The American Spectator

Paul Lindberg br> American Fork, Utah /p>

While Romney’s faith was a factor for many (myself included), I do not believe that it was the major factor in his not winning the GOP nomination. While I have my problems with Mormon theology, I was more than willing to vote for Romney in a contest against McCain and Huckabee because he was the last candidate who at least espoused conservatives principles throughout the campaign.

Romney’s biggest problem was Mike Huckabee, in that Huckabee was able to siphon off conservative voters that would not go for McCain. By splitting the conservative vote, Huckabee allowed the moderate/independent vote to have a greater than average impact in the nomination process; the vote splitting allowed people who will most likely vote Democratic in November to effectively choose their opponent for the general election. Maybe Huckabee thought he could win, maybe it was collusion between McCain and Huckabee; whatever it was, the McCain-Huckabee alliance was too much for Romney to overcome.

p>Oh yeah, former Presidential candidate Joseph Smith was a victim of a lynch mob to be sure, but he was no innocent victim. Joseph and Hyrum Smith were in jail for providing perjured affidavits that they were not engaged in polygamy or adultery, and having the newspaper (the Nauvoo Expositor ) declared a public nuisance and destroyed. They were also under arrest for the crime of treason for having called out the Nauvoo Legion, the local militia, to prevent them from being arrested for their previous crime. That does not justify mob justice, but it does give a bit more context to what happened and why. br> — Eric Edwards br> Walnut Cove, North Carolina /p>

For the record, I voted for Mitt Romney in the Georgia primary. He was the best available candidate on the Republican ballot. Fred Thompson’s name was still on the ballot, but he had taken himself out of the race, so I went with Mitt. That doesn’t change the fact that Mormons do believe that Jesus and Satan are brothers. And it seems to have taken the realization that a Mormon couldn’t be elected president without at least some black votes to prompt the belated (1978) revelation that blacks were fully qualified to hold office in the Church.

Tolerance is our way of life and it is good. Mormons are by and large the best neighbors one could wish for. But Americans are far too ill-informed about religions other than their own, and are usually far too ignorant of their own religious beliefs I know this because I am a Calvinist Christian and I am amazed what people tell me about what I believe. I don’t believe Jesus is Satan’s brother. But if Mitt is honest about it, he will tell you that he does. I did a Google search on the subject before writing this and found that the Mormons have done a good job of spinning their stance on this controversial fact, but if you are patient and keep searching the subject, you can confirm it for yourself.

Here’s an example: “The appointment of Jesus to be the Savior of the world was contested by one of the other sons of God. He was called Lucifer, son of the morning. Haughty, ambitious, and covetous of power and glory, this spirit-filled brother of Jesus desperately tried to become the Savior of Mankind. Milton R. Hunter, The Gospel Through The Ages, 1945 Edition, Page 15 (Hunter was a member of the Mormon ruling council from 1945 to 1975).