The American Spectator

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Fear of the Latter-Day

1.8.07 @ 12:01AM

MORMONISM AND THE LIBERAL
Re: W. James Antle III's Is It Mormonism in America?:

Thanks for W. James Antle III's even-handed article on Romney and Mormonism in modern politics. I am a Mormon. One of the things that I find interesting is that people love to exercise their curiosity on what they consider the more exotic portions of our faith. Yet, I have YET to see quoted in the media some of the most basic and foundational tenets -- our articles of faith. The last three (of 13) are quite relevant and I provide them for you:

11) We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

12) We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

13) We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul -- We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Shouldn't this be discussed? Isn't this more to the point than trying to discuss complex doctrines in sound bytes?
-- Craig Matteson
Ann Arbor, Michigan

You may be interested to know that Damon Linker was once a visiting professor at BYU. Yes, the same BYU that is Brigham Young University, the school owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I took a political philosophy class from him, and liked it so much that I also took his class on Nietzsche. It was in my Nietzsche class that he announced he had taken the job at First Things. I found him to be fair and understanding of the church, of which he is obviously not a member. I thoroughly enjoyed his classes. I find it hard to believe that he would write an article suggesting that Romney would be unduly influenced by the Prophet of the Church. I thought that teaching at BYU would have opened his eyes to the fact that Mormons are free-thinkers, not mindless robots controlled by the Prophet.

That is why I happen to think that Linker's article was simply a push for higher readership. As an editor of a magazine, I'm sure you also understand why someone would write a controversial article just to get more sales, especially an article that sets forth an idea that they don't necessarily believe in. That is what Linker has done here.
-- Sean Coletti

I'm sure that Mr. Antle finds also finds this interesting. It appears not to be a problem at all that one of the candidates for president from the other side of the aisle once smoked pot and snorted coke. But we can't abide a Republican candidate who happens to be a Mormon, now, can we?

Of course, it wouldn't be a problem for Harry Reid, also a Mormon, because we know that a Democrat, when faced with following the teachings of his church or toeing the party line, will without hesitation do the latter every time. John Kerry, Teddy Kennedy, and of course Nancy Pelosi (even Say it Ain't So Joe Lieberman) have proved that again and again.

Understand, I'm a Southern Baptist. I don't see a lot of Mitt's theology that I can agree with. But as Richard Land said, we're electing a commander in chief here. Theology aside, Mitt and I see eye to eye on most social and budgetary issues, and I'll vote for him in a heartbeat before I'd vote for Jimmy Carter or Al Gore, fellow Baptists both (or, BINOs, if I can invent a new acronym).
-- Tim Jones
Cordova, Tennessee

The irrational fear of Mitt Romney is interesting. Here's my take on it: Liberals, leftists, secularists are afraid of anyone who says "I know" or "I saw and heard." And so it is necessary to say that Joseph Smith was a con man, because to admit that he might have been telling the truth is to admit that God might actually be real. A real living God is not something the secular world is interested in. Or, if he is real, they prefer him to mind his own business and leave us alone. And anyone who really believes in a living God who calls living prophets is a dupe, a fool and an intellectual lightweight -- and dangerous. And so, these people fear Mitt Romney because he believes in the reality of God and living prophets. By the way, dead prophets seem to be okay with most people, as long as they have been dead a very long time.

The late LDS Apostle Bruce R. McConkie once said in a church conference, "If you want to know what we believe, why don't you ask us. We know." If you want to know what Catholics believe, you don't ask a Baptist or a Moslem, you ask a Catholic. What most people do not know is that the LDS people believe, not as doctrine but as a matter of fact, that the Constitution of the United States was written by men who were inspired of God to write it, and that the United States was created through the inspiration of God through good men raised up for that purpose. No people in this country are more respectful and committed to the Constitution than the LDS people. There is no possible danger of any kind to the Constitution coming from the LDS religion. Anyone who says otherwise is fearmongering. I have an idea that Romney's campaign is going to reveal a lot more about some Americans than it will about Romney.
-- Stephen Hayes
Utah

It should be said that it is not unconstitutional for an individual to argue against and vote against a person of a particular religion because of that religion. It is not even clearly immoral. It might be justified in particular cases. There can be debate with people like Antle on these questions.

Surprisingly, while some have warned that gay marriage might lead to polygamy, a Canadian judge has ruled that a couple can have more than two legal parents -- a lesbian couple, plus the involved biological sperm source. So I have a new word to think about: polyparenthood.
-- Richard L.A. Schaefer
Dubuque, Iowa

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