Defining, declaring our faith

Joseph F. Smith was 19 years old, returning from his mission through lawless territory. A group of armed and drunken men rode into camp on horseback.

Some of the men Joseph was traveling with hid, but Joseph continued about his business — carrying wood to the campfire. One of the intruders pointed a cocked pistol squarely at his head and declared, "I'm a killer of Mormons, boy. Are you a Mormon?"

Young Joseph looked the man squarely in the eye and boldly answered, "That's tough to define. There are varying degrees."

No, wait. I remember now. What he actually said was, "Yes, siree, dyed in the wool, true blue, through and through."

It's strange what fear can sometimes do to our convictions. Those lightly held are easily denied; and when we have conflicting fears, we sometimes try to waffle and equivocate in order to avoid both negative outcomes. Often the result is that we suffer both.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in the realm of politics. A politician aiming for national office, but with a power base that began in Utah, might be keenly aware of the negatives that come from being identified as a Mormon. It would be so much easier if he could shed that affiliation.

At the same time, his core of support in Utah, where it's good business and good politics to be identified as Mormon, would be surprised to discover that he isn't a believer after all. What to do? Such a quandary.

I'm a Democrat, myself, so I won't be voting in the Republican primaries. I'm not trying to advance anyone's candidacy, or tear anyone down. All I'm talking about here is how public figures define their relationship to the church.

I think of Mitt Romney, a politician with whom I often disagree. He has never waffled on his Mormon faith, and it has cost him. Teddy Kennedy ran an anti-Mormon campaign against him in Romney's losing run for the U.S. Senate a few years back; in the last presidential campaign, Mike Huckabee's thinly veiled anti-Mormon slurs might have done Romney some damage, too.

At the same time, Romney has gained, I believe, from being — and being seen as — a man of solid convictions, who does not temper his core beliefs according to the prevailing political winds (though he does change his mind about specific political issues, as all of us should, whenever we learn better).

You can't fake firm convictions. If you don't have them, you shouldn't pretend you do. The pretense is obvious soon enough, and you end up gaining nothing.