Mr. Conniff,
I have enjoyed listening to your program numerous mornings and have wanted to call in almost every day to let you know how much I like the show. I don’t call in, since I am driving to work and do not have the ability to talk and drive simultaneously.
This morning, I couldn’t help myself from getting a little hot under the collar when you stated that Mormons have a little “splainin’” to do. Especially with our claims to Christianity.
Now, please forgive me, because I only heard the first 10 minutes, and maybe this was worked out in the whole hour, but I would like to chime in on the topic of Mormonism and Christianity.
I am not a Mormonism expert, nor a religious expert, but I am LDS. I, like 11 million other “Mormons”, believe in Jesus Christ, that the Godhead is made up of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior. Now that is by far our main belief. To say we’re not as Christian as other denominations seems like one is focused more on the little details, and overlooking the main facts. Yes, the LDS church has many unique traits. Does the fact that we believe in continued revelation mean we don’t believe in Christ? No.
Should Mitt Romney be any less of a GOP candidate because of his religion, I think not. Should he be looked at through the political view of what he has said vs. what he has done, most definitely yes. I, personally, am leaning toward McCain, and no, the LDS church will not tell is members to vote for any specific candidate.
Let me ask this, would the US elect a candidate who is most qualified to be president, but was Buddhist or Muslim? I do not think the current state of America would elect such a candidate. I hope that our country will find a way to embrace each others “uniqueness”, and elect people not on their race, gender, or religion, but because of their ability to do the job.
Thank you,
Gypsum, CO
I couldn’t agree more. I’m a Christian, abeit I consider myself a basic fundamental Christian. I certainly do not consider myself evangelical or neoconservative (names I consider simple societal stereotypes.) If anything, I tend to lean more liberal on domestic/social issues as I get older. And honestly?… even as a Christian, I hope to see the day when someone of an alternative religious belief wins the White House. Wouldnt’ that be a fine example of our democratic/free society? And perhaps it would help us in our foreign policy throughout other parts of the world.
What this world needs is a more understanding, cooperative, empathetic, helpful United States, not a U.S. government that rules with an iron fist. Thats a column I’ll write soon. Been on a hiatus last few weeks. Great comments, again. Thanks for sharing. — Jon
I couldn’t agree more. I’m a Christian, abeit I consider myself a basic fundamental Christian. I certainly do not consider myself evangelical or neoconservative (names I consider simple societal stereotypes.) If anything, I tend to lean more liberal on domestic/social issues as I get older. And honestly?… even as a Christian, I hope to see the day when someone of an alternative religious belief wins the White House. Wouldnt’ that be a fine example of our democratic/free society? And perhaps it would help us in our foreign policy throughout other parts of the world.
What this world needs is a more understanding, cooperative, empathetic, helpful United States, not a U.S. government that rules with an iron fist. Thats a column I’ll write soon. Been on a hiatus last few weeks. Great comments, again. Thanks for sharing. — Jon
This really should be a non-issue. Anyone who has ever done the slightest bit of personal research on the Mormon Church can draw no other conclusion than they are first and foremost Christians and in fact I would challenge anyone to find another church that holds Jesus Christ more centrally to their faith than do the Mormons.
On the other note as to whether the ‘Mythology’ of religion is important in deciding who the presidential candidate is…I would suggest that it is a simple barrometer like their party affiliation. I’m a Republican not because I’m told by the Republican party what to believe but because it is the party that best represents my beliefs. I would look for a person of faith to lead this country because the candidate who really believes more likely comes close to my belief that trust in God makes us great. If faith isn’t important to someone else, that’s fine but unless they know the person running very closely, I’m sure they would use other measures to ensure the candidate would represent their beliefs and values most closely.
If I could say one other thing, I’m holding out for a Condoleezza Rice run although I don’t think it will come until late Fall this year. – Reve
This really should be a non-issue. Anyone who has ever done the slightest bit of personal research on the Mormon Church can draw no other conclusion than they are first and foremost Christians and in fact I would challenge anyone to find another church that holds Jesus Christ more centrally to their faith than do the Mormons.
On the other note as to whether the ‘Mythology’ of religion is important in deciding who the presidential candidate is…I would suggest that it is a simple barrometer like their party affiliation. I’m a Republican not because I’m told by the Republican party what to believe but because it is the party that best represents my beliefs. I would look for a person of faith to lead this country because the candidate who really believes more likely comes close to my belief that trust in God makes us great. If faith isn’t important to someone else, that’s fine but unless they know the person running very closely, I’m sure they would use other measures to ensure the candidate would represent their beliefs and values most closely.
If I could say one other thing, I’m holding out for a Condoleezza Rice run although I don’t think it will come until late Fall this year. – Reve