There is rejoicing in the homes of Mormon Republicans across America this week.
Last Sunday, thousands upon thousands fasted -- skipping two meals -- and prayed that Mitt Romney would prevail in Wednesday night's debate.
Which he certainly did with his commanding performance.
Was Romney's victory the hand of God at work?
As a Mormon, I was raised on hand-of-God narratives in which prayer almost always yielded miracles for our underdog team, from the survival of 19th-century Mormon pioneers in direst circumstances to the success of the Brigham Young University football squad.
But in the case of the Romney debate victory, please forgive my skepticism. I'm a Mormon Democrat. Which is sort of like being a Jewish Republican -- a source of perpetual consternation to most of your relatives and co-religionists.
And I have stopped believing that God takes sides in history.
In fact, The Book of Mormon -- a text sacred to the potential next president that has received virtually no notice during this campaign year -- chronicles a civilization divided and then done in by pride and perpetual clashes.
Our divided nation faces its share of difficult circumstances: the moral challenge of drawing down a debt bloated by failed wars we ourselves countenanced, and the equally serious moral challenge of fulfilling our obligations to care for our elders while investing in the education, healthcare and infrastructure our children and young people rely upon.
If the hand of God is anywhere at work in American politics, it's in the challenge to speak more truthfully, reason more respectfully, listen more carefully, and reflect more critically on the poor decisions -- individual and collective -- that got us into our current situation.
What I heard Wednesday night was a welter of "facts" and counter-"facts," points and counterpoints, the challenger's spirited delivery besting the incumbent at the game.
Amidst the debate bluster, I struck up a sidebar conversation on Twitter with a friend in Salt Lake City. She's an evangelical Christian; I'm a Mormon. We are both women of faith, working our jobs, growing our families, and worried about the future.
"I keep thinking about those verses in Malachi 4," I wrote to her, "about the hearts of the fathers turning to the children and the hearts of the children turning to their fathers."
"I wish someone would put that scripture into the conversation," she replied.
After all, the underdog in this campaign is not one of the men on the debate stage. It's the millions of American children who are depending on adults to work out the national fiscal mess we helped to create. And it's the millions of Americans without healthcare, the millions without jobs.
What the debate gave us was not the kind of reflective, consensus-building moral leadership we will need to turn American hearts to a place of problem-solving. It was numbers that don't add up from the candidate who is not in office and exhaustion from the candidate who is.
Nothing surprising, but nothing divine either.
Follow Joanna Brooks on Twitter: www.twitter.com/askmormongirl
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So I know politicans, specially from the GOP like to lie, but bringing up religion in a debate would kill Romney. Most Americans believe the book of mormon was no written by divine influence but, a scam artist that wanted to make some money. So why would you bring up a highly fabricated story when you are trying to sell an opinion to the American people that is full of half truths, outright lies and ideas that would only help the rich and big business.
Does the story sound familiar? It is what we're doing right now as Democrats and Republicans in this country . . .
Every night of my life for the last 4 or 5 yrs, I listen to Bochelli at the Tabernacle.
So, so, so Divine.
And you seem just wonderful
I wish someone could understand the tempest that Ann Romney must feel, being married to a potential fulfillment of Joseph Smith's White Horse Proophecy. She's already said she would be concernerd about Mitt's emotional well being if he is elected. I'm concerned about a man who has achieved more than most men or women could dream, who is a descendant of the First Presidency of the Mormon Church, and who might think he has been chosen to fulfill Mormon prophecy and save the "sacred Constitution" from imminent peril.
He caught Obama off guard who was actually shocked by the lies that spew from Mitt's mouth.
I know that a lot of blind people actually saw the debate as a win for Mitt Romney and the Mormon faith; however, I see it as the cover coming off a sheep in wolves clothing. How can a pathological liar proclaim a victory?
John 10th chapter describes Mitt Romney up and down. He comes to steal, kill and to destroy. His eyes were glazed and wild looking. He is a liar and the Father of Lies?
President Obama is not an angel. But he does consider the poor. He is the lesser of the two evils.
Poetry: "But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings and ye shall go forth, and [leap about] as calves [released from] the stall."
Horror: "And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts."
An economic ideology of profits over people, which can be seen in every aspect of American culture, will yield an outcome to a third world nation. That is where the rich get richer at the expense of everyone else.
The data is there for everyone to see this occurring as the rich one per cent is gaining wealth while the rest of America is losing wealth. If America paid for its wars this reality could be seen much faster.
Capitalism is not about free speech, or any personal freedoms. It is an economic ideology of private enterprise and competition and the capitalists will do everything they can to remove that competition.
Capitalism = Profits first and cares nothing about the quality of life of the people for which is resides. I.e. jobs for cheap labor off to china for profits while poverty explodes in America.
Capitalism will lead to imperialism, which the data is there (720 foreign military bases) for everyone to see with two illegal wars and 40% of American federal taxes going to their war machine.
This I know; data means nothing when it comes to economic and political ideologies and beliefs that have become a paradigm paralysis.
in the world and there are many religions that teach good things, the fact that we were Catholic
gave us an edge with God & getting to Heaven so what you were told as a Mormon does not
seem that much different from what I heard. My mother did change as she got older & was
far more accepting of other religions or of those did not believe in organized religion.
She died in 2005 & was shocked by the sex scandals of the Catholic Church that took place
in her last years. As a young girl, she had been taught that priests could do no wrong.
It's just that with all the fundamentalist spouting hatred and division over the last 12 years, most of them conveniently ignoring the part about being good loving Christians to all Gods children.. it's nice to hear someone with a more balanced view. Jmho
I was a bit surprised by her comment "I have stopped believing that God takes sides in history". I would like to know when she thinks God stopped taking sides, was it recent, or has it been a long-time since God has stepped in to direct his children. I believe that God affects our lives, and of course that means taking sides, on daily basis. Maybe not on a grand scale, but I would imagine God has his hands in major decisions throughout the world on a regular basis. Do I think that the fasting that was done on Romney's behalf helped him, yes I do. Does that mean that God did something to effect Obama or the moderator, no I do not think so. God could have inspired Romney to remember key points or to take action when most appropriate, that is not far fetched to me.
Personally, I do not believe in the God(s) of the worldly religions, though I once did and was an ardent believer. There were a number of things that turned me away from my childhood Protestantism and my 7 year foray into Mormonism as a young adult. A big thing for me was and is what we have been talking about - the very idea that a truly evolved being, or God, takes sides, chooses one person or group of people over another. Both the Bible and the Book of Mormon depict a "God" choosing sides in all manner of cases, including, sadly enough, war. Again, though this is me, such things no longer sit well w/ me, so being attached to any religion or philosophy is simply out of the question.
Just a few thoughts...
There is not an iota of evidence than any god has ever had any effect on the life of a human.
Romney flip-flopped - again. The President didn't fight hard enough. Lehrer himself proffered a weak performance.
The only loser of the debate as Ms. Brooks mentioned was us, the people. There is nothing divine in this position we find ourselves in or the candidates the average voters see as saviors for America. In reality, the politicians themselves do not have the answers. If they did, we would not be where we are.
Politicians have been the driving force behind the problems. Misguided policy over decades - from both parties - has lead us to this moment. Neither party wants to address this. Instead, they distract voters from it, turn voters against each other by engendering fear in the "other" and say, "if only I/ we were in power it would be different". Look honestly at history and tell me if this sort of misguided behavior has ever panned out, has ever done anyone any good.
One last note: Money, power and prestige have their limits. We need to set each down for moment and really look at each other...learn how to deal with each other as the equals we are, regardless of our citizenship, our race, sex or religion.