So I spent a few hours over the weekend watching some YouTube videos of Mitt Romney. I have to say that I was impressed by 1)how sharp he is and 2) how conservative he is. I had the false assumption that his election in Massachusetts meant that he was a little bit liberal. Yet, I found that his comments during interviews show him to be very conservative, and that his views are perfectly in line with most latter-day saints.
My hopes for Mitt's presidential run used to be motivated by the fact that he is a Mormon. Now I have another reason to like him; he is a good conservative! If elected, he could be another Reagan. These reasons are enough for me to give my whole-hearted endorsement of Mr. Romney and my commitment to do anything I can to get him elected.
I hope you feel the same way.
But it was Mitt's handling when questioned about the church that I would like to address in this post.
During many interviews, Mitt is asked about his religion. His response has been: (and I saw him say this in several interviews) "I think that what the American people really want is a person of faith, who shares their values". And then he goes on to say: "... and that people don't really care what particular church that person belongs to".
I think that he has a good approach. By emphasizing the common values he may be able to distinguish himself from other candidates. He also implies that Americans aren't bigots...which I think will resonate with most Americans.
But I was more impressed by his handling of other harder questions. For example, one reporter directly asked him about the LDS doctrine of God having a body of flesh and bones, and Jesus Christ appearing in the U.S. His response was brilliant. He said (I am paraphrasing) "you know what one of our most amazing doctrines is? It's that a man took a boat and put into it two animals of every kind and the whole earth was flooded with water". He then went on to say how every faith has things that are amazing and that we are no different from any other faith in that respect.
His Noah example was ingenious because so many religions share that story. He had the Christians, the Jews, and possibly the Muslims covered when he reminded the reporter of that event. When compared to the flood, some LDS doctrines aren't so hard to swallow. But his answer was also smart because he called the belief of Noah's ark "an LDS doctrine". He was again able show that many of our beliefs are in line with Christianity and that we have more in common with Christians than some want to believe.
I believe Mitt should be watched and emulated when dealing with questions about the church. Mitt will probably need to address the issue head on at some point. But until then He is making some good moves and our prayers are with him.
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Luckily, I will remain anonymous in my view. How has Mr. Romney handled the question that his Church believes itself to be the only true and living church on the face of the earth? That God, the Eternal Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to the boy Joseph and instructed him that none of th churches on the Earth at that time were correct. Not many churches are bold enough to declare that they are the only church approved with the stamp of Deity.
Mitt is able to dance in the shadows right now but as the 2008 election year draws near, if he is the GOP's candidate, then he will be facing a lot more scrutiny about his religious beliefs than any other president since Kennedy. Luckily, Kennedy had the largest Christian organization in the world behind him. Romney simply has the fastest growing Christian organization. GO MITT!
I think Mitt will just say that people are going to have to ask the LDS church about official doctrine...and that he is a just a candidate who happens to belong to a church. He'll have to reassure people, like Kennedy did, that he will represent the interests of all Americans...not just the interests of Mormons...and that the church will not dictate his presidency.
But I speculate...
Most people who interpret Mitt's candidacy insert the word "Mormon" into their thought or dialect. I hope Christian and non-Christian people can first see past his faith. But more maturely, see him full-circle for what he truly is...a valiant man who has not only met his calling in life, but has come "running" to embrace it.
http://www.runmittrun.org/
I know that Mitt Romney has a lot of challenges ahead of him. But as Dave mentioned he is sharp and has good people helping him.
As for the "anonymous" comment, Muslims are as committed to their religion and so are Jews and they both believe they are the only true church of God.
I truly believe that this is one of the best times for a well known Mormon to step up and take the national stage. Romney will have other recognizable individuals endorsing him. Hatch for sure! Also, if Democrats try to make too much of the Mormon thing, they need to look at their leader they just elected in the US Senate; wait a minute he's Mormon too, but he is a Liberal...
Like I said, this election is probably the first time a Mormon candidate has any chance. Also, if the Democratic Party puts forth Hilary as their candidate, the Evangelical powerhouse won't have much of a choice but to endorse the Republican candidate who at least shares more of their core values.
This is going to be fun to watch!
This is just a question about your family, not politics: do you have 2 brothers who served LDS missions in Germany and Bulgaria?
I do have two Broski's but they served in Texas and S.Africa (currently).
-d
I agree with you about Mitt Romney. I wholeheartedly hope that he has a successful run to the White House. Other than religion, another huge obstacle has just (at least officially) appeared. Rudy Giuliani has formed an exploratory committee. He has huge name recognition and so many people are enamored with him for how he handled the events of September 11 in NYC. Without a doubt, he was brilliant. But I don't think that, in and of itself, is enough to qualify him to lead our country and I hope others take his entire body of work into account when they make their decision.
I'd have to chime in on "Not many churches are bold enough to declare that they are the only church approved with the stamp of Deity" said by anonymous. I would have to disagree with that statement. Almost EVERY group thinks they are the only correct church, or at least more correct than everyone else.
If Mitt addresses that point, if at all, it should be that he attends his church because he feels it is the place he should be. No one attends a church they feel to be wrong. In this way, he would continue to stress commonality, even if it is our common myopicness.
It will be interesting to see if Rudy throws his hat in the ring. Though I personally would prefer Mitt, I wonder if Rudy simply would have more social inertia that would push him to the forefront. If that would be the case, I wonder if Mitt would go as a VP?
Also, though I think Evangelicals may have some in their camp who might question Mitt as a canidate due to being a mormon, I wonder if overall it would have any real effect. Prior to moving to Utah, I had no idea what mormon beliefs were. Telling me Mitt was a mormon would have meant nothing to me - positive or negative. I found a Evangelical site promoting Mitt http://www.evangelicalsformitt.com/
I think who the democrats decide to run will be a major factor. I tend to be a democrat with republican tendencies, but overall consider myself an independent. I could have happily passed voting for Bush last time, but there was no way I was voting for a Northeastern liberal. However, a level-headed democratic moderate could win me over. I think a lot of the country could go that way too, as the latest election seemed to indicate. However, in the end, the dems will probably run someone way left again ... sigh.
Welcome to the blog world Dr. Alvord. Since you mention Reagan, I have to say that I had the honor of shaking his hand in 84. :)
David,
We invite you visit us at www.lowdowncentral.com. We are a Townhall blog for Mitt Romney.
Best,
The Staff at LDC
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