mormons are bound to follow him. It can be on politics or science or ANYTHING and is not limited to "man's reasoning" etc.

This is who Romney has sworn to obey and follow. Point that out.

Then to show how it works mention this little gem:

http://m.heraldextra.com/news/local/central/provo/neighborhood-chair-drops-mtc-fight-after-message-from-church/article_dba7b325-5c70-566f-b6af-96c523e1ff84.html

In a zoning dispute, local residents took issue with the Church over a building permit. Instead of having it decided on its merits by the city council ("man's reasoning") the Church pulled ecclesiastical rank and "invited" all the Mormons in the neighborhood to "support" the First Presidency and the Twelve.

The fact that that all folded like a house of cards at this point shows how controlling the Church is over its members.

Use whatever you can from my two articles on Yahoo Voices:

http://voices.yahoo.com/questions-mitt-romney-his-mormon-faith-11239268.html

http://voices.yahoo.com/mitt-romneys-mormon-secrets-11070962.html