Analysis: Romney's 'Mormon speech' risk

[sampsonblk]

Analysis: Romney's 'Mormon speech' risk

MANCHESTER, N.H. - In mid-November, Mitt Romney dismissed the prospect of a speech discussing his Mormon faith, using his businessman's bottom-line focus to say, "There's no particular urgency because I'm making progress in the states where I'm campaigning."...

Three weeks later, with...Huckabee, the one-time Southern Baptist minister, surging in Iowa, Romney's calculus has changed.

On Thursday, he will draw national attention to his religion...with a speech at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas...

"The risk is that it brings to the fore the way Mormonism diverges from conventional Christianity, and it will make people ask the question, `Do I really want to vote for someone who believes that conventional Christian churches are `apostate?'" said Mathew Schmalz, a religious studies professor at the College of the Holy Cross.

Mormons, for example, believe that authentic Christianity vanished a century after Jesus and was restored only through Joseph Smith, whom Mormons consider a prophet. Smith also revised — and, in his view, corrected — large sections of the Bible in the 19th century, an act of heresy in the eyes of Protestant and Roman Catholic leaders...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071203/ap_on_el_pr/romney_religion_speech


Getcha popcorn ready!

[Kahuna]

1. CNN let this become an issue by allowing a question that never

should have been asked. They SHOULD be ashamed, but I doubt that they are. I'm pretty sure they KNEW the consequences of asking such a question knowing that as a mormon mitt follows the Book of Mormon instead of the Bible. I don't like Mitt one bit, but that was totally unfair to allow that question.

[tekisui]

5. To be fair, Mormon follow the Book of Mormon AND the KJV Bible.

They believe both are scripture and word of god. They also believe in modern day revelation, and in a living prophet that heads the church now. The current prophet's words are also considered *scripture*.

[L0oniX]

6. It's just a huge cult! Too bad the believers in the new testament didn't have the book of mormon...

I guess they are lost ...huh. Stupid mormons ...stupid cult ...stupid people ...stupid doctrine.

[sampsonblk]

10. CNN didn't start this fire.

This issue was bound to come up. Romney knew it too. The GOP is the party of KJV-only fundies. If you're going to run as a GOP mormon, you're going to have to explain yourself.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. couple this with many people's encounters

with certain over-zealous Mormon missionaries, and Romney may be in more trouble than he thinks.

[ben_meyers]

3. It shouldn't be an issue anymore

Than the scare that Kennedy was going to take orders from the Pope! Too bad that candidates can't just be quiet about this kind of thing.

[calimary]

4. I keep waiting for Lloyd Bentsen to rise up out of the grave.

Almost every report or commentary about this has included a reference to the JFK-Catholicism issue of 1960, and how this is being portrayed by far too many as romney's "JFK Moment."

What we need desperately is a Lloyd Bentsen to stand up and say - "Mr. Romney, I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. And YOU, sir, are NO Jack Kennedy!"

[hfojvt]

7. the more important point though

is that Mormonism is no Catholicism. This speech is gonna kill him. The more news it gets, the more Republicans will say 'He's a Mormon? I didn't know that. There's no way I will ever vote for him now.'

[calimary]

8. Well, let's hope so, in the figurative sense of course. I remain terribly

uncomfortable with the idea of politicians up on soap boxes pontificating about religion. They have no business doing that! I mean, I'm not voting for Pope here. Nor is anybody else I know or know of. It's not their jurisdiction. It's not their department. They should stick to civilian, secular things. Leave religion to the priests, ministers, rabbis and mullahs. "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's..." and all that.

[sampsonblk]

14. I think you are right-nt

[sampsonblk]

12. Then you have to ask yourself why it matters to so many.

If Romney were baptist or methodist, this would not be an issue. Have you spent any time looking at why fundies have a big problem voting for a mormon?

I found it pretty interesting. And yeah, it does matter.

[goodgd_yall]

9. I wonder how deeply he will go into the beliefs of Mormons

I doubt he will bring up differences between his religion and Christianity. He's going to have to be very clever about this (and I don't think he's a very clever man) if he hopes for good to come out of this.

[sampsonblk]

13. I don't think this is going to help his case

If he is evasive, that could kill his campaign. If he goes into details, then he is going to alienate a whole lot of the people he needs in order to win.

[Renew Deal]

11. Some interesting stuff on the assassination of Joseph Smith

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Smith%2C_Jr.#Death

A few disaffected Mormons in Nauvoo joined together to publish a newspaper, the Nauvoo Expositor. Its first and only issue was published 7 June 1844. The paper was highly antagonistic toward Smith, expounding many beliefs critical of him, and outlining several grievances against him. The bulk of the Expositor's single issue was devoted to criticism of Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement and the mayor of Nauvoo, and inflamed many of Nauvoo's citizens. The city council, headed by Joseph Smith as mayor, responded by passing an ordinance declaring the newspaper a public nuisance designed to promote violence against Smith and his followers.<38> Under the council's new ordinance, Nauvoo's mayor, Smith, in conjunction with the city council, ordered the city marshal to destroy the paper and the press on June 10, 1844.<39>

This action was seen by many non-Mormons as illegal and Smith was accused of violating the freedom of the press. Violent threats were made against Smith and the Mormon community. Charges were brought against Smith and he submitted to incarceration in Carthage, the Hancock County seat. Smith's brother, Hyrum, and eight of his associates including John Taylor and Willard Richards, accompanied him to the jail.<40> The Governor of the state, Thomas Ford, had promised protection and a fair trial.<41> All of Smith's associates left the jail, except his brother Hyrum, Richards and Taylor. Those in jail were not held in the 1st floor jail cell because the jailer felt that that was unsafe; instead they were held in the jailer's room on the 2nd floor.

Shortly after 5:00 p.m. on June 27, 1844, a mob of about 200 men stormed the jail, and went to where Smith and his associates were imprisoned. Although they attempted to hold the door shut against the mob, the mob opened fire through the still-closed door, shooting Hyrum Smith in the face. As the mob burst through the doorway, Joseph Smith (who had earlier been given a six-shooter by a visitor) managed to fire three shots at the mob.<42> His brother Hyrum Smith died immediately from the shot in the face. Taylor was shot several times, but survived. One of the bullets hit his pocket watch, saving his life. Richards was unharmed. Smith ran to the open window, where he was shot multiple times simultaneously (both from within the room and from the outside), and fell from the window, dead. Upon falling to the ground, he was shot several more times. Mormons view his death as martyrdom.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Smith%2C_Jr.#Death

[ClarkUSA]

15. Is he going to reveal that Mormons believe the Garden of Eden was in Jackson County, Missouri?

It'd be interesting to see the reaction from Christian evangelicals afterwards.

[sampsonblk]

16. I'd bet money he won't bring that up.

And I bet money he won't take one single question from the audience - unless its staged.

[JCMach1]

17. Romney is done... Huckabee is the flavor of the moment

[BadgerLaw2010]

18. Catholicism (Kennedy) had a perception problem. Romney has a reality problem.

Sorry, but his actual beliefs really are booga-booga to evangelical and fundamentalist Protestants, as well as Catholics.

[CK_John]

19. 100% made in the USA should be his meme. n/t