Romney's Challenge: Reader Emails Reveal Reservations About Mormonism

Fox news ^ | 11-13-07 | By Martin Frost

[Petronski]

Hear the voice of one Willard fan: mash here.

[colorcountry]

Did you realize that Mormons make-up only 1% to 2% of America. Of that, the majority are children (due to a higher birthrate). There are by all current estimations only half of Mormons that are active or currently attending. so 1/2% to 1% of the voting public are active LDS members of voting age, of those at least 33% vote democrat anyway.

If we start talking of pandering to special interest groups, this would be one with very little political pull. Just something to think about.

Even if they all abandoned ship (which they won’t because they need conservatives to shape politics more than we need them to back us) it would make very little difference in elections on a national scale.

[Will88]

“I can’t agree with you on that - Mormonism teaches a different (false) gospel.”

His false gospel, unlike all the Republican followers of the true gospel, seems to have enabled him to follow the Christian belief of staying married to the same spouse rather than going through multiple marriages and divorces. Romney seems to live a more Christian life than any of the truer Christians.

When a candidate clearly lives a very moral life, it seems foolish to dismiss him because of theology. There are some heated disagreements among various Protestant and Catholic groups, where some clearly believe others are following false beliefs that will send them to Hell.

[ex-snook]

"I don’t have a problem with his religion - it’s his candor that I question"

Great. The emailers should judge likewise.

[Wallace T.]

Romney's religious beliefs are not a disqualification from his serving as the President. Electing a President is not the same as electing an elder or deacon of one's church. His past political beliefs and performance as Governor of Massachusetts, however, preclude conservative support in the primaries.

If Ezra Taft Benson were still alive and running for public office, I would not hesitate to support him. But Mitt Romney is no Ezra Taft Benson.

[broncobilly]

How do you define Christian when you say that Mormons are Christian?

---

Some should grow up and stop pushing the stupid, narrow-minded idea that “Mormons are not Christian.” It is nothing more than a childish taunt of “Jesus is mine and not yours.”

Anyone who wants to push that idea should be required to define and defend their definition of what it is that makes a person a Christan.

[Hunterite]

“HAHAHAHA...I thought the whole “God of their own planet” was misinformation spread by babtists?

Personally, In Hoc is a methodist.”

I don’t know, but all the Mormon apostate websites have some wierd stuff on Mormanism. And its consistent everywhere. I mean really wierd stuff.

Heck, I don’t believe in much of the stuff Saint Paul wrote, and thats half of the New Testimate! But at least what Paul (Saul) wrote isn’t excessively wierd.

I prefer the 4 Gospels. Quotes from “the man” himself. I read somewhere thats what the Puritans believed, the 4 gospels took precedence over all. I guess that makes me a Puritan.

[Hunterite]

“Romney’s religious beliefs are not a disqualification from his serving as the President.”

Don’t get angry at me as I to compare apples to oranges, but what if it were a Muslim?

[Will88]

“I’ll ask again, how do you define Christian? More importantly, who do Mormons think that Jesus is?”

Do you want the traditional Catholic definition of Christian, Opus Dei. Southern Baptist, Church of England, Presbyterian, Mel Gibson’s father, AME, Greek Orthodox, Primitive Baptist, Church of God. or one of the many others???

How do you define Christian?

[Jim Noble]

Here's my take:

First, Mitt is a genuinely nice guy, a family man, and smart - very smart. He's a manager, not a politician, so he probably looks at saying whatever to get elected as a cost of doing business.

And as far as the LDS thing goes - First, I like Mormons. They are fine people. But if Mitt gets the nomination, the MSM is going to start a twelve week intensive for the American people in LDS theology and LDS foundational belilefs - and when they're done, the result won't be good for Mitt, won't be good for the LDS movement, and won't be good for America, either.

[padre35]

I understand what you are saying CWCT, there is more to Conservatism among the Religious then having the same communion cup.

If we seek to expand Conservatism, we will have to be able to invite other Conservatives into the fold and grow that way.

This is one of the dangers of mixing Politics and Religion, are we saying “come get baptized” or “Come vote for us, we share the same values, you’re welcome here”?

In that light I’ve found no one actually discusses Romney proposals for the US, the discussion invariably turns to Dogma and becomes fruitless bashing of religious practices not policy positions.

[bubbacluck]

You’re the one who made the statement that Mormons are Christian, not me.

[padre35]

Any Republican that is going to win the election will have their lives under a microscope 24/7, M(isery)NBC started election 2008 coverage in June, CNN at least as early, they are primed to attack no matter who it is.

The question then becomes which candidate is best suited to fend off the attacks both through spokesmen and the New Media?

[Gil4]

RE: “Romney has said several times that “Jesus Christ is my personal savior.” Why would you not consider them to be Christians?”

It’s in the definitions. I’d like to hear him tell me about that Jesus to see if it’s the same Jesus the Bible talks about and to hear what he means by “savior” to see if it’s the same salvation the Bible talks about. I suppose it’s possible he is really a Christian, but if he really believes what the writings of Joseph Smith & Co., he’s not.

As I said earlier, I don’t think Romney’s religion should be an issue, but some of his past policies should be.

I don’t think Fred Thompson makes any pretenses of being a Christian, but I could vote for him (if I can bring myself to get over McCain/Feingold.)

So far, all of the candidates who have had any support have had issues (Giuliani, Romney, Thompson, Huckabee, and, being loose with the word “support,” McCain.)

Could an anti-Hunter person please explain to me why he hasn’t gotten more support? He’s the only candidate right now that doesn’t look like a serious compromise for conservatives. Is that the case, or do I just not know enough about him. (I don’t want to just write him off as unelectable unless we either try first or determine he’s not good enough to deserve the effort.)

[gjones77]

Alright, listening to some of you makes me wonder if you’re all talking about the same man.

I’m from Massachusetts, I’ve seen first hand where Mitt stands on issues based on what he did and tried to accomplish here.

I hear people say he allowed gay marriage in MA, I hate to tell you he fought that kicking and screaming, you can actually thank our Democrat run congress for that, he was fighting with them to get a Constitutional Amendment put through to prevent it.

With stem cell research, yes he backed it at one point and then after learning more changed his position, and his actions proved he’s against federal or state funding for embryonic stem cell research.

And as for gun laws, he gets a “B” grade from the NRA, and the only restrictive gun law passed in MA was the assault weapons ban (modeled after the federal ban), though what’s not mentioned is that he also tacked on a few things to make gun ownership easier in MA such as lengthing the amount of time a gun permit is valid.

So is he 100% perfect in all areas, no, but you know what, he’s a good man, my girl friend spent time with him at length a few times since he visited the Guard Base she works on Otis, on the Cape, she was in the PR office at the time, and said the man was honest, polite, and humble.

So I plan on voting for him in the primaries, but I will back what ever candidate we put into the general election.

(I’m not one of those tools that won’t vote for a person because of my “principles” when I know that my vote could mean the difference between a Republican and Hillary in office)

[skyman]

A Christian church and a Chritian believes in an worships Jesus Christ.

Of course there are different beliefs and interpretations within each Christian church. But to single out certain churches and say they aren’t Christian or that they are a cult etc. because their beliefs/doctrines are not the same are yours is pretty funny.

Especially because you can often get people who belong to the same church arguing about points of doctrine

[ex-snook]

"How do you define Christian?"

Maybe someone who believes the sole truth is in the Bible so that lets out Catholics, Mormons, Jews, Muslims, and the orientals?

I kinda like for President someone, regardless of Religion, who would follow the Constitution without allegiance to any other country.

[Maumee]

I agree with you 100% on both Hatch and Reid, one is just nasty and dumb, the other has become a Rino and I Will vote for whoever is the Republican nominee in 08.

[Vigilanteman]

Romeny and Thompson are running about even for my second choice. Duncan Hunter remains my first.

Fred's advantages:

1. Generally decent voting record during 8 years in the senate except for letting Clinton skate on one charge and supporting Soros-sponsored campaign finance reform.
   
2. Somewhat better name recognition. More people watch Law and Order than remember the 2002 Olympics or the ex-governor of Massachusetts.
   
3. Would probably play better to the southern base . . . but against Hitlery, even RINO Rudy would carry the south.
   
4. Great looking wife who is also very smart. In fact, from what I've seen of her on television, I'm more impressed with her than Fred.
   
5. Nonetheless, Fred does a respectable job of articulating vision.
   
6. Good track record outside government. Has had a successful law career and a successful acting career. Nobody has three successful careers in three different fields by being lazy.

Mitt's Advantages:

1. A self-made multi-millionaire. He didn't inherit it (like Ted Kennedy). He didn't get it by gaming the system (like George Soros). He didn't acquire it by selling out to foreign interests (like Barbara Boxer) or well-placed government connections (like Harry Reid). He earned it through old-fashioned hard work, risk taking and entrepreneuralship. We could use a few more people like that in government.
   
2. His record in elective office, a mere four years, while not sterling, is at lease commendable considering he was elected from the most lieberal state in the union. He pulled their economy out of the crapper with sound economic policies.
   
3. His better hair is likely to attact more female voters than Fred's lack of hair.
   
4. Great work ethic. He's campaigning like he has to earn the nomination, not like he's entitled to it.
   
5. Flip-flopping statements notwithstanding, Romney's action record is actually fairly respectable.
   
6. He would do very well in any debates with Hitlery the queen. While I would prefer the hard-hitting style of Fred to put her in her place, the witty charm of Mitt will probably play better to the female portion of the audience.

At this point, I could seriously and enthusiastically support either guy for president. The one thing seriously lacking in both their backgrounds, however, is military experience. Such experience is a must in the war on terror. Absent such experience, the candidate needs to demonstrate a serious understanding of military affairs and the need to appoint someone (like Duncan Hunter) who would make up for this resume gap.

This is the only key area where McCain comes out ahead. But he is so bad on other key issues (CFR, amnesty) that I could not consider him or Rudi.

[Zerodown]

Mormons are Christians

Mormons are OK.

But they are not Christians in that they do not hold the belief that Christ is God. Unless I misinterpret what I have been told, they share a belief with the Muslims that Christ is a great and worthy prophet, but not God. They also do not hold that Christ's sacrifice is valid for other worlds or planets (yet to be discovered, but according to Mormons, definitely out there.)

These beliefs are very complicated and not open for general debate among non-Mormons, not to mention most Mormons. Theologically, Mornmonism is very much a closed shop. None of this has anything to do with Mitt running for President. Should he be selected as the Republican candidate I will vote for him, and work to encourage others to do so.