Cardston Voters Overwhelmingly Reject Proposal To Lift The Alcohol Ban In Their Community By A Three-To-One Margin

It is estimated that around 80 percent of the 3,500 or so residents of Cardston, Alberta, Canada are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So it comes as no surprise that on October 6th, 2014, voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to lift the alcohol ban in their community. The strength of the No vote was greater than I expected -- 1,089 against and only 347 for it, despite the fact that Mayor Maggie Kronen, who's LDS, supported the proposal. Direct consumption of alcohol is proscribed by the LDS Word of Wisdom.

If this and another related measure had both passed, it would have lifted the ban on the sale of alcohol at restaurants with a meal, at the golf course, or the recreation facility; it would not have legitimized liquor stores. But even if passed, the ban would not have immediately been lifted; it would simply have given the local government permission to ask the Province of Alberta to amend Cardston's liquor laws. Proponents, led by Cardston Citizens for Positive Progress, claimed lifting the ban would be good for business and give visitors more options for buying alcohol, while opponents, spearheaded by the Cardston Values Alliance, feared lifting the ban would weaken the traditional values which have made Cardston attractive to families. A blog entitled Cardston Plebiscite portrayed the controversy as one group of faithful Mormons contending against another group of faithful Mormons.

A second related proposal was also rejected. In response to the question "If the province would amend legislation to allow limited access in our area, are you in favour of restaurants and/or recreational facilities within the Town of Cardston selling alcohol?", 956 voted No and only 456 voted Yes.

A third proposal for Sunday sports was also rejected, possibly because it was perceived to breach the commandment to honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy. In response to the question "Are you in favour of allowing sporting events to book Town operated fields and facilities on Sundays?", 960 voted No and only 481 voted Yes.

LDS Church Headquarters took no public stand on these issues. Visit the Cardston municipal website for the remaining plebiscite results.

Will The LDS Majority Affect The Upcoming Plebiscite On Cardston's Ban On Sale Of Alcohol?

Update October 6th: Cardston voters overwhelmingly rejected the proposal to lift the alcohol ban within their city limits. The tally was 1,089 against and only 347 for it.

The city of Cardston in the extreme southern part of the Canadian province of Alberta was founded by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1887 after traveling the Macleod-Benton Trail to Alberta in one of the 19th century's last wagon migrations. The Cardston Temple, dedicated in 1923, is the sixth oldest operating LDS temple. And Mormons continue to predominate in the community; as of 2012, an estimated 80 percent of the city's 3,500 residents are LDS members. As expected, some of the local laws reflect Mormon cultural preferences as well as the LDS Word of Wisdom favoring abstinence, including a longtime ban on the sale of alcohol within the city limits.

However, a growing number of community members believe that legalizing the sale of alcohol will bring in more revenue; Darren Atwood, the founder of Cardston Citizens for Positive Progress, says he thinks it’s time people had some options for buying alcohol in the town. So on October 6th, 2014, Cardston residents will vote on a plebiscite to determine if the ban on alcohol sales will be overturned, although Mayor Maggie Kronen says the results will not be binding upon the city council since it's up to the province to amend Cardston's liquor laws. A CJOC audio interview indicates that Mayor Kronen not only is LDS (she refers to "our" faith), but that she is personally open to changing the law for the sake of non-Mormons. The ban would only be lifted on the sale of alcohol at restaurants with a meal, at the golf course, or the recreation facility; it would not legitimize liquor stores. Despite the community's LDS majority, the LDS Church has not officially weighed in on the debate.

A second related question on the ballot is whether sports tournaments should be allowed on Sundays. The current ban on Sunday sports also reflects the city's Mormon heritage, since Latter-day Saints take honoring the Sabbath more seriously than many other Christians.

The debate over alcohol has been simmering on the Cardston Values Alliance website for nearly a year. Both sides weighed in. First, the following quote attributed to Grant Hunter:

“We moved our family to Cardston because of the strong family values that we felt this community represented. This community is not 100% LDS but there are a majority of LDS members present in the community. This was a huge drawing point to us as we felt our values would be front and centre, and not be slammed on every front. Unfortunately, there seems to be pressure to change those points that make Cardston wonderful, (ie, no Sunday sports, alcohol free town). I will support any organization that promotes maintaining these wonderful aspects of Cardston. I have heard both sides of the argument, how serving alcohol in Cardston would help restaurants make it here, or how it would make the golf course profitable. I don’t want to see these core aspects of our community changed. I have seen how detrimental these aspects are to other communities that I have lived in. Keeping things as safe and LDS friendly in this community are a high priority for me and one that I am willing to fight for. I support with all my heart the Cardston Family Values organization. I am so happy that they desire to bring to light and stop issues that will destroy the high standards Cardston presently espouses.”

This attracted a counter-response by Tonnia, which I broke into paragraphs to improve readability:

"I think what this group fails to see is that you want to make your religious views the law which is wrong. Natives have enough problems with the 'Mormons' here even though not everyone is. And do you know why? One reason is they feel 'Mormons' are acting superior to them by implementing their religion as law onto them. How can we expect to bridge the gap? Would you like living somewhere where another religion’s beliefs controlled the laws? I agree this is a great place to live, but in order for our children and our citizens to feel they have choices, we have to allow choices. Taking our choices away create more rebellion. Believe it or not, Cardston is not immune to drugs, sex and alcohol.

I solemnly believe if Sunday sports and alcohol were not banned, NO ONE would choose to use either anyways! No liqour business will see a profit, any restaraunt serving would get boycotted, and no one wants to play organized sports on Sunday anyways! Do you see what I mean? But it’s the principle that’s important! We need to show that we are accepting of others beliefs, religion, values, etc.

Being a true LDS member you will understand that we have certain unalienable rights and free agency! It is up to the individual and families, parents, etc to teach their children right from wrong and let them choose! it is not governments’ responsibility to create “values”. It is their responsibility to protect our rights to live and worship how we wish without infringing upon other people’s rights!"

Tonnia's remarks about "Mormons acting superior" have also been echoed at times in another Mormon-dominated area; namely, Utah, and it serves as a reminder that we must better strive for the middle ground between faith and fellowship. Defend our faith without sacrificing fellowship with non-Mormons. But Tonnia also needs to understand that religion impacts culture; a Mormon-dominated area will invariable have the type of laws reflecting LDS values to some degree. Residents of Cardston would do well to avoid appeals to anti-LDS demagoguery when going to the polls on October 6th.

It's one thing to permit alcohol to be sold with meals at restaurants and country clubs. But Cardston needs to avoid the plague of liquor stores vexing so many other communities. Liquor stores, by their very existence, attract too many unsavory elements. This should not be allowed to become a Trojan Horse for the ultimate establishment of liquor stores.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf Among Six Religious Leaders Who Met With Barack Obama To Discuss "Commonsense Immigration Reform" (Amnesty)

President Barack Obama is desperate to get Americans to sign on to amnesty for illegal immigrants, and on April 15th, 2014, decided to deliver his pitch for so-called "commonsense immigration reform" to six of America's religious leaders. The LDS community was represented; here is the list of participants:

-- President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Salt Lake City, UT
-- Dr. Noel Castellanos, CEO, Christian Community Development Association, Chicago, IL
-- Luis Cortes, President, Esperanza, Philadelphia, PA
-- JoAnne Lyon, General Superintendent, The Wesleyan Church, Indianapolis, IN
-- Dr. Russell Moore, Southern Baptist Convention, Nashville, TN
-- Suzii Paynter, Executive Coordinator, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Atlanta, GA

The KSL website also lists Rev Geoffrey Black, General Minister and President, United Church of Christ, Cleveland, OH, as being present, but his name is not on the White House press release. Also present to "hold Obama's hand", so to speak, were a couple of his official minders; Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President, and Melissa Rogers, Executive Director, White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

According to the official White House press release, the religious leaders shared with President Obama stories about the impact the failure to fix the immigration system has on families in their congregations and communities. President Uchtdorf went a bit further, calling for more action to secure religious freedom and liberties around the globe. In response, Obama expressed deep concern about the pain too many families feel from the separation that comes from our broken immigration system, and said that only Congress can produce a lasting solution. All participants expressed their longstanding commitment to immigration reform as a moral imperative and pledged to continue to urge Congress to act on reform as soon as possible.

Later on, during an interview outside the West Wing, President Uchtdorf offered additional insight:

"There are many programs and actions that the president or the administration is standing for, for which we have opposing views. ...In regard to this with immigration, we certainly hope that a values-based, balanced approach to this reform is coming about and not being delayed by small things, which can be resolved by common consent and common sense. And we hope that this time around the communities and the nation pull together and find a solution to this problem, which could be resolved in a Christian ... way."

The LDS Church also published official reaction through the Mormon Newsroom website. The Church reiterated its support for the three principles of the Utah Compact as a responsible approach to dealing with the complex issue of immigration reform. The foundational principles on which the Church’s position is based are:

-- We follow Jesus Christ by loving our neighbors. The meaning of ‘neighbor’ includes all of God’s children, in all places, at all times.
-- We recognize an ever-present need to strengthen families. Families are meant to be together. Forced separation of working parents from their children weakens families and damages society.
-- We acknowledge that every nation has the right to enforce its laws and secure its borders. All persons subject to a nation’s laws are accountable for their acts in relation to them.

Some additional reaction from a couple of the participants was documented by the Daily Caller. In regards to impact of additional immigrants on actual Americans, JoAnne Lyon said the subject did not come up, and she sidestepped the issue by saying that additional employment will generate more taxes for government. Dr. Noel Castellanos took the same tack, noting that many store-owners in Chicago are undocumented. He claimed that bringing all those people out of the shadows and into the general economy would create a greater economic resource. However, skeptics say the Senate’s June 2013 immigration bill, which is being used as the defining standard, would sharply increase the inflow of immigrants and low-wage guest workers -- up to 40 million -- over the following decade. Americans interested in holding members of Congress accountable on immigration can find Congressional scorecards at Numbers USA.

What it would do for the estimated twenty million Americans who are unemployed or underemployed remains to be seen. It is suspicious that it is primarily progressives and business leaders are pushing this so-called "commonsense immigration reform". Nevertheless, it's always a plus when the senior leadership of the LDS Church is invited to participate in discussions with high-level political leaders on important issues of the day.

Anti-Mormon Bigotry Surfaces In The District 7 Hamilton County Commissioner's Race In Tennessee; LDS Candidate Phil Smartt Targeted

Phil Smartt, from Facebook

The race for the District 7 seat on the Hamilton County Commission in Tennessee, to be initially decided during a May 6th primary election, has become quite spirited, so much so that the campaign manager of one of the candidates couldn't resist the temptation to publish a cheap shot against Mormonism on his own Facebook page. And since one of the other candidates is Mormon, it blew back upon the head of the campaign manager's principal.

After what was characterized as a weak performance by candidate Sabrena Turner at a debate at East Hamilton High School on Thursday March 27th, 2014, Jonathan Mason, who is Turner's campaign manager, posted the following screed to his personal Facebook page:

“Something to think about. Joseph Smith claimed that God and Jesus appeared to him and advised that Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists were all wrong and their beliefs were an abomination. How does this align with what the Bible tells us?"

It also contained a link to a YouTube video titled, “Are Mormons Christian?”

Candidate Phil Smartt, a Republican who is Mormon, fired back. On March 28th, Smartt called the Chattanooga Times Free Press to condemn the post, suggesting that it was a Hail Mary tactic by a candidate who is losing. Others in the community publicly condemned the post, including Smartt's son-in-law James E. Ward, and a Baptist minister, Alan Johnston. Letter from both were published in The Chattanoogan. Rev. Johnston wrote, in part, "Phil Smartt and I share a strong belief around things like family, civic pride, the sanctity of life, a Biblical definition of marriage and much, much more. On the key issues in District 7 I have found Mr. Smartt to be on the right side of every issue, and those include education, economic development, limited government, low taxes, and an opposition to discretionary spending in county government".

Stung by the backlash, Sabrena Turner, who is a member of Morris Hill Baptist church, quickly disavowed her campaign manager's sentiments. Turner denied any involvement in the post or any implied intolerance for Mormonism, and noted that as soon as she learned of Mason's post and the community reaction against it, she called Mason and asked him to take it down, which he did. For his part, Mason defended his post, claiming James E. Ward misunderstood it, adding that he posts a lot about religion, among other topics, on his personal Facebook page. His objective is to learn more about his own Christian walk by exploring the other religions that are out there, and says he has no objection to Mormons seeking political office. He added that he supported Mitt Romney in 2012. But although Sabrena Turner has now distanced herself from anti-Mormon bigotry, her supporters have been characterized as being uncivil; at the East Hamilton High School forum, Turner supporters allegedly yelled “liar, false, that is false, lies” when Smartt attempted to expound upon a local annexation issue.

Those who are interested in the details behind the annexation issue can read this PDF, which was published by the Turner campaign. While written from her perspective, it also contains many facts.

A Hamilton County native and graduate of Chattanooga High School, Phil Smartt graduated from Brigham Young University and serves as an Elder and Sunday School teacher in his local LDS ward. He has owned a small business for more than 38 years and is a member of the Hamilton Place Rotary Club. A devoted family man, he and his wife of 48 years, Gloria, have raised six children and have 28 grandchildren. Smartt received a powerful endorsement from former major league baseball player Dale Murphy, who is also LDS; the two have personally known each other for years.

An Example Of The Unwitting Arrogance Of Utah Mormons: Utah Mormon Judges Senator Mike Lee By LDS Standards Instead Of Constitutional Standards

One of the problems I noticed in Utah back when I lived there is that, although it is one of the most law-abiding states in the Union and a great place to raise a family, many of the people there are more clannish, cliquish and standoffish than in other parts of the U.S. This would be understandable if the education level was low, since under-educated people tend to be more suspicious of outsiders, but Utahns are a highly-educated people. And Utah Mormons can be the most cliquish of all, much more so than those of us out in the Diaspora or "mission field", although I concede much of it could be unwitting. How many times have we heard of Church members love-bombing a new neighbor -- until they found out the new neighbor had no interest in joining the Church? How many times have we heard of Utah LDS parents telling their kids not to play with Gentile kids -- simply because they're Gentiles?

An example of this is published by Mormon Heretic. In a post entitled "Senator Lee and D&C 121", Mormon Heretic criticizes Senator Lee for trying to hold firm on the government shutdown in order to extract more concessions from Democrats, such as delaying the implementation of the Obamacare individual mandate. No harm, no foul so far.

But then Mormon Heretic brings D&C 121 into the mix, focusing on verses 37-43, and suggesting that Senator Lee is trying to “exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men" and citing verse 40 which states “We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion”. Mormon Heretic also tries to apply the same standard to Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), who isn't even a member of our church. In contrast, I recall no occasion when Mormon Heretic attempted to hold Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) to the same standard, even though he's the majority leader of a party which is absolutely pro-choice and favors so-called "marriage equality".

The problem with this is that Senator Mike Lee was NOT elected to represent the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a U.S. Senator, Mike Lee's sworn obligation is to the U.S. Constitution rather than to the Doctrine & Covenants. He was elected to represent the entire state of Utah, which is now only two-thirds Mormon, and becoming less Mormon with each passing year. Thus Senator Lee has the obligation to represent the entire constituency. What Mormon Heretic has done is to fall for the trap of conflating "Utah" and "Mormon", and while many Utah Mormons do not behave this way, enough do that it cannot be ignored.

The reason for this is that Mormons are still the overwhelming majority throughout much of Utah, and as such, acquire little sensitivity to the issues of concern to non-Mormons. They get constant reinforcement from one another and have little effective personal interaction with large groups of non-Mormons. So they get lifted up in the pride of their hearts like the ancient Nephites and get set in their ways. One way the LDS leadership tries to solve the problem is by calling Utah residents to missions outside of Utah, where they can get effectively cross-fertilized with other cultures and experience life as a religious minority, but as soon as they return to Utah, the Zion Curtain slams down behind many of them as they're maneuvered back into immediately attending BYU, finding an eternal companion and then burying themselves in callings in their wards. No time out to catch one's breath, effectively digest the mission experience and to apply any lessons learned about other peoples or cultures. Repatriating from a full-time mission can be as stressful and disorienting as transferring out of a combat zone.

Those of us in the Diaspora remain grateful for the existence of a Mormon heartland in Utah. However, we must remember that the LDS Church has grown from being a Utah church to an international church; Utah Mormons are significantly outnumbered by Diaspora Mormons. Thus it is time for Utah Mormons to quit acting like the sole proprietors of our Church. One of our most influential members is a German. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has been leading the charge for a kinder, gentler Mormonism in which we don't judge those who sin differently than us and we don't condemn members who have weaker testimonies than ours. President Uchtdorf's message of mercy is just as valid as Elder Dallin H. Oaks' message of obedience. Both should be equally esteemed, and both Utah Mormons and Diaspora Mormons should pull together to bring salvation to the world.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter Implicitly Attacks LDS Patriarchy By Criticizing Roman Catholics For Not Ordaining Women Priests

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, considered by many the second most incompetent President since World War II because of his mishandling of the Iran hostage crisis, is on the attack again. On Friday June 28th, 2013, at a Mobilizing Faith for Women conference held at the Carter Center, Carter said religious leaders, including those in Christianity and Islam, share the blame for mistreatment of women across the world.

But while he correctly took issue with such practices as African genital mutilation, girls in some cultures being forced to marry before they are 10 years old, and the worldwide sex-slave trade, he also criticized the so-called "income gap" in the United States, where women are allegedly paid about 70 percent of what men earn for the same work, although there are no laws mandating disparate pay, and many women deliberately avoid entering the most lucrative professions where men score the greatest economically.

But what was also disturbing is that Carter said religious authorities have perpetuated misguided doctrines of male superiority, criticizing by name the Roman Catholic Church for forbidding women from becoming priests. Newsbusters adds that Carter also criticized his own Southern Baptist denomination for their policy that women cannot be pastors, deacons, or chaplains. Carter also decried gross abuses of religious texts in the Koran and in the Bible, Old Testament and New Testament, claiming that singular verses can be extracted and extorted to assert the singular dominance of men. Because the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints restricts priesthood ordination and its various offices to men only, I also interpret this as a veiled attack upon the LDS Church, although he did not mention the LDS Church by name. While I won't speak for the Catholics or Baptists, I can assure you that the Mormon doctrine of restricting priesthood to men is hardly "misguided", it comes straight out of the Lord's mouth through Doctrine & Covenants Section 107. The Lord won't change His mind just because Jimmy Carter doesn't agree with the policy or because a bunch of feminists draft letters and petitions demanding change; He'll change if and when He believes the Church is ready, and will announce the change through the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve.

To be fair, Jimmy Carter doesn't have a reputation for being anti-Mormon; in fact, he was previously quoted as saying that he considered Mormons to be Christians, and condemned "Pharisees" within his own Southern Baptist denomination for saying otherwise. But there are persistent unsubstantiated rumors that one of the reasons the LDS Church lifted the priesthood ban against blacks in 1978 is because Carter's Department of Justice allegedly threatened to end the Church's tax-exempt status if it continued to ban black Mormons from its temples and priesthood. Carter himself has never addressed this issue publicly, and LDS Church leaders have denied that this was a consideration.

Newsbusters notes that the original story left out a couple of important elements:

But the AP writer left out two important contextual elements: 1) Christianity's historical and ongoing contribution to the improvement of women's status, leading to the indisuptable fact that women today are far better off in countries which have Judeo-Christian traditions than they are in those which don't; 2) government-encouraged or mandated abortion, which has disproportionately prevented women from being born -- the ultimate and final form of oppression -- and which many religions have done far too little to stop.

Jimmy Carter ought to stick to identifying real problems and not presume himself qualified to judge other religions' core doctrines. His attempt to create a moral equivalency between Christianity and Islam falls flat.

Liberal Idaho Media Outlets Accusing LDS Regional Public Affairs Director Larry Fisher Of Trying To Quash Pocatello's "Add The Words" Gay Nondiscrimination Ordinance

Several liberal Idaho media outlets, most notably the Idaho State Journal and the Boise Weekly, are accusing LDS Regional Public Affairs Director Larry Fisher of working behind the scenes with Pocatello city leaders to quash a proposed gay nondiscrimination ordinance that's a part of a statewide campaign by gay activists known as "Add The Words". Their objective is to add the words "gender identity" and "sexual orientation" to the Idaho Human Rights Act; at least four other Idaho municipalities, Boise, Moscow, Sandpoint, and Ketchum, have adopted such a measure. The controversy revolves around the fact that Fisher put city leaders in touch with a pro-family group, American Religious Freedom Program (AFRP), so they could share their expertise in dealing with the construction of nondiscrimination guidelines.

The story began when Larry Fisher offered to bring an attorney from the AFRP to town to provide their expert opinion on nondiscrimination ordinances. City leaders accepted, and on April 4th, 2013, Jacki Pick arrived to represent the AFRP. Councilmen Jim Johnston and Steve Brown met with Pick from 9 to 10 a.m. on April 4th, Councilman Roger Bray met with her at 10 a.m. Eva Johnson-Nye and Craig Cooper had an 11 a.m. meeting, and meeting from 12:20 to 1:30 p.m. were Pick, Mayor Brian Blad, Brown, Bray, and city attorneys, Kirk Bybee and Dean Tranmer. City records indicate no notes were taken because a quorum of the council was not present at any of the sessions. There was also an afternoon session with Pick which lasted from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. and included Fisher, Grace Lutheran pastor Jonathan Dinger and minister of the New Blazing Grace Church, Jacqueline Thomas. This input was provided along with input from other leading groups such as the ACLU, Too Great to Hate, and Interfaith Fellowship to ensure a proper balance from having the concerns of all constituencies represented. The Boise Weekly reports that another pro-family group, the Heritage Foundation, was also consulted.

Subsequently, a vote on the anti-discrimination ordinance was delayed until after the April 4th hearing and the hearing on proposed changes to the ordinance continued until April 18th. After the second hearing, a split council voted 3-3 with Mayor Blad casting the deciding No vote, essentially killing the ordinance as written. A new hearing on a revised ordinance, which was discussed on May 9th by the city council at a working session, is set for June 6th. Because Mayor Blad and the three council members who voted against the ordinance are all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, questions arose as to whether it was an organized LDS effort similar to the campaign against California Proposition 8. In response to this concern, Pocatello Council Member Craig Cooper said he voted against the measure not because he's LDS, but because he thought it was too punitive -— the proposed ordinance would have made discrimination a misdemeanor, punishable by fines of up to $1,000 and/or six months in jail. He does not believe strict liability should be imposed; there should be proof of deliberate intent before punishment, since not everyone is going to know the law.

Read the revised eight-page ordinance HERE. The revised ordinance specifies that discriminatory acts must be willfully committed, exempts mom-and-pop landlords and employers, drops the incarceration provision, and allows prosecutors to reduce it from a misdemeanor to an infraction carrying a $100 fine if the violator makes voluntary corrections. In addition, anyone knowingly filing false discrimination charges will be charged with the crime of False Reporting.

But the Boise Weekly is trying to portray all this as an act of Mormon orchestration and collusion, as evidenced by the provocative headline "Journal: Mormon Church Arranged Lobbyist to Push Against LGBT Protections in Pocatello", which implies that Larry Fisher got secret "marching orders" from Salt Lake City. This could be nothing more than a lame attempt by a typical weekly hippie rag to goose circulation. However, the Idaho State Journal was at least fair-minded enough to post responses to specific questions by Fisher back on May 16th. Here are the three most definitive questions:

Question: Because you are the regional Public Affairs Director for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, did you worry this would be seen as a move by “the church” to influence city politics? Is it an attempt by the LDS Church to wield influence or is this anti-discrimination ordinance something you have a personal stake in?

Fisher: We are grateful that Councilman Bray and others sought comment from all interested groups. City officials are elected to represent all citizens in the community, including those who are LDS. The Church has publicly supported nondiscrimination ordinances in Salt Lake but has also been public about the necessity of balance as well.

Question: As an influential member of the Pocatello community, what are your thoughts on protections for the LGBT community?

Fisher: As I’ve said, we’ve supported nondiscrimination ordinances before and understand the need for balance and representation from all views. Our desire has been to help the city create a nondiscrimination ordinance that satisfies those goals.

Question: There is no secret that Mayor Blad and the councilmen who voted against passage of the ordinance on April 18 are all members of the LDS Church. How do you think non-LDS members of the community will view your efforts to bring in an outside “expert?” How should they view it?

Fisher: Our desire is to provide insight and expertise that helps all community leaders develop an ordinance that unites our community. That is possible only when all views have been heard and discussed.

There's no evidence of any collusion with LDS Church headquarters. The LDS Statement on Political Neutrality states that the Church does not endorse, promote or oppose political parties, candidates or platforms, and does not attempt to direct or dictate to any government leaders. The LDS Church does expect its members to engage in the political process in an informed and civil manner, respecting the fact that members of the Church come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences and may have differences of opinion in partisan political matters. It also reserves the right as an institution to address, in a nonpartisan way, issues that it believes have significant community or moral consequences or that directly affect the interests of the Church. These are rights accorded to all American citizens regardless of religion. Thus it is unfair to hold the LDS Church to a harsher standard than other organizations.

Former Police Chief Tom Finn Says Boulder City, Nevada Is Controlled By The "Mormon Mafia" And Claims Religious Discimination; LDS Mayor Roger Tobler Disagrees

The recently-fired police chief of Boulder City, Nevada, Tom Finn, claims that his city is controlled by a "Mormon Mafia", and that Mormon control of city government means relatives and fellow church members get preferential treatment. Mayor Roger Tobler has fired back and claimed that's unfair criticism. Although only 16 percent of Boulder City residents are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the mayor, city manager, city attorney, county commissioner, and four of the five city council members are all Mormons. This post references and summarizes the following three stories from KLAS Channel 8 in Las Vegas:

-- "I-Team: Embattled Chief Says Mormons Control Boulder City", April 11th, 2013

-- "I-Team: Boulder City Police Chief Files Complaints", April 12th, 2013

-- "I-Team: Boulder City Mayor Responds to Ethics Allegations", April 16th, 2013

The relationship between Chief Finn and the rest of the city's politicos was fine by all accounts until the Mongols Motorcycle Club visited Boulder City for their national meeting in June 2012. According to Mongols' attorney Stephen Stubbs, who is also LDS, Finn ordered his cops to lean on the group of 400 and put them on a short leash; the cops gave out 17 tickets for illegal handlebars, all of which were eventually tossed out. In response, Finn said he was being careful with the Mongols because their bitter rivals, the Hells Angels, were meeting that same weekend in Las Vegas. Finn said he received information from a reliable source that there was a shoot-to-kill order issued by the Mongols leadership if any Hells Angels showed up at the Boulder City event. But one of the LDS Councilmen, Cam Walker, helped welcome the Mongols to City Hall prior to the event, afterwards joining them on the street.

Chief Finn also issued an email which said his cops would have a zero tolerance policy while the Mongols were in town. He later ordered the email deleted, worried it might fall into the wrong hands. However, it is a felony for a public official to delete a public record in Nevada. Armed with that information, Walker went to the city manager to ask that Finn be fired or disciplined. With that, the feud was on full blast, and it culminated with Chief Finn filing five ethics complaints against three different city officials; one against Mayor Tobler, one against City Manager David Fraser, and three against Councilman Walker (HERE, HERE, and HERE) Finn was fired on April 15th after refusing a demand to resign; he was an at-will employee and had no contract with the city. Finn also filed a lawsuit against the city, naming City Attorney Dave Olsen, Councilman Cam Walker, police Sgt. John Chase, retired Sgt. Dan Jennings and Stephen Stubbs, an attorney for the Mongols Motorcycle Club, as defendants; it was rejected and Finn had to pay Stephen Stubbs' attorney fees. Finn also filed a federal EEOC complaint in which he alleges religious discrimination; Finn is Roman Catholic.

In response, Mayor Tobler denied that there is any Mormon conspiracy, saying that there's just no way a so-called Mormon Mafia could call the shots in his town because the public is too smart and well-informed for that. He characterized the predominance of Mormons in city government as a "historical aberration". However, KLAS uncovered the fact that Mayor Tobler has intervened in police business repeatedly. He complained to the city manager previously because he heard rumors Finn wasn't spending much time in his office, which proved unfounded. In early 2012, police tried to pull over a 16-year-old girl, who didn't stop until she got to her home, right next door to the mayor. Tobler's neighbors, who are fellow Mormons, reportedly complained that squad cars had come into the "Mormon part of town". Mayor Tobler called both the city manager and the chief to complain. Months before that, Tobler pressured the police to increase red light enforcement on the town's main drag, coincidentally in the same area where Tobler's hardware store sits.

I seriously doubt there's any religious bigotry in this case. However, it looks like Mayor Tobler and Councilman Walker are playing fast and loose with the rules; no corruption, just insensitivity. Chief Finn did himself no favors when he deleted a public record and started spamming elected officials with ethics complaints. Both sides seem to be acting childish. The community appears to be split over whether Finn should have been fired.

Judicial Watch Names LDS Senator Harry Reid One Of Washington’s Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians for 2012

On December 31st, 2012, Judicial Watch, a non-partisan public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, released its 2012 list of Washington’s “Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians”. The list, in alphabetical order, includes:

• Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL)
• Secretary of Energy Steven Chu
• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and UN Ambassador Susan Rice
• Attorney General Eric Holder
• Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL)
• Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
• President Barack Obama
• Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)
• Rep. David Rivera (R-FL)
• Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius

Yep. One of our own, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), is on that list. Cited as justification includes the fact that Reid has been running interference for ENN Energy Group, a Chinese green energy client of the Nevada law firm of which Reid’s son, Rory, is a principal. Rory helped ENN locate a 9,000-acre desert site that it is buying well below appraised value from Clark County, where Reid formerly chaired the county commission. The reported purchase price of $4.5 million is far below two separate appraisals that valued the property at $29.6 million and $38.6 million. Despite this perk, ENN has failed to move forward for the simple reason that there is currently no market in Nevada for the green energy ENN claims it could produce. In addition, Sen. Reid has sponsored at least $47 million in earmarks that directly benefitted organizations that one of his sons, Key Reid, [RW1] either lobbies for or is affiliated with.

And since this story broke, Sen. Reid faces more troubles. St. George businessman Jeremy Johnson says new Utah Attorney General John Swallow helped broker a deal in 2010 in which Johnson believed he was to pay Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid $600,000 to make a federal investigation into Johnson’s company go away. But when the federal government filed a lawsuit Johnson thought he had paid to quash, he demanded Swallow return some of the $250,000 initial payment. Then, just days before the November 6th election, Johnson engaged in a frenetic but unsuccessful effort to get Swallow to drop out of the race, saying information about what Johnson called a “bribe” would come out and force the Republican’s resignation if he became attorney general. Johnson said he does not know if any of the money he paid in the deal actually reached anyone connected to Reid. As for Sen. Reid, his office declined to comment, spokeswoman Kristen Orthman said on Friday January 12th. Since Swallow emphatically denies Johnson’s allegations and says he doesn’t understand why Johnson is spreading lies about him, this could end up to be a tempest in a teapot.

But with all this political "smoke" surrounding Senator Harry Reid, one has to wonder if there isn't a fire buried somewhere amidst that smoke. In the Las Vegas Review-Journal, columnist Sherman Frederick takes Senator Reid to task, saying that "he's got the grace and instincts of an outhouse rat". The Review-Journal is no friend of Reid, having endorsed his opponent Sharron Angle in 2010 despite her obvious deficiencies.

The progressives who dominate the LDS Bloggernacle and who are not representative of mainstream LDS political opinion have avoided these stories like the plague, although if a Republican was in similar trouble, they'd be trumpeting it from the housetops.

LDS Member Yeah Samake Continues His Campaign To Become President Of Mali Despite Military Coup

On March 22nd, 2012, Yeah Samake, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints, was just six weeks away from possibly becoming elected President of Mali when a barracks mutiny turned into a full-fledged military power coup, replacing the highly-regarded outgoing President Amadou Toumani Toure with a cadre of unknown junior officers. Samake immediately condemned the coup, but it did put the proposed elections on indefinite hold at the time.

On November 26th, the Salt Lake Tribune reports that Samake has not given up his quest for the presidency. In the months since the coup, Samake has been working as an emissary for Interim Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra, meeting with world leaders to try to fashion support for the new government while continuing his candidacy. Elections are tentatively scheduled for April 2013, although John Campbell, an expert on Africa with the Council of Foreign Relations, believes a strong interim government would need as much as two years and international support to restore order in Northern Mali and create enough stability to hold valid elections. The northern two-thirds of Mali is controlled by Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, and instability and harsh Sharia law have displaced as many as 1.5 million Malians while further aggravating the existing food scarcity.

Samake was personally devastated by the coup, and his wife had to kick him in the ass to get him started again. She told him to knock off the pity party and start acting like a leader again. So Samake strapped on a bullet-proof vest under his suit, prayed for safety, and, despite a military-imposed curfew, walked through five checkpoints and waited hours to meet with Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo, the leader of the coup. Samake said he demanded that Sanogo return power to a democratically elected civilian government. Capt. Sanogo listened and allowed Samake to depart in peace. Soon afterward, an interim prime minister was appointed.

Samake still serves as the mayor of Ouelessebougou, a post to which he was elected in 2009. He provides numerous updates on his political activities on his blog, and is soliciting donations. If elected, Samake's goals are to ensure efficient use of scarce resources, stamp out corruption, increase food sufficiency, reform health care and education, and promote greater economic investment and development by improving security. Samake's wife, who describes herself as a "still hopeful First Lady" on her blog, recently wrote that the one thing the coup failed to destroy is the Malian entrepreneurial spirit. Instead of hollering for more "gimmedats", Malians are selling their wares on the roadside and finding more ways to provide for their families. She says that the women are taking the lead.

Perhaps Yeah Samake can succeed in Mali where Mitt Romney failed in the United States.

Ordinary Rank-And-File Mormons React To Mitt Romney's Defeat; Conservative And Liberal Mormons Respond Differently

Some manifested their disappointment more directly! LOL!

Now that 24 hours have passed since Mitt Romney narrowly lost the 2012 Presidential election to Barack Obama, ordinary rank-and-file members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are beginning to express their sentiments regarding the meaning of the Romney's campaign as well as the continuing implications for the Church and Mormonism in general. Already the LDS Church reacted officially, publishing a statement in which they congratulated Barack Obama on his victory, called for unity among the people, and commended Romney for stepping up to the plate and setting a worthy example during his campaign. On November 6th, the Washington Post recorded reaction from two LDS Church publicists; Michael Otterson, director of public affairs, characterized the campaign as an intense experience, and said "we are relatively pleased that we got through this campaign without the church being dragged into the middle of politics”, while Michael Purdy, another Church spokesman, said “people are getting a clearer picture of what Mormonism is at its core rather than what are these little things I hear out in the ether that other people have tried to use to define us.”

But perhaps the most detailed and thoughtful reaction from more ordinary Church members was published by Kathryn Skaggs, the editor of the A Well Behaved Mormon Woman blog. Skaggs, a traditional Mormon who accepts the Church as it is, published a Guest Voices column in the Washington Post entitled "Election results reveal God is winning", which speaks volumes about where she stands doctrinally, is more impressed about the fact that 57 million Americans were willing to vote for a Mormon than concerned about any residual anti-Mormon bigotry. She considers it a sign that Americans overall have come to accept Mormons as good people of faith. She now believes that the win or loss of Mitt Romney in this election would never have been perceived as anything but a win for the LDS Church, and its members who share the same mission: to increase our ability to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The one negative aspect Skaggs saw during this election campaign was that she was at times frustrated with how Mormons were misrepresented. All too often, she found that during discussions about women’s issues, in hopes of distorting Romney’s views about women relating to gender equality, some ignored the voice of conservative Mormon women in favor of seeking out the minority Mormon feminist voice for comment and insights, it being more sensational and potentially detrimental to Romney. So she believes more work must be done to publicize the views of mainstream Mormon women.

In the final analysis, Skaggs sees great hope in the results of this election. She believes it has brought Mormonism out from relative obscurity, to be now clearly considered mainstream Christian denomination. In the process, this has brought together many people of Christian values who have united in a cause that takes precedence over religious denomination – a victory we cannot ignore. And she says God is winning.

Other reaction (after the jump):

Yes, There Is A Group Called Mormons For Obama, And No, They Don't All Fit Inside A Phone Booth

The phone booth analogy was the first though that popped into my head when the Salt Lake Tribune's Political Cornflakes blog referred me to an ABC News story about a group called Mormons For Obama. They are a small group of Seattle-based bloggers who decided that Mitt Romney does not represent the average American or average Mormon, and they want to let the public know that he doesn’t even represent every Mormon in America. They've now spread to Provo, UT and Washington, DC. They want to represent the political diversity of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and provide a forum for people to share information about what’s going on in the election and how their faith really helps their support of President Obama. The Mormons For Obama blog has no official affiliation with the LDS Church. They also have a Facebook page accessible to the public.

The blog was actually created back in January of this year and the proprietors have sold about 500 “I’m voting for Obama and I’m a Mormon” bumper stickers. One of their political role models in Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), chosen perhaps just as much for his political prominence than for his religion. Although I consider Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) to be a better role model for Mormon Democrats, Sen. Reid is more powerful, being the Senate Majority Leader. Joseph Mills wrote “Just think of Harry Reid – the supreme example of Liberal Mormondom...and tell me if he doesn’t have a glow like a gleaming lighthouse? He fights the good fight, shines like a sunbeam, and literally comes from Searchlight, Nevada. I know what the Primary Hymn instructs, (Trying to be Like Jesus,) but in case that is too high of a bar for me right now, I’ve decided that at the very least I am trying to be like Harry… and we’ll call it good at that.”

This isn't the first time Mormons For Obama received national ink. Back in May 2012, Real Clear Politics published a story about BYU students who are campaigning for Obama. Hannah Wheelwright explained “The fact that I’m a Mormon is why I’m voting for President Obama instead of Mitt Romney. I’m a Democrat because I’m a Mormon. I think there’s so many things in my faith that do promote certain policies in the Democratic Party, and a lot of the reason I support President Obama is his dedication to social programs, equality, and those types of things.” According to an Obama spokesperson, the president’s campaign did not have a formal outreach program to Mormon voters at the time, but was planning to designate a faith-vote coordinator in the future.

The sentiment is that although it would be good to have a Mormon president, they don't feel Mitt Romney is the right Mormon. But it will take some effort to get past Obama's absolute pro-choice position on abortion and his support for gay marriage, both of which conflict with LDS doctrine. For my part, I'll be supporting Mitt Romney unless he picks an incapable running mate, in which case I might have to take a hard look at Merlin Miller of the American Third Position Party (A3P).

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continues to promote official political neutrality in regards to political candidates, saying that it does not attempt to direct its members as to which candidate or party they should give their votes to. This policy applies whether or not a candidate for office is a member of the LDS Church. Thus any stake president or bishop who harasses a member merely for supporting Obama outside the Church environment is out of harmony with Church leadership. One can be both a good Mormon and a Democrat.

LDS Member Yeah Samake Running For President Of Mali, But Election Now Uncertain Because Of Military Coup; Samake Condemns Coup

Update November 22nd: Yeah Samake still continuing his campaign for President of Mali despite military coup; an interim prime minister currently rules the country. Updated post HERE.

Yeah Samake is a citizen of the West African republic of Mali who is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One of 18 siblings in his family, he went on to complete a bachelors degree in teaching English as a second language in Bamako, Mali and obtained a masters degree in public policy at Brigham Young University.

But he didn't come to the United States to stay. Moved by compassion towards his own people, he returned to Mali and ran for mayor of Ouélessébougou, elected with 86 percent of the vote. At that time, the municipality was ranked 699 out of 703 in terms of economic development, transparency, and management, with a tax collection rate below 10 percent. Within one year, Ouélessébougou jumped to the top ten cities in Mali with a tax collection rate about 68 percent. Samake accomplished this by increasing citizen participation through a tribal council system, and by challenging the culture of corruption.

His success triggered a popular movement to elect him president of the country. So Samake accepted the challenge and launched a campaign for the April 29th, 2012 elections. Samake wants to champion principle-centered leadership, ensure efficient use of scarce resources, stamp out corruption, increase food sufficiency, reform health care and education, and promote greater economic investment and development by improving security.

Unfortunately, fate has just thrown Samake a curve. On March 22nd, 2012, a barracks mutiny turned into a full-fledged military power coup in Mali, replacing the highly-regarded outgoing President Amadou Toumani Toure with a cadre of unknown junior officers. In a televised statement, the military officers representing the country's new rulers said they were "putting an end to the incompetent regime of Amadou Toumani Toure." The new leaders are upset over the fact that President Toure has been unsuccessful in putting down a persistent rebellion by Tuareg tribesmen in the north. Unfortunately, the indigenous Tuareg tribesmen were fleshed out by an influx of Libya Tuareg tribesmen who left after the Obama-instigated rebellion against Moammar Qaddafi to the point where Malian military forces could not effectively cope with it. The Malian troops complained they did not have enough arms to counter the northern rebellion, and the young officers who took power seem to have tired of Toure's rhetoric of reconciliation, and his government's inability to restore control in the north.

The BBC reports that the leader of the coup is Capt Amadou Sanogo, and that the objective of the Committee for the Re-establishment of Democracy and the Restoration of the State (CNRDR)is not to permanently retain power, but will return power to a democratically-elected president as soon as national unity and territorial integrity are established. However, Capt. Sanogo also said the constitution has been suspended.

Yeah Samake wasted little time in reacting and choosing sides. He put on his Captain Moroni "Title of Liberty" hat and issued the following statement:

Dear compatriots,

The Party for Civic Action and Patriotic (PACP) followed with amazement the mutiny of men of rank which has degenerated into a usurpation of democratic authority.

The PACP condemns with the utmost vigor the confiscation of power by the military calling itself the National Committee for the Recovery of Democracy and the Restoration of the State (CNRDR).

The PACP asks all of the Sovereign People of Mali to mobilize for the defense and consolidation of democratic gains.

Our personal political ambitions should not get away from pledges to spend the splendor and purity of the great values that are based on the foundations of living together. This is what strengthens confidence and cohesion among citizens of a country that is our Mali.

We ask the military to urgently restore the unity of the various military corps for the tranquility of the population and make appropriate arrangements for the protection of persons and goods throughout the national territory.

We invite Malian politicians to organize and demand the immediate transfer of power to the people of Mali by the formation of a unity government to ensure continuity of administration and maintenance of the electoral calendar in strict compliance with the constitution.

Long live democracy!
Long live Mali!
Divided we all lose! United we all win!

Yeah Samake's wife posts her own reaction on her website.

The new military junta has not made any statements about the effect of the coup upon the impending elections, thus it's possible they might be delayed. The coup itself may yet falter, since the mutinous troops are poorly equipped, led by a mid-ranking soldier and they do not have the backing of all Malian forces. In fact, the well-trained and organized Red Berets unit is loyal to the president and he is believed to be under their protection. International condemnation of the coup has been voiced by the U.N. Security Council, the United States, the European Union, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States.

Yeah Samake's decision to return to Mali instead of remaining in the United States now seems to be particularly inspired.

Florida U.S. Senator Marco Rubio Was Once A Practicing Member Of The LDS Church, May Still Be On LDS Membership Rolls

It has now been revealed that U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), a practicing Catholic, was once a practicing member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And since he never requested name removal, he may still be on the LDS Church's official membership rolls. The Miami Herald first uncovered this information as one of several tidbits released from Rubio's impending book, "An American Son" (expected release date Oct. 2012), while Buzzfeed provides more background. Other significant sources include the Telegraph and The Blaze.

Summary: The Rubio family were practicing Catholics when they moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. Influenced by two of the future Senator's first cousins, Mo Denis, a Democratic State Senator in Nevada, and his sister Michelle, Marco Rubio and some family members ended up converting to the LDS Church. His sister Veronica and their mother Oria were the other family members identified to have joined, but Mario's father Marco refused to join because he was working as a bartender and didn't want to join a church that promoted a strict code of moral conduct that seemed at odds with the way he made a living.

Marco apparently became quite active in the Church, enthusiastically participating in its youth groups and prodding his family members into similar activity. They attended Sunday services almost without exception. Marco remained active for at least three years, then began tapering off. When Marco turned 13, he began attending Catholic services once again, receiving his first Communion on Christmas day in 1984 at the age of 13. When the Rubio family moved to Miami about the time he was ready to enter high school, they stopped attending LDS services altogether and became fully-fledged Catholics once again. Marco is said to have pushed the family into the change. He and his family currently attend a Miami-area Baptist-oriented nondenominational church, Christ Fellowship.

However, according to Rubio spokesman Alex Conant, who is also identified as a Mormon lay leader in the Las Vegas area, Rubio never requested to have his name removed from the LDS Church's records, which means officially, it is possible he is still on the church's membership rolls. According to paragraph 6.7.3 of the Church Handbook of Instructions, Volume 1 (not available online), formally joining another church and advocating its teachings is defined as apostasy and can be cause for convening a disciplinary council and subsequent excommunication, but this is rarely imposed upon Mormons who simply drift away and start attending another church unless they engage in public anti-Mormon activism. It is unlikely that LDS Church authorities will initiate a disciplinary council against Rubio simply on the basis of this revelation, since Rubio has no record of anti-Mormon activism.

In contrast, a request for name removal, as set forth in paragraph 6.14 of CHI-1, has no stigma attached. But bishops are required to personally verify that the member wants to have name removal; an e-mail request for name removal to LDS Church Headquarters alone is insufficient. Name removal results in the cancellation of all offices, blessings, and sealings.

Political implications: Marco Rubio is on the short list of prospective running mates for the eventual Republican presidential nominee; in particular, he has been closely linked to Mitt Romney. However, some political observers now speculate the revelation of Rubio's past Mormonism could hurt him with Evangelicals. This appears unlikely. LDS blogger Joanna Brooks also believes that it will not hurt Rubio's chances to become a running mate. But the Miami New Times is the latest source to remind us that Rubio is not actively seeking to be VP.

Generating more political buzz is the possibility of an informal alliance between Mitt Romney and Ron Paul -- directed primarily against Rick Santorum. Whether Ron Paul is actually staking a claim to become Romney's running mate, or is merely running interference for his son, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), has not been determined. Rand Paul has said it would be an honor to be considered as a running mate for Romney, fueling speculation that Ron Paul may be trying to get his son on the ticket. Being younger than Ron Paul, Rand Paul would be a more powerful addition to the Romney ticket, and could propel Romney to an easier victory over Barack Obama in November 2012 -- provided Romney can secure the Republican nomination.

The latter development is by no means yet assured.

Jon Huntsman Drops Out Of Presidential Race, Endorses Mitt Romney; Some Supporters Migrating To The Ron Paul Camp

Despite registering an impressive third place finish with 17 percent of the vote in the New Hampshire Republican primary, Jon Huntsman Jr. dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination on January 16th, 2012. Furthermore, Huntsman also endorsed Mitt Romney, characterizing him as the man best equipped to defeat Barack Obama in the fall. In his statement to supporters, Huntsman added that he will continue to fight for a tax code that unleashes opportunity rather than stifles it; an energy policy that ends our addiction to foreign oil; congressional term limits; education reform that prepares kids for the 21st Century; and financial reform that protects taxpayers from future bailouts.

The decision was triggered by distinct signs that Huntsman's performance in New Hampshire was a fluke. Polls indicate Huntsman was back down in single-digit territory in South Carolina, finishing either fifth or sixth, and despite pouring at least $2 million of his own money into the race, found his campaign increasingly cash-strapped, unable to buy television time or pay for direct mailings to reach voters in South Carolina. An official endorsement by South Carolina's largest newspaper, The State, was not enough to change his mind. Since The State also gave Romney honorable mention in their endorsement, it's possible they may switch their support to Romney.

The decision came as a surprise to Huntsman's top adviser in New Hampshire, Peter Spaulding, who learned the news in a telephone call from a reporter. Spaulding has no regrets about working for Huntsman, saying "I expected him to do better, but you know, it is as it is. He's still a young man and has a lot of future ahead of him". The Daily Mail's Toby Harnden covered part of Huntsman's campaign and said that Huntsman always seemed to be less than the sum of his parts. He noted that Huntsman never overcame the central paradox of his candidacy: while declaring himself to be a Reagan conservative, he marketed himself as a moderate and took every opportunity to bemoan the state of the Republican party, even questioning its sanity. Newt Gingrich hailed Huntsman's decision, saying that "we are one step closer to a bold Reagan conservative winning the GOP nomination", while Mitt Romney said “I salute Jon Huntsman and his wife Mary Kaye. Jon ran a spirited campaign based on unity not division, and love of country. I appreciate his friendship and support.” KSL news video below:

Does Huntsman's drop from GOP race help Romney? | ksl.com

The New York Times believes that Huntsman's withdrawal will help Romney pick up more support among moderate Republicans, but is unlikely to help him with conservatives. However, the conservatives are split between Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, and to a certain degree, Ron Paul, although Paul also has support from libertarians and independents.

Mormon Republican Reaction: Not all LDS Republicans will migrate to Mitt Romney. Comments posted to the Salt Lake Tribune story indicate many are showing a renewed interest in Ron Paul. In fact, a Facebook group, Latter-day Saints for Ron Paul, has formed to mobilize additional LDS support for him. On January 12th, 2012, leading libertarian LDS blogger Connor Boyack wrote "I believe that a sincere review of our doctrine and history in the LDS Church would lead an individual to support not Mitt Romney, a fellow Mormon, but the only candidate who has consistently shown a commitment to upholding the Constitution and defending individual liberty: Ron Paul".

I seriously doubt that Romney would choose Huntsman as a running mate; two Mormons on the ticket would provide too much grist for the propaganda mills of anti-Mormons as well as some evangelicals and conspiracy theorists. But Huntsman may end up on the short list for Secretary of State in a Romney Administration; thanks to his service as ambassador to China, few people are more qualified for that post than Huntsman. But the involvement of two members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who expressed their Mormonism in slightly different ways may have helped erode suspicion of a Mormon presidency to the point that Romney can actually get elected. While Romney was portrayed as a more active Mormon than Huntsman, the LDS Church scrupulously avoided any hint of communicating that Romney might be more worthy than Huntsman.

Orthodox Jewish Rabbinical Alliance Of America Calls Mitt Romney A "Dangerous Homosexualist", Calls Upon LDS Church To "Sanction" Him

According to WorldNetDaily, the Rabbinical Alliance of America, an organization of 850 Orthodox Jewish rabbis who minister to some 500,000 religious Jews in the United States and Canada, has denounced Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney as a "dangerous homosexualist" and has called upon the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to examine Romney's record and join them in sanctioning him. YouTube video embedded below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVppk7yfDmM



Rabbi Yehuda Levin spoke for the Council, and here are the two most critical parts of his statement:

"While our organization does not make any endorsements of political candidates, in view of the disastrous national decline in morality, we are compelled to condemn Mitt Romney's support and promotion of the immoral homosexual lifestyle and agenda. While we sympathize with those challenged by homosexual urges, or a desire for minors or adultery, they all remain prohibited activities that debase the practitioners and demoralize society. Gov. Romney over a long political career has earned the title: 'Dangerous Homosexualist' – one who constantly advances the militant anti-religious, anti-society, immoral homosexual agenda to the detriment of family people."

{snip}

"We plead with other religious denominations, most particularly the Mormon Church which maintains a traditional view regarding the homosexual agenda, to examine Romney's record and join us in sanctioning him. The time has certainly come for other denominations to emulate the manifesto of the Central Rabbinical Congress of the U.S. and Canada which, in the early 80s, prohibited voting for, honoring or supporting pro-homosexual agenda politicians".

The Rabbinical Council of America takes a hard line against homosexuality, condemning both the sin and the sinner. According to a recently-issued "Declaration on the Torah Approach to Homosexuality", they believe that same-sex attractions can be modified and healed, and condemn the propaganda blitz that has been launched to persuade the public about the legitimacy of homosexuality. But is Mitt Romney truly a "dangerous homosexualist"?

The answer is No -- it is an exaggeration. Back on June 7th, 2011, Romney did tell CNN's Piers Morgan that he would advance efforts to eliminate discrimination against people who are gay. But he also reiterated his opposition to gay marriage, going so far as to subsequently sign a pledge in August sponsored by the National Organization for Marriage promising to support a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. In December, Romney had a heated exchange with a gay veteran about gay marriage. But Romney has earlier told CNN "I separate quite distinctly matters of personal faith from the leadership one has in a political sense. You don't begin to apply the doctrines of a religion to responsibility for guiding a nation or guiding a state."

Doesn't sound like a "dangerous homosexualist" to me. It's also unlikely the LDS Church will join in any effort to "sanction" Mitt Romney; the Church neither endorses, promotes or opposes political parties, candidates or platforms, nor does it attempt to direct or dictate to a government leader. But the Church does reserve the right as an institution to address, in a nonpartisan way, issues that it believes have significant community or moral consequences or that directly affect the interests of the Church.

Nevertheless, it is good to see an influential group of religious Jews take a firm stand against the promotion and statutory protection of homosexuality. Secular progressive Jews have been disproportionately predominant in the effort to promote homosexuality in the United States.

Mormon Vs. Mormon: Jerry Lewis Challenging Incumbent Russell Pearce For Senate Seat In Arizona LD18 Recall Election; Lewis Has Seven-Point Lead

Update November 8th: Jerry Lewis defeats Russell Pearce; updated post HERE.

Update November 4th: Jerry Lewis' lead shrinks to three percentage points; updated post HERE

Russell Pearce

Two members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are squaring off in a contentious recall election for Arizona's LD18, based primarily in Mesa. Senator Russell Pearce, who is President of the Arizona State Senate, has been successfully recalled and has been challenged by Jerry Lewis. The recall election will be held on November 8th. Pearce was recently re-elected to office in November 2010, earning 57 percent of the vote.

For a brief period of time, a third LDS member, Olivia Cortes, was in the race. However, she was relentlessly accused of being a stalking horse planted by the Pearce campaign to take votes from Jerry Lewis, and tiring of the pressure, withdrew on October 6th. But her name will still be on the November 8th ballot.

Jerry Lewis

According to the Tucson Citizen, a recent poll shows Lewis leading Pearce by seven percentage points. However, both the poll and the source are suspect -- it's being reported by DeeDee Garcia, a notorious anti-Pearce activist. Still, there is evidence that Russell Pearce's re-election is by no means assured, and it will be close.

Russell Pearce is one of 31 Arizona lawmakers to come under fire for involvement in a Fiesta Bowl scandal. For his part, Pearce stayed at luxury hotels and took family members with him on bowl-sponsored trips from 2002 to 2009. In total, the bowl said it spent more on Pearce than any other individual lawmaker: $39,347. Pearce has since repaid some of the money. But the big Kahuna is Pearce's immigration legislation. Not only was he the primary force behind SB 1070, the toughest immigration law in the nation at the time, but he also unsuccessfully pushed several additional immigration measures this year, including a bill to change how children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants are granted citizenship. This attracted the ire of Hispanic activists and their leftist allies, most notably Phoenix New Times blogger Stephen Lemons, who's been relentlessly stalking him in the journalistic sense.

Then on July 27th, 2011, Jerry Lewis entered the race, and the Hispanic activists and their leftist allies found Their Great Hero. Actually, Lewis is a standup guy who's well-qualified to serve in the state legislature. He is an assistant superintendent for Sequoia Schools, a Mesa-based charter school chain with 13 Arizona locations. He is also a former certified public accountant and has been a vice president with the Grand Canyon Council of the Boy Scouts. Lewis also served as president of the Maricopa Arizona LDS Stake until released on February 27th, 2011. Like Pearce, Lewis believes in closing the border and working with federal officials to improve border security, but he does not support SB 1070. Lewis is supported by SOMOS Republicans, the largest group of Hispanic Republicans in the state. Mesa City Councilman Dave Richins is one of many who have endorsed Lewis, but not over the SB 1070 issue.

Mitt Romney Receives Presidential Endorsement From Tim Pawlenty, Awards Senatorial Endorsement To Orrin Hatch

Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, one of two members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the race, was at the center of two endorsement decisions on September 12th, 2011.

First, Romney received the endorsement of former candidate Tim Pawlenty. Pawlenty wrote, "Alone among the contenders, [Romney] possesses the unique qualifications to confront and master our severe economic predicament. His abiding faith in our country's exceptional historical position as a beacon of freedom will make him the most important leader in a world that depends upon a strong America to stay at peace." Pawlenty had previously criticized Romney for enacting Romneycare while Governor of Massachusetts; many people consider Romneycare to be Obamacare Lite. Pawlenty is not angling for the vice-presidential slot on a Romney ticket, though.

Although Pawlenty was the first declared candidate, his campaign never caught fire with prospective voters, and he remained a single-digit midget in numerous polls. After getting spanked by Michele Bachmann in Iowa, Pawlenty bailed out of the race.

The Boston Globe reports a guarded reaction by Pawlenty's former supporters in New Hampshire, with some willing to give Romney a second look. But the real significance of Pawlenty's endorsement is that it could help Romney secure more evangelical support. The Christian Post notes that Pawlenty is an evangelical Christian who attends Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, MN, which is led by Leith Anderson. Anderson is also president of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). In a poll conducted by NAE last June, Pawlenty won the most support among member pastors for president. Thus Pawlenty's decision, while it will not result in the mass conversion of evangelical voters to Romney's cause, will still help.

Mitt Romney was also in a giving mood on September 12th. In the Utah U.S. Senate race, Romney awarded his endorsement to "Senator-for-Life" Orrin Hatch, who was faced with the same type of insurgency threat that unseated Bob Bennett at the Utah State Republican Convention in 2010. "Orrin is a committed public servant who always puts the people of Utah first," Romney said in a statement released by the senator's campaign. "I couldn’t be prouder to endorse him in his re-election bid." Romney also noted that Hatch is in a prime position to help the country because of his seniority in the Senate, including his position as the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee.

KSL Channel 5 notes that Romney's endorsement did not save Bob Bennett from losing his party's nomination at the 2010 GOP convention. But Hatch's chances for renomination already improved noticeably when his most dangerous prospective challenger, Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz, decided not to challenge him and instead run for re-election to his own seat. Polls indicated that Chaffetz could possibly have defeated Hatch, but it would have been close. So unlike Bennett in 2010, Hatch has no prominent Republican opponents at this time. But even though Hatch has apparently been successful in re-inventing himself as a conservative in time to blunt intra-party opposition, many still believe six terms in the U.S. Senate is more than enough.

For his part, Orrin Hatch responded by saying that he is "deeply humbled by Mitt's support. He [Romney] is a man I deeply admire and whom I know would lead our nation out of the economic mess we are in today."

Tony Perkins Of The Family Research Council Indicates Mitt Romney's Conservatism May Supersede His Mormonism Among Evangelicals

On June 2nd, 2011, I discussed a Pew Research Center survey of 1,509 adults 18 years of age or older living in the continental United States taken from May 25-30, 2011, which not only showed that one out of four respondents would still be less likely to vote for a presidential candidate if he or she was Mormon, but also showed that 34 percent of white Evangelicals would be less likely to vote for a Mormon presidential candidate.

However, it appears that Evangelical opposition to Romney's religion continues to soften as more Evangelicals decide that Romney's conservatism may supersede his Mormonism. On August 23rd, 2011, Tony Perkins of the highly-influential Family Research Council appeared on Fox Business and discussed the current field of Republicans running for president in 2012. Perkins suggested that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum could all harness the support of the evangelical community, pronouncing all of them to be social conservatives.

Yes, ALL of them......including Mitt Romney. Perkins’ validation of Romney mitigates earlier media perceptions that he could have trouble winning over the evangelical base. Fox video embedded below:



This means that Evangelicals now realize that Barack Obama poses a greater danger to America's future than Romney's Mormonism. A new Gallup poll also shows that Romney is more likely to beat Obama than other Republicans, although the others are showing improvement. Both Romney and the LDS Church have sought to reassure Americans that a vote for Mitt Romney is not a vote for Thomas S. Monson or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The inclusion of another LDS member, Jon Huntsman Jr., in the Republican race also shows the political diversity existing within the LDS community.

The Family Research Council is more than just another money-raising enterprise. Its effectiveness is further validated by the fact that it has been targeted as a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC claims that the FRC "denigrates LGBT people in its battles against same-sex marriage, hate crimes laws, anti-bullying programs and the repeal of the military’s 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell' policy", and by doing so, maligns gay people simply because they're gay. The FRC, along with 22 members of Congress, disputed the SPLC's characterization of their group.

Of course, that analysis by the SPLC could also be used to show that the SPLC could consider itself a hate group as well, since it maligns pro-family activists, nativists, patriots, and white nationalists simply because of who they are. Further compromising the SPLC's integrity is their bias in favor of the political left; the blogroll on their Hatewatch blog consists exclusively of hard-left progressive websites. And finally, even though official FBI statistics show a 30 percent drop in hate crimes from 2000 to 2009, the SPLC claims the number of “hate groups” increased by 66.4 percent from 2000 to 2010. Since we know the FBI is more objective than the SPLC, we must consider the possibility that the SPLC has adjusted their definition of hate groups to cast a wider net -- and keep the donation spigot cranked wide open.

Thus the SPLC seems more interested in self-perpetuation than in justice.

As for the other Mormon in the race, Jon Huntsman Jr, despite the fact that he is probably the classiest person in the race, he can't break out of the two-percent mode. Consequently, he's now beginning to market himself as a prospective running mate for the eventual winner, setting his sights on Michele Bachmann. That would definitely be a bottom-heavy ticket; Huntsman would possess two-thirds of the brains and talent in that combination. But better yet, Huntsman would make a great Secretary of State in a future administration.