Mitt Romney loses two in a row: Could his religion be hurting him?

Many Americans are concerned about Romney's religious background. All Mormons believe they are descended from the tribes of Israel.

"Latter-day Saints believe themselves to be either direct descendants of the House of Israel, or adopted into it. As such, Judaism is foundational to the history of Mormonism; Jews are looked upon as a covenant people of God, held in high esteem, and are respected in the Mormon faith system. The LDS church is consequently very philo-Semitic by doctrine.

Mormon beliefs regarding their membership in the House of Israel are generally rejected both from a theological and cultural stand point by the Jewish community. This concept of claiming membership in the House of Israel produces various interfaith problems.

The official position of Latter-day Saints is that those who have accepted Mormonism or are a part of the Latter Day Saint movement are primarily from the House of Joseph. Adherents believe they are members of one of the tribes of Israel, either by blood lineage or by adoption, when the recipient is not a literal descendant of Jacob, also known as Israel. Latter-day Saints believe that all of the tribes exist within their numbers, though not every tribe in every country. Ephraim and Manasseh are by far the two largest tribes in the LDS Church." See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormonism_and_Judaism.

Mormons believe they are the "chosen people" and refer to non-Mormons as gentiles. Mormons went as far as documenting the names of Jews who died in the Holocaust and then posthumously baptized them as Mormons so they could go to Heaven. This was offensive to Jews who were able to get the Mormons to remove the names of the Holocaust victims from their International Genealogical Index in 1995.

Mitt Romney is aware of these Mormon beliefs because he is a Latter Day Saint's bishop. Can he be counted to respect the First Amendment of the Constitution? Would his philo-semitic outlook prevent him from being an honest broker in the Middle East conflict?

So far Romney has shown little interest in ending the Iraq War and also suggested that Armed Forces be modernized and the force size increased. Can America afford this after the budgetary and tax excesses of the Bush administration? Is this appropriate for a country that has entered a recession?

These are questions I would like to see Mr. Romney explain.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Current Polls
    ... I did some reading on Mormons, okay they're a little wacky, but its ... that Israel is to be protected. ... Israel is key to winning the Frigid War (which started the day the "Cold ... Clinton lost it in 92. ...
    (alt.politics)
  • Re: A new appreciation of Deacon
    ... most gentiles understand either Zionism or the modern state of Israel. ... problem is my use of the term anti-Semitism. ... The building looks forbidding, but I have to say, that my wife has often joked and chatted with the many Mormons who used to knock at doors in the UK, but strangely I don't think any have visited us in Taree yet, despite the close proximity of their church. ...
    (rec.music.classical.recordings)
  • "Mitt Needs To Make Israel Count"
    ... The press almost always overlooks this, but the argument over Israel ... pro-Israel stand is a way of communicating your commitment to American ... rise of the modern Zionist movement among Jews and as a group Mormons ... faith by the direct support of Joseph Smith. ...
    (soc.culture.jewish.moderated)
  • Re: Mormons and Jews
    ... >Mormons consider themself Zion and the "Elders of Zion" ... I have the song "Ye Elders of Israel" in mp3 format. ...
    (soc.religion.mormon)
  • Re: Mormon Prophet dies at age 97
    ... Latter-day Saints through explosive growth during his more than 12 ... First I'd like to say that of the few Mormons I have met they all seem ... encouraged to think that maybe *they* should be the one god talks to. ... women and being wanted for a lot of murders. ...
    (soc.retirement)