Free Republic

It looked like a stunning reversal: the same church that helped defeat gay marriage in California standing with gay-rights activists on an anti-discrimination law in its own backyard. On Tuesday night, after a series of clandestine meetings between local gay-rights backers and Mormons in Salt Lake City, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced it would support proposed city laws that would prohibit discrimination against gays in housing and employment. The ordinances passed and history was made: It marked the first time the Salt Lake City-based church had supported gay-rights legislation.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” today that he wept with relief when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Mormons, announced a 1978 revelation that the priesthood would no longer be denied to persons of African descent. Romney’s eyes appeared to fill with tears as he discussed the emotional subject during a high-stakes appearance that he handled with no major blunders. “I was anxious to see a change in my church,” said the Republican presidential candidate, appearing for the full hour just two weeks ahead of the crucial Iowa caucuses. “I can...

One of the big stories in the Republican presidential race last week was a series of controversial survey calls in Iowa and New Hampshire that asked respondents some pointed questions about Mitt Romney. Specifically, voters in the first two Republican contests received calls with negative messages about the former governor’s religion, his Vietnam-era military deferments, his sons’ lack of military service, and the notion that Mormons believe the Book of Mormon is superior to the Bible. The question, of course, was who was responsible for the calls. For one thing, they may have been illegal — as the Union Leader...

DALLAS - When a pair of Mormon missionaries knocked at the door of Jerry Pierce's home in a north Dallas suburb last month, he marshaled his arguments and stood his ground. "I look forward to encounters like that. I like to talk to them about the nature of Christ and who Jesus is," said Pierce, a staunch Southern Baptist, the biggest Protestant denomination in the United States. Mitt Romney, a Mormon, is running into similar resistance as he tries to win over Southern Baptists and other evangelical Protestants in the race for the Republican Party's nomination for the 2008 U.S....

Whodunnit? Here is why it is unlikely that Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson or any top-tier challenger to Mitt Romney had anything to do with the wave of anti-Mormon, Anti-Romney phone calls in Iowa and New Hampshire. Think about the reward. Would the questions asked by the firm elicit any meaningful data for the campaign who wrote them? Would the relative reward of a few dozen voters changing their minds about Romney because of his Mormonism be worth the avalanche of embarassment and ill-will that would accrue to the candidate who authorized the phone calls? Political consultants aren't stupid -- they...

There is an old hymn written by Fanny Crosby, sung at generations of camp meetings, which exclaims: "Crown Him! Crown Him! Prophet, and Priest, and King!" Since the emergence of evangelicalism as a cultural force in the 1950s, three approaches to politics, represented by three personalities, have emerged. They are the prophet, the priest and the kingmaker. The prophet has been psychologist James Dobson, who dispenses child-rearing advice on the radio from his Colorado ministry, Focus on the Family. On family issues, Dobson's counsel is moderate and broadly appealing. On politics, his tone sharpens. He rails against compromise on social-conservative...

RICHMOND, Va.—There's no shortage of polls underscoring America's sour mood these days. Surveys generally show that 7 in 10 Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction and that most Americans believe their leaders in Washington are doing a poor job. U.S. News led the way in explaining this trend with a recent special report on why Americans think Washington is broken and what can be done about it. If anything, the warning signs are getting gloomier. A new focus group of Republican voters from the Richmond area, conducted last Thursday evening, was a case in point. All...

Shortly before a Republican presidential primary debate in Columbia, South Carolina, this last May, several conservative activists in the state received mysterious envelopes in the mail. The letters arrived anonymously, each one containing an eight-page document, a typewritten manifesto with a pseudo-academic title: "Mormons in Contemporary American Society: A Politically Dangerous Religion?" The letters depicted Mormonism as based on "hoaxes" and ridiculed the church's founder, Joseph Smith, as a "gold digger turned prophet." The mailing also provocatively dubbed Smith "the Mohammed of the West." "Like the prophet of Islam," it said, "Smith founded his religion upon prophecies and revelations which...

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his rivals for the Republican nomination will face a tough crowd when they address the religious conservatives at the Values Voter Summit starting Friday. “I think what we can expect is a lot of folks talking about how dissatisfied they are with the choices they have,” former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) said. Giuliani’s positions on abortion and gay rights continue to dog him as he looks for support within the leadership of the religious conservative movement, and those leaders say they want to hear more from the former mayor this weekend than...

Although there are hundreds of ways to look at the fight for the GOP presidential nomination, increasingly it looks as if the South Carolina primary could end up as the pivotal contest. Right now, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's early focus on Iowa and New Hampshire appears to have paid off: He sports a big advantage over former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Sen. Fred Thompson in Iowa, but recent polling suggests that Giuliani may have closed some of the gap in New Hampshire. At least for the moment, neither candidate seems to be on the verge...

Next year's United States presidential election will be the first one since 1952 to have neither an incumbent nor a current or former vice-president on either of the two main tickets -- unless Al Gore suddenly decides to run again. As of now, national polls place New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as the favourite candidate for Democrats, followed by Illinois Senator Barack Obama and former North Carolina senator John Edwards. On the Republican side, actor and former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson is almost even with former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, with Arizona Senator John McCain and former...

FORT WORTH, Texas --One of the names coming up most frequently as the 2008 presidential campaign gears up isn't even a candidate. It's Rick Scarborough, an East Texas Baptist minister and evangelist determined to bring conservative Christian Republicans back to the polls next year. The presidential election is still more than a year away, but the primary campaigns are in full swing, and Scarborough and other religious leaders are stepping up in the battle being waged for control of the White House, Congress and the GOP itself. They want the full force of conservative Christian voters to be felt in...

For nearly three decades the Republican party has built its election victories in the United States on the power of the Christian Right. But now it is facing the prospect of a "God void" by selecting a presidential candidate who is not a churchgoer. In a recent Gallup poll, 55 per cent of Americans said they went to church at least once a month. Neither the thrice-married Rudy Giuliani nor the twice-married Fred Thompson, the two front-runners for the party's nomination, go to church regularly. John McCain, also a divorcé, once described evangelical leaders as "agents of intolerance". All have...

When former Tennessee senator and actor Fred Thompson makes his presidential bid official Thursday, his Utah supporters are planning to celebrate at a downtown party. The event is just one of many being organized nationwide by self-described "Fred-Heads" who for months now have been pushing Thompson to get in the race for the GOP presidential nomination. Thompson is scheduled to formally announce he's running via a webcast Thursday on his campaign site, www.imwithfred.com. Following the announcement, he's expected to campaign in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee. "We're just getting started, but I think a groundswell is coming,"...

I know that I'm going to get in trouble in some quarters for the following statement, but I'm going to say it anyway. I love Mormons, and I deeply appreciate the role played by the LDS church in our nation and our culture. I have returned from a lengthy absence from EFM (I was out of town working hard on my day job) to find a debate in these pages about whether Mormonism is a "cult," flipped on the TV to see a two part special about Mormonism on PBS, and turned on my computer today to see this absurd...

Am I an anti-Mormon bigot for simply raising this question? In this column two weeks ago (available here), I stated I would vote for Mitt Romney should he win the Republican nomination, and that “though I am willing to unite with and befriend Mormons in common cause to advance our shared values, I am hoping to be a voice of clarity – unwilling to allow Mormonism to be mistaken for orthodox Christianity and unwilling again to disqualify a candidate simply because he is from a faith tradition so different from my own.” I also stated, “many Mormons in recent years...

IN May, Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and 2008 Republican presidential hopeful, will give the commencement address at Pat Robertson’s Regent University. What better opportunity for Mr. Romney to discuss the issue of his Mormon faith before an audience of evangelicals? When John F. Kennedy spoke before Protestant clergymen in Houston in 1960, he sought to dispel the fear that as a Catholic president, he would be subject to direction from the pope. As a Mormon, Mr. Romney faces ignorance as well as fear of his church and its political influence. More Americans, polls show, are willing to accept...

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Delegates to the Community of Christ World Conference voted overwhelmingly Friday to add a passage to church doctrine that, among other things, says scripture should not be interpreted in ways that lead to discrimination. "It is not pleasing to God when scripture is used to diminish or oppress races, genders or classes of human beings," wrote First President Stephen M. Veazey, who also is the church's prophet. "Much physical and emotional violence has been done to some of God's beloved children through the misuse of scripture," Veazey said. "The church is called to confess and repent of...

53% of evangelicals say they wouldn't consider it, bad news for likely '08 hopeful Mitt Romney WASHINGTON - About 43 percent of Americans wouldn't even consider voting for a Mormon for president, according to a new poll that shows an increase from previous surveys in the number of voters unwilling to support an LDS candidate for the White House. The latest poll, released Monday, is bad news for Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Mormon Republican who is expected to make a 2008 presidential bid. Previous polls have shown a smaller share of Americans saying they would not vote for a...

Mitt Romney (R) begins the 2008 campaign season in fourth place among those seeking the GOP Presidential nomination, trailing Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, and Condoleezza Rice. While many Republican insiders believe the Massachusetts Governor could become an attractive candidate to the party's social conservatives, a Rasmussen Reports survey finds that Romney's faith may initially be more of a hindrance than a help. Forty-three percent (43%) of American voters say they would never even consider voting for a Mormon Presidential candidate. Only 38% say they would consider casting such a vote while 19% are not sure. Half (53%) of all Evangelical...

PROVO — A Brigham Young University assistant professor has resigned after being arrested Thursday night for investigation into allegations that he taped and watched pornographic videos of a 14-year-old girl on his computer. The 63-year-old man is being investigated for sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony, and voyeurism, a class-A misdemeanor, after Provo police found a video clip of a girl undressing on a laptop computer belonging to BYU. The Deseret Morning News does not name arrested persons until charges are filed. Acting on a tip, Provo police approached the man at his home and took him to...

Was The Book of Mormon given to Joseph Smith by an angel or created from a work of fiction? Who was Solomon Spalding and did he have a connection with Joseph Smith? This book critically examines key historical documents, personal testimonies, and records of 19th-century Mormon history concluding that The Book of Mormon is an "adaptation of an obscure historical novel" written by Revolutionary War veteran Solomon Spalding during the War of 1812. In twelve chapters, the authors lay out the evidence for the assertion that Sidney Rigdon, Oliver Cowdery, and Joseph Smith Jr. adapted and embellished the Spalding manuscript...

The on-again, off-again Internet auction of sacred Mormon temple garments is off again for the time being, but not as a result of the furor their sale stirred among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. EBay spokesman Hani Durzy said Friday that the Web site removed a listing for the undergarments, which are only to be worn by authorized LDS members, because it contained text for which an LDS Web site holds copyrights. "We do not have a policy against listing Mormon garments on eBay as long as the seller owns them and properly lists them,"...

Loch Ness in Scotland, home of Nessie, and Lake Champlain in the U.S., home of Champ, may be two of the most well-known residences of alleged lake monsters. But the Salt Lake City area has its own legendary sea serpents. Bear Lake, located northeast of Salt Lake City on the Utah-Idaho border, is a popular recreation spot for boating, fishing and camping. The stunning turquoise-colored lake, known as the "Caribbean of the Rockies," is also home to large, snake-like monsters that have been spotted for generations. The Shoshoni Indians may have been the first people to see the creature. Describing...

Brigham Young Sermon: Joseph Smith's Consent Needed to Enter Heaven(Journal of Discourses, Vol. 7, p.282-91)Quick LinkJOSEPH SMITH'S CONSENT NEEDED IN ORDER TO BE WITH GOD AND CHRIST IN HEAVEN Brigham Young, October 9, 1859 Intelligence, Etc. Remarks by President BRIGHAM YOUNG, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 9, 1859. Reported by G. D. Watt Journal of Discourses, Vol. 7, p.282-91I shall address you this morning upon a subject that is more interesting to me than any other pertaining to the life of man. It is a subject of deep study and research, and has been from age...

LYNNWOOD -- The unassuming instructor with the soft voice holds a phone to each ear, juggling cell and land lines. The desktop in his office pings with endless incoming e-mails. One may laud him as intellectual dissident, another rip him as religious heretic. He apologizes for the interruptions. "The phone hasn't stopped ringing," says Thomas Murphy, the cultural anthropologist whose challenge of Mormon doctrine has landed him in hot water with his church and thrown his name into headlines across the country.Not that it has cramped his style. "I think it's fair to conclude that the Book of Mormon is...

Friday, October 11, 2002 Mahoney makes religion an issue Says Salmon might hesitate in sect inquiryBy Howard Fischer PHOENIX - Independent Richard Mahoney is making religion an issue of the gubernatorial campaign, launching a broadside Thursday against the entire Mormon church. Flanked by former members of a fundamentalist sect the church has disavowed, Mahoney said there is a long history of not just polygamy but sexual assaults on minors in Colorado City on the state's northern border. He acknowledged the practitioners are, strictly speaking, not affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which repudiated polygamy a century...