LEADER TIMES WEEKEND RELIGION ARTICLE FOR
November 3, 2012 by William H. Scarle Jr.
If the religious connections of President Barak Obama seem somewhat indecisive, the affiliation of Mitt Romney is crystal clear. Governor Romney is a Mormon. He is a fifth-generation member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His great-great grandfather, Miles Romney converted to the faith in the first decade of its founding. Another great-great grandfather, Parley P. Pratt helped lead the early movement. In 1966 Romney went to France as a Mormon missionary and spent two and a half years there. In 1968 he was leader of a team of 175 missionaries in Paris which was responsible for bringing about 200 baptisms.
During his business career Romney served as bishop (or leader) of a Mormon congregation in Boston and later as president of the steak, or regional organization.
The question often arises as to whether Mormonism is a form of Christianity, and the answer is clearly, “No.” Mormonism is a Religion made in America. It was founded in 1830 in Fayette, New York by Joseph Smith, Jr. (1805 – 1844). It is a complex polytheistic religion with millions of gods, three of whom are designated Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Every Mormon male is on the road to deity and expects someday to be a god of his own world which he will populate, along with his wife, or wives, with his own children.
The American connection lies in the Book of Mormon which teaches that the American Indians are descended from a group of Israelites who came to America somewhere between 600 and 400 BC and who were visited by Jesus following his resurrection.
For Joseph Smith, Zion was the entire American continent where the perfect society was to be established. The perfect city of Zion will come from heaven at the second coming of Jesus and be established in Independence, Missouri.
It is not the purpose of this short article to lay out any comprehensive outline of Mormon theology. My only purpose in making these few points is to demonstrate that Mormonism is in no way Christianity. Christianity is grounded in the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments. Mormonism sees the Bible as a corrupted document over which the Book of Mormon takes precedence.
Whether the liberalism of Barak Obama or the Mormonism of Mitt Romney has any bearing on their ability to exercise the office of President of the United States is a moot question. Never before have we had a situation when both candidates were so far from what we usually understand as Christian orthodoxy. It may make no difference at all. However, when the question comes up we should at least be aware of the facts.
To say the very least, this is an interesting time in our history. This nation under God was built on the bed rock of the Bible and Christian culture. However, I feel the tectonic plates are beginning to shift. We may be at a cultural fault line.
Bill Scarle can be contacted at ravscarle@verizon.net).