In the spirit of pundits who believe that President Barack Obama is pushing a Muslim socialist agenda, or those who still argue that former President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney took us to war to fulfill prophesy from the book of Revelation, I’d like to raise the possibility that former Gov. Mitt Romney, if elected, might well pursue a thinly veiled Mormon agenda.
I have a few ideas about what such an agenda might entail: Romney approves fracking across upstate New York in an effort to locate Joseph Smith’s lost golden plates. He supports gay marriage, but for men only, thereby reducing the male-to-female ratio to a point that polygamy makes better sense than monogamy. Romney forces the FDA to declare salt the national condiment and decaffeinated Coca-Cola completely safe.
He appoints Donnie Osmond secretary of defense while petitioning the American Dental Association to make teeth a weapon of war. Last but not least, Romney institutes a policy of forgiveness toward venture capitalists who take over ailing companies, fleece pension funds and dispossess former employees.
For the complete article, please pick up a copy of The Daily Reflector. Current home delivery and electronic edition subscribers may log in to access this article at no charge. To become a subscriber, please click here or contact Customer Service at (252) 329-9505.
Comments
Book of Mormon is a con job hoax
I have a Mormon Bible.....read the first 4 pages and you'll see what a con job fairy tale it is. Believe that and I'd like to sell you a bridge.
Bridges
How many bridges do you have to sell?
First of all, it's not called a Morman Bible, It is called the Book of Morman. Just as the 14 books(so far) of the Apocrypha are left out of most Christian Bibles, it is treated by all those of the Morman faith as a book of the Bible. The Coptic Christians and several other Eastern Orthodox Christian Churches include some or all of the Apocrypha in their Christian Bible. Are all those books con jobs, as you say, also? But, not to worry, as you explained, you cannot get past the first 4 pages anyway.
It is disrespectful to degrade any religious teachings. That is what you are showing, disrespect to a faith practiced by tens of thousands of Americans and others all over the world. Our First Amendment to our Constitution gives of the freedom to freely and openly practice our faith. Whether a person agrees or disagrees with that faith is a matter of tolerence and honor among all Americans to respect that practice under the laws of our country.
So, how much are you selling your bridge for?
Romney Agenda
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ("Mormon"), I can assure you that none of the fears expressed in this article are realistic. I don't mind a little good-natured humor as long as the author and the readers don't really believe what the author has said. We all know, for one thing, that no matter what our presidents promise, without the agreement of Congress there is very little they can do.
How do we know what a Morman would do as President?
Do you want to live with a 9/11 every year? We already have two. 9/11/2001 and 9/11/2012. Do we want another? followed by lies, stonewalling, and cover ups to make an administration say everything except the word "terrorist".
Re-elect the present administration and one thing is sure, there will be more 9/11's.
As I recall Nixon was a Quaker. Yet look at his record. Kennedy was a Roman Catholic, yet look at his record. Carter was a Christian, yet look at his record. Clinton was a "go to Church so the press can so I was there Christian", yet look at his record. Both Bush's were Christian, yet look at their records. James Buchanan was a homosexual and an Athiest, yet look at his record. Obama is a born again Christian, yet look at his record. Who would make us safer on the next 9/11? Obama or Romney? Your choice, and religion should not be involved in your decision.
Just for the record: Obama gave the "go" order to get Bin Laden, after almost 10 years of searching by several of our agencies, and several people who were killed in the effort. We got him because of years of constant intel, not just because one man who happened to be in charge said "go".
BKC
So, your friend is divorced from a Morman. But, she is just a lapsed Morman. Did I get that correct?
Seems like you are passing heresay on something you know absolutely nothing about from a person with an axe to grind. You might want to open a website like all these other "think I know something" do. You are a prime candidate.
You call yourself a mental health worker, yet cannot see past the vintictive of a divorce and actually believe heresay about a religion. How many Morman church services have you attended? Have you studied the Book Of Morman?
Many would call that just down right plain stupid. Will all those degrees you say you have, you certainly come up with some doozies. You give it all away when you say, "I was relieved when my friend left the Mormon faith after her divorce." That pretty much sums up your "professional" opinion.
NEVER CALLED IT A PROFESSIONAL OPINION
I gave the source of my information so that anybody reading it would know on what it was based. Just for the record, there doesn't seem to be any negative emotion toward the Mormon Church resulting from her divorce. Not all divorces are vindictive. There is nothing in the original letter or in my comments that related to either of my professions so nothing of my reply is a professional opinion. I label my opinions and my professional opinions as such in my comments. I did not and do not share my personal opinions in either profession (except to colleagues who might be interested and only upon request).
I trust the source of my comments. I don't consider it hearsay. You are welcomed to do so. That's your opinion. You are welcomed to it.
I was relieved when she left the Mormon Church since she is my dear friend. My feelings are mine to share or not. They have nothing to do with teaching or mental health.
BKC
The legal term is heresay, the common term is gossip.
So, if a person of the Morman faith came to you with a mental problem, would you treat them with your obvious bias against Mormanism? Did your dear friend suffer in the Morman faith? Again, I ask, have you ever been to a Morman service or read the book of Morman. If not, all is gossip. You are making assumptions on the personal feelings of a friend, not on facts.
*obama's/wright's church is a
*obama's/wright's church is a CHURCH OF BLACK THEOLOGY. there are only a few in the US. rev. wright stated that the obama's "weren't much on church-going" -which implied to me that they only show once in a great while. how many times have they attended church in dc--only recently to a church near the white house--which leads me to believe there may not be there may not be many "collective CHRISTIAN churches.
*obama claims to be a "collective christian" of which i'm unfamiliar --even after spending much of my life in protestant churches. also implies no real personal relationship with Christ that most religions refer.
*when kennedy-catholic won presidency --many protestants thought the pope would take over. never happened-any more than romney's mormanism will take over.
What comes around....
Funny how all the religious 'Necks around here were braying about Obama's religion four years ago. Where are they now? Oh yeh, waiting in line to vote for a member of a true cult. Eat more chikin'.
Romney and Religion
I knew when I read this letter that there would be lots of comments about selecting or not-selecting a candidate because of religion. If I hadn't gone out to supper with a friend who was a Mormon for 20 years, I would not have been overly concerned about Romney being a Mormon. The fact that he is apparently a faithful one is to his credit.
However, my friend shared some serious concerns that she has because of Romney's faith. They are not along the line of the various possibilities mentioned in Mr. Griffith's letter. I do feel compelled to share.
Her biggest concern is about the man who is the current Prophet and head of the church. She says that he is considered to be appointed by God and on the same level as Biblical prophets like Jeremiah, Elijah, Elisha, etc. Every member is bound to obey whatever request he makes or direction he gives because it is directly from God. A member would be excommunicated for not following such a request and therefore lose his salvation. When I mentioned JFK and the Pope, she assured me that the situation is very different with Mormons. Not only would Romney lose his salvation but also all of his family. She is of the opinion that this could be a real danger. She spoke of several other differences in beliefs, but this is the main one that she sees affecting whether Romney is able to be President without the interference of this prophet. (I can't remember his name.)
As to whether it is a cult, she states that Mormons do not believe themselves saved by God's grace through the blood of Jesus on the cross but by good works and following the church rituals and requirements. Also, it does say in the Bible that anything added to the Bible, like the Book of Mormon which is based on the gold tablets that Joseph Smith says he found, is not to be believed.
I am not in a position to pass judgment, but I do know what I believe and know to be true. Unfortunately, what I described in the preceding paragraph does not correlate with Christianity. As to what God will consider in the question of eternal life for Mormons, I can't say and wouldn't dare speak for God. I do know that Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me."
I was relieved when my friend left the Mormon faith after her divorce. She was not excommunicated and is considered an inactive member. I mention this so no one will think that her feelings are sour grapes because she was in trouble with the church.
Re: Romney and Religion by bkc
I would like to address some of the comments you made if I may.
You said: 1. Every member is bound to obey whatever request he makes or direction he gives because it is directly from God.
I would like to ask you what kind of requests do you imagine that a prophet of God would make to the President of the United States? You say request.. but you imply demand. What requests does your friend worry about? Do you imagine a prophet of God asking the President to use a nuclear bomb? Do you imagine a prophet of God demanding the President to make it mandatory that all citizens of the United States to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints? Just what kind of demand do you imagine?
2. Your friend states that Mormons do not believe themselves saved by God's grace through the blood of Jesus on the cross but by good works and following the church rituals and requirements.
I would say that even though your friend has been a member for twenty years, based on what you said I would say she does not understand Mormon teachings very well.
In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Nephi says the following:
"For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do."
Or how about this one:
"Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise."
What Mormons believe is that no matter how perfect we are or try to be, we can not save ourselves. It is not how many good things we do, it is that we are doing the best we can do. As long as we are on the path, the grace of God is the difference between whatever we try to do.. and perfection. God makes up the difference. That is the grace of God. But anyone who says that all you have to do is believe in Jesus Christ, and you are saved.. is not what Mormons believe. The grace of God does not cover a do nothing person.
3. You say: Also, it does say in the Bible that anything added to the Bible, like the Book of Mormon which is based on the gold tablets that Joseph Smith says he found, is not to be believed.
The Bible does not say that. As a matter of fact, the Bible does not say anything. In the writings of the Apostle John, in a book called Revelation, was created some 300 years before the Bible was even assembled. John's book existed on its own. It was not part of any Bible until about 325AD when men got together an decided which books that had been previously written, would be included in this Book of books.. called Bible.
So in John's book it stated: "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."
So John wrote this concerning his book. The book of Revelation. Nothing else. And who was he saying to? The guy in the type setting room? The copier guy in Office Depot? No he was speaking to all those individual people who would be taking his book and writing word for word what he wrote so others could have it. He was speaking to the scribes. The scribes of the day had a habit of adding to.. or taking away words that original writer had written. So his warning was to them
Thank you
Thank you for your information.
We believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, that He made sure during the writing of the books and at the conference that compiled them that everything within the Bible is what He intended it to say. So even though John may have been referring to his letter, I believe his statement also refers to the whole of the word of God.
If one doesn't consider the head of the Mormon Church to be a prophet, then one might be concerned as to what pressures might be placed on Romney as president. Surely not a nuclear bomb or mandatory membership in the Mormon Church as each is a rather extreme sample.
People who have been saved by the blood of Jesus and God's grace do not live as "do nothing people." Anyone living that way may in fact have not been saved. Anyone can say anything. However, it certainly is not my place to judge that. Only God can see inside someone's heart. "Faith without works is dead."
Re: Thank You by bkc
We too believe the Bible is inspired by those who were instructed and guided to write. What they wrote, when they wrote it was pure and true.
Before the Bible was assembled.. John's scroll was passed around and people made copies of it for almost 300 years. In 2096 our country will be 300 years old. There was no bible during that time. The bible does not refer to itself as such. So for you to insinuate that the Bible knew it was going to come into existence 300 years later and that John wrote his scroll to encompass the bible is nothing more than declaring the will of God by yourself.
As a matter of fact, the same statement (as that in Revelation) is made in Deuteronomy and Proverbs:
Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. (Deuteronomy 4:2)
And again in Proverbs:
Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. (Proverbs 30:5-6)
Using the same logic, one would then be forced to tear everything out of the Bible after Deuteronomy or Proverbs, and throw it away. Such an idea is nonsense.
Consider this for a moment:
Because we have a Bible do we suppose that it contains all of Gods words? Could God have not caused more to be written? The Bible is the history of the Jews and God's dealings with them. The Jews are from the tribe of Judah. That is only one tribe of Israel. What of the other 11? Could God have also told the others to write as well?
Here is something more to consider:
The so-called lost books of the Bible are those documents that are mentioned in the Bible in such a way that it is evident they were considered authentic and valuable, but that are not found in the Bible today. Sometimes called missing scripture, they consist of at least the following:
Book of the Wars of the Lord ----- Numbers 21:14
Book of Jasher _----- Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18
Book of the acts of Solomon ----- 1 Kings 11:41
Book of Samuel the seer ----- 1 Chronicles 29:29
Book of Gad the seer ------ 1 Chronicles 29:29
Book of Nathan the prophet ----- 1 Chronicles 29:29; 2 Chronicles 9:29
Prophecy of Ahijah ----- 2 Chronicles 9:29
Visions of Iddo the Seer ----- 2 Chronicles 9:29; 12:15; 13:22
Book of Shemaiah ----- 2 Chronicles 12:15
Book of Jehu ----- 2 Chronicles 20:34
Sayings of the Seers ----- 2 Chronicles 33:19
An epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, earlier than our present 1 Corinthians 1 Corinthians 5:9
An earlier epistle to the Ephesians ----- Ephesians 3:3
Epistle to the Laodiceans ----- Colosians 4:16
Prophecies of Enoch, known to Jude ----- Jude 1:14
Book of the covenant ----- Exodus 24:7 (may or may not be included in the current book of Exodus)
The Manner of the Kingdom, written by Samuel ----- 1 Samuel 10:25
Acts of Uzziah, written by Isaiah ----- 2 Chronicles 26:22
The “Acts of Abijah…in the Story of the Prophet Iddo” 2 Chronicles 13:22 (seems to not be the same as the Prophecy of Ahijah or the Visions of Iddo)
Now my comment concerning a do nothing people is just another way of say what you said... faith without works is dead. But my point was that your friend told you that Mormons do not believe in the grace of God... I hope that I have proven to you that she was mistaken. And my next comment would be, if she is mistaken about that, what else is she mistaken about?
Divine Inspiration
God Himself inspired the writing of the books which were compiled into the Bible as well as the decisions of the council on which manuscripts to leave out and which to include. What the Bible says is what God intended for it to say, and that includes the wording of what is said. What is not included in the Bible is what He wanted left out.
I don't know how He achieved this inspiration, but I believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God and actually nothing short of miraculous when you consider all that was involved. Why can't the verses you quoted from Deuteronomy and Proverbs apply to the whole of the Bible even if it didn't exist in those days and even though they did not realize all of what they wrote meant? God knew what He was doing when He inspired those verses and when He directed the content of the Bible. God can make anything happen.
We have to ask God to help us interpret the Bible the way He means it. When you say that John was referring only to the book of Revelations, then you too are declaring the will of God by yourself or maybe it is your church. Those who worship in the same denomination believe the same basic interpretations of the Bible, and those are different from each other in many ways, yet they are all based on the same Bible. There are things we won't know until we get to Heaven, and what those particular verses mean exactly may be one of them.
Someone, John I think, said that there were many other things that Jesus did (in his life on earth which the 4 Gospels described) and that telling about them could fill up many pages. However, those possible pages did not make it into our Bible so they either weren't inspired to be written or weren't inspired to be included.
You believe
Twenty years of Jeremiah Wright just went in one ear and out the other.
What???
What does that mean? What does Jeremiah Wright have to do with the Mormon Church or my post?
bkc
You state "I am not in a position to pass judgment"
Well dont.
That you don’t appear to care
You insinuated that the Mormon Church may control Rommey. What about Jeremiah Wright’s control on Obama. He has made a few visits to the White House who knows were else they have meet. We know what Jeremiah Wright thinks of the United States. He did not say God Bless America.
Mormon Agenda
It all sounds very silly to me except the Bush-Cheney comment.
Cult?
Any religion becomes a cult when it is used to spread hatred against other religions. These type letters are getting more frequent since Romney is now proving to more of a viable candidate. Most of the responses show more ignorance than any form of intelligence.
Stop using the internet for links. You can find anything that agrees with your views there. Most are just other ignorant fools.
In my Marine Corps, one of my brother Colonels happened to be Morman. He attended all the, what we referred to as "cordially commanded" functions and drank a glass of water all evening. That insured that he would never be a general officer, although he was more than qualified. Prejudice is everywhere in every form. Envy, greed, follow in prejudice's footsteps.
"Judge not, lest ye be judged".
Wow
Having grown up "Mormon" I can tell you that this letter is some of the craziest anti-mormon babbling I have seen. No one who knows and believes church history would be seriously looking for those plates for one. I mean really, you going to search for something you believe God hid? Then I'm not even sure what to say about this drivel about gay marriage. I can tell you this though, Mormons are not trying to bring back polygamy. You get excommunicated (you know kicked out of the church) for it these days.
These people really should try doing some actual research instead of just listening to some preacher who hates Mormons. Yes, the Mormon church is different than other christian religions, but come on, it is anything like these people think it is.
In the spirit of pundits
In the spirit of ignorance.
Reminders
When Kennedy ran for president they questioned his religion. They said the Pope would be in control and called it an occult religion.
The referneces to Christ in the Americas has been pretty well established by the different native peoples of the time. And both in North and South America. Just think these people had no knowledge that the other side of the world even existed and as such no communications to affect their beliefs.
How small minded we might be if we only believe that Christ visited those people in the so called Holy lands. The American natives had Holy lands and a great belief in the One Great Spirit. Remember we are all GOD's children!! regardless of our worship.
And there is nothing in the Bible nor is there any recorded mandate from God that there are different levels of Sin, there is just Sin. However I agree there should be a certain special places for child molesters, murders and terrorist etc.
Marie will be Secretary of State.
Just a thought FUBAR
You should give equal time to pointing out the issues with many of the stances the Democratic Party has taken in direct opposition to the King James version of the Bible you so quickly quote. Their are many fundamental Christians who have trouble supporting a candidate or party that supports abortion and the perpetuation thereof, gay marriage, and who quite frankly had a hard time including the word "God" in their party platform. From my perspective "Corporatism" as you call it is one thing, however killing an innocent baby seems like a totally different level of sin.
Obama must have done worse in the debates.......
............than I thought for the libs to start rolling out the Mormon angle.
Is Mormonism a cult?
You may be kidding, but many Christians have a real problem with Mormonism, even though there is and should never be a religious test for the office of the Presidency. The electorate themselves can weed out whether to vote for people whose religion is a cult, or whether Mormonism is a cult. One problem I hear, especially from fundamentalist Christians, is what they believe about Christ, namely what He did after the Resurrection. Believing He visited America is pretty weird, and the Christ of the King James Bible warned us about false prophets. That is a BIGGIE, since Mormonism was begun by a prophet, but if he was wrong, and Christ DID NOT do any of those things, including coming to America, that would make him a FALSE prophet by definition, and a vote for someone who follows a FLASE PROPHET, empowers a FALSE PROPHET. Would you take that chance to empower a FALSE PROPHET? Is having your side win at all costs worth that risk? A person's religion doesn't bother me, unless they seek the power over my/our lives. We might as well elect a Scientologist.
Do you wonder why someone with a quarter BILLION dollars, or more (we may never know since he is the least transparent and shadiest character I've ever seen run for President), why would they want a job that pays such small change? The less sinister reason would be to self aggrandizingly make self serving tax policy for further enrchment an/or to perpetuate a 'ruling class', a plutocracy. That doesn't sit right with me either. Nothing about this guy smells right to me.
I don't know what you, especially fundamentalist Christians, feel is the punishment for empowering a FLASE PROPHET, but can/will you take that risk with your own soul?
http://listverse.com/2008/02/04/top-10-bizarre-mormon-beliefs
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/fighting_words/2011/10/i...
Re: Is Mormonism a cult?
In the Bible.. the source of all the various denominations of Christianity, the Apostle John wrote in the 10th chapter of John, the 16th verse, he records the Savior saying the following:
16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
There have been no additional writings of any of the writers in the Bible that describe Jesus going to visit his "other" sheep. No one describes Christ bringing the gospel to anyone else. No one tells the story of this other fold hearing the voice of Jesus. Why is that?
Because it happened after his death and resurrection .
When Jesus Christ appeared to the people in South America, he said to them:
(And not at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should tell it unto your brethren at Jerusalem.
Neither at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should tell unto them concerning the other tribes of the house of Israel, whom the Father hath led away out of the land.
This much did the Father command me, that I should tell unto them:
That other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
And now, because of stiffneckedness and unbelief they understood not my word; therefore I was commanded to say no more of the Father concerning this thing unto them.
But, verily, I say unto you that the Father hath commanded me, and I tell it unto you, that ye were separated from among them because of their iniquity; therefore it is because of their iniquity that they know not of you.
And verily, I say unto you again that the other tribes hath the Father separated from them; and it is because of their iniquity that they know not of them.)
You brought up the idea of false prophets and to not vote for someone who believes in a false prophet. You say this based on your belief that Joseph Smith was a false prophet. I ask the question, how would people vote if the person you claim as false.. was not? What if the opposite is true? What if he were indeed a TRUE prophet? Think about that.
Warnings in the bible
As Fubar points out "Christ of the King James Bible warned us about false prophets." There is something very interesting about this though. Take some time and read what Christ says about false prophets. He warns us to watch out for them and then tells us how to tell a false prophet.
Think on that. Christ told people how to spot a fake. If there were not going to be any more prophets wouldn't he have just said "There will be no more prophets"? He didn't do that though... He told us how to tell a true prophet from a false prophet. This tells me that he knew there would be more true prophets.
I'm not going to try and tell you any guy claiming to be a prophet is one. That is for you to figure out yourself. I am telling you that you should read the bible and think about its teachings before blindly lashing out about the idea of a prophet.
This world would be a much better place if everyone would just open their minds and think for themselves instead of blindly following hateful rants. If you want to learn about Mormons how about talking to one. If you want to learn about a Ford truck you don't go to a Dodge dealer. So why if you want to learn about one religion would you ask someone who is from a different one?
transparency
"(we may never know since he is the least transparent and shadiest character I've ever seen run for President),"
you apparently haven't noticed the lack of transparency in the current administration?
it is amazing how blind libs can be when looking at themselves.
Not blind
I have seen those infected with the spirit of Obamanization roll their eyes into the backs of their heads when discussing the Chairman. Recent studies have shown it to be much like the machinations of the whirling dervishes or when sticking your finger in a light socket. Many have to take seasickness medicine when watching Obama making a speech. The rest of us throw up.
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