Commentary: The American economy is in crisis which is causing many in this nation to question their previous choice of electing Obama and they are looking for another potential political "savior."
Mitt Romney is the leading Republican contender. The fact that he may well become the next President led me to start researching his faith, his values and his beliefs. The question is are his religious beliefs a legitimate area for inquiry?
While the Constitution clearly states: "that there can be no establishment of religious test for holding public office"—it does not prohibit the American voters from informing themselves about potential candidates and their beliefs as they may influence their policy decisions. In fact the Founders stressed the absolute need for an "informed electorate" for the healthy functioning of a democracy.
Therefore I believe Romney's religious beliefs as they may pertain to policy making are legitimate area of inquiry—in as much as if he were a Rastafarian, a follower of Reverend Moon, or a member of some other esoteric faith that most people are unfamiliar with. Just look at the false assertions about Obama being an Muslim have given rise to. Romney's beliefs are of utter most concern and need to be vetted, in light of the tremendous power he may assume if he prevails in defeating Obama.
Mitt Romney the leading Republican candidate, is a bishop in the LDS, a self identified Christian religion—that is anything but Christian—and they have a history of extreme irrational magical thinking—as cults often do—e.g. learning a secret handshake for when they met God—as if God would not recognize them otherwise.
Mr. Romney has a facility of answering yes to conflicting points of view on many subjects including his religious beliefs—on CBS News he said: "I am a true-blue through and through believer. And in the next breath said, My church wouldn't endeavor to tell me what to do on an issue, and I wouldn't listen to them on an issue that related to the nation." Say anything to get the desired result.
Look at the recent financial resources the LDS spent—39.9 million dollars—to propel the passage of California's Proposition 8 a law that is at it's core unConstitutional by denying a certain class of people their fundamental human and civil rights. That massive effort was based purely on religious beliefs not reasoned secular thought as the Founders intended.
Mormonism's public persona is that of a normal Christian denomination, but the reality of their deeper and sincerely held beliefs are so far out of main stream Christianity that they need to be looked at in the cold light of day.
One ex-Mormon wrote in Why I Left the Mormon Church:
"But the ultimate goal of the church, as stated publicly by its early leaders Joseph Smith and Brigham Young (but not mentioned so publicly by more recent Mormon leaders), is to establish the Mormon Kingdom of God in America, and to govern the world as God's appointed representatives. The church is already influential in the making of secular policy, as was proven not so long ago when the Equal Rights Amendment was defeated with decisive help from the Mormon church. To me, the possibility that the Mormon church might control America is a frightening prospect."
It is interesting to note that before his death, in 1844, Joseph Smith was himself a candidate for the Presidency of the United States with an expressed goal of: "establishing the mormon kingdom of God in America."
When combined with the widely held Mormon belief in the "White Horse" prophecy—that in the end-times the Mormon's will "save America and the Constitution—as alluded to, by recent Mormon convert, Glenn Beck's rantings and his veiled reference to the "Constitution Hanging by a Thread", a direct quote from Smith's end times utterances —makes me take pause.
Another of Mormonism's more esoteric beliefs is—that as a man ascends through the various levels of Mormonism,*he himself may become God—and will be given a planet of his own to rule over.
The full quote from The Manual on Celestial Marriage last paragraph on page 6 http://www.ldslearning.org/celestial-marriage.pdf:
"The Father has promised us that through our faithfulness we shall be blessed with the fulness (sic) of his kingdom. In other words we will have the privilege of becoming like him. To become like him we must have all the powers of godhood; thus a man and his wife when glorified will have spirit children who eventually will go to an earth like this one we are on and pass through the same kind of experiences, being subject to mortal conditions, and if faithful, then they will receive the fulness (sic) of exaltation and partake of the same blessings. There is no end to this development; it will go on forever. We will become gods and have jurisdiction over worlds, and these worlds, will be peopled by our own offspring. We will have endless eternity for this."
Which is a direct quote from (Smith's, Doctrines of Salvation, 2:43-44 48) 4shared.com - free file sharing and storage - download
Mormons when confronted with these secret deeply held beliefs will dodge, evade or deny them. WHY? All of these teachings come directly from past and current Mormon leaders or ex-Mormons and are not the work of outsiders. What are they hiding?
There seems to be a built-in duality of veracity in Mormonism that goes back to the founder Joseph Smith regarding the deeper teachings of the church.
Stephen F. Cannon in his years of research of the LDS noticed this strain when he wrote: "This legacy of deceit in the history and doctrine of the LDS church is well-known to those who walk in Mormon circles. There are numerous articles in “alternative” Mormon periodicals that deal with the subject of “lying for the Lord.” One that strikes to the heart of the matter was published in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought.
As an example he sites: "Critics of the LDS church have for years pointed out how Joseph Smith Jr. and many succeeding prophets had lied to cover up the practice of polygamy. It has only been recently, however, that public acknowledgment of these charges have been emanating from within the LDS church."
Mormon's justify it in "unofficial" Mormon literature as "lying for the lord"—a trait that Mitt Romney seems to have mastered and frequently exhibits equally well in his public life.
My only concern in this matter—is not to bash Mormonism per se—it is—that our value's are informed by our beliefs, but our differing views on faith have no place in the secular political sphere and the shaping of political policies.
There is a reason the founders were wary of overlaps in the affairs of the state and religious entanglements and that is why they insisted on a distinct separation between church and state—with beliefs like the one mentioned above— my question is: Does Mitt Romney understand the Constitutional Separation of Church and State or is this the fulfillment of the Mormon apocalyptic end time "White Horse" prophecy*—and is this planet he intends to rule over as a exalted man-god, in a Mormon theocracy?
*
For further research I suggest the following sites:
Deception: Legacy of Mormon Prophets
MormonInfo.org | We challenge you to question Mormonism.
THE, SECRET, MORMON, GENERAL, HANDBOOK, OF, INSTRUCTIONS
The fourteen fundamental articles or beliefs of Mormons | Recovery from Mormonism
Mormon teaching: there is nothing more pagan
Leaving the Mormon church after years of being a Mormon is difficult
“Enough cliches about faith. Mitt’s Mormonism matters” « Mitt Romney and Mormonism
Mormon bias still part of politics - USATODAY.com
