. . . among others--including canonized scripture.

Details, details.

As reported by Salt Lake City's Channel 2 news station KUTV:

“Mitt Romney, the first Mormon presidential nominee of a major party, labeled Donald Trump ‘a phony, a fraud.’

“Evan McMullin, ex-CIA operative and BYU grad, had a stated aim of thwarting Trump from winning the White House.

“And the LDS Church-owned ‘Deseret News’ called for Trump to drop out of the race, after video surfaced of him making crude comments about women.

“None of it stopped Trump from the presidential prize, far outpacing expectations in Utah--and if exit polling from CNN is accurate--easily carrying the LDS vote.

“’It's inexplicable, amazing,’ said University of Utah Associate Professor of Political Science, Dr. Tim Chambless of Trump's finish in Utah.

“Asked if Romney's sharp criticism of Trump had an impact in the general election, Chambless replied, ‘Probably not.’

“Trump more than doubled McMullin in Utah, and had nearly as many votes as Hillary Clinton and McMullin combined.

“. . . [After Trump’s election],, Romney took to Twitter and expressed his ‘best wishes for our duly elected president.’

“The Deseret News, in a new editorial, also congratulated the president elect.”

(“Trump Wins Mormon Vote Despite Romney, McMullin, DNews Criticism,” by Brian Mullahy, KUTV Channel 2, Salt Lake City, Utah, 9 November 2016, http://kutv.com/news/local/trump-wins-mormon-vote-despite-romney-mcmullin-dnews-criticism)


Solid Utah Mormon support of Trump is interesting and perplexing, given that it runs in clear and diametrical opposition to general principles of righteous living as institutionally laid down by the Mormon Church’s officially-scripturized 12th Article of Faith (whose authorship, by the way, is credited by the Church to none other than LDS Church founder Joseph Smith), and which reads as follows on the Mormon Church’s official website with an accompanying preface:

“The Articles of Faith come from a letter written by the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1842 to an editor named John Wentworth. They were first published in the Church’s 'Times and Seasons' newspaper in Nauvoo and have since become part of latter-day scripture.

“’13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul--We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.’

LDS members are commanded to obey the above-cited 12th Article of Faith with all due devotion, dedication and diligence. Indeed, on the same official Mormon Church website and page, the Church rolls out some of its big guns in a concerted effort to bolster rank-and-file obedience through invoking (and printing in its official publications) the admonitions of selected Mormon Church-approved leaders on the matter of divinely-led living:

--From Mormon Church President Gordon B. Hinckley:

“[This] article of our faith is one of the basic declarations of our theology. We ought to reflect on it again and again. Then, whenever we might be tempted to do anything shoddy or dishonest or immoral, there would come into our minds with some force this great, all-encompassing statement of the ethics of our behavior.”

(Gordon B. Hinckley, under the subtitle “Chaste," Hinckley sermon, “Fear Not to Do Good,” published in “Ensign” magazine, January 2000, p. 2)


--From Terrance D. Olson. Professor in the Department of Family Sciences. Brigham Young University:

“Chaste: Human sexuality is more than a physical matter. Chastity and fidelity begin in the spirit, not in the body. They are an expression of the condition of our spirit. When our spirit is in tune with godly thinking and gospel truths, we want to live high standards, and our actions reflect that desire. Thus, chastity and fidelity are more than sexual abstinence before marriage and sexual fidelity after marriage. They express the quality of our spiritual life.”

(Terrance D. Olson, under the subtitle “Chaste,” from Olson's book, "Truths of Moral Purity," October 1998, p. 43)


--From Elaine S. Dalton, Young Women General President,

“Virtuous: Virtue ‘is a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards’ (‘Preach My Gospel,’ p. 118). It encompasses chastity and moral purity. Virtue begins in the heart and in the mind. . . . It is the accumulation of thousands of small decisions and actions. . . . Virtuous women and men possess a quiet dignity and inner strength. They are confident because they are worthy to receive and be guided by the Holy Ghost.”

(Elaine S. Dalton, “A Return to Virtue,” under the subtitle "Virtuous," published in “Ensign" magazine, November 2008, pp. 78–80)


--From the words of the official Mormon Church website;

“Benevolence: To be benevolent is to be kind and giving, in a word--to do good [P.S.: That's actually three words]. During His ministry Jesus Christ ‘went about doing good, . . . for God was with him’ (Acts 10:38). As you live your life with benevolence, God will strengthen and uplift you”

“[To read the Admonition of Paul], [s]ee Philippians 4:8, which is part of a letter from the Apostle Paul to the Saints in Philippi. . . .[For an understanding of what it means to ‘seek after these things’], [r]ead the ‘Entertainment and Media’ section in ‘For the Strength of Youth’ (p. 17). Is the entertainment you choose consistent with these standards and with the thirteenth article of faith? Consider writing in your journal about how you have been blessed by making good media choices. . . .

"Editors’ note: This page is not meant to be a comprehensive explanation of the selected scripture verse, only a starting point for your own study.”.

(Internet location for all of the above: “Articles of Faith 1:13,” beneath the subtitle, “Line Upon Line,” official Mormon Church website, under the headings “Benevolent,” “Admonition of Paul” and “Seek After These Things,” https://www.lds.org/new-era/2011/01/articles-of-faith-113?lang=eng)

**********


To review:

“We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men. . . .“

Blah, blah, blah and more blah.

When tt comes to these trumpeted (pardon the pun) categories of righteously-revealed rectitude, Trump is as dishonest, untrue, non-chaste, benevolence-barren and opposed to good as was, well, Joseph Smith (Don't get me started on that one).

Recent 'tooned proof in this regard:

http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/6dbe5a9eaefa6d1ab9f90c25751b230bfc47e883/c=22-0-3814-2851&r=x513&c=680x510/local/-/media/2017/03/14/Phoenix/Phoenix/636250798433118134-Benson-Tricky-Don-03-14-17.jpg


In the meantime, most Mormons and certainly their Church remain not only silent, but complicit.



Edited 16 time(s). Last edit at 03/15/2017 05:41AM by steve benson.

The convoluted, pretzel like gymnastics that had to be preformed to congeal in support of JS and #45 is way beyond the confines of my simple mind. I stand all amazed and this ain't about Jesus.

I have to search and try and see/find the silver lining and hopefully be able to muster a smile knowing there is a silver lining. Thank you Steve for laying out the dichotomy of living in the age of ever contrasting evidences.

I know I am not the only one who appreciates your ability to put together and articulate the incongruousness's of Mormon's (and others) in today's world.

Maybe Ut LDS were being loyal to what they know to be the real core values of the culprits you named. Regardless what any Mormon individual or institution of might have said about Trump's disgusting behavior in the bus tape, Trump,overall, robustly embodies the persistent and eternal values of tscc: misogyny, blatant dishonesty and hypocrisy. Didn't Mitt himself pay a special visit to agent orange to kiss his ring (or what have you) and seek to bolster his own prestige with a tasty appointment from the very egregious sinner he'd condemned before election results were tallied?

God one, I mean good one.

This is an amusing issue, Steve. You've nailed it.

The righteous claim to eat a vegetarian menu yet vote for a butcher.

donbagley Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This is an amusing issue, Steve. You've nailed it.
>
>
> The righteous claim to eat a vegetarian menu yet
> vote for a butcher.

DON BAGLEY FOR PRESIDENT

Because they only eat meat in winter and times of famine...

It occurred to me that perhaps the most insidious thing about the truth of Joseph Smith is, once learned and known, it helps those who stay "TBM" to swallow more unrighteous dominion from others.

It nurtures the magical thinking that the ripe jerk is gonna be the vessel of the Lord to do his work.

And I'm sure that that last is still possible even if you believe Joseph was pure and honest because the structure of the Church is built to absorb and perpetuate the contradiction.

Mormons aren't 'believers', they're Belongers.


Don't wonder why they're called Sheeple.


Mormons Can't / Don't distinguish between Right & Wrong, they just accept what tscc accepts, goes where they go, Do what they Do.

"Do what I'm doing
Follow, follow me
Do what I'm doing
Follow, follow me
If I do it high or low
If I do it fast or slow
Do what I'm doing
Follow, follow me
Do what I'm doing
Follow, follow me"

Primary Songbook

cross reference "Follow The Prophet"

Mormons are conditioned to follow their leaders, even if those leaders are wrong. That extends to other leaders as well (Steve posted the history of Mormons supporting Nazis for example), something Trumpy took advantage of.
Mormon support- a petty tyrant's wet dream.

And a huge number of union workers blatantly disregarded their leadership and voted Trump.

I noticed conservative bloggers hailing Trump as "the new Reagan." When you consider the Democrats' losses over the last 8 years (scores of Congressional seats, and over a thousand state legislative seats nationwide), and the number of precarious Senate seats they have to defend in 2018 (what, 8 in states that Trump carried?), 16 mostly blue-state governorships, Trump may eclipse Reagan's long-term impact.

He's looking to be the FDR (known as "a traitor to his class") of the Right, a man who shifts the tectonic plates of the political culture.

and is more "tribal" than it is religious.

The same thing is happening with evangelical Christianity. It is also becoming more of a tribal identity rather than just a branch of eschatological Protestantism.

Mixing the two is about as deadly of a toxin as one can get.

I don't believe it was support for Trump, but their hatred of Hillary. There were just too many who believed there was a chance of Hillary taking Utah if they didn't vote for the misogyny ticket. And it wasn't even so much Hillary personally, but they were not about to see a woman as leader of the country. God has made it very clear that women do not have power or authority. It was bad enough having to have their bigotry attacked when they had to have a Black male president. But at least HE would be an authority candidate in the afterlife. A woman--NO.

It is pretty clear (with any inspection) that LDS inc actually preferred Hillary Clinton for US President over Donald Trump, over the real deciding issue for LDS Inc. - revenue, as in money !!!!
They did everything they could to derail Trump ( who they were bitterly opposed to) through their sock puppet surrogates, Romney and Beck, with out exposing themselves as overtly acting in political ways and modes.

Their MORmON members did not follow suit.

... was simply not borne out an Election Day. People vote in the privacy and secrecy of the ballot booth based on how they truly think and feel, regardless of what they may say in public or on the record. Mormons thought Trump--a fact that was demonstrated by Mormons not only in Utah, but across the nation.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/15/2017 12:34PM by steve benson.

please read / re read the first sentence of the post. then read/ re read the last sentence of the post.

"MORmONS largely voted for Trump"

Correct, just as you noted, MORmON members, carried by the momentum of their traditional LDS conservative leanings compounded by the fact that Hillary's epic negatives had more gravity with them than the other candidate's huge negatives, ended up largely NOT voting for a third term for the Clintons and Obama.

However, just as I stated, that move by the (rank and file) members of LDS inc's MORmON church was NOT really in harmony with the wishes of LDS inc -more specifically LDS inc as constituted by LDS inc executive leadership who run and own and constitute LDS inc and who actually had a preference for Clinton over Trump, as the rank and file members of The Church that LDS Inc owns failed to take the more immediate anti Trump /pro Clinton cues of their LDS inc leadership as conveyed by Mitt Romney and Glenn Beck. The MORmON ( rank and file ) church members largely relied on their more established traditional conservative political leanings. MORmON church members and their LDS inc leaders are two separate and distinct entities just as the mentioned situation so aptly demonstrates, regardless of how much that they claim to be in love with each other.

Like so many others, LDS inc figured that Clinton would win so they would get away with the shots that they had taken at Trump. Contrary to LDS Inc expectations and wishes, Clinton did not win. Now LDS Inc has a lot of reparative ass kissing to do to stay in good graces with the Trump run government because Trump noticed what LDS inc really wanted even IF MORmON church members did not. NO doubt that one of the first things that LDS inc will do in that effort is to point out how their Utah MORmON church members so largely voted Republican.

Given their real expectations ( that they could NOT openly acknowledge, due to the ingrained conservative leaning of their church members), the ingrained conservative momentum of their church members, their possible inputs into the situation, the possible outcomes, and the probable consequences of each potential outcome, LDS inc did not play things very well. They blundered in a pretty big way. They would have been so much better off to just do nothing -so ironically just like what they claim that they do relative to politics (but do NOT really do), over what they did do. A very interesting troubled position for an organization that claims to be run by divine guidance to end up in.

.........However, just as I stated,

(JUST AS YOU STATED)


that move by the (rank and file) members of LDS inc's MORmON church was NOT really in harmony with the wishes of LDS inc -more specifically LDS inc as constituted by LDS inc executive leadership who run and own and constitute LDS inc and who actually had a preference for Clinton over Trump, as the rank and file members of The Church that LDS Inc owns failed to take the more immediate anti Trump /pro Clinton cues of their LDS inc leadership as conveyed by Mitt Romney and Glenn Beck. The MORmON ( rank and file ) church members largely relied on their more established traditional conservative political leanings. MORmON church members and their LDS inc leaders are two separate and distinct entities just as the mentioned situation so aptly demonstrates, regardless of how much that they claim to be in love with each other..........

Evan who?! Mr McMuffin seems to have had that magic Mormon mix of hubris, arrogance and naïveté which led him to think that he could be a spoiler in a Presidential election.

steve benson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> “. . . ,, Romney took to Twitter and expressed
> his ‘best wishes for our duly elected
> president.’
>
> “The Deseret News, in a new editorial, also
> congratulated the president elect.”

Because above all else, Mormons venerate authority -- no matter how corrupt and inept. After all, they follow the GAs.

Like so many others, LDS inc figured that Clinton would win so they would get away with the shots that they had taken at Trump. Contrary to LDS Inc expectations and wishes, Clinton did not win. Now LDS Inc has a lot of reparative ass kissing to do to stay in good graces with the Trump run government because Trump noticed what LDS inc really wanted even IF MORmON church members did not. NO doubt that one of the first things that LDS inc will do in that effort is to point out how their Utah MORmON church members so largely voted Republican.

Given their real expectations ( that they could NOT openly acknowledge, due to the ingrained conservative leaning of their church members), the ingrained conservative momentum of their church members, their possible inputs into the situation, the possible outcomes, and the probable consequences of each potential outcome, LDS inc did not play things very well. They blundered in a pretty big way. They would have been so much better off to just do nothing -so ironically just like what they claim that they do relative to politics (but do NOT really do), over what they did do. A very interesting troubled position for an organization that claims to be run by divine guidance to end up in.

What a surprise! Mormons acted against their beliefs!

All of us here have personal painful experience of the hypocrisy that is the Utah Mormon All-For-Show lifestyle.

If no one sees it, it didn't happen....

Hence porn, hence adultery, hence plastic surgery, hence anti-depressants/drug abuse, hence sexual abuse, ad nauseum. Utah statistics are off the chart on young male suicides as well.

Utahns went alone into a voting booth and, like two year olds, they felt compelled to do the opposite of what the priesthood wants.


Kathleen

The last election was all about which crook was worse. People essentially voted against someone rather than for someone. The idea that people voted against Hillary because she was a woman is overstated. And Trump was a lousy alternative. A lot of people just voted for change from the last eight years. Worst choice of candidates I can remember on both sides.

Yes, but Trump wants to get rid of the Johnson amendment and allow churches to engage in partisan politics and maintain their tax exempt status. It think Mormons would love to have the prophet tell them who to vote for--one less thing to think about. In addition, Mike Pence will fight "the gays."

I agree that it's completely ironic that some of the most follow the prophet people you'd ever meet appear to have missed the message from HQ on this one and were not "quick to observe."