To Orion's Belt | 12:31
None of those beliefs are based on teachings of the Bible. Polygamy is only found in the Old Testament, not the New Testament. The Christian tradition (Catholic, Orthodox, Reformed, etc.) has for thousands of years been that the instances in the OT were NOT approved by God. That is an example of what makes Mitt Romney and the LDS NOT Christian. And that is exactly the issue. Because of these strange justifications for abominable practices (such as polygamy, but also Tithing) there is good reason to worry that Mitt may be able to rationalize dangerous policies due to his unorthodox religious beliefs.

Notice in other news that the Rev. Robert Jeffress said that while Romney "talks about Jesus as his Lord and savior, he is not a Christian. Mormonism is not Christianity. Mormonism is a cult."

This is what is scary to people - not just atheists. The possibility that the President of the US could be under the influence of a "cult" is rightfully scary and cannot be dismissed out of hand.

To put it in perspective, how do the LDS feel about Warren Jeff's church? Is it a Cult or not? And how do the LDS feel about Jonestown? A cult or not? And what do the LDS feel about the Jehovah's Witnesses? Cult or not? Well, the rest of mainstream Christianity feels the same way about Mormons as Mormons feel about these other groups.

And the prospect of our President being like, or being influenced by a man like Jim Jones, is truly scary.

That is an important comparison. Jim Jones was even able to fool House Representative Leo Ryan and four journalists, who were then murdered. Charismatic leaders of "cults", such as Warren Jeffs, Jim Jones, and many others do seem to have a similarity to Mitt Romney... almost too good to be true. And as my grandfather used to say, if it looks too good to be true, it is.

To David | 3:58 p.m.
You logic is flawed. By your argument, we must therefore accept the legitimacy of anyone who claims to have performed or experienced a "miracle." Do you accept as true and "of god" the appearances of the Virgin Mary to the thousands of people who make those claims?

The problem is not that Mitt Romney, as a Mormon, believes weird things. The problem is that his worldview includes the possibility for him to justify potential atrocities by distorting traditional meanings and values with a certain "Mormon spin", if you will. For instance, Mormon polygamy has been condemned by Christian societies for thousands of years, but somehow the Mormons believed it was from god. And what about Nephi assassinating Laban, as recorded in the LDS Book of Mormon? That was clearly a terrorist assassination - a murder supposedly commanded by god (or an angel). What visions and "inspiration" might Mitt Romney receive as the President of the U.S.? It is unnerving to consider the possibilities!

...and if gold plates, magic rocks, etc. are NOT too much to swallow, I have some poisoned Koolaid I would like to share with you.

To Arm of Orion | 12:06pm
There are too many to fit, so a sample:
1. Mormon doctrine: pray to the Father only. Contradiction: Joseph Smith was confused about the godhead early on. That is why he prayed to Jesus (Jehovah) when he dedicated the Kirtland Temple (Doc Cov. 109). Similarly, when translating the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith had Alma pray to Jesus (see Alma 36:19). [David Paulsen of BYU acknowledges that Joseph Smith's theology and understanding of the godhead "evolved" dramatically over time.]
2. The Lectures on Faith were canonized scripture for almost 90 years - put there by Joseph Smith himself. Lecture 5th says that the Holy Ghost is "the shared mind" between God and Jesus. That contradiction is why the Lectures were ripped out of the canon in 1921 after Talmage and Roberts and others were commanded to "correlate" the doctrine and theology of the Church. A "Correlation Department" still does this service for the Church leaders.
If Mitt shares the revisionist spirit of the LDS Church, then we cannot trust him in the Whitehouse.

As an active LDS, former Stake President, Mitt Romney has the same "magical worldview" that Joseph Smith had. In that magical worldview, we have no idea what crazy revelations or inspiration Mitt may receive when he is praying in the Whitehouse. That scares me and it should scare everyone!

Wow. I guess it figures this would be controversial. Too many Mormons are claiming that nobody understands them. That is not the case. People understand the Mormons all too well. They just don't agree with them. It is a lame argument to say that if people were only informed they would not be anti-Mormon. That may protect your own egos, Mormons, but it is not true.

Most importantly, it doesn't matter whether people really understand or not. What matters is what people believe about the Mormons. If Mitt gets the GOP nomination, what people believe about Mormons will determine whether or not he can beat the Democratic candidate. There is no way Mitt can beat any of the Democratic candidates with the public beliefs about the Mormons as they are.

Why does it matter that Mitt Romney is Mormon? Other canidates aren't being critisized about their religion. America is a place of religous freedom and I think that by critisizing Mitt Romney we are not being fair. He has all the right to believe what he wants. If it really matters to people what religion he is then I think they should care about all of the canidates. I really don't get why people are only looking into the religion of Romney because he is Mormon. Why does it matter so much? If he was a different religion would we all make such a big deal about that? I think, like a lot of others have said, that we need to focus on what he would do if he was president instead of his religion.

It is not true that other candidates are not being criticized for their religious beliefs. Religious beliefs have always been a key component of anyone's campaign for the Presidency. The focus only gets more intense when that typical examination of a candidates' religious beliefs reveals something unusual and peculiar. Mitt Romney's faith IS unusual and peculiar. The chief question is whether or not he is a Christian. That should come as no surprise. Mormonism argued from the beginning that Christianity on the whole had apostatized from the truth. That itself gives reason for all those targeted by that accusation to wonder if Mormons are Christians.

Internet voting incursions not withstanding, the final FRC straw vote stands at 27.6 % for Romney with a close second for the former Governor Huckabee for their clear moral stands accompanied by their just and moral lifestyles over their lifetimes.

May Christ's pure love renew our mutual faith and overcome us all as we re-learn that we all belong to God since before the foundation of this world and that we do not own ourselves but will truly stand before a just and loving God to account for all we do!

Does that allay your misgivings Mr. Bernstein?