# The LDS Church's Statement on the US Elections **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 7, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226 "2012-11-07T15:34:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/81 "2012-11-07T22:48:57Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > And what does it prove? The Mormons in my area and in the picture that your cite shows are diverse. That picture is an ad, not a scientific study. Where do you live that you have that diverse a population of Mormons? ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/82 "2012-11-07T23:12:03Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > That picture is an ad, not a scientific study. Where do you live that you have that diverse a population of Mormons? South East. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/83 "2012-11-07T23:13:07Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I believe **mtomm** earlieer stated that previous press releases of the same type lead to the supposition that the unreleased “Romney wins” press release was pretty much like the released “Obama wins” press release. Are there indeed previous press releases from previous elections we can take a look at for comparison? I think you’re completely over-thinking the hypothetical “Romney Wins!” press release. In fact, if Romney had won, they probably wouldn’t have released anything. They’d be keeping a low profile to avoid criticism or scrutiny. It is extremely easy to predict what the Mormon Church will do at any given time. 90% of the time they’ll do whatever makes them look inoffensive and mainstream. Every once in a while, they’ll do something stupid, like Prop 8, and the criticism will keep them from getting involved the next time. As absurd as it appears to us, Mormons really believe that someday they’ll succeed in converting large percentages of the population to their religion. That’s why they want to avoid alienating large portions of the public and try desperately to become part of the religious mainstream. Unfortunately, it also leads to a weird and abrasive overconfidence like mtomm’s, where he’s claiming non-Mormons have Stake Presidents and Bishops. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/84 "2012-11-07T23:22:47Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > And what does it prove? **Mosier** said Mormons are “a mostly socially uniform group with very few outliers,” and the facts seem to be more on his side than on yours. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/85 "2012-11-07T23:24:36Z")
Didn’t the Mormon church only start accepting black members in 1978? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/86 "2012-11-07T23:33:05Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > South East. Florida? ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/87 "2012-11-07T23:36:05Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > Didn’t the Mormon church only start accepting black members in 1978? No, they could join, but they were second-class members. They weren’t allowed in the Temple and thus couldn’t have an eternal marriage, and the male black members were denied the rights that 12-year-old white boys had to distribute the sacrament (eucharist). Unsurprisingly, few African Americans wanted to join an organization that rated them little better than children. ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/88 "2012-11-07T23:38:50Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > Didn’t the Mormon church only start accepting black members in 1978? No. Not true. Again, can we start a separate Mormon questions thread or something? Ask those questions there. I am already telling you I will not be participating in that thread because I anticipate it ending up like this one, but it will at least get it all funneled into one place. If you are interested in Black Mormons go here: [http://www.blacklds.org/](http://www.blacklds.org/) ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/89 "2012-11-07T23:43:02Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > The LDS is a gruesome cult and I’m glad one of its leaders was rejected from office. Its tenets are shockingly barbaric and its history is so filled with shame that it glosses over the most obvious parts…like the fact that Joseph Smith was a HUGE FUCKING LIAR. Good riddance I say. Plus, I hear those Jews are nothing but Bolsheviks anyway! Oh, uh, what? We’re using the same tired “their weird clothes and hats!” and “well a hundred years ago, one of them said this weird thing, so sayeth them all” arguments, just applied to a different group?!? Well, gosh, isn’t there egg on my face! I wish someone told me we updated The Eternal Jew to The Eternal Mormon! ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/90 "2012-11-07T23:57:29Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > I assure you I do not. There may be someone out there who _thinks or believes_ they are this to me, but that doesn’t make it so. > > You (your church) do not get to project your beliefs onto me. I assure you your beliefs (and all religions) are unwelcome here. You want the freedom to practice your particular flavor of invisible-man-in-the-sky worship, but you have to respect that also gives me freedom from religion. Poor choice of wording on that poster’s part. An LDS bishop is responsible for ecclesiastical matters in the geographic region covered by his ward. If you or any other non-member found yourself needing assistance from the Bishop’s Storehouse, then you would go to the bishop for the ward which covers your area. It’s not unlike how a Catholic bishop is resonsible for ecclesiastical matters in his diocese, which itself is a geographic area. Non-LDS are not responsible to the LDS bishop and non-Catholics are not responsible to the diocesan bishop. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/91 "2012-11-08T00:00:35Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Plus, I hear those Jews are nothing but Bolsheviks anyway! > > Oh, uh, what? We’re using the same tired “their weird clothes and hats!” and “well a hundred years ago, one of them said this weird thing, so sayeth them all” arguments, just applied to a different group?!? > > Well, gosh, isn’t there egg on my face! I wish someone told me we updated The Eternal Jew to The Eternal Mormon! Same cult, different day. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/92 "2012-11-08T00:07:03Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Which apparently is more than many of her Republican friends are doing. Or the Mormon-phobes in this thread. Alas, sometimes there are a lot more “liberals” out there than there are liberals. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/93 "2012-11-08T00:08:06Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > Same cult, different day. Guess so. Birds gotta fly, fish gotta swim, and people gotta hate, right? ---
**Author:** ![drew870mitchell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drew870mitchell/32/3946_2.png) [@drew870mitchell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drew870mitchell)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/94 "2012-11-08T00:18:47Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > That press release was well worded and the fact that it was released right after the results were announced indicates that it was written and vetted well in advance…which leads me to believe that they had a different press release ready in case Romney won. Do you think the tone of that alternate press release was pretty much the same? I think you’re making a mountain out of…nothing. The alternate press release could be made by swapping out the names and a couple words: > [@imaginary bizarro world](#): > > We congratulate Governor Romney on winning a term as President of the United States. > > After a long campaign, this is now a time for Americans to come together. It is a long tradition among Latter-day Saints to pray for our national leaders in our personal prayers and in our congregations. We invite Americans everywhere, whatever their political persuasion, to pray for the President, for the President-Elect, and for the new Congress as they lead us through difficult and turbulent times. May our national leaders reflect the best in wisdom and judgment as they fulfill the great trust afforded to them by the American people. > > We also commend President Obama for engaging at the highest level of our democratic process which, by its nature, demands so much of those who offer themselves for public service. We wish him and his family every success in their future endeavors. There’s not anything untoward about what they said. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/95 "2012-11-08T00:26:02Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Well, gosh, isn’t there egg on my face! I wish someone told me we updated The Eternal Jew to The Eternal Mormon! Nothing you wrote applies to **stpauler** ’s post: he didn’t say anything about weird clothes or quotes from one obscure figure. He made some arguable comments about LDS history and its teachings. This is a bad and pointless strawman. ---
**Author:** ![drew870mitchell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drew870mitchell/32/3946_2.png) [@drew870mitchell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drew870mitchell)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/96 "2012-11-08T00:30:10Z")
Since the other thread topic seems to be Prop 8, here’s my two cents: It seems every time we glance at Prop 8 in the rear view mirror it’s a bigger and bigger mistake. It is mind-boggling that the image-conscious Mormon Church decided to go for the jugular on it. Now the ban is dead. Nobody in their right mind could have believed it would have survived very long anyway. All the church has to show for its efforts is that it made a huge ass out of itself, and regardless of what they do, for quite a while they’ll have a black eye from this with gays and liberals. You can see the opinions in this thread for some of that. The leadership seems to be a little insular and secretive, so we’ll probably never know, but if anyone has an unbiased description of what process the church used to decide to go gung-ho for Prop 8, I would be interested in reading it. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/97 "2012-11-08T00:34:40Z")
> [@mtomm](#): > > Lame-O, Sicks, lame. Wow, that’s the best you could do? Really. :o How is point wrong. There is no official Muslim hierarchy. We’re not Catholics who read a book written in Arabic. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/98 "2012-11-08T00:34:43Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Nothing you wrote applies to **stpauler** ’s post: he didn’t say anything about weird clothes or quotes from one obscure figure. He made some arguable comments about LDS history and its teachings. This is a bad and pointless strawman. Marley, I am astounded you can read stpauler’s fulminating hatred (gruesome cults? barbaric practices? good riddance?) that has nothing to do with Mitt Romney or the LDS statement (which, recall, merely congratulated Obama on his win and commended the candidates on a spirited campaign) and not see that it stands for exactly one, ominously Third Reich point. That point: they are Mormons, and that is the first and last thing you need to know about them. Your counter that stpauler was just making a “historical argument” is the rankest horseshit. There was not one iota of history in his post. He was raging against the audacity of Mormons daring to engage in American politics as if they had any right to. This is precisely the hate (applied to Jews) that animated Naziism. Your cowardly refusal to call a spade a spade is dispiriting. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/99 "2012-11-08T00:43:34Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > Same cult, different day. What have you got against Jews? Do you feel the same about Muslims or are we cool to you? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/100 "2012-11-08T00:46:47Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Your cowardly refusal to call a spade a spade is dispiriting. I find the equivalence between criticism of any religion and Nazism much more dispiriting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226.md?page=6)