Ok ... I know he goes by "Mitt" but really Willard just seems to suit his personality better wouldn't you agree??
Since we are getting down to earth - lets just see if the horse is still alive or if I am beating a dead horse here ...
follow below the divide
Normally I do not look at a person's religious beliefs per say when thinking about politics ...I try to focus on the man (or woman) and their goals for the USA ... but this time around you just can't get away from the religious impact.
Here are some interesting points from the movie ...
Mormons are urged to store 2 years worth of food and supplies to help see them through the ensuing period of turmoil ... in the last days ... The Constitution of the United States will hang by a thread and will be saved in the nic of time by the elders of the Mormon Church ... the United States government will ... become a theocracy with the leaders of the Mormon priest hood taking control ... the United Order will be re-established a plan which would require all property and possessions to be signed over to the Mormon priesthood the church would then redistribute the wealth to those who are in good standing with the Mormon Officials...... Mormon's church views their political involvement is the means of establishing the United Border, their way of ushering in the Kingdom of God
Well ... that was a very short bit of pertinent information - don't you think? But does Willard have such a hold in the Mormon church to follow through with the "divine plan" of the Mormon faith?
"The Dark Side of Mitt Romney" from Vanityfair.com said
Romney first took on a major church role around 1977, when he was called to be a counselor to Gordon Williams, then the president of the Boston stake. Romney was essentially an adviser and deputy to Williams, helping oversee area congregations. His appointment was somewhat unusual in that counselors at that level have typically been bishops of their local wards first. But Romney, who was only about 30 years old, was deemed to possess leadership qualities beyond his years. Romney’s responsibilities only grew from there; he would go on to serve as bishop and then as stake president, overseeing about a dozen congregations with close to 4,000 members altogether. Those positions in the church amounted to his biggest leadership test yet, exposing him to personal and institutional crises, human tragedies, immigrant cultures, social forces, and organizational challenges that he had never before encountered.
And can he make the tough decisions? - from the same article
Here was Romney, who held great power as her church leader and was the head of a wealthy, prominent Belmont family, sitting in her gritty apartment making grave demands. “And then he says, ‘Well, this is what the church wants you to do, and if you don’t, then you could be excommunicated for failing to follow the leadership of the church,’ ” Hayes recalled. It was a serious threat. At that point Hayes still valued her place within the Mormon Church. “This is not playing around,” she said. “This is not like ‘You don’t get to take Communion.’ This is like ‘You will not be saved. You will never see the face of God.’ ” Romney would later deny that he had threatened Hayes with excommunication, but Hayes said his message was crystal clear: “Give up your son or give up your God.”
In another case A woman had formed a blood clot which endangered her life ...
Romney acknowledged having counseled Mormon women not to have abortions except in exceptional cases, in accordance with church rules. The woman told Romney, she wrote, that her stake president, a doctor, had already told her, “Of course, you should have this abortion and then recover from the blood clot and take care of the healthy children you already have.” Romney, she said, fired back, “I don’t believe you. He wouldn’t say that. I’m going to call him.” And then he left. The woman said that she went on to have the abortion and never regretted it. “What I do feel bad about,” she wrote, “is that at a time when I would have appreciated nurturing and support from spiritual leaders and friends, I got judgment, criticism, prejudicial advice, and rejection.”
Yet here we have this little blunder in the strength of his faith according to
his fellow Mormons ...
Mitt Romney denied the First Vision?
This newscast from 2008 has Romney admitting that as far as he knows God hasn't spoken to anyone since Moses. He seems somewhat embarrassed to mention the First Vision. Former Stake President Romney is obviously aware that the entire LDS Church is based on the First Vision which has God speaking to the founder of Mormonism Joseph Smith. In short, Romney is a typical politician by not wanting to alienate voters by not appearing to believe in things most Christians would be very uncomfortable with.
But what will he be like once he is in office ... and if the United States does become a Theocracy - then who would oppose him? Especially if it is a Mormon Theocracy.
And of course we have some Kossacks that have already put out their opinion :
http://www.dailykos.com/...
My question though deals with the Mormon Political agenda since it is a part of their belief system I feel it is as relevant as Willard's own flip flop personality. Would he follow the adgenda of his church or keep to his own agenda?