Mitt Romney Faces Question About Mormon Faith (VIDEO)

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was questioned about his Mormon faith while campaigning for Tuesday's Wisconsin primary.

A Ron Paul supporter, 28-year-old Bret Hatch, asked Romney whether he agreed with a passage from the Book of Mormon that describes a cursing of people with a "skin of blackness." Romney's staff took away the microphone before the Green Bay man could read the passage.

"I'm sorry, we're just not going to have a discussion about religion in my view, but if you have a question I'll be happy to answer your question," Romney said Monday.

Hatch then asked whether Romney thought it was a sin for interracial couples to have children.

"No. Next question," Romney responded curtly.

Hatch was citing verses from Mormon scriptures which he argued called it sinful for blacks and whites to have children.

Such allegations are often made by critics who accuse The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of racism and consider Mormon teachings heretical. The church barred men of African descent from the Latter-day Saint priesthood until 1978. Some Mormons may have heard verses from scripture cited in their communities as an explanation of why blacks were not allowed to become priests.

However, church leaders have said the origins of the prohibition are unknown. The church recently issued a statement from its offices in Utah denouncing racism and warning against what it called speculation about how the ban came to be.

"For a time in the church there was a restriction on the priesthood for male members of African descent," the church said. "It is not known precisely why, how, or when this restriction began in the church but what is clear is that it ended decades ago."

Romney often talks about the decade he spent as a volunteer Mormon pastor in the Boston area before becoming governor of Massachusetts.

Not long after Hatch's question, Romney reflected upon that experience.

"This gentleman wanted to talk about the doctrines of my religion. I'll talk about the practices of my faith," Romney said, noting that his service as a pastor helped him connect with people on "a very personal basis."

"Most Americans, by the way, are carrying a burden of some kind. We don't see it. We see someone on the street, they smile and say hello, but behind them they're carrying kind of a bag of rocks," Romney said. "I want to help people. I want to lighten that burden."

___

AP Religion Writer Rachel Zoll contributed to this report.

Comments

[Dougtheavenger]

04:03 AM on 04/20/2012

All people referenced in the Book of Mormon (BoM) excerpt quoted by this guy are descendants of 3 caucasian guys from Jerusalem named Lehi, Ishmael and Zoram. There are no blacks in the BoM as most Americans understand the term "black". Nor is there any discussion of interracial marriage. If you want a reality check on interracial marriage and Mormonism try history.
1. In 1847, a runaway slave named William McCarty was baptized into the Mormon church and ordained to the priesthood. He later married a white Mormon woman in Winter Quarters Iowa. Although this was almost certainly met with widespread disapproval, there is no record of interference which is in keeping with Mormon views of free-agency. No law prohibited such marriages in Iowa at the time.
2. In the late 19th Century, Utah joined 40 other states and territories by making marriage between blacks and whites illegal. Other states where such marriages were, for some period of time, illegal include New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, all Southern states and California. Utah's laws were not particularly strict compared to most other states.

[KaAp]

10:51 AM on 05/16/2012

http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/utah_today/thecivilrightsmovementinutah.html Although inter-racial marriage was permitted in 1898 ... what you are stating is NOT true, From the state historical website "African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos, and others suffered formal discrimination, but most anti-minority sentiment appeared more insidiously cloaked in the dressing gown of the protection of private property. With the exception of an 1898 state law that prohibited marriage between a man and woman of different races, city ordinances that barred African Americans from swimming in municipal pools, and laws that prohibited Native Americans from voting, most discrimination in Utah resulted from restrictive real estate covenants, policies of private businesses, and patterns of residential living. "
Furthermore you cite the example of the early church but it is true and something that you cannot dispute with obscurantist (l.y.i.n.g. for the l.o.r.d.) sleight-of-hand it was not until 1978 that African Americans could hold priesthood in the LDS church.

[xxixpines]

01:15 PM on 05/16/2012

Truth comes to the surface when you least expect it to.

[Ashkewoof]

02:18 PM on 04/18/2012

If you want to understand Mormonism, watch the South Park episode on it.

They sum up a more accurate picture of Mormonism than anyone else has in years.

[ajholloway]

12:15 PM on 05/01/2012

I would think that a person of even moderate intelligence who wanted to know the tenets of a particular belief system would query the institution in question instead of watching cartoons.

[Ashkewoof]

02:34 PM on 05/01/2012

I know the tenets of Mormonism intimately.

Having been born and raised in the Mormon Religion in Salt Lake City Utah, having participated in the temple ceremonies in the Salt Lake Temple and knowing full well the scope and breadth of their teachings, I can tell you with certainty that the South Park episode on Mormons is spot on the money.

The South Park creators are at least kind in their representation of the Mormon family in the episode even though they point out the complete idiocy of the Mormon belief system that is, in my informed opinion, on par with Scientology. (Another episode which is also a funny if not accurate depiction of that systems core beliefs as well.)

[Aion]

01:25 AM on 04/15/2012

The question that was put to Romney was rather interesting, IMHO. They asked him whether a white guy could marry and procreate with a black woman, or if it was a sin. I want to know his answer to whether a black man can do the same with a white woman.

There's a very subtle difference within the tribal mentality.

It's seen as a matter of "We're taking their women" vs. "They're taking our women".

Romney's answer was a NON-answer. I would expect him to permit white men taking on black wives. If he's truly not a racist Tribalist, I would need to know whether he supports members of the opposite race 'taking' the females of his race.

Does Romney support black men marrying white woman? That is the key question. This questioner probably asked this question in order to make it appear that Romney is more race-tolerant than he really is. It may well be downright deceptive.

[Keisha Rector]

11:29 AM on 05/15/2012

Oh my goodness...the questions people come up with. Pf course he would!

[KaAp]

10:52 AM on 05/16/2012

Sure, sure and I suppose the LDS church does not posthumously baptize people either.

[xxixpines]

05:36 PM on 04/14/2012

I believe there will be many more articles such as this one appearing in near future.
If you havent visited this blog in a while, its worth a re read in my opinon.

[frenchyfoof]

12:25 AM on 04/05/2012

He will need to face whether his faith is really based on the Bible, Jesus, the son of God and King of God's kingdom or heavenly government...and he may be greatly disappointed with the truth of the matter when it becomes known to him.

[N Lee Fox]

04:40 AM on 04/06/2012

Romney will not have to face anything, because the Bible, Jesus the Christ are the foundation for the Mormon Religion.....

[pragmaticalpaula]

03:55 AM on 04/07/2012

No it is not, that is a lie.

[xxixpines]

10:10 PM on 04/08/2012

first half: your entitled to belive that.
second half: Just because you beileve it doesnt mean it is true.

[Horux]

05:05 PM on 04/04/2012

In considering the historical racism of the Mormon church, it is worth remembering that George Romney was disgusted by it and pushed back against the LDS hierarchy, even after being warned to toe the Cain line.

George's son Mitt Romney had a different approach: he remained silent and scrupulously obedient to the hierarchy, his ex-post-facto reinterpretation of history not withstanding.

[Dougtheavenger]

09:52 AM on 04/05/2012

This is fiction only in that George Romney had no need to push back. He and other members were supporters of the Civil Rights movement in their goal to end demeaning aspects of segregation and restore voting rights to southern blacks.

[Alex Christie]

06:15 AM on 04/04/2012

I am surprised Romney hasn't been battered with more Mormon theology questions. As classless as it would have been, attacking Romney's Mormon theology would have probably been a much more effective tactic for Santorum or Gingrich in the GOP race. Oh well.

Google "Thomas S. Monson" if you want to see the man Romney has sworn an oath to obey. Decide if you want him controlling our next president.

[Doug64]

10:31 AM on 04/04/2012

If Romney wins the presidency, you can expect the General Authorities to bend over backwards *not* to do anything that might hint at giving him orders. The Church will be around long after a Romney presidency would be over, and the last thing they are going to want to do is give any ammunition to our opponents that insist we want to impose a theocracy on the US.

[xxixpines]

12:44 PM on 04/04/2012

with the exception of the white horse doctrine of course

[sinbad usn]

03:34 PM on 04/04/2012

as In said in my huffpost - drivil 102....

[xxixpines]

06:04 PM on 04/04/2012

your level of hypnotizm is recognized and accepted.
Perhaps trolling elsewhere would be more productive.

[iLdoRight]

03:37 AM on 04/04/2012

"LDS" picks scriptures seems supporting its believes and rejects the scriptures that contradict what it wants to believe.

You claim Jesus allegiance while rejecting His, "lies help Satan", "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.  And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not" John 8:44,45

Christmas lies and bribes, though Revelation 21:27 says they’ll exclude from, "The Lamb's Book of Life" rewards ? "There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life"

"Mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them" Romans 16:17
"Charge...they teach no other doctrine" 1 timothy 1:3 Did Joseph Smith maintain the "true" Christian doctrine or did he introduce new doctrine and was there murder associated with the early "LDS" Church in the Mountain Meadows Massacre ?

http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/program/episodes/four/mountain.htm

Don't hear Jesus ? Don't hear Moses ? Why hear me ? Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4
Condemning bribes to believe wrongly; Isaiah 33:15, Psalm 26:10, 1 Samuel 8:3

"the dead know not any thing !" Ecclesiastes 9:5,

[Dougtheavenger]

10:43 PM on 04/04/2012

Really. Murders were committed by Mormons and this is an indictment of the LDS church. What you call "Historic" Christians churches have comited murder by order of and in the name of the church. How many heretics have been burnt at the stake. How many witches have been killed. How many wars fought in the name of Catholicism, Protestantism, etc.

[iLdoRight]

02:21 AM on 04/05/2012

"Dougtheavenger", I have not looked at your posts to see if you are a Mormon defending Mormonism, but if so you seem to be dodging a main point by seemingly saying "so what, lots of Christians are killers", as if hundreds of wrongs make a right, but you overlooked or sidestepped the fact that I was not comparing the LDS to other false Christians, but rather I was asking if the LDS maintained the doctrine of "true" Christianity or did they just become another corrupt deviation away from what is right as indicated in the statement here from my comment;

"Did Joseph Smith maintain the "true" Christian doctrine or did he introduce new doctrine and was there murder" ?

How would you answer that question in an honest, straight froward manner ?

[N Lee Fox]

04:52 AM on 04/06/2012

And lets not forget how many Mormons were Murdered defending thier faith.... Check out Kirkland, Ohio..... Check out Haws Mill, Missiour...... Check out Nauvoo, Illinois... It wasn't a war it was Southern and Northern Mobs..... Even Governor Bogs from Missious murdered many Mormons...... And Mormonism has even florished as of this day... Now if this was a cult or a devils church, it would have been destoryed long ago..... God protects his people and his church..... Have a Nice Day....

[l78lancer]

12:06 AM on 04/04/2012

""For a time in the church there was a restriction on the priesthood for male members of African descent," the church said. "It is not known precisely why, how, or when this restriction began in the church but what is clear is that it ended decades ago.""
-------------------------------------------------->

By any standard, ending discriminatory practices is the right thing to do. But if the Book of Mormon is their official scriptural text, then how do church leaders simply ignore what it says? If it's that easy to disregard what is written in their "religious text" for popular of political reasons, then it seems that people have every right to question Romney about how his religion will affect his ability to govern, particularly since the entire religious issue has been brought up by the rightwing.

[Doug64]

01:14 AM on 04/04/2012

The Book of Mormon doesn't have a thing to say about Blacks at all.

[l78lancer]

03:44 AM on 04/04/2012

"...asked Romney whether he agreed with a passage from the Book of Mormon that describes a cursing of people with a "skin of blackness." Romney's staff took away the microphone before the Green Bay man could read the passage.".........In case you didn't take note, neither did I. But it appears that was the whole point of the question asked of the young man. And if the book didn't say anything about it that was the time for Romney to address it.

[xxixpines]

08:44 AM on 04/04/2012

you are so correct it does not use the word "black" It all in how you use language hey?

Use the mormon buzz word dictionary or be incorrect.

[sinbad usn]

03:37 PM on 04/04/2012

Just as they asked JFK, whose answers were curt. ah, ignorance thy name is drivil.

[xxixpines]

06:05 PM on 04/04/2012

Have you something to contribute other than spam?

[Dougtheavenger]

10:00 AM on 04/05/2012

JFK was never asked purely religious questions. The questions were political; ie, will you take orders from the Pope. That may be inane but still political. People ask Romney questions that are not political at all.

[dstoke]

12:04 AM on 04/04/2012

come on people...the kid was obviously just going for a quick jab based on an insinuation. It is analogous to calling Obama a Muslim.

The doctrine taught in the book is "he [God] denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female"
The history told in the book is a one-sided account about two cultures that thoroughly disliked each other, the one called the other 'lazy' 'filthy' 'loathsome' etc. For a full treatment of the claim read a response from an anthropologist who focuses on ancient cultures: http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/review/?vol=15&num=2&id=508

[Natuska]

02:04 AM on 04/04/2012

Nothing published by the maxwell institute is peer reviewed in the rigorous academic sense. The author here is a temple-recommend holding Mormon. Hence publications from the maxwell institute should be read with the understanding that they exist to push an apologetic point of view and should not be mistaken for academic research. Unfortunately, at least for Mormonism, the rigorous academic literature has nothing which supports anything claimed by the Book of Mormon.

[Dougtheavenger]

10:02 AM on 04/05/2012

Are you challenging the existence of these words in the Book of Mormon? The Maxwell Institute is irrelevent. The BoM says what it says.

[SolarArray]

10:01 PM on 04/03/2012

Mitt The Liar doing waht he does so well.

[dagman11]

08:18 PM on 04/03/2012

That kid is absolutely right for asking a question about Mitt's faith. He is running for the presidency of the United States and is a devout follower of a crackpot cult founded by a known con man. His defensive response to the question suggests that he is wary of his religious beliefs becoming the subject of conversation. Most Americans know that Mitt is a Mormon, but a majority of those people don't have the slightest idea what type of outlandish beliefs are at the heart of Mormonism. If the electorate was to become aware of both the history of Mormonism and it's core beliefs, that could deal a substantial blow to the Romney campaign.

[xxixpines]

08:28 PM on 04/03/2012

That portion of education will surely come after the primary.
He wont even mention his faith by name.
That says a lot.

[KaAp]

09:16 PM on 04/03/2012

Yes, it does my friend. Once the majority of Americans find out the fundamental beliefs of this group they will be horrified.

[Semprini]

09:20 PM on 04/03/2012

Yeah, for a guy who's supposedly so "proud" of his deal, he seems kind of embarrassed.

Can't blame him, really...

[Wayne T]

11:40 PM on 04/03/2012

I disagree. If Mitt Romney went around preaching Mormonism throughout his campaign the way that Santorum preaches Christianity, then yes the doctrine of Mormonism is relevant. But despite having been a former clergyman in the Morman church, Mitt Romney has not discussed his believes much throughout the campaign. While this may suggest he's embarrassed by his beliefs, I think its much more indicative of the fact that he doesn't think its important and is more likely to separate his beliefs from the way he governs just like JFK did.

Throughout this campaign, Romney has already given us so much material that we can use to crucify (pardon the expression) him fairly. Using the tenants of Mormonism will just make his opponents look petty. Let's stick to his flip-floppiness and weak policy ideas instead.

[Doug64]

01:21 AM on 04/04/2012

Romney's campaign has been focused on economic issues, and the doctrinal and theological differences that evangelicals focus on are simply irrelevant when it comes to economic and social policy, anyway. However, deep Romney's religious convictions might be, focusing on them on the stump would be counterproductive - it would turn off the more secular-minded while reminding the more religiously-minded that his religion is one that they have issues with.

It is interesting that in what polls I've seen he's been getting the votes of more Catholics than Santorum, though.

[xxixpines]

07:26 PM on 04/03/2012

Its obvious that Willard is afraid to talk about the subject.
I wonder why?
LOL

[N Lee Fox]

05:32 AM on 04/06/2012

Presidential Candidates must be of at least 35 years old. Natural-Born Citizen, and have 14 years of residence in the United States...... What is all of this stuff about what religion a person is..... I am sure that Romney is a faithful member of his church, loves his wife and his children and Loves the United States..... What more do we need??????

[ModLib Pantheist]

03:18 PM on 04/06/2012

No one's questioning any of that. No one suspects he's legally ineligible for the office. However, fitting the legal criteria does not necessarily make one qualified for the job.

[xxixpines]

09:16 PM on 04/08/2012

Honesty and integrity for two.

[mary1265]

06:15 PM on 04/03/2012

Aren't all religions established on BY THE MEN FOR THE MEN. The Founder of the Mormon
Religion took it a step further I believe. Multiple wives who the men or elders get to choose at a very young age from the Flock. Very Creepy!

[N Lee Fox]

05:34 AM on 04/06/2012

Romney has only one wife and has had for 48 years.....

[ModLib Pantheist]

03:19 PM on 04/06/2012

Mary was not talking about Romney but about early Mormon leaders.

[Keisha Rector]

11:36 AM on 05/15/2012

if you knew why polygamy was practiced back in the day by the church, you would be embarrassed by this ridiculous comment!

[KaAp]

11:08 AM on 05/16/2012

It is still practiced by the FLDS. And, don't tell me they are a different group. As much as I get embarrassed by Orthodox J ew s who represent a small minority of Je wish people I cannot say they are not part of who we are.

[mikeybo14]

05:48 PM on 04/03/2012

Having been a faithful young man in The Mormon church long ago, the lessons of the curse of Cain were often taught in Sunday school. Brigham Young preached it from the pulpit. It's disingenuous for the church to proclaim otherwise. Of course the church has made an art form of hiding the dirty laundry from the faithful, but the invention of the internet has opened a lot of peoples eyes.

[KaAp]

09:17 PM on 04/03/2012

Fan number two

[l78lancer]

12:09 AM on 04/04/2012

Thank you.