The unexpected evangelical silence on Mitt Romney

Now that Mitt Romney has sewn up the Republican nomination, the GOP can move beyond a tumultuous primary season. But for some of Romney's fellow Mormons, there's still some anxiety in the air.

“For Mormons, this is a potentially volatile moment. They are deeply proud that their faith’s most prominent adherent, Mitt Romney, is steps away from a presidential nomination and could push the faith further into the mainstream,” Matt Viser wrote in The Boston Globe.

“With these feelings, though, comes a nagging fear that their beliefs, often misunderstood, will again be subjected to scrutiny, even ridicule, on a national scale.”

If the past is any indicator, their fears may be founded. In 1998, the Southern Baptist Convention held its annual meeting in Salt Lake City, the symbolic and organizational heartland of Mormonism. Some 3,000 Southern Baptist volunteers went door to door with the intent to evangelize Mormons; and the denomination even produced a book called "Mormonism Unmasked," which promised to “lift the veil from one of the greatest deceptions in the history of religion.”

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EVERMYRTLE

Romney, as the last resort,only!!! The outlook was never darker. May GOD BLESS HIS PEOPLE, HE IS ALL WE HAVE.
- daves
  
  This is a good news that something positive will come from the election.
  - Evermyrtle
    
    Only if GOD sees to it. There is absolutely nothing good in sight. About all I can see or say, it is all in HIS plan and will turn out just as HE plans for this "evil generation!"
Connie

I've wondered whether a Christian should vote for a man that says he is a Christian but doesn't act like it and seems to be trying his best to destroy America, or vote for a man who doesn't believe Jesus is the Son of God.
- Just
  
  Connie… From Mormon.org (one place where you can find the truth of what LDS believe) I will copy and paste this statement:
  
  Jesus Christ
  “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for he shall save his people from their sins.”
  MATTHEW 1:21
  
  "Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and the Son of God. He is our Redeemer…But what do we mean when we say He is the Savior of the world? The Redeemer? Each of these titles points to the truth that Jesus Christ is the only way by which we can return to live with our Heavenly Father. Jesus suffered and was crucified for the sins of the world, giving each of God’s children the gift of repentance and forgiveness. Only by His mercy and grace can anyone be saved. His subsequent resurrection prepared the way for every person to overcome physical death as well. These events are called the Atonement. In short, Jesus Christ saves us from sin and death. For that, he is very literally our Savior and Redeemer. In the future Jesus Christ will return to reign on earth in peace for a thousand years. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and He will be our Lord forever.
- guest
  
  You cite the same reasons not to vote for Obama
  - Evermyrtle
    
    There is every reason to vote against Obama and none to vote for Romney.
    
    So far, we have never had a third party to do anything but harm but maybe this will be the first time that it can run somebody worthy of the names someone who can win, for the first time. There is a first for everything and "GOD IS STILL ABOVE ALL!"
- Ben E
  
  Mormons do beleive that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Our first of thirteen "Articles of Faith" states. "We Believe in GOD the Eternal Father, and in his Son JESUS CHRIST, and in the Holy Ghost."
EVERMYRTLE

I have thought of the same, especially when we have no one who is a Christian for whom we can vote, what would GOD have us to do.

Luke 9:26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of m words, of him shall the SON OF MAN be ashamed, when HE shall come in HIS OWN GLORY and in HIS FATHER'S, AND OF THE HOLY ANGELS

Mark 8:35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it,but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's the same shall save it
- Xman2
  
  OK, knowing the background and Chruch affiliations of Obama and Romney, who do you vote for? Who would God support? Romney was not my first or second choice, but it looks like he has the Republican nomination.
  
  The focus is, do you want to vote for a lying Muslum or a straight forward successful business man, former Governer of Mass., who has family values, Constitution supporting Conservative/Moderate who happens to be Mormon? The answer should be quite simple.
  And if you don't vote, that is a default vote for Obama. Make a good choice!
  
  If you vote for a Democrat (or RINO) at any level of Government – Federal, State or Local, you may be an idiot.
  
  God Bless America – We sure need it !
  - Evermyrtle
    
    Actually I am still looking to GOD FOR THE ANSWER!! I am not even sure we will have an election, that is in HIS hands. Obam may go back in, but it will be only because GOD allows it, that we can depend on..It is totally unacceptable that he go back in. Romney is unacceptable , also. Our choice is "slim and none!"
  - bighoss
    
    Those who, like you, call the President a Muslim are themselves liars and grossly ignorant as well. Shame!
    - Evermyrtle
      
      There is a lot of gross ignorance in this thing. More people have been blinded in this race than ever, before. Follow the four fingers which is just behind the one, pointing at us, to get an example.
  - Evermyrtle
    
    So far we do have a choice, such as it is a lying Muslim and a lying Mormon. And I am not putting the Mormons down just this particular one.
Michael1957MN

Let's face it folks, as things stand, America is no more the nation she was founded as. Consider the following: 1.) We are entering a presidential election where the candidates are someone who in word and deed has demonstrated he is against everything America was founded upon, who repeatedly voted for infanticide (each time the bill came up, he either voted against or simply "Present", i.e., against by default on the Infant Born Alive act which would have preserved the lives of babies that survived an abortion attempt), and the member of a cult. 2.) Notwithstanding the presidential elections, for YEARS, we (Americans in general) have been electing and reelecting perverts, liars, adulterers, thieves, etc., into political offices ranging from local city councils and school boards, to Senators and Congressmen. Doubt that, check how many "gay" mayors there are now, or in some cities how many "gay" councilmen. Also, consider Barney Frank (who thankfully is finally retiring) who came out of the closet, on the capitol steps with his underage boy lover and the nation applauded.
No folks, this current regime is the government we deserve and that God had given us as punishment. Too long we have allowed liberalism to have its way, too long we entrusted liberals with the education of our college age students, who were then turned into liberals themselves, many becoming liberal educators themselves, and now it has reached kindergarten and 1st grade. Today's generation does not even recognize that there are such things as objective right and wrong.
No, this nation is lost and passing. Perhaps God may grant her repentance someday, but I doubt it. No other nation having reached this point of general perversion and ungodliness has ever been granted repentance… No, corrections, once it happened, in the days of Jonah, Nineveh was granted repentance, but even that was short-lived, and Nineveh too, fell by the wayside of history.
- keyboardshark
  
  Well spoken, Michael1957MN. Sadly, I'm afraid that you are absolutely correct. In terms of history, it is stunning how quickly the United States, once the bastion of Christianity and the worldwide hub for the proclamation of the Gospel, has fallen away both morally and spiritually in a matter of decades. I would like to remain optimistic that there will be a great revival soon, but it is getting harder and harder to entertain such a hope when things get progressively worse year after year. The election of Obama in 2008 may have been the final nail in the coffin.
Curious

"Evil triumphs when good men do nothing.."

Romney is a good man and wonderful father and husband. He loves this country. Not saying he is perfect, but I believe that he will do the best he is able with what he would be up against.
http://www.sargee5.blogspot.com The Watchman

This is quite the dilemma, isn't it? Not voting for Mitt Romney will surely keep the devil himself in the White House. This is where our test of faith comes in, doesn't it? We have all seen the diabolical evil that pervades this country, we all know that the evil has trickled down from the President. A non-vote, is a vote for Obama the destroyer. Is voting for Mitt Romney a vote for a Mormon, or a vote for a shot at honesty and morality in government, a shot at restoring America's Constitutional Republic? I for one will take the latter. I cannot in good conscience vote for Obama or not vote at all. I place my faith in God, and God alone, placing one's faith in man will almost always result in disappointment. I will cast a vote for Romney, and pray that God will direct him in the direction he should go. God's divine hand was prayed for and delivered to our founding fathers, and perhaps if we pray for God's divine Providence in a Romney administration, God will look favorably once again on America.
- Steve03
  
  If this country is so horrible, why don't you leave and find or found a better one? That's what your ancestors did, but of course they had both faith and courage.
  - http://www.sargee5.blogspot.com The Watchman
    
    Wow! Another surprise reply from a liberal progressive, with little or no sense.I can't say you fail to amuse me Steve03, because if that's the best you got, then Obama and you are certainly on the same page.He lies and you believe him.Have you ever heard the term useful idiot, because that is where your persuasion is leading you.
    - Steve03
      
      If one who loves his counrty and the truth is a useful idiot, then put me down as one. But what does that make you?
      - http://www.sargee5.blogspot.com The Watchman
        
        There is no reason for me to put you down Steve, you do that quite well all by yourself. <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: bookman old style, new york, times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 14pt"> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: times new roman, new york, times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 0; MARGIN: 5px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 0px; BORDER-TOP: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: #ccc 1px solid; PADDING-TOP: 0px"></DIV>
Kalev

Romney has flip-flopped so often it's difficult to trust him but I do NOT want Obama re-elected, so I'll hold my nose a vote for the lesser of two evils. Romney HAS some NWO baggage loading him down.
- Evermyrtle
  
  Right, to get down to what he really believes, among all the things he has told us would be hard to do.He is against homosexual marriage but it is O K with him to place an innocent child in the care of a married pair of homos. He also changed his mind about abortion, how do we know how he will feel about these things next year.
- keyboardshark
  
  Kalev says: "Romney has flip-flopped so often it's difficult to trust him…"
  
  Obama flip flops too, but the media just say that his views have "evolved". 99% of the negative information about Obama is never reported by the mainstream media, because he is their liberal darling and they are making sure they've got his back.
Johnny

Whether you call Mormonism a cult or not, it is not related to Christianity, for its salvation depends upon works performed by the individual as well as the work of Christ, whereas St. Paul declared that the work of Christ is fully sufficient to cover all of your sins, and if you depend upon your own works in any way you have no hope of peace with God.

As others have said, I can in no way contribute to the re-election of the man who currently occupies the White House.
- Evermyrtle
  
  You really do not find people believing because their denomination ,Baptist, Methodist, Mormon believes that thing. IT is something in your heart and you will not change your mind because your church preaches that or something else. It is something within you, spawned by GOD or by Satan.Most people have bibles and many read them and believe as we please.
- Vladimir
  
  Sorry, Johnny, you lose the accuracy award for the day. Mormons do not believe or preach that we are saved by our works. You will find that falsehood in anti-Mormon publications, but a little investigation would have allowed you to avoid that mistake. Jesus Christ's atonement is infinite and therefore, cannot be added to or subtracted from by anything. That means "works", too.
  
  You have been saved from subjugation of Satan by the blood of Jesus Christ. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. Christ has purchased you and you are under debt to Him now. His terms are found in the Bible and, yes, He wants you to work for Him and He has promised rewards for those that do.
  
  Do you see the difference? Nothing we could have done would have saved us. No human effort would have saved us from our fallen state. But once saved by Him, we must serve Him as He has commanded throughout the Bible. If you don't think Jesus Christ wants you to work for Him, tell Him that, the next time you pray.
wesley

if we put real conservatives in the Congress and Senate who would stand up to the president no matter who he is than Romney would be much better than the current dictator-in-chief.
Jimmy

Well it's pretty simple vote for a man that belives in God or alia
- bighoss
  
  Who is this "alia"? Good grief! If you are going to throw innuendos at the President, at least learn how to spell!
  
  Allah is the Muslim god. "alia" is Latin for "others"
Steve03

You weren't really expecting conservative Christian leaders — the would-be heirs of Falwell and Graham — to let religious scruple stand between them and seats on the podium at Romney's inauguration, were you?
bighoss

Mormonism IS a cult! If there ever was a cult, it IS Mormonism. You might as well remove "cult" from the language if you are not going to classify the most zany, most homespun, most far-fetched excuse for a religious belief system as a cult. Nothing could be more cultish than Mormonism, with its false prophets and its blasphemous doctrines.

The reason evangelicals have not said more about this wacko religion is because most of them are ignorant of what Mormonism actually teaches.
Evermyrtle

I do not know a lot about the Mormon religion, and unless I do I cannot condemn something I do not know what I am condemning. Another thing which comes into the equation, GOD never told me one time, to go out and judge the world. In fact, HIS WORD tells me to get the 2 X 4 out of my own eye before I start on getting the speck out of my neighbors eye. He does tell me that "Many will be called but few will be chosen." Will you or will I be among HIS chosen????

If you take 20 members of any denomination and give them a questionnaire with 20 questions to answer about what hey feel about different subjects, , when they are finished you will not have two identical list of answers
- bighoss
  
  Since you admit not knowing much about Mormonism, I recommend you do a little study and get yourself up to speed concerning the perverse, heretical doctrines and sordid history of that abominable CULT. Mormonism, in its definitions of God, Christ, Heaven, Hell, and a multitude of other Biblical concepts, radically distorts the Word of God. You should not be trumpeting those old stale canards about the alleged inappropriateness of "judging" the beliefs of others. The WORD itself does the judging when its truths are compared to the screamingly false doctrines of the Mormon CULT.
Prism

Evermyrtle, God DOES, on many occasions, call upon us to make judgements on good and evil. Don't get tripped up on a misinterpretation of one verse. We MUST make judgements and then moral decisions based on truth and/or truth vilated. "Woe unto them who call good evil and evil good."
Bighoss

Mormons have NOT abandoned plural marriage as a doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! Does that surprise you? Then pay attention:

Any
faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) should
know that that LDS church has never actually abandoned or repudiated the
doctrine of plural marriage. The doctrine itself was not reversed, revoked or
otherwise invalidated by the 1890 Manifesto of Wilford Woodruff, then-President
and "Prophet" of the LDS church.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormon Church) has not abandoned the doctrine of plural marriage (polygamy)> It remains an official doctrine of the church, notwithstanding the numerous "explanations" of this subject in the popular media by spokespersons who have not done their homework. Do you doubt this? The pay attention to the documented FACTS:
In FACT, the doctrine and practice of plural marriage were only
"SUSPENDED" by the LDS on the basis of a rationale that obliged members
to obey civil law, the particular civil law being the law against polygamy. It
thus follows that, should that law be rescinded, Mormons would once more become
subject to the "new and everlasting covenant" of plural marriage
prescribed by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the Doctrine & Covenants, chapter 132.

Those doubting this are referred to an official publication of the LDS church,
"Articles of Faith," by "Apostle” James E. Talmage, one of the
most esteemed (at least by Mormons) of Mormon theologians. For many years, his
book was a standard reference source carried by Mormon missionaries in their
ubiquitous backpacks. You can hardly get any more official than THAT! The
subtitle of the book is “Being a Consideration of the Principal Doctrines of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” It is published by the LDS’s
own publishing house, Deseret Book Company.

From page 384 of the 1984 edition:

“An illustration of such suspension of divine law is found in the action of the
church regarding the issue of plural marriage.”

A “suspension” is not a nullification or a revocation or a permanent discontinuance.
The doctrine of plural marriage still stands; it has merely been “suspended.”
It would have been inexpedient to revoke the doctrine, seeing that the “Prophet”
Joseph Smith, Jr. had boldly declared it to be a “new and everlasting
covenant.” Something fully abandoned after only a few decades could scarcely be
said to be “everlasting.” Faced with the need to get away from plural marriage
and into statehood, the LDS dodged the “everlasting” problem and adopted the
expedient of “suspension.” Should the courts of this nation ever rule that
plural marriage is legally valid, the doctrine presumably would return in full
force and effect and the LDS branch of Mormonism could then join their maverick
brethren, the “Fundamentalist Mormons” in the practice of the “new and
everlasting covenant.”