LDS Church, Glenn Beck, Mitt Romney oppose Quran burning

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — While the leader of a small Florida church espousing anti-Islam philosophy says he's determined to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11, various religious, government and military officials are decrying the event in hopes it will be called off.

Voices from the White House to the Vatican and from U.S. Gen. David Patraeus to actress Angelina Jolie have voiced their protest of Pastor Terry Jones' planned event.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued the following statement Wednesday afternoon:

"A key tenet of our faith is to accord everyone the freedom to worship as they choose. It is regrettable that anyone would regard the burning of any scriptural text as a legitimate form of protest or disagreement."

And Pakistan's ambassador to the United States is calling on conservative radio and television host Glenn Beck to denounce the planned burning to show that Americans are tolerant of other faiths.

"I think it would help if Mr. Glenn Beck came out against it and said that people of faith do not burn the books of people of other faith," Husain Haggani told the Associated Press on Wednesday.

Beck earlier this week wrote in an Internet blog posting that burning the Quran is like burning the flag or the Bible — something people can do in the United States but shouldn't.

"Our good Muslim friends and neighbors will be saddened," he wrote. "It makes the battle that they face inside their own communities even harder."

Also Wednesday, Mitt Romney came out against the planned burning of the Quran in a statement to Politico. "Burning the Quran is wrong on every level," Romney told the online publication. "It puts troops in danger, and it violates a founding principle of our republic."

Pastor Jones said at a Wednesday news conference that he had received a lot of encouragement, with supporters mailing copies of the Islamic holy text to his Gainesville church of about 50 followers. He proclaimed in July that he would state "International Burn-a-Quran Day" to mark the ninth anniversary of 9/11.

Despite the wide outcry, "as of right now, we are not convinced that backing down is the right thing," said Jones, who took no questions at the news conference.

Jones said he has received more than 100 death threats and has started carrying a .40-caliber pistol since announcing his plan to burn the book Muslims consider the word of God and insist be treated with the utmost respect. Jones, 58, was flanked by an armed escort Wednesday.