51 - 60 of 135 Comments

1. Phillip C. Smith

   1 year ago

   As a believing, active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon), I do sorrow for all those who reflect misunderstanding, malice and/or animosity toward us. Many do so by either using half truths, outright lies, and/or failing to present our views either in context or in a conceptual framework that we believe is relevant. Others try hard to be fair but get some things right but other things wrong. I am open to helping them see things in their proper perspective.
   There are some among these critics, though, who seem always to be on the attack. The Lord Jesus Christ, who we honor as our God and Savior, addressed this issue during his earthly ministry. He said relative to such attacks, whether made out of ignorance or malice “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake…Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” (Matthew 5: 11-12).
   For those who wonder why anyone would attack Jesus and the followers of his day, the Savior added the following interesting insights. After telling his apostles that they would be persecuted and otherwise mistreated he said “the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” (John 16:2). Then he goes on by saying “and these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.” (John 16: 3). Critics of others’ religions and beliefs probably believe that they also are doing the right thing, even what God wants them to. What does Christ say of this? Those who don’t appear to believe in religion have other motivations, but still too often end up being critical rather than understanding.
   Such critics should also, however, give heed to the council the Jewish leader Gamaliel gave to other Jewish leaders who were misrepresenting and often persecuting the early Christians. He said “refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work (of these early Christians) be of men, it will come to nought: but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest…ye be found even to fight against God (Acts 5: 38-39)
   We are taught, though, to "turn the other cheek" and "return good for evil" and this present scrutiny of the Church gives us the opportunity to do so as we attempt to set the record straight. I hope that those who hear of us will seek to understand our true positions. Draw your lessons from the good, faithful members of the Church. Go to official Church websites for your information about us.
   
   Phillip C. Smith, Ph.D.
   

2. JoAnn

   1 year ago

   Scott Christensen: You make a very good point. There are people in the Catholic Faith that call themselves Catholic? but are very far from the true teachings of the Church. They are no more Catholic than Obama is, and Obama isn't even a Christian. Any Catholic? that votes for him has the blood of innocent babies on their hands also. I sure wouldn't like to be them when we all stand before Jesus on Judgement Day. God bless.

3. Lori Hale

   1 year ago

   There are many thoughtless assumptions in this article. It's also lacking in thoroughness and accuracy. If we are going to lay strangeness at the feet of Mormonism we have to do the same for all Christians. Isn't a virgin birth pretty odd? What about the cursing of a fig tree? Was Jesus in the extremist category when he drove out the money changers? What about casting out evil spirits? Resurrection is a pretty crazy belief. Without faith all religions seem odd. Christians can do better than this. Let's pull out the Christian virtue of love and tolerance and put it into application.

4. mikem

   1 year ago

   It doesn't matter much BECAUSE the government is not being run by the President. Obama is the operative of the NSA. Romney will be too (if he were to be elected, which he won't because the NSA is working fine with Obama, and is determined to continue to do so, even if it requires fixing the election...which is what is going on right now behind the scenes at the voting machine manufacturing plants, and the strategic planning of the fixed machines placement). You really need to check on "VERIFIED VOTING"...it's a real eye opener.

5. Scott Christensen

   1 year ago

   As a Mormon, I want to make a correction or clarification to this article. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints are Mormons. By most definitions, those who are not members of this church are not Mormons. Therefore Warren Jeffs is not a Mormon. Any discussion that mentions a modern day polygamist as Mormom, whether identified as a "maniachal" Mormon or otherwise is not correct. Some of these people do refer to themselves as some type of Mormon, such as fundamentalist, etc., however this is misleading to the general public, who think incorrectly associate them with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
   
   Now if you want to divide members of my church into the same three categories, you may do so, but the range of the spectrum narrows significantly. You will have no polygamists at the fringe.

6. Rob

   1 year ago

   Agreed vance. There is a whole lot I dislike about Romney, but if he can untie the knots our political process is in and start moving things forward, he's got my vote.

7. Ann

   1 year ago

   I don't care about his faith --- I only care he is not a Muslim like Obama and will slow the decline of this nation into a third world Hell, I care that he has a faith that he follows,I care he didn't leave his wife, have a woman on the side, I care he and his wife didn't murder any of their children, I care that we get the DICTATOR OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE ---Yes I wanted another --- but that has changed --- I WILL VOTE FOR ROMNEY IN A HEART BEAT---THIS DICTATOR WE HAVE KNOW THINKS BABIES WHO SURVIVE ATTEMPTED MURDER THROUGH ABORTION SHOULD HAVE THEIR SPINES CUT AND BE LET TO DIE NOT ONCE BUT TWICE BY THE SAME HANDS--- I WILL VOTE FOR ANYONE TO GET RID OF THESE HORRIBLE PEOPLE --- IN A HEART BEAT--- REMEMBER THE BISHOPS WANTED OBAMACARE AND NOW WE PAY THE PRICE FOR THEIR MISS GUIDED MOVE--- YES I WILL VOTE FOR HIM!!!

8. Daniel

   1 year ago

   I don't think the premise of the article is based on charity. The article seems to question how sincere Mitt Romney is about his Mormon faith, but it doesn't even examine his actions. As far as I can tell, based on his actions Mitt Romney is very sincere about his faith and I would hesitate to question what 'level' of devotion he has. Would it be fair to do the same thing to a Catholic public figure, especially one who hasn't done anything serious in opposition to the church? Mormonism is very complicated, as is the human person and I don't think we can generalize based on levels of Mormonism that a candidate falls into how he or she will behave in office. Rather I think examining the individual candidate's track record in the past is the best way to predict future political behavior. As a practicing Catholic who tries to follow the Church's teaching, even Humanae Vitae, I respect the uniqueness of every person and, after many years of being judgmental myself, I think the church members should avoid over-generalizations if their needed pronouncements on destructive or sinful behavior in the public arena is to have credibility.

9. Karen Lake

   1 year ago

   In Southern California where I live the Catholic church and the Mormon church join in many humanitarian efforts. The tone of this article is not representative of the Catholics in my area. I think you would be shocked with how much overlap exists in the two religions. We both believe that Christ was born of Mary. We both believe that Christ lived a perfect life here in the flesh. We both believe in the Christ described in the New Testament. We both believe in the King James version of the Bible. We both believe that Christ died on the cross and was resurrected the third day. We both believe that Christ can change our hearts and our lives. That sounds like a pretty big overlap.

10. Theresa H.

    1 year ago

    I highly doubt Mitt Romney will impose his religion on "we the people." I have the impression (and hope) that he will uphold the Natural Law, as he appears to do in his own life. He was not my first choice (I did not vote for Romney in the Primary Election), but he is the next best candidate for running against Obama. (If Obama wins, we can say good-by to our Constitution with its Founding Principles, and be forced to live in a totally "changed" and "transformed" USA--the likes of which we have lots of "hints" in the "sayings" and "actions" of Mr. Obama, thus far.) I liked much of Newt Gingrich, but he has baggage that I doubt most people would accept. Ron Paul has some problems: mainIy, his notion that we should have nothing to do with anything going on outside the USA. (Not so, especially in today's world of mass media and nuclear weapons--a new "can of worms"--unheard of in all history!) Also, his view on abortion: "Let the states decide." No, no state has the "right" to "choose" to allow abortion. The Natural Law is clear: it is wrong to kill an innocent human being! Period. No Nation on this earth has such a "right.") And forget about the other aspects--of the moral corruption of our culture--on every front. In sum: "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever." Is a fall, like the great Roman Empire--with all it's "lust"--ahead for us? And/or a religious persecution like we are only beginning to see in the USA--even now? Who knows, but we are told to “be ready…” (Mt 24:44) and I do sometimes wonder: How much longer before the Lord comes?
    

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