[The Mormon Candidate, by Gary Petty] 1

Belief in God and going to Church are prerequisites for the job of being President of the United States. Which god, and what church, doesn't matter that much as long as the candidate believes and his church doesn't draw too much negative publicity. Though it has surfaced in past elections, religion has managed to remain a background issue in recent years as it probably will this election even though the Republican candidate is a Mormon. The formation of the Mormon religion is not much different than the formation of many other religions. However, "their founding is recent enough to have been extensively documented by verifiable witnesses and historians at every turn." Yet it remains relatively unknown to most Americans (only 2% of the population is part of the culture), and Mormons are seen as "peculiar people" set apart from the world by what it believes is its unique relationship with God. Here is a very condensed version of how it happened. A young Joseph Smith later reported that, in 1823, "he was first visited by the angel Moroni, who revealed to him the existence of ancient golden plates, buried two miles from the Smith home, on which the true story of the gospel was written. Years later Smith, having 'purified' himself, took possession of the plates. He kept them covered and advised friends and family that looking at them would mean instant death. Peering into a stovepipe hat and using a seer stone, Smith dictated what would become the Book of Mormon to different scribes." Thirteen years elapsed before God delivered a "new and an everlasting covenant:" polygamy. That's when any reasonable person begins to say things like, "You're kidding me!" Mitt's greatgreat grandfather was one of the first informed of Joseph Smith's polygamist vision. Polygamy became a significant aspect of Mormon culture among the elders for the next 40 years, until congress finally passed the Edmunds Act, restating that polygamy was a felony punishable by five years imprisonment and a $500 fine. That was the beginning of a major transition for the church. Led by Brigham Young and the largest group of Mormons -- The Church of Later Day Saints (LDS) -- they headed to the Utah Territory and eventual statehood. Several smaller groups, that still practiced polygamy, formed other denominations of Mormon Fundamentalism and found safe havens elsewhere. Mitt's great-grandfather was one of the later. He fled to Mexico to avoid arrest or to avoid having to testify in the trial of brethren. That's where Mitt's father was born. His family fled back to the US during the Mexican Revolution, although the commune still exists today. The church has changed little since then. What changes have occurred have been well behind the times as displayed in a revelation from 1978: "It doesnt make a particle of difference what anybody ever said about the Negro matter before the first day of June of this year." But misogyny in the modern day Church of Latter Day Saints remains much as it has always been. The official view is that a woman's primary place is in the home, where she is to rear children and abide by the righteous counsel of her husband. Not something you'd expect to hear from someone who wants to be President in 2012 America. Mormonism has one very unique premise that may help explain Mitt Romney; both its original prophet and its God think, at times, like investment bankers. When they arrived in Ohio, Joseph Smith set up his own bank and proceeded to buy cheap land from the Government and lend money, bolstered by revelations along the way. Mormonism is one of Mitt Romney's deepest and most profound beliefs. He was a bishop in the church for more than 10 years, until he decided to step down and run for U.S. Senate against Edward Kennedy in 1994. Given that he refuses to reveal much about his financial situation - as if it were an exercise in religious freedom - we are unlikely to learn anything about what he truly believes. Romney will remain safe in his fundamental belief that, no matter what he says, he is essentially honest. And we just have to trust him; that it's part of a pact with his god, whoever He is and whatever He says.