I told my parents several months ago that Romney was going to be the GOP candidate. Besides not believing me, my mother said, “But, he’s a Mormon.”
I’m not here to knock Mormons. I have known and been friends with many of them all my life. I have lived most of my life in AZ¸ and there are many towns in AZ that are considered Mormon enclaves, having been settled and still populated by mostly Mormons. St. John’s, St. Davidand Greer, to name a few. This is also true of Idaho and other states that border Utah.
When the Mormons were settling the west, Brigham Young sent many settlers to AZ to spread their territory and influence in a sparsely settled area at that time. Some of the towns are gone, many are still thriving. Lee’s Ferryon the Colorado River was a famous hideout for John D. Lee, who ended up being the only Mormon to be convicted and executed for the Mountain Meadows Massacre in Utah. It is still a place you can go and put your feet in the Colorado River.
Lee's Ferry (also Lees Ferry or Lee Ferry) is a site on the Colorado River in Coconino County, Arizona, United States, about 7.5 miles (12 km) southwest of the town of Page, Arizona and the Glen Canyon Dam, and about 9 mi (15 km) south of the Utah-Arizona border. It is the former location of a ferry established by John D. Lee, a Mormon settler.
In 1871 Mormon settler John D. Lee was directed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to establish a ferry on the Colorado River. The location had earlier been scouted by the Mormon explorer Jacob Hamblin on his numerous missionary expeditions to the Hopi and the Navajo east of the Colorado River. Previously, the river had been forded at the Ute Crossing or The Crossing of the Fathers, which is now under Lake Powell. With financing supplied by the church, Lee built the ferry in 1871–1872 near the confluence of the Paria River with the Colorado. Due to its proximity to the confluence, the site was originally named Paria Crossing. It features a natural slope from the cliffs to the riverbank, allowing safe crossing over the Colorado River in otherwise impassable terrain. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, Lee's Ferry was the only crossing of the Colorado River by ferry between Moab, Utah and Needles, California; it was heavily used by travelers between Utah and Arizona.
Since Lee traveled frequently, the ferry was managed primarily by his wife, Emma Lee. Lee was eventually forced to leave the ferry site to evade law enforcement officers for his part in the 1857 Mountain Meadows massacre; he was executed by firing squad on March 23, 1877. In 1879 Emma Lee sold the ferry, for 100 milk cows, to the LDS church, which continued to operate it until about 1910. Coconino County, Arizona subsequently managed the ferry. The Lee's Lonely Dell Ranch and the ferry are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, together with the wreckage of the riverboat Charles H. Spencer.
The Meadow Mountain Massacre is a fascinating story that the LDS Church tried hard to suppress for many years.
I have read many books about Mormons and known many, but I’m not here to talk about their history or beliefs. I’m here to talk about how most Christians in this country do not consider Mormons traditional Christians. Since the GOP is made up of a large percentage of fundamentalist Christians, that’s a problem for Romney.
This could be one reason the LDS church is running ads in my state and other states called “I am a Mormon”. The people in the ads don’t talk about their beliefs. They talk about how they are scientists or teachers or some kind of a go getter, and then they end with “I am a Mormon.”
See. I’m normal. I’m Mormon.
But most fundamentalist Christians do not believe Mormons to be Christians like in this site asking:
Question: "I am a Mormon. Why should I consider becoming a Christian?"
I still think Romney will be the GOP candidate, although the Republican primary voters are trying hard to find anyone but Romney. And I believe a lot of it is because he is Mormon.
A new Gallup poll found that nearly a quarter of Republicans would not vote for a Mormon, with similar numbers from Democrats and Independents.
After church researchers found that Mormons were often perceived as being “cultish,” “polygamist” and “secretive” the church is rolling out a new ad campaign, that features a NYC Times Square billboard, subway ads, and online videos.
http://hereandnow.wbur.org/...
The church plans to run more ads in the fall, closer to the election. It remains to be seen if this ad campaign can change the minds of many GOP voters who consider themselves Christians, and don’t believe Mormons are. Romney has an uphill climb because of his religion if he gets the nomination. The question in many Republican voters minds is, “Is a Mormon a Christian?” For many of them that answer is no, and no ad campaign, no matter how slick or nice, will change that.
12:28 PM PT: I want to add, my parents are not religious. They haven't been to any church in decades. My dad watches Fox and that's all. The fact that this statement popped out from a traditional conservative Republican, who has no social agenda, I thought was telling and needed further investigation.