Reid calls out Romney on their shared Mormon faith

[trailmonkee]

Source: CNN

ashington (CNN) - The nation's highest ranking Mormon in elected office said Monday that Republican presidential candidate is “not the face of Mormonism.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, made the remarks in a conference call Monday, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

“He’s coming to a state where there are a lot of members of the LDS Church,” Reid said about Romney coming to Nevada. “They understand that he is not the face of Mormonism.”

-snip-

During the conference call, Reid reportedly mentioned an opinion piece run in the Huffington Post by Gregory A. Prince, co-author of “David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism.” In the piece, Prince argued that Romney has run away from his faith and does not represent the modern Mormon Church.

“Judge Mitt Romney as you will, and vote for or against him as you will; but do not judge Mormonism on the basis of the Mitt Romney that was unveiled to the public this week,” Prince wrote. “He is not the face of Mormonism.”

Read more: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/25/reid-attacks-romney-on-their-shared-faith/comment-page-2/

[SoapBox]

1. I did not know that Harry was a Mormon. nt

[fearnobush]

2. And the GOP is doing everything to keep Willard's religion out of public view.

Mittens himself acts as if he is ashamed of it.

[Swede Atlanta]

10. I raised this with my conservative Aunt this past week.....

I told her that many that normally vote "R&quot everse) don't believe he is a Christian. As a result, some will either potentially vote for Obama (despite the charges he is a Muslim - about which I would have no problem even if he was) or stay home because they can't vote for a "non-christian". She agreed...She declined to say whether the fact she doesn't believe Romney is a Christian would affect her voting decision. She did say she was concerned that there are no news reports about him attending church. My answer was...well I would look to one's actions and policies and not their outward expressions of piety (something the Bible expressly chastises) and not their statements. Do they support the poor, the disadvantaged, the sick, the elderly. I told her, without naming names, there is only one candidate that does that. Oh and while she rails against public programs her husband and son are both on Medicaid...Go figure...they are dumb as boxes of rocks.

[DCKit]

11. "...something the Bible expressly chastises..."

No, that would be Jesus. Those religious types don't seem to know much about the teachings of Jesus. My S.O. was taught by Jesuits, and it's been quite the education for me too.

Most of 'em can't seem to handle the ten commandments. I'm surrounded by them at the family farm in the western wilds of Virginia - a good friend (female) has got dueling Romney bumperstickers on her car. I think her husband may have decorated it, but I'm itching to ask her "Would you really vote for the guy who wants to make sure you can never have another breast exam?" After all, all women's health issues are now exactly equal to abortion, according to the leading Republicans.

Praying in public is the least of their issues.

[JeffHead]

7. So is Orrin Hatch

[defacto7]

14. Yep!

[defacto7]

13. Yep!

[JNelson6563]

3. From what I know of Mormonism

and the Mormons I have known personally, Mitt is more the rule than the exception in Mormonism.

But when you believe very deeply that you are of "chosen people", called "elder" when you're a kid and so on, yeah, I guess a sense of entitlement is hard to avoid.

Julie

[Cha]

4. That's good of Harry Reid to

ask people not to judge Mormonism on mitt romney because not knowing any other Mormons I totally was. Plus, a few other things I've been reading about it from former Mormons.

I guess every religion and the non religion realm have their sociopathic pathological Liars and bullies.

[hrmjustin]

5. I would have stayed away from anything to do with one' religion.

People generally do not want people to touch religion in politics. I know that they did it to the President, but that does not mean our side should touch it. That being said I think Reid was talking from his heart. As to wether he is right, or wrong I can not speak to that. I am episcopalian, and know only a bit about mormonism.

[Jessy169]

6. In case you haven't read "Romney: Gold Medal in Dishonesty"

By a former Mormon who knew Romney personally and watched him work his way through the ranks. The article is a strong indictment against Romney when measured against the Mormon moral and ethical code:

https://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/07/20

As a Bishop and a Stake President in the Mormon Church, Mitt would have interviewed thousands of Church members to sign off on their worthiness to attend ceremonies in the ultra-sacred and exclusive Mormon temples. One of the key questions he would have been required to ask in those interviews would have been, “Are you honest in your dealings with your fellow man?” That question is intentionally vague but is supposed to weed out people who tell lies, cheat on their taxes, or are dishonest in business transactions. If Mitt would be unable to truthfully answer yes to that question of honesty, then he is not just someone who we would cynically write off as just another dishonest politician, but he would qualify also as an extraordinary hypocrite. It would be like John Edwards sitting in judgement on someone else's marital fidelity.

Even mainstream journalists have written about Mitt taking political lying and disdain for the facts to a new art form on campaign issues ranging from his tenure at Bain to blatantly dishonest ads about his opponents, first in the Republican primaries, and now about President Obama. Michael Cohen of the Guardian typified many of these observations with the statement, "Romney is doing something very different and far more pernicious. Quite simply, the United States has never been witness to a presidential candidate, in modern American history, who lies as frequently, as flagrantly and as brazenly as Mitt Romney." Jonathan Chait, columnist for New York Magazine says Romney is, "Just making stuff up now."

[freshwest]

9. Dr. MoenchI of the UCS wrote well. Many Christians would find offense in Mitt:

Eschewing personal wealth and materialism and giving generously to the poor is a core tenet of New Testament theology. The hallmark of that tenet is Jesus comparing the difficulty of a rich man entering into the kingdom of God to the difficulty of a camel passing through the eye of a needle (Matthew 19:24). Everyone knows Mitt is extraordinarily wealthy, but, as is currently being heavily exploited by the Obama camp, he acquired at least some of his wealth in dubious ways. In fact, if the business model of Bain Capital were to be placed in a New Testament backdrop, the most obvious candidates to play the role of Bain would be the money changers in the temple that Jesus dispatched with an outburst of fury, or the robbers in the parable of the good Samaritan. How does one coldly order the calculated financial demise of thousands of workers, pocket hundreds of millions of dollars in the process, and walk away "on water," ala Jesus Christ?

One has to ask: if Mitt was a genuine "Christ-like" spiritual icon, just how many "million dollar dressage" show horses would Jesus own? How many multi-million dollar estates with car elevators would Jesus need for his vacations? Which of the Cayman Islands would Jesus shield his wealth in? There is little evidence that beyond paying his Mormon tithe of 10%, he spent any significant percentage of his hundreds of millions of dollars feeding the hungry, helping the poor, ministering to the sick or visiting those in prison. Mitt certainly seems to be at odds with Luke 12:48: “For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required.”...

Mitt, many people’s lives were ruined in building your pot of gold. Not everyone is willing to do that. My criticism of your wealth has nothing to do with envy, but everything to do with the dysfunctional moral compass you use to guide your life’s work. Despite your high profile position in the Mormon Church, it is a compass that seems grossly at odds with the teachings of Jesus Christ. And your ambition has allowed you to rationalize that dishonesty as well.

There are Christians who would defend Mitt's wealth as being blessed by God to help others. Considering some of what he has done to become as wealthy as a god, so to speak, and a ruler over men, I think they might pause. Because there is no way for a person who believed that the life of Christ as described in the New Testament, is this.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

12. Great find...

... I can see where Harry Reid is going with his statement that Romney is not the face of Mormonism after reading this article. Here is an example I found:

"Third, Bain reportedly would not invest in companies profiting from alcohol and tobacco which violate Mormon behavioral standards, but Romney apparently has no problem accepting tens of millions of dollars from people like casino magnates Steven Wynn and Sheldon Adelson, despite the fact that Mormonism considers gambling a sin."

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/07/20

[barnabas63]

8. Wow...! (nt)

[defacto7]

15. Yes he is exactly the face of Mormonism.

The Mormon church has historically flip flopped at the slightest indication that the trend is not in their favour. This has gone on for 150 years. They sense that Mitt is not going to be able to produce for them and that he may even hurt their image.

This is as Mormon as you can get and Mitt has learned his Sunday lessons well. Unfortunately for Mitt, it is Mormon to dismiss your own for the sake of the whole. He's been shunned.

[King_Klonopin]

16. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

I believe is one of God's instructions to us all -- Mormons included.

At what point does Mitt's campaign of lies reach critical mass and
implode down around his empty head? When are people going to get
so saturated by his constant stream of bullshit that they simply say,
"enough already, you're a lying piece of crap!"

LIES LIES LIES LIES LIES and MORE LIES