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Boston Globe Accuses LDS Church of Supporting Romney
By Rob Graham | Published  10/20/2006 | Top Stories , Religion , Publisher's Notes , Political , ALL NEWS HEADLINES | Unrated
Globe is Wrong -- LDS Church Doesn't Endorse Candidates
Those who actually know the workings of the LDS Church (in contrast to one writer in Boston who once read a book on the LDS Church and stayed in a Holiday Inn last night) would freely disclose that the LDS Church stays neutral in all politics, save those issues of moral concern such as gay marriage and gambling. The reason, of course, is obvious. It is a church, not a political arm of the most popular candidate of the times.

Members of the LDS Church fall on both sides of the political extreme.  Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada) is the ranking Democrat in the Senate, while others such as Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) are high ranking Republicans.

Admittedly, Mormons swing more to the right than to the left, but the LDS Church takes no political stand on candidates or non-moral issues. That has been the Church's stance since the days of Brigham Young.

The articles by the Globe try to make the LDS Church into the Moral Majority and its missionaries as "get out to vote" evangelists. As evidentiary support, the Globe quotes an email sent to several church leaders by one supporter of Romney. The Globe does not quote any responsive emails, so the evidence is obtained from only the person sending the emails.

I took a logic class once years ago in college.  During the first week, we learned how to identify stupid arguments with no foundation.  Something about the Globe's articles seem to ring a bell.

Using the same logic, I would like to quote from an email I just sent the Globe as evidence that the Globe has officially endorsed Osama Bin Laden for President in 2008.

According to my highly reliable sources (me), the Globe has endorsed Osama Bin Laden for President of the United States in 2008.  Though the Globe has denied it, the Beehive Standard Weekly has obtained an email from Rob Graham, a person known to have had correspondence with the Globe, that states in pertinant part:  "I am glad you have agreed to endorse the best candidate for the job.  Obviously, Osama Bin Laden can help us get out of Iraq and as such is the best choice.  I am having a meeting between Hugh Heffner, Odie the Dog and the Spirit of Rodney Dangerfield and would very much like you (the publisher of the Globe) to attend. I have bounced the idea off of Hugh Heffner and Dangerfield and they didn't object, so it looks like we are all on board.  OSAMA for PREZ in 2008!!"

So there you have it.  Under similar "proof," I have established by clear and convincing evidence that the Boston Globe is supporting Osama Bin Laden.

If the Globe's one-sided source is the best they can do, they shouldn't be in the newspaper business.

Immediately upon reviewing the Boston Globe's first article, the LDS Church reaffirmed its political neutrality.

Despite the denials from the Church, the Boston Globe is still attempting to marry Romney and the LDS Church to show the world that Romney is only a puppet of religious zealots and has no brain of his own.

Romney's position is that he will accept support from any source and he certainly will try to raise funds through his LDS collegues and BYU alumni as they are an obvious source of funding. The LDS church and Brigham Young University want to make it clear that they are politically neutral. The Boston Globe is on a mission to prove otherwise.

Despite the individual support of members of the Mormon Church, and alumni of Brigham Young University, the LDS Church and BYU are not going to be jumping on a partisan political bandwagon anytime soon.  That policy is probably older than the Boston Globe itself. Unfortunately, the Globe is not familiar with the LDS Church and has only shown its ignorance through this recent series of articles.

Perhaps the Globe could actually have a reporter spend the night west of the Rocky Mountains before running stories so factually and historically unsubstantiated.
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Comments
  • Comment #1 (Posted by Billy)

    I'm sorry but this little article does nothing to refute the very precise accusations i read in the boston article. Just saying that the church is politically neutral does not refute the accusation of direct contact and support proferred by mormons in leadership position. It is silly to defend at all costs situations about which we know little. Whatever one's religious beliefs maybe, it is not inconceivable that these communications were made. Unfortunately, some people grant people in certain leadership positions the characteristic of perfection and flawlessness, and are unwilling to hold their leaders accountable.



    From the Publisher: Of course individuals in the Church and in its leadership could have easily had these conversations and failed to consider the implications. Such is the case with an organization like the LDS Church that is not involved in politics at this level. If those conversations did take place, they were individual in nature and NOT institutional endorsements. If the lines were vague and smeared, they certainly have been reinforced.

    I do, however, find the "support" for the article very weak. To say that a person spoke to another about an idea and that the other person didn't object to an idea is not exactly a smoking gun. Where are the written responses saying the LDS Church is forming a committee to run Romney's campaign. It doesn't exist and it never will. Imperfect people? Sure. Endorsement of Romney? Not even close.

     
  • Comment #2 (Posted by Hans)

    bias in story obvious, Mr Romney's politics a blight on LDS people everywhere.
     
  • Comment #3 (Posted by an unknown user)

    Well spoken!
     
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