Speech earns high marks from Utah LDS

A sampling of Utah Latter-day Saints gave Mitt Romney's speech on faith high marks, saying there were no surprises — and said they were curious to see what impact it will have on his candidacy.

LDS Church spokesman Scott Trotter said the church's only response to Romney's speech, issued after the speech, is a reaffirmation of the church's position of political neutrality. "The church's neutrality in matters of party politics applies in all of the many nations in which it is established," the statement says.

"I was really impressed with his honesty," said Valerie Pingree, who grew up in the Washington, D.C., area, graduating from George Washington University with a degree in international relations. She and husband Scott lived in Boston during Romney's tenure as governor and only recently moved to Utah. "I think it was perfect. He addressed the issues.

"I was especially impressed with his historical perspective and the reminder of the connection with religion and freedom.

"He explained the basic tenets of his faith in a way that are the same that the Founding Fathers drew upon."

She said she was not surprised when Romney called radical Islam dangerous — his mention of the frequency of prayer among Muslims showed he was separating the qualities of Islam from the dangers of extremists. Mormons need the benefit of the same distinction, she said.

Pingree characterized the need for Romney's speech as a "distraction," wondering whether other candidates will have to follow suit to explain things that make them personally unique, "but I guess that's where we are right now."

"It's a shame he had to explain his religion. I hope that this will kind of put those concerns aside and let people say, 'Let's look at his record; let's look at his life and let that decide who we're going to vote for."'

Paul Mero, whose Latter-day Saint values play out professionally in his job as president of conservative political advocacy group the Sutherland Institute, agreed Romney was pressured into giving Thursday's speech but said he "hit a grand slam."

"The Kennedy speech was a hard act to follow. While Governor Romney followed the Kennedy format, he ably added to it — to the point that every other candidate will now feel obliged to express their faith. He did a remarkable job of turning the tables on his opponents.

"Now, his opponents who have run from faith issues will now have to embrace them and, frankly, most of them will sound silly when doing so."