Obama Supporter Publishes Anti-Mormon Facebook Page Entitled "Vote No To Mitt Romney And The Mormon Plan For America"

KTVX Channel 4 is reporting on November 5th, 2012 on the existence of an anti-Mormon Facebook page entitled "Vote No To Mitt Romney and the Mormon Plan for America". An examination of the Facebook page, which can be read by anyone, indicates its creator is a supporter of Barack Obama and intends to vote for him on November 6th. There's no indication that the Facebook page is officially affiliated with the Obama campaign, however.

Here's a screenshot of the About page, in case the Facebook site is taken down:

Click image to enlarge

The following two statements indicate the page's creator is an Obama supporter:

-- "So when I post something to support that position a response against Obama is inappropriate and can get you banned".

-- "I also welcome post in support of candidates (Like the President) who are against Romney. I may even post some my self as I will be voting for him".

One of the most vitriolic critics is Karen Bradshaw, who identifies herself as an ex-Mormon. Since she so thoughtfully included her photo with her post, I have just as thoughtfully included it with my screenshots. Here are three posts, the last two which show the depths of her hatred for the Church:

The sequence below is in response to this side-by-side picture of Mitt Romney and Joseph Smith:

So not only does she hate the Church, she thinks Joseph Smith and Mitt Romney are both traitors. She thinks criticism of the president is treason. There's no doubt that she would have been part of the mob at Carthage jail which assassinated Joseph and Hyrum Smith. It illustrates that some ex-Mormons can become so consumed with hatred towards the Church they become, in spirit, delivered unto the buffetings of Satan. Karen Bradshaw is evil incarnate. And these are the type of people who support Barack Obama.

The commentary on that Facebook page is so evil and hideous that KTVX could not restrain themselves, entitling their story "Facebook page spreading lies about LDS Church and Romney". They openly characterize the page as sharing false information about the LDS Church and tying Romney to the misrepresentations. KTVX even posted a hot link to the LDS website so that readers could immediately get the truth. This is impressive, considering that KTVX is not owned by the LDS Church or any of its subsidiaries.

Karen Bradshaw will have reason to regret her statements someday. For her sake, I hope that "someday" occurs while she is still in the flesh -- and has time to repent. Our worst enemies tend to be those who were once Mormons, just like the Nephites' worst enemies among the Lamanites were those who dissented from the Nephites.

Georgia State Rep. Judy Manning Apologizes For Expressing Fear About Mitt Romney's Mormonism; Remark Widely Interpreted As Anti-Mormon

A member of the Georgia State House has apologized for a remark that many people interpreted as anti-Mormon. Georgia State Representative Judy Manning (R32-Marietta) posted an apology for saying that she was "afraid" of Romney's Mormon faith.

The controversy began on Wednesday January 4th, 2011 when the Marietta Daily Journal published an article detailing Cobb County lawmakers’ thoughts on the Republican presidential race, including continuing questions over whether Romney’s religion will impair his presidential hopes. Rep. Manning favors Newt Gingrich, and explained her concerns about Romney. While she thinks Romney is a flip-flopper, this is the remark that triggered the criticism:

“I think Mitt Romney is a nice man, but I’m afraid of his Mormon faith. It’s better than a Muslim. Of course, every time you look at the TV these days you find an ad on there telling us how normal they are. So why do they have to put ads on the TV just to convince us that they’re normal if they are normal? … If the Mormon faith adhered to a past philosophy of pluralism, multi-wives, that doesn’t follow the Christian faith of one man and one woman, and that concerns me.”

Although Rep. Manning clearly states that plural marriage is a PAST practice, the match had been struck, and the firestorm ignited. As of this post, 37 comments were posted to the Journal story, most of them critical. One person actually called upon Newt Gingrich to denounce Manning's remark. The Marietta Patch also documented some other criticism:

• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Jay Bookman said Manning brought Georgia national embarrassment.
• Zaid Jilani at Think Progress wrote that Manning’s remarks showed how bigotry against one group (Muslims) can lead to bigotry against another (Mormons).
• MDJ columnist Don McKee looked at new Gallup Poll data on the role of the candidates’ religions in the presidential campaign, in which Protestants are less likely than other Republicans to support Romney but voters don’t seem to differentiate between the Catholics and Protestants.
• On a related point, Ami Eden with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency joked that it’s probably a sign of progress if South Carolina’s Republicans vote for Roman Catholic Rick Santorum because he’s not Mormon.

Recognizing the perception problem, Rep. Manning quickly moved to make amends. On January 5th, she posted an explanation and apology on her Facebook page. While the full text is available only to Facebook members, she was quoted as saying “I have made a terrible mistake with my reckless words,” apologized to Romney and Mormons, and promised to vote for whoever the Republican nominee might be against President Barack Obama in November. Manning also accused the media of misrepresenting her, stating that Journal reporter Jon Gillooly manipulated her comparison using verbal judo and made her choice for a Republican Presidential candidate appear to be motivated by religion, and emphatically proclaimed "NOT SO!”

Exposing Anti-Mormon Bigotry: Pastor Steven Andrew Calls Upon Franklin Graham To "Repent" For Saying Christians Can Vote For Mitt Romney

One of the purposes of this blog is to expose flagrant anti-Mormon bigotry regardless of its source. And on December 21st, 2011, we found us a live one in the person of Pastor Steven Andrew, who operates the USA Christian Ministries website. Pastor Andrew is offended by Franklin Graham's recent contention that Christians can in good conscience vote for a Mormon candidate, in reference to Mitt Romney. And he's calling upon Graham to "repent".

During a December 16th interview on the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), Rev. Graham said voters should look past a candidate’s personal religion when considering whom they should support for office, noting that the fact that Mitt Romney is a Mormon doesn’t bother him at all. Specifically, Graham said “You can have the nicest guy and he can be a Christian and just wonderful but have absolutely no clue as to how to run a country, you don’t want that … Mitt Romney is a very capable fellow, I know him. I know Newt Gingrich, another capable person; Michele Bachmann, a very capable lady; Rick Santorum, I like a lot, very gifted guy, a very sharp person and so there are some good candidates out there”. CBN video embedded below:



But Pastor Steven Andrew disagrees, and has called upon Franklin Graham to "repent". He wrote "Graham is misleading Christians to vote against Scripture for Mormon Mitt Romney. God cannot bless us for betraying Jesus and voting for a non-Christian. No one comes to God except through Jesus-this includes the USA...Franklin overlooked Scripture (Exodus 18:21, 2Samuel 23:3). God called David a man after His own heart. There are reasons why Christians say Mormonism is a cult: no cross and heresy." Pastor Andrew then calls upon Graham to repent, saying "We don't want Franklin to stop standing for righteousness. We respect Franklin and others and will respect them more when they repent". Pastor Andrew further criticizes Mormonism as being secretive, not displaying the cross, adding to the Bible, and heresy.

Of course, "secret" actually means "sacred", as we don't allow public access to our temples after they are dedicated. But if we were truly "secretive", would we allow open houses at our temples before they are dedicated? Of course not. As for the cross, we don't outlaw it, but we don't emphasize it, because we prefer to focus upon the resurrected Savior rather than the crucified Savior. While it was necessary for Jesus Christ to take upon Himself the sins of the world at Gethsemane and give His life for those sins at Calvary, it was His resurrection that broke the bands of death and made eternal life accessible to all humanity. His resurrection locked in the Atonement.

Pastor Andrew's critique actually contradicts some of the information he has published on his Christian Voters Guide. For example, he spells out God’s Four Voting Requirements Checklist, based upon 2 Samuel 23:3 and Exodus 18:21, in which he suggests that every political candidate supported by a Christian is expected to have these Biblical qualities:

1) Rules in the fear of God - Fears God, reverent of God
2) Able - Strength, efficiency, wealth and leader of the army
3) Person of truth - Reliable, stable, faithful, true doctrine
4) Hating covetousness - Hater of unjust gain (bribes and other frauds)

Note that none of these four voting requirements specifies that the candidate must be a Christian. And as far as "true doctrine" goes, this can be interpreted to mean that the candidate should show evidence of being true to whatever religion or belief system is professed. A Christian would not necessarily have to be an active church member, but at least should behave publicly in a manner consistent with attributes common to all Christian denominations.

We should not view Pastor Steven Andrew as evil because of his anti-Mormon bigotry. Rather, I prefer to characterize him as deluded. And this really shouldn't come as a surprise; after all, Matthew 24:24 (KJV) states that in the last days, Satan will deceive even the very elect. A pastor generally represents the very elect in spirit and status. Pastor Andrew can free himself of his anti-Mormon bigotry by kneeling in prayer, asking God with a sincere heart to open his mind to the truth about Mormonism, and promising in advance to accept the Lord's answer -- whatever it may be. The counsel given in James 1:5 (KJV) worked for Joseph Smith, and it can also work for Steven Andrew.

Gingrich Aide Craig Bergman Resigns From Campaign Over Anti-Mormon Remark Less Than A Week After Being Hired

On December 13th, 2011, a campaign aide to Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich resigned under some pressure due to an anti-Mormon remark he made less than a week after being hired.

On Wednesday December 7th, one day before being hired to be the new political director for Newt Gingrich’s Iowa campaign, Craig Bergman, described as a Tea Party supporter, attended a focus group hosted by the TheIowaRepublican.com in conjunction with McClatchy Newspapers. The group of conservative activists included a retiree, a college student, Tea Party members, a GOP county co-chair, and some influential consultants. No one in the group had fully committed to a candidate, and most were undecided. The group offered their assessments on all the major Republican presidential candidates. When the discussion turned to Mitt Romney, Craig Bergman sounded off:

“There is a national pastor who is very much on the anti-Mitt Romney bandwagon. A lot of the evangelicals believe God would give us four more years of Obama just for the opportunity to expose the cult of Mormon...There’s a thousand pastors ready to do that.”

The statement would have been considered primarily analytical in nature......had Bergman not used the word "cult".

The following day, before the storm broke, the Gingrich campaign hired Bergman. But after Bergman's remark became public and criticism surfaced, the Gingrich campaign undoubtedly applied pressure behind the scenes for Bergman to leave the campaign. On December 13th, campaign spokesman R.C. Hammond issued a statement saying that Bergman agreed to step away from his role with Newt 2012.

“He made a comment to a focus group prior to becoming an employee that is inconsistent with Newt 2012′s pledge to run a positive and solutions orientated campaign”.

Linda Upmeyer, the chairwoman for Gingrich’s Iowa campaign, said she’s never heard Gingrich himself say anything negative about Mormonism. “I’ve never had any discussion that resembled that with Speaker Gingrich,” Upmeyer said. “I have no doubt there are people that reject Mormonism but I’ve never engaged in a conversation regarding that, ever.” I also cannot recall any anti-Mormon statements ever made by Gingrich, either, so this should not be laid at his doorstep. The Gingrich campaign moved expeditiously to resolve the problem.

There are many other reasons to be critical of Newt Gingrich, in particular his support for American military interventionism, his cheerleading for the rich, and his contempt for the working class. But it's clear that Newt Gingrich does not tolerate the public expression of anti-religious bigotry. This should now be considered a dead issue. But one person posting a comment to TheIowaRepublican is not inclined to forgive:

Bren4824 December 13th 10:00 A.M:
So, let me point out the hypocrisy and lack of credibility of the "Christian" evangelicals..........

---When Romney was Governor of Massachusetts, each year he donated his entire salary to charity. In other words, he worked for NOTHING.

---He has been married to his wife for 40 years

---He was never accused/fined for ethics violations.

---His religion never caused a problem when he was Governor of Massachusetts.

Yet, he is not the right "kind" of Christian for them.

They would rather support the candidate that committed adultery numerous times, who was found guilty/fined for ethics violations, and who was padding his pockets with millions paid to him by lobbyists.

World Nut Daily Publishes Puff Piece About Tricia Erickson's Anti-Mormon Screed Entitled "Can Mitt Romney Serve Two Masters?"

The website in question is officially named World Net Daily, but I've re-designated it World Nut Daily after its headlong descent into gutter journalism. On October 12th, 2011, WND published what can only be described as a puff piece about Tricia Erickson's new book entitled "Can Mitt Romney Serve Two Masters? The Mormon Church Versus the Office of the Presidency of the United States of America."

The article, entitled "Mormon bishop's daughter spills Romney's 'secrets'", confers a completely undeserved patina of respectability upon Erickson and her hysterical screed. First, the very title of Erickson's book is a blatant lie. Mitt Romney has repeatedly said that if elected president, he will not take orders from Salt Lake City. Therefore, there's no question about him serving two masters. Richard Bushman, a Mormon and previous missionary himself who has taught at Harvard, Columbia and Brown Universities, says that although templeworthy Mormons have held national office for over a century now, he knows of no single instance where they have succumbed to church direction against their own consciences.

To add insult to injury, Joe Kovacs, the article's author, regurgitates four of Tricia Erickson's smears about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints without any attempt at further explanation. According to Tricia Erickson, Romney believes:

-- He will become a "god" in the afterlife and be given his own planet. This, of course, is a true statement about Mormon beliefs, but is simple-minded. Godhood will only be available to those who qualify for celestial glory with exaltation, and will require incalculable additional time and training in the spirit world before it can be conferred upon us.

-- Satan is Jesus' literal brother. A misrepresentation designed to create the false impression that we value Jesus and Satan equally. While we believe that our Heavenly Father, in concert with the Heavenly Mother, created the spirit tabernacles for both Jesus and Lucifer (as he was known then), as well as for the rest of us, their subsequent actions -- and ultimate fates -- differ radically.

-- Jesus was not born of a virgin birth. This is a lie; Mormon doctrine holds that the Father begot Jesus Christ with Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit, but the precise technique has not been revealed. Furthermore, we believe that Mary was indeed a virgin before she conceived Jesus. Some LDS authors and even former presidents of the Church have speculated on the process, but their speculations are not to be considered doctrinal. For the umpteenth time, the Journal of Discourses is NOT considered one of the Standard Works of the Gospel.

-- He will be given his own afterlife kingdom where he will have sexual relations with his wife, Ann, to populate his kingdom with spirit children as God the Father Himself has a wife on His own planet. We believe that when an exalted couple are finally ordained to Godhood, they will receive the power to tabernacle unorganized intelligences with spirit bodies after their image, just like our Father did with us. Apparently Tricia Erickson is a bit more obsessed with the "sexual" part; as Latter-day Saints, we really have better things to do than to speculate about if or how celestial beings have sex.

Anti-Mormon Bigot Tricia Erickson Outed As A Former Professional Scam Artist; Settled With Federal Trade Commission In 1999

The efforts of a vitriolic anti-Mormon bigot to smear and defame the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on CNN's "In The Arena" blog have seriously backfired as commenters to the post exposed the fact that the bigot was caught red-handed in a marketing scam and was forced to settle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) back in 1999.

In a column entitled "An indoctrinated Mormon should never be elected as President", anti-Mormon hatemonger Tricia Erickson, who like so many self-proclaimed "consultants", peddles the typical porridge of ambiguous hopes and dreams through a couple of entities called Crisis Management, Incorporated and Angel Pictures & Publicity, claims that Mitt Romney is unsuitable for the Presidency of the United States. However, the true purpose of her column is to shill her upcoming book entitled "Can Mitt Romney serve two masters", in which she attacks Mitt Romney's religion. Her book is divided into two parts; Part I covers the spiritual aspect, while Part II covers the political.

The central premise of her whole book is that the commitments made by a devout Mormon like Mitt Romney are supposedly so binding and all-encompassing that she believes him to be incapable of governing the country in a manner that might be at odds with LDS Church leadership. In short, she assumes that if Romney has to choose between the country and the Church, he will choose the Church. She bases this assumption upon her own experience as a former Mormon; she describes the endowment ceremonies she underwent in a temple as being "completely violent, mind controlling and alarming".

Yep, you guessed it. Another ex-Mormon who could leave the Church, but who can't leave the Church alone.

Because of Erickson's extremely slanted and vitriolic discourse, CNN was fair-minded enough to retain LDS historian Richard Bushman to directly respond to Erickson's smears, along with Corey P. Saylor, National Legislative Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Ahmed M. Rehab, Executive Director, CAIR-Chicago (I'm not necessarily comfortable with CAIR getting involved because they have a reputation for being apologists for Islamofascism).

But even without Bushman's response, Tricia Erickson's hysteria actually alienated much of the public as reflected in the comments to the post. Furthermore, comments alleging Erickson's unsavory business past began to pop up:

Anthony:
Why don't you tell all of these readers about how you were charged by the Feds back in the late 1990's in Virginia. It seems that a lot of Christain families that you served felt that you ran an organization that scammed them out of a lot of money. Sorry to bring this up, but when you bash on others on a national stage, your past can haunt you. I am suprised CNN did not do a thorough background check on you! (Google it (Erickson Agency, VA))

CHermansen:
ANTHONY, thanks for bringing that to light. After reading many articles about this, such as, http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/modeling_scam.htm
I can only reiterate my previous comment. Funny, I can't find any articles like this about Mitt Romney. I did find one about him shutting down Bain Capital for a couple of days to help search the streets of NYC for a missing girl. To bad he belongs to a cult or you may have to say that sounds pretty Christlike and shows forth love.
You're unbelievable!

Daryl Denney:
Yep. As suspected, she is in it for the money. Credibility gone. Take a look at this. Looks like she is/was a scam artist. Google: Consumer Affairs Modeling Scam Settlement Patricia Erickson

So I Googled the suggested phrase, and look what I found. In May 1999, the FTC charged Model 1, Inc., and its president, Jason Hoffman; Creative Talent Management, Inc. and its president, Ralph Bell; and The Erickson Agency, Inc., and its president, Patricia Erickson, with misrepresenting their ability to get lucrative jobs for consumers who contracted for their modeling and acting courses. The Commission's complaint also alleged that the defendants misrepresented themselves as highly selective in scouting, screening and reviewing consumers for marketability as models or actors. Model 1, Inc., Jason Hoffman, Creative Talent Management, Inc. and Ralph Bell settled FTC charges on August 27th, 1999. The terms of the settlement are posted in this FTC press release, and are also presented towards the end of this post, after the jump.

Confirmation that the current Tricia Erickson and the past Patricia Erickson are the SAME PERSON is posted in BlogsForMitt in the form of three comments:

against hypocrites who spew venom June 24th, 2008 at 12:06 am:
Tricia Erickson, of all people. Wow. This is hilarious. I knew her. I worked for this self-proclaimed “Christian” woman in her agency, called the Erickson Agency, in McLean, VA. It was a scam, pure and simple. This hypocrite bilked a lot of innocent people out of a LOT of money by exploiting their dreams of stardom. Tricia was vicious, too. She and her (then?)-husband Ralph Bell were bullies and would do anything to preserve their money-making scam, including threaten people with legal action if they said they’d go to the authorities. I know it sounds silly, but people were scared of her. She and Ralph Bell were doing the devil’s work, is all I can say. They are EVIL. Ralph was just some engineer who got sucked into the whole money-making allure of Tricia’s modeling and acting agency. Huh. If Tricia is so Christian, let her make amends the right way and take responsibility for hurting a lot of people by downright stealing their money and falsely representing what the Erickson Agency could do for them. Knowing what I know and remember about Tricia Erickson, all I can say is, Tricia, you’ve got some nerve spewing anything against Mitt Romney. “Christian” woman. Indeed.

against hypocrites who spew venom June 24th, 2008 at 12:13 am:
Oh, while I’m thinking of it, one more thing. From what I remember of working at the Erickson Agency, and I remember working there like it was yesterday (like the people she violated must remember being scammed, I bet) Tricia’s hatred of all things Mormon have less to do with the church than it does the fact that a bad Mormon man diddled her when she was little.

rather not October 10th, 2009 at 7:03 am:
ms erickson and her former husband ralph bell ripped off my business for over 40,000.00. their scam business (model 1 aka creative talent management) was shut down by the ftc in 1999. she is a fraud and a thief. she should not be judging anyone. she should spend her time paying back all the people she ripped off in her life.

Exposing Anti-Mormon Bigotry: Lunatic Fringe Conspiracy Blogger Blames The Conviction Of Edgar Steele On "The Mormons"

A recent photo of Edgar Steele

One of the objectives of this blog is to expose flagrant anti-Mormon bigotry whenever it appears. While anti-Mormon bigotry has abated steadily since it became seriously manifested during Mitt Romney's first Presidential campaign, thanks in part to the Church's efforts to reach out more sympathetically towards gays and to better balance service and proselytization, it still exists. Fringe Republican Presidential candidate Fred Karger's campaign is anchored in anti-Mormon bigotry.

But anti-Mormon bigotry rages on amongst some conspiracy theorists. A flagrant example is the lunatic conspiracy blog Zionist Gold Report, which now blames the conviction of Edgar Steele in Idaho on "the Mormons". To wit:

WASP cults and Crypto Hebrews and Zionist fanatics, that is all the Mormons will ever be to me. The perfect state stooges. Granted they needed empty headed and corrupt Mormon Females and probably a corrupt cop to do it and who knows how much they paid the Judge to rule everything Edgar wanted to present as 'inadmissible'. Disgusting. Pray for Edgar he is in the belly of the Anglosaxon-Zionist-Mormon beast. Shocking. Sickening. What a hate filled country of lies America has become and it starts with the Engbrew nation and their insane darkened minds and spirits.

A completely rigged trial.

One problem here is that there are nuggets of truth embedded within a web of conspiracy lies. An examination of more reliable sources indicate that the judge and the prosecution may have shown bias against Edgar Steele; Judge B. Winmill disallowed the testimony of the two audio experts who were retained to show that the audio tapes purportedly indicating that Edgar Steele was trying to convince Federal informant Larry Fairfax to murder his wife (Cyndi Steele) were tampered with. Challenging the authenticity of the tapes was a cornerstone in the defense strategy, and the audio tapes may have ultimately swayed the jury to convict Steele. Ironically, Edgar Steele's most powerful advocate during the trial was the same Cyndi Steele who the government alleged was Edgar's target

But to blame "the Mormons" for the conviction is ludicrous. The religious affiliation of the jurors was not disclosed, and although Idaho has the highest percentage of Mormons outside of Utah, the bulk of that strength is in southeast Idaho. It thins out as one approaches Boise. Furthermore, it would not matter if the majority of jurors were Mormons; the Twelfth Article of Faith, "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law" remains operative as jurors take an oath to judge the case by the facts. Furthermore, Edgar Steele was not known to be anti-Mormon, so why would a "Mormon" jury have an axe to grind against him?

In the final analysis, the real reason why the jury convicted Edgar Steele was that they believed the prosecution more than the defense, and that the prosecution proved their case beyond reasonable doubt.

Continuing the discussion of the Edgar Steele case here is beyond the parameters of this blog. For those who want more information on the case, I recommend the following sources, which combined will provide a bigger picture from a number of perspectives:

-- Free Edgar Steele: The official advocacy website on behalf of Edgar Steele
-- American Free Press: A brief story about the trial and the issues. I actually recommend this as the starting point if you know nothing about this case.
-- Spokane Spokesman-Review: A series of posts about the trial by a media blogger who was in attendance.
-- White Reference: A white nationalist blog which contains daily summaries of the trial extracted and consolidated from multiple media sources; includes numerous media links.
-- SPLC Hatewatch: The Southern Poverty Law Center's report; note that the SPLC has a pronounced left-wing bias, but they are the pre-eminent anti-racist resource.

Free Republic Webmaster Jim Robinson Uses Anti-Mormon Bigotry To Transform Free Republic Into Anti-Mormon Site In Between Begging For Money

During the past year, I've heard rumors of anti-Mormon bigotry on Free Republic. Occasional examination of applicable threads verified that some people posted anti-Mormon remarks (remarks that go beyond constructive criticism and simply regurgitate shopworn canards), but it appeared as if Mormons were fully permitted to rebut those remarks.

An analysis published by LDS Church Examiner Greg West on January 3rd, 2011 reveals that not only is there institutionalized anti-Mormon bigotry on Free Republic, but West even believes a full-scale anti-Mormon purge from the board is coming (for the record, it should be noted that Greg West was banned from Free Republic). From December 2008 through February 2010, West documented 702 discussions about Mormonism on Free Republic; here were his findings:

-- 144 of them or 21 percent were favorable towards the Church. However, the bulk of these consisted primarily of "devotional" or "LDS Caucus" discussions where site rules prohibit debates or hostile expressions by non-caucus members.

-- 51 neutral discussions were found for a total of 7 percent. These were generally discussions where mention of Mormons and Mormonism were incidental, such as a political discussion about Mitt Romney or Glenn Beck.

-- 507 discussions that were initiated by known anti-Mormons with the intention of bashing Mormons and their religion. That's 72 percent.

What is more disturbing to Greg West, who is also the editor of the Society for the Prevention of Anti-Mormonism website, is that it appears Jim Robinson has progressed from merely tolerating anti-Mormonism on his site to directly interfering with discussions to promote anti-Mormon bias activity. Robinson has previously let it be known that he is unfavorably disposed towards Mormonism:

"I’ll put it this way. I don’t believe a single word written by Joseph Smith or his followers when it departs from the Word of God as recorded in the Holy Bible and I’m not thrilled about people coming here to preach some false gospel from the pages of Free Republic."

In response to a question as to whether he was trying to drive Mormons away from Free Republic, Robinson was quoted as follows:

"Not at all. Just having a hard time accepting some of their threads (like this one for example) that I find extremely offensive. I’m at the point that I’m not going to allow any protected LDS/Mormon Caucus threads on FR. You can’t post offensive stuff like this and expect Christians not to object to it. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to suspend or ban or deny any Christian from objecting to what he believes is the false prophecy of Joseph Smith. Whether Mormons will feel welcome here after this or not is completely up to them individually."

Greg West's critique has now become a discussion thread on Free Republic. Further research revealed that Jim Robinson previously addressed this issue in this March 29th, 2009 discussion thread. At the time, he wrote "...Mormons have and always have had free reign to post their threads on FR just as all other religious groups have enjoyed. Free Republic defends the right to freedom of religion and has always welcomed religious discussion and always will. And Mormons have always been welcome here. I have absolutely nothing against Mormons". This implies he's only recently become more hostile toward Mormons.

Jim Robinson has a reputation for being arbitrary about who he bans. He's known to ban members for nitnoid reasons. Of course, it being his site, it's his First Amendment right to control access; I support that right unequivocally and unconditionally. It is also my equally unequivocal and unconditional right to expose and expound upon deficiencies noted at his website. Furthermore, Free Republic is notorious for constantly begging for donations and pledges, even worse than PBS does. They've got a ridiculous 2011 Q1 Freepathon in progress right now. As a matter of fact, the majority of prominent conservative sites seem addicted to begging for money; many of them spend more time begging for money than they do expounding upon the issues. As a matter of fact, it's actually the shameless money-begging that turns me off on Free Republic more than anything else.

Free Republic bills itself as "America's exclusive site for God, Family, Country, Life & Liberty constitutional conservative activists". What's ironic is that the Mormons against whom he is biased also share those views, for the most part. Once a respectable website, Free Republic is degenerating into little more than a right-wing version of Daily Kos. The fact that FR is conservative can no longer be considered a saving grace when they cater to negative biases and stereotypes about conservatives.

Free Republic is not completely without socially-redeeming value; they've just revealed another outbreak of political correctness with the editing of Mark Twain to remove racial slurs. But until Jim Robinson cleans up the site and ratchets down the money-begging to less hysterical levels, I cannot recommend that anyone register to post on the site.

John Larsen Of Mormon Expression Interviews The Penultimate Anti-Mormon Apostate, Ed Decker

If there is one person on the face of this earth who comes closer to being considered an "antichrist" than anyone else by the LDS community, that person would have to be Ed Decker. A former member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Decker apostasized and was excommunicated in 1976, then embarked upon a crusade against the LDS Church. More information on him can be found on Wikipedia. He wrote several books purporting to "expose" Mormonism, the most prominent among them being "The God Makers", and subsequently established an apologetics ministry called "Saints Alive In Jesus". I recall at the time how I personally hated his guts, and being less emotionally mature than I am now, could not have guaranteed that if he and I had met, that it wouldn't have gotten physical.

So when I learned that on October 26th, 2010, John Larsen of Mormon Expression interviewed Ed Decker, it piqued my interest. Decker is still as anti-Mormon as ever, but seems to have mellowed out somewhat. Unfortunately, as of February 28th, 2013, the audio of the interview is no longer available, but the rest of this post is still operative. Now that I've listened to Ed Decker, I no longer hate him personally, although I still vigorously disagree with him. Indeed, it's not just Mormons who have issues with him; Sandra Tanner and Bob Passantino have said that his writings grossly misrepresent Mormonism, and thereby dilute his message and offend Mormons without attracting them to evangelical Christianity. Sandra Tanner, herself a prominent critic of the LDS Church, has noted what she contends are inaccuracies and errors in some of Decker's works. A book entitled "The Truth About The God Makers", written by Gilbert W. Scharffs, rebuts Decker's claims in The God Makers.

But although Ed Decker is clearly an apostate, can he be considered a "son of perdition"? Has he really committed the "unpardonable sin" of denying the Holy Ghost once one has had it? In my previous posts, "LDS Doctrine: The 'Unpardonable Sin', Part I - Just What Is The 'Unpardonable Sin'? Duane Crowther's Perspective", and "LDS Doctrine: The 'Unpardonable Sin', Part II - Who's Capable Of Committing The 'Unpardonable Sin'? Duane Crowther's Perspective", I show how Crowther, using numerous scriptural verses, contends that the unpardonable sin is not a single act, but rather a series of acts that, when all are committed, together constitute the unpardonable sin. Despite Ed Decker's anti-Mormon activity, he still proclaims Jesus Christ as Savior and invites people to come unto Him, so Decker clearly hasn't reached the point of no return. I'd just as soon leave it to the Lord to pass the final judgment.

John Larsen, who edits Mormon Expression, left the LDS Church around seven years ago. However, he maintains an interest in Mormon studies, particularly in Mormon history, culture and doctrine. On Mormon Expression, he tries to straddle the position between defense and criticism of the faith, and look at it from all points of view. Consequently, although he's ex-Mormon, I cannot look upon him as anti-Mormon, because he doesn't crusade against the Church.

Kirk Bell: An Ex-Mormon Who Is Not An Anti-Mormon Explains His Opinions In The Arbiter Online

Despite the shrieking anti-Mormon hysteria on forums such as Recovery From Mormonism, not all ex-Mormons are anti-Mormons. In Boise State University's Arbiter Online, Kirk Bell describes himself as an ex-Mormon who has no issues against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Bell comes from a split family. While his mother is active LDS, his father is an Evangelical pastor (the two are now divorced). His grandfather was an LDS bishop, and some of his ancestors pulled handcarts across the Great Plains, so he was saturated with religious doctrine and history during his childhood. But it appears that Kirk simply lost interest in the practices and the lifestyle and left the Church. Here's how he describes it, in part:

I’m not your typical ex-Mormon. I don’t hate the religion or preach believers in the LDS faith are being led astray by a false history. I don’t slam the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price or the Doctrine and Covenants. They have built a history around me.

I fell away from the church at about 14 to question where my heart and mind were regarding God. But when you are raised Mormon, your lifestyle doesn’t simply walk away from it as a whole. The principles, such as loving your family above all other earthly possessions and a solidified value system focused on integrity and preparedness, carry with you for a lifetime.

The lessons of thriftiness and hard work have transferred into my adult life. I still love God and have the deepest affection for my family. The more I go forward, the more I choose to live the core principles of the Mormon faith. Good deeds and being neighborly have become actions that are priceless in a world where people are selfish.

I can’t stop cussing. I drink coffee and alcohol and have the occasional cigarette after a cocktail. I only attend church upon the request by my devout LDS mother or my father, who is an evangelical pastor. Needless to say, they are divorced. Religion has little interest in my life today as a result.

Regardless of my resistance to one organized belief system, the LDS values have carried me through countless trials. I often rely on my mother’s faith in the church and transmit it into my own life during trying times.

Geez, the guy actually sounds a lot like me, except I have maintained my formal membership, and I use this blog in part as a missionary tool. It appears Kirk Bell still cherishes Gospel values, even if he decided formal Church membership was too burdensome for him.

This is all we ask of ex-Mormons. If you can't handle it, walk away from it with your head held high and find your own belief system, whatever it might be. Don't waste your time crusading against a Church that will not be taken from the earth ever again. Yes, it might be tough, because some of your Mormon friends might reject you. But you can always find new friends.

One genuine anti-Mormon posted a typical hateful comment to the story:

Duwayne Anderson 2 hours ago
I always find it interesting when someone starts ****oring about how typical ex-Mormons "hate" the church. I've yet to see an ex-Mormon that "hates" Mormonism half as much as your typical Mormon "hates" ex Mormons.

Rather, it seems that the "hate" card is played by Mormons and their apologists as a strawman argument -- a diversion, if you will. In this Mormon universe it becomes an act of "hatred" to disagree with Mormon teachings. Thus, in the LDS universe it’s “hatred” to say that the Book of Mormon is a fraud or that Joseph Smith was an adulterer – thought both are statements of fact.

{snip}

And if ex-Mormons are accused of “hatred” for disagreeing with LDS “prophets” then certainly those prophets must be filled with “hatred” for denying ex-Mormons the right to attend temple weddings with family members. After all, what could be more “hateful” than a church that strives to break up families simply because they don’t all subscribe to the church’s mythology and superstition?

But Mormons, of course, will argue that those things are sacred teachings of the church and in the ultimate irony Mormons and their defenders end up saying it's "hate" to call hate doctrines hate!

Go figure.

Personally I have my reservations about whether or not the guy that wrote this opinion piece is an “ex-Mormon” at all. He sounds more like a Mormon apologist in hiding, trying to spread your typical Mormon stereotypes about ex-Mormons. I’d call that an act of hate. Now, wouldn’t that be ironic?

Naturally, because Duwayne Anderson cannot understand how anyone can leave the LDS Church without hating the Church, he attempts to minimize and demean Kirk Bell by questioning his bonafides. This is a typical Saul Alinsky tactic -- project your hangups and limitations upon everyone else. It's not hatred merely to question the Book of Mormon, but it's hatred to employ the terminology used by Anderson, and Anderson's motive is clearly not to promote honest dialogue, but to tear down the Church. Like the rest of his ilk, he will not succeed.

It should be noted that Duwayne Anderson is the author of “Farewell to Eden: Coming to terms with Mormonism and science”. He publishes a brief summary of the book HERE, and a pro-LDS review of the book from FARMS is available HERE.

As Latter-day Saints, we must do a better job of discriminating between the Kirk Bells and the Duwayne Andersons. We owe our continued fellowship to Kirk Bell, regardless of whether or not he returns to the LDS Church. The Holy Spirit can still work with him. But to Duwayne Anderson, we owe nothing. The Holy Spirit fled from him long ago, as it cannot abide unclean temples.

Another Example Of Anti-Mormon Hatred: Former LDS Missionary Kevin Kelley Celebrates The Death Of Former Mission President John Langeland

There is a clear-cut difference between skepticism of Mormonism vs. outright anti-Mormon hatred. In a discussion thread on Recovery From Mormonism entitled "My Mission President Died", a former missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints openly celebrates the death of his former mission president. This thread reeks of anti-Mormon hatred.

The former missionary identifies himself as Kevin F. Kelley, who served under Langeland in the Norway Oslo Mission from 1977-79. He describes himself as having been a "good missionary". But here's what he wrote about Langeland:

What a horrible old man. This man, accused me, a missionary in Norway, of being pastel-friendly, because my companion was one. I just wanted to be normal, and because my comp was one that wore the other shoe, it was my fault?

John was a horrible, offensive, mean, nasty person, his wife was no better. A fat, pretentious old bag. He deserved no better.

I sincerely wish he burns a slow death in Hell.

He never became a GA [General Authority], which he wanted. He caused us all to freeze and be sick in Norway. Have you ever been in Norway, in the winter, wearing thin blue suits, no cars, no bikes, walking? As a result of this idiot?

And his wife Edna, what a bat! Fat, thick as shit. But we all had to stand up for this duo, like they were some visiting authority.

The pair of you deserve hell.

I served under you, you bastard. And I wish I had never done so.

The longer you and Edna burn in Hell, the better, you old ogre.

Kevin F. Kelley, former Elder (1977-1979) Norway Oslo Mission

And Kelley actually thinks he was a "good missionary"? Would a "good missionary" write such a defamatory and abusive screed? Would a "good missionary" orgiastically celebrate the death of his former missionary in public. I suggest not; this is merely another indication that many ex-Mormons who become anti-Mormons are indeed delivered unto the buffetings of Satan, if not materially, than most definitely in spirit. Only Satan could motivate someone to publish such garbage.

According to his obituary, John Langeland passed away on July 17th, 2010 after a short battle with cancer. He was born on December 19th, 1918 in Bergen, Norway, and joined the LDS Church on March 3rd, 1940. He served a mission in his homeland during World War II and served faithfully in every calling that came to him, including: Bishop, Stake President, Mission President in Norway, Regional Representative, and Temple President in Sweden. Langeland leaves behind a wife, six children, 33 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren. By all accounts, Langeland exemplified the ideals and standards of the LDS Church.

More representative of Elder Langeland's stewardship as a mission president are these tributes posted on the Guestbook accompanying Elder Langeland's obituary by four other missionaries who served under him. Note that the Guestbook is scheduled to expire on November 28th, which means the link may not be available after that date (testimonials after the jump):

A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing: Nick Humphrey Posts "Profile" On Mormon.Org, But Is Actually An Anti-Mormon Who Outs Himself On Recovery From Mormonism

Nick the "Mormon"

As part of their ongoing efforts to strengthen its member missionary program, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has invited members to post their profiles on Mormon.org. Members discuss why they joined the Church, why they remain active, and how the Church impacts their lives. Obviously, only active members of the Church are encouraged to post such profiles; it is intended to be faith-promoting.

One such person posting a profile identifies himself as Nick. In his profile, Nick identifies himself as a Senior Java and Linux developer, linguist and musician. In response to the question as to why he's a Mormon, Nick writes "I am a mormon because it's the only way to come back to our Heavenly Father! I was 'born into the church'. I don't know what I must have done in the pre-existence to deserve this, but I have been really blessed to be born into a home where the gospel was taught".

Sounds pretty good at first glance, right? Not so fast. I actually learned of the existence of Nick's profile after visiting the Recovery from Mormonism board. You see, Nick is actually Nick Humphrey, and in this thread entitled "Check out my hilarious profile on Mormon.org", Nick is actually coordinating his efforts with the anti-Mormons on RFM. Here's part of what he posted on the RFM thread (after the jump):