I'm starting to get tired of the anti-Mormon rhetoric

Boy, we're a good nine months away from the Republican national convention, and already I'm sick of all the anti-Mormon stuff people are spewing to attack Romney. Why do we start this process so dadgum early? I guess that's a rant for another post.

A blog named Pastors 4 Huckabee.com has raised a lot of hackles in the LDS community after posting an entry titled "7 Questions Christians Must Ask Before Voting For A Mormon."

Ignoring the fact that the author, Sherwood Haisty, Jr. (a fantastic name, by the way), capitalized every word in the title, including "a," this is a ridiculous piece.

Right off the bat, he gets to the point:

#1 Is Mormonism a false cult that decieves people and leads many to hell?

Answer yes!

Well there you go. Can't get much more clearer than that. This guy thinks we are liars and followers of a false religion. Though I suppose he thinks President Hinckley is the leader of a false religion.

Even if this were true, why does it affect Romney's ability to be president?

Haisty makes six more points, some of which are harmless, like "Mormons proselyte!"

But his final point really got me fired up.

#7 Do I believe that voting for a Mormon who prays to a false god and a conterfit Christ, would have any access through prayer to the true God, and do I think prayer matters?

I do not believe that a Mormon praying to his god for help or wisdom has any hope for an answer to his prayer.


This is flat-out offensive. To say that God refuses to listen to the prayer of someone truly seeking His will, just because he doesn't believe in the Trinity, or believes Jesus and Satan are brothers, is mind-numbingly bigoted.

I'm using this as an example of the kind of things people hear about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints all the time. It's kind of discouraging, to be honest. I know missionaries in southern states deal with this kind of thing all the time, and I can't imagine how difficult it must be to overcome.

I hope the benefits of Romney's campaign will outweigh the negatives. I hope more people see that LDS members aren't crazy polygamists with horns. I hope they pay attention to how we live our lives and care less about what their pastor says about us.

I also hope that the average American (well, those that vote, anyway) will be able to rise above the venom and decide who to vote for based on more important things, like the candidate's character, past experience and stands on important issues. If that means Billy Bob decides to vote for Huckabee, that's great.

But letting religion influence your vote is wrong.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure God doesn't hear the prayers of people who can't spell.