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February 3, 2012
Romney’s Tough Immigration View Is at Odds With His Church (New York Times) (February 3, 2012) While Mitt Romney is taking a hard line on immigration even as the Republican primaries head toward the heavily Hispanic states of Nevada, Colorado and Arizona, the Mormon Church to which he belongs has become a decisive player in promoting policies that are decidedly more friendly toward immigrants.
Sandra Day O'Connor Jokes About Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich (Huffington Post) (February 3, 2012) Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor made a joke about the GOP candidates Saturday that reportedly drew much laughter.
At the black-tie steak-and-lobster Alfalfa Club dinner Saturday among political and business elites in Washington, she said that of two GOP presidential candidates, "one is a practicing polygamist, and he's not even the Mormon," according to an Associated Press report. The remark appeared to be a comparison between Romney's Mormon faith (which no longer allows polygamy) and thrice-married Newt Gingrich. The dinner is closed to the press.
Romney and Charity: Generosity (Richmond Times-Dispatch) (February 3, 2012) Mitt Romney has taken considerable hits regarding his income and his taxes. His critics seldom praise his generosity.
Romney's released returns report that he gave about 16.5 percent of his income to charity, much of it to the Mormon Church. The Obamas also contributed generously with a 14.4 percent charitable rate. Newt and Callista Gingrich's 2.6 percent did not come close. The Bidens stood at 1.3 percent.
Youth Site to Expand Free, Uplifting Music Offerings (Church News and Events) (February 3, 2012) The music section of youth.lds.org is expanding its offerings of free, downloadable music with songs by more contemporary artists from past Especially for Youth (EFY) media.
According to Michael Madsen of the Church’s Curriculum Department, over the next several months 30 newer songs will be released at the rate of one per week. The first new song posted to the site was Kenneth Cope’s “More,” from EFY 2005’s “A More Excellent Way.”
New church to handle growth for Mormons (Wenatchee World - Washington) (February 3, 2012) A huge new church going up fast next to Highway 2/97 at Monitor tells the story of the Mormon religion’s rapid growth in the Wenatchee Valley.
The new church — Mormons refer to it as a chapel and meeting hall — will be home to three Mormon congregations that have grown north and west of Wenatchee, said Hal Hunsaker, president of the 13-congregation Wenatchee Valley administrative district.
Mormon history
The Mormon Church was started in 1830 in western New York by Joseph Smith.
After Smith’s death, Brigham Young led Mormons to Utah in 1847, preaching the values of clean living, productivity and strong family ties, and polygamy, a practice that was disallowed by the church by 1900.
The church had about 60,000 followers in 1900. Thanks to encouraged missionary work by all its male members, the church now claims more than 6 million followers in the United States, and more than 14 million globally. Mormons are the nation’s fourth largest religious denomination, behind Roman Catholics, Southern Baptists and United Methodists.
Sources: historyofmormonism.com; mormon.org; infoplease.com
The three congregations — about 250 members each — will meet for separate services each Sunday, but the main chapel can hold up to 800 people for large meetings. Congregations located in East Wenatchee and Wenatchee’s east side will continue to attend meeting halls on 10th Street in East Wenatchee and Maiden Lane in Wenatchee.
Create.lds.org video contest (LDS Church News) (February 3, 2012) Create.lds.org is hosting a video contest. It runs from January 30 through February 20, 2012. The direction is to create a one minute or shorter video to introduce the site. Explain the purpose of the Create site, the talents members can share, and the blessings and opportunities available through the site.
February 2, 2012
Mormon Missionary Experience Recounted by Journalist (LDS Newsroom Blog) (February 2, 2012) Being a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) is a positive and challenging experience for the women and men who volunteer.
In an interview with the Research on Religion podcast (supported by the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion), Deseret News associate editor Allison Pond discusses her mission to Russia in the late 1990s.
“The mission experience really does change you in a lot of ways,” Pond told podcast host Anthony Gill. “It’s something where you are really forced to grow up really quickly and take on a lot of responsibility. There’s a big difference between people before they leave and when they come back.”
Former Missionaries Return to Ecuador to Serve 20 Years Later (Church News and Events) (February 2, 2012) It’s Friday afternoon when the two dozen or so children who attend Control de Tareas (Homework Control) at the Annika Tutoring Center in Guayaquil, Ecuador, exit the facility.
In years past, the center, run by the Fundación por Ayuda Humanitaria (Foundation for Humanitarian Aid—FAHUM), could accommodate as many as 300 children, but recent economic struggles and a reduction in donations necessitated cutbacks, allowing only 50 to attend.
During a 2011 humanitarian trip organized by 20 former missionaries of the Ecuador Guayaquil South mission, however, the Annika Tutoring Center was able to add a second floor to the facility and increase its total attendance to more than 75 children on average.
Grammy-Nominated Artist Shares Testimony through Music (Church News and Events) (February 2, 2012) With her most recent work, Wish Upon a Star: A Tribute to the Music of Walt Disney, nominated for the 54th Grammy Awards’ Best Pop Instrumental Album, classical violinist Jenny Oaks Baker is living her dream.
But there’s a lot more that goes into creating a fairy tale like this than just wishing. According to Sister Oaks Baker, it takes faith and focus.
The daughter of Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Aposltes, Sister Oaks Baker grew up with music in her home. She began playing at age four and made her solo debut in 1983, at age eight.
How Metro Detroit helped shape Mitt Romney (Detroit News - Michigan) (February 2, 2012) Long before Mitt Romney became a candidate for president of the United States, he was a lanky teenager in Bloomfield Hills with a penchant for practical jokes rather than for politics.
During one such elaborate prank, Romney dressed in a uniform, put a flashing light atop a borrowed car and impersonating a police officer pulled up behind a car with two of his friends and their dates.
After a search of the trunk found alcohol bottles the friends had planted, the girls were shocked. Romney's two friends sped away and Romney gave chase, but couldn't keep up.
Ron Paul cuts into Romney's Mormon voting bloc (San Francisco Chronicle - California) (February 2, 2012) With no state income tax, a palpable mistrust of the federal government and a what-happens-in-Vegas attitude on social issues, Nevada's Republican presidential caucus on Saturday would seem to be a contest that libertarian-leaning, small government-loving Texas Rep. Ron Paul could win.
But it's not that simple. One key reason that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is favored to win on Saturday is that about 25 percent of the voters are expected to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Four years ago, exit polls showed that 95 percent of them supported Romney, their fellow Mormon, which helped him easily win the Nevada caucus with 51 percent of the vote to Paul's 13.7 percent.
Will Mormons' racial history be a problem for Mitt Romney? (USA Today) (February 2, 2012) "Mormons, they're prejudiced against blacks," Perkins recalls being told.
Until 1978, the LDS church banned men of African descent from its priesthood, a position open to nearly all Mormon males and the gateway to sacramental and leadership roles. The church had also barred black men and women from temple ceremonies that promised access in the afterlife to the highest heaven.
STORY: Many Americans uninformed, but still wary of Mormon beliefs
As he explored joining the church in 1988, Perkins said he asked Mormons near his Los Angeles home about the racial doctrines. They gently explained that blacks were the cursed descendants of Cain, the biblical murderer, he recalls.
"Let's say you have this powerful witness of God telling you that this church is truly of him," said the 48-year-old salesman and video producer. "And then the people in that church lovingly tell you that you are cursed. How do you reconcile those two things?"
Perkins says Mormon leaders couldn't offer an answer.
The LDS church has neither formally apologized for the priesthood ban nor publicly repudiated many of the theories used to justify it for more than 125 years.
Romney Gets ‘Glitter Makeover’ (Wall Street Journal Blog) (February 2, 2012) The men responsible for the glitter frenzy said their protest was inspired by Mr. Romney’s contributions to the Mormon Church and other charitable organizations they claim are anti-gay and anti-equality.
“This was our attempt to, well, we’ll say give Mitt a little makeover,” Ben Egerman, a member of the two groups said after the event.
February 1, 2012
Ancestry Easier to Discover Thanks to Worldwide Genealogy Volunteers (LDS Newsroom) (February 1, 2012) Earlier this year, a family historian named Carol was trying to piece together the Ohio branches of her family tree. “They were shattered by death, marriage, remarriage, name changes, and lack of records,” she said. “Using the records indexed through FamilySearch [an organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints], I was able to…solve an important mystery. It was such a satisfying moment.”
450 Cambodian Saints celebrate 'Day of Service' with festival cleanup (LDS Church News) (February 1, 2012) More than 450 members of the Central, North and South districts in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, recently carried out their local "Day of Service" project by cleaning up trash and other debris left over from the annual Cambodian Water Festival.
"I am so thankful for our members and am happy that they had this chance to help clean our city," said North District President Thaong Chantha. "They show a good example with love and unity."
Mormons opening up in an Internet world (Deseret News - Utah) (February 1, 2012) Daniel Peterson remembers when he was blindsided. It was in the early 1980s and Peterson was in his late 20s. He was surprised at what a critic of the LDS Church had written. "It knocked me for a loop for a few days," he said. The critic claimed Oliver Cowdery , an early Mormon leader and witness of the Book of Mormon , recanted his testimony.
Peterson, a member of the LDS Church and currently a professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic at BYU, remembers his reaction to the claim was a bit irrational — he said he felt like he was the first person to have ever encountered the claim, and that he was on his own. "There was nobody around me in California who could answer that question," he said. "My bishop didn't know anything about it. Who could I have gone to?"
After a few days, he remembered a book Richard Lloyd Anderson wrote about the witnesses of the Book of Mormon. Peterson looked in it and learned the statement by Cowdery was actually a late forgery — one that even most critics of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints now reject.
Teichert painting at center of suit with LDS Church, gallery owner (Deseret News - Utah) (February 1, 2012) A Minerva Teichert painting known as "The Law on the Plates of Brass" is at the heart of a legal dispute pitting a downtown art gallery against the painting's one-time owner, and the LDS Church.
Thomas Alder, owner of Williams Fine Art Gallery, contends two unnamed representatives from the Church History Museum showed up with paperwork to "borrow" the painting from his business and never returned it. Instead, his lawsuit alleges the painting's owner breached their consignment contract and sold the painting to a member of the museum's acquisition committee without Alder's knowledge.
A Dec. 19, 2011, posting by mormonartconservation.org says the piece "found its way into the collection of the Church History Museum."
FAIR podcast series explores homosexuality among Latter-day Saints (Deseret News - Utah) (February 1, 2012) Steven Wilson is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. He joined the LDS Church about 13 years ago and has served in various church callings, including as an ordinance worker in the Oakland California Temple.
Wilson is also gay, and he has AIDS.
"The gospel has stretched my soul in ways I never would have thought it could, or never wanted it to," he says during the second part of his two-part interview with Steve Densley Jr. on FAIR Examination, the award-winning podcast from the Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research (FAIR).
January 31, 2012
BYU ranked No. 2 most popular school in America (LDS Church News) (January 31, 2012) Brigham Young University is the second most popular national university in the country, according to rankings released by U.S. News & World Report earlier this week. Since 2008, the magazine has ranked schools according to the percentage of university applicants accepted who actually enroll, a statistic called the "yield rate."
Ron Paul courts Mormon voters in Nevada (The State Column) (January 31, 2012) Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul is courting Mormon voters in the heavily Mormon populated state of Nevada, as the candidates prepare to shift their focus from Florida to Nevada, which holds its caucus voting on Saturday.
USC Aiken study shows Romney's Mormon faith may cost him evangelicals' votes (Augusta Chronicle - Georgia) (January 31, 2012) A University of South Carolina Aiken professor has written a study that shows the Mormon faith of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney poses a challenge for religious conservative voters.
The former Massachusetts governor did nearly twice as well among non-evangelical voters as he did among evangelicals, having won just 22 percent of their votes, according to exit poll data analyzed by political science professor Bob Botsch after the South Carolina GOP primary, which was held Jan. 21.
A team from USC Aiken’s Social Science and Business Research Lab compared Romney’s percentage of the vote in each of South Carolina’s 46 counties with the percentage of Southern Baptists who live in that county. The researchers found that where there are lower concentrations of Baptists, Romney won a higher percentage of the votes.
Mitt Romney: the man behind the perma-smile (The Guardian - UK) (January 31, 2012) 'Well, it's just great to be here!" Mitt Romney says as he bounds on to the stage at a campaign stop in January, just one of hundreds he has made in his epic journey – he hopes – to the White House. It is the first of three rallies he will be packing into a single day, this one held in the open air at a small liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
"This is gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous," he continues, a perma-grin glued to his face. He has a way of talking down to the crowd, pausing after every sentence to allow them to soak it up, that is disconcertingly suggestive of that old pantomime favourite, Widow Twankey. "What kind of tree is that?" he says, looking up at the branches that arch over him with an expression of mock surprise. "I don't even know. Is it a Mitt Romney tree?"
Gallery owner says LDS Church cheated him out of commission (Salt Lake Tribune - Utah) (January 31, 2012) A prominent dealer of Mormon art is suing the LDS Church, claiming the Church History Museum staff has gone behind his back to buy artwork they found in his gallery, depriving him of more than $100,000 in commission fees.
In a lawsuit filed Monday, Thomas Alder, owner of Williams Fine Art, also claims that church museum staff — together with one of Alder’s clients — produced bogus documents to convince him to release a $350,000 painting to the church.
The lawsuit focuses on a particular painting: Minerva Teichert’s "The Law on the Plates of Brass." Alder claims he received the oil painting in 2009 from owner Kyle Powell, of Orem. Powell agreed to sell the painting through the gallery at an asking price of $350,000, with a 30 percent commission.
Mormons tackling tough questions in their history (Salt Lake Tribune - Utah) (January 31, 2012) An LDS student surfs the Internet for a school assignment and discovers that Mormon founder Joseph Smith had multiple wives, even marrying a 14-year-old.
A returned LDS missionary, preparing a Sunday school lesson, comes across a website alleging that the Book of Mormon was plagiarized from a novel.
Surprised by what they find so easily online, more and more members of the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are encountering crises of faith. Some even leave the fold and, feeling betrayed, join the ranks of Mormon opponents.
It’s a growing problem, acknowledges LDS general authority Marlin Jensen, the faith’s outgoing church historian, and one Mormon leaders are working to confront.
“Never before have we had this information age, with social networking and bloggers publishing unvetted points of view,” Jensen said in an interview Monday. “The church is concerned about misinformation and distorted information, but we are doing better and trying harder to get our story told in an accurate way.”
The church “has made no effort to hide or obscure its history,” Jensen said, but some aspects — such as polygamy — “haven’t been emphasized often because they were not necessarily germane to what is taught at present.”
Can the LDS Church do better to explain its history, even to its own members? Sure, Jensen said. “Can we weave some of this into our seminaries, institutes and adult curriculum? I think we can, and efforts are under way to do that.”
Special Report: Mormonism besieged by the modern age (Reuters) (January 31, 2012) A religious studies class late last year at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, was unusual for two reasons. The small group of students, faculty and faithful there to hear Mormon Elder Marlin Jensen were openly troubled about the future of their church, asking hard questions. And Jensen was uncharacteristically frank in acknowledging their concerns.
Did the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints know that members are "leaving in droves?" a woman asked.
"We are aware," said Jensen, according to a tape recording of his unscripted remarks. "And I'm speaking of the 15 men that are above me in the hierarchy of the church. They really do know and they really care," he said.
"My own daughter," he then added, "has come to me and said, 'Dad, why didn't you ever tell me that Joseph Smith was a polygamist?'" For the younger generation, Jensen acknowledged, "Everything's out there for them to consume if they want to Google it." The manuals used to teach the young church doctrine, meanwhile, are "severely outdated."
What Is It About Mormons? (New York Times) (January 31, 2012) Heading into the Florida primary, Mitt Romney appears to be in the lead. The candidate, whose results so far have been mixed, continues to be stymied by suspicions about his religion. But why are so many Americans uncomfortable with Mormonism?
A recent Pew survey, found that Mormons are hard-working and civic-minded. Couldn’t the nation use some Mormon discipline: frugality, morality, self-improvement, worldliness? Indeed, with these traits, shouldn’t Americans be dying to vote for a Mormon?
January 30, 2012
New Bishops' Central Storehouse Ready to Serve the Needy (LDS Newsroom) (January 30, 2012) A new state-of-the-art storage facility is helping The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) more efficiently serve the needs of people who are struggling to feed their families.
Latter-day Saints, through the organization of the Church, try to follow Christ’s teachings by providing food, shelter and comfort where and when they’re needed.
Elder Zwick counsels leaders 'to let the Spirit guide them' (LDS Church News) (January 30, 2012) When the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ visited the Nephites and instructed them, the 12 disciples whom the Lord had chosen knelt and prayed to the Father in the name of Jesus for "that which they most desired" (see 3 Nephi 19:9).
Elder W. Craig Zwick finds it striking that of all the things they could have prayed for on that occasion, "they desired that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them."
Sacred Anthems: Why Latter-day Saints Worship with Music (Church News and Events) (January 30, 2012) Since the first hymnbook was assembled by Emma Smith, Latter-day Saints have used hymns to “invite the Spirit of the Lord, create a feeling of reverence, unify [them] as members, and provide a way for [them] to offer praises to the Lord” (see “First Presidency Preface,” Hymns, ix).
But at the official 1985 launch ceremony for the Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a new period of LDS music was ushered in.
Grammy-Nominated Artist Shares Testimony through Music (Church News and Events) (January 30, 2012) With her most recent work, Wish Upon a Star: A Tribute to the Music of Walt Disney, nominated for the 54th Grammy Awards’ Best Pop Instrumental Album, classical violinist Jenny Oaks Baker is living her dream.
But there’s a lot more that goes into creating a fairy tale like this than just wishing. According to Sister Oaks Baker, it takes faith and focus.
The daughter of Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Aposltes, Sister Oaks Baker grew up with music in her home. She began playing at age four and made her solo debut in 1983, at age eight.
Church Representative Speaks at Poynter Institute (LDS Newsroom Blog) (January 30, 2012) Michael R. Otterson, managing director of public affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, addressed journalists at the Poynter Institute’s conference, “Politics and Religion: Getting It Right in 2012," on 8 December 2011.
“I submit to you that a group should be allowed primarily to define itself,” said Otterson, urging journalists to define Latter-day Saints “by who we are and by our central beliefs rather than who we are not or by obscure or irrelevant beliefs.”
Experiences with Gordon B. Hinckley 30 years later (Deseret News - Utah) (January 30, 2012) Before 1969, nobody had heard of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. But in the movie that would make them legends, the two bandits go to Bolivia. When they climb from the train, they’re greeted by some wandering llamas, a few rattle-trap shacks and a million miles of wasteland.
“All Bolivia can’t look like this,” Butch says.
“How do you know?” says Sundance. “This might be the garden spot of the whole country. People may travel hundreds of miles just to get to this spot where we’re standing now.”
Mormon faith helped George Romney decide to run for governor of Michigan (Detroit Free Press - Michigan) (January 30, 2012) In 1962, auto executive George Romney had been thinking of running for Michigan governor, but he wasn't quite sure. And so -- in the tradition of his Mormon faith -- he went on a daylong fast to pray over whether it would be the right decision for him.
The next day, he announced his run for the state's highest office.
It was an example of how seriously Romney took his faith, a guiding force in his life. Romney once was the president of the Detroit stake of the Mormon church, and his religiosity, at times, came under fire. But in general, Michigan voters didn't seem to mind the unique religious background of the liberal Republican, voting him in for three terms. The state's tolerance might set a precedent for the U.S. as it considers whether to elect a Mormon, George's son Mitt Romney, as president. As was his dad, Mitt Romney was a church leader.
Advantage Romney in February, but Risks Abound (New York Times Blog) (January 30, 2012) Conventional wisdom holds that the handful of states that vote in February are favorable ones for Mitt Romney. Still, Mr. Romney could be vulnerable in several of them.
Seven states will vote next month, although that includes a “beauty contest” primary in Missouri that will not affect delegate allocation and several caucuses with nonbinding results.
We have not released forecasts for the February states, but we will if they are polled more. In the meantime, here is a general lay of the land.
January 27, 2012
New bishops' storehouse opens in Salt Lake City (LDS Church News) (January 27, 2012) A new 570,391-square-foot welfare facility built by the Church will help the organization respond to disasters and take care of those in need. The Bishops' Central Storehouse, located on 5405 West 300 South in Salt Lake City, is constructed on 35.88 acres and has the capacity to store 65,000 pallets of food and supplies.
Mormons open mammoth new storehouse to feed the needy (Salt Lake Tribune - Utah) (January 27, 2012) The LDS Church opened the doors Thursday to its new 570,000-square-foot Bishops’ Central Storehouse in west Salt Lake City.
The new storehouse, which sits on a nearly 36-acre site at 5405 W. 300 South, will include administrative offices, bulk/rack storage and refrigeration areas. It also will house support facilities for the church’s trucking fleet.
Why Evangelicals Don’t Like Mormons (NY Times - New York) (January 27, 2012) According to a CNN exit poll of South Carolina Republican primary voters, Newt Gingrich, a thrice-married Catholic, won twice as much support from evangelical Protestants as Mitt Romney, a Protestant. And among voters for whom religion meant “a great deal,” 46 percent voted for Mr. Gingrich and only 10 percent for Mr. Romney.
In race to be most generous, Romney leads (NBC) (January 27, 2012) When it comes to donating to charity and church, Mitt Romney is the man to beat. The release this week of the GOP candidate's tax records cast a spotlight on his considerable wealth, but it also revealed the extent of his generosity.
BYU Winterfest returns to the Conference Center (BYU Universe) (January 27, 2012) For the 10th year in a row, BYU performing arts groups will showcase their talents at the Conference Center Theater in Salt Lake. The performance art festival, Winterfest, will take place over four weekends, from Jan. 28 to Feb. 18.
January 26, 2012
Elder Perry: The Church is scaffolding for lives (LDS Church News) (January 26, 2012) The Church is the scaffolding for individuals and families as they engage the most important building projects of their lives, Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve told students during a campus devotional at Brigham Young University-Idaho on Jan. 24.
Elder Cook to Address Young Adults Worldwide at CES Devotional (Church News and Events) (January 26, 2012) Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will speak at a CES devotional for young adults ages 18 through 30, both married and single, at 6:00 p.m. mountain standard time on March 4, 2012.
The one-hour broadcast will originate from the Brigham Young University– Idaho campus in Rexburg, Idaho, USA, and will subsequently be rebroadcast to many areas of the world.
Members can listen to the live audio broadcast in English at mormonchannel.org. Live video will be available in American Sign Language, English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish at cesdevotionals.lds.org.
'On Faith' Blog: Mormons and the Practice of Tithing (LDS Newsroom Blog) (January 26, 2012) Michael R. Otterson, managing director of public affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), dedicated his On Faith blog post this week to addressing the Latter-day Saint practice of tithing.
“Tithing and other financial offerings are less about finances and more about personal attitude and commitment,” Otterson said. “It is difficult to pay tithing and be selfish at the same time. For the millions of people who participate, there is something in the act of voluntary giving that is innately enriching to the human soul.”
European Members Participate in Area-Wide Blood Drives for Day of Service (Church News and Events) (January 26, 2012) During April 2011’s general conference, President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency, extended an invitation to Church members worldwide to “lift the people they serve higher” by participating in a day of service.
In response to his invitation, Church members throughout Europe participated in a day of service by organizing blood drives across the continent. What follows is a brief review of the participation of Church members across the area.
Donald Conkey: What is the ‘Mormon factor’? (Cherokee Tribune - Georgia) (January 26, 2012) Last Saturday, this newspaper, in its lifestyle section, published a half-page Associated Press story out of South Carolina that was bannered “Mormon factor.” It was a well-written story telling of the challenges Mitt Romney was facing in evangelical South Carolina because of his Mormon faith and how the pastors of very large churches in South Carolina set the pattern for evangelical religious believers, and voters.
I found the story interesting, and reasonably factual, but I had a serious problem with a quote used from the Web page of the “Rev. Brad Atkins, president of South Carolina Baptist Convention,” that read: “Romney’s Mormonism will be more a cause of concern than Gingrich’s infidelity, Christians can forgive sin, but will struggle to understand how anyone could be a Mormon and call themselves Christians.”
John Whitmer left church, but kept testimony of Book of Mormon (Deseret News - Utah) (January 26, 2012) John Whitmer may be my favorite official witness to the Book of Mormon.
With the rest of the Eight Witnesses, he claimed to have "seen," "handled" and "hefted" the golden plates in June 1829. Seven years later, he again wrote forcefully of that experience:
"I desire to testify to all that will come to the knowledge of this address, that I have most assuredly seen the plates from whence the Book of Mormon is translated, and that I have handled these plates, and know of a surety that Joseph Smith, Jr., has translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God. And in this thing the wisdom of the wise most assuredly has perished. Therefore, know ye, O ye inhabitants of the earth, wherever this address may come, that I have in this thing freed my garments of your blood, whether you believe or disbelieve."
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