In this episode of Mormon Stories we interview journalist McKay Coppins. McKay is a graduate of Brigham Young University and a journalist for BuzzFeed. During the 2011-2012 U.S. presidential campaign, McKay was assigned the task of reporting on fellow-Mormon and presidential candidate Mitt Romney. This is his story. McKay’s reflections on covering the Romney campaign can be found in this excellent article, “A Mormon Reporter on the Romney Bus.”
7 Reasons This Mormon Thinks Mitt Romey Will Win the 2008 Republican Nomination: Fred Thompson is not energetic enough Giuliani is too corrupt (mafia connections), too sexually immoral (for conservatives), and too politically liberal John McCain is too old, has had too many cancer scares, has anger issues, and has questionable enough ethics to disqualify. He’s also last election’s news (actually — 2 elections ago) Huckleberry is completely unelectable in the generals — for his name, as well as for his past hateful rhetoric, and his entrenchment in “The Christian Right” which will turn off too many moderates and liberals.…
I think it is looking more and more likely that Mitt Romney is going to win the Republican nomination (which was my original prediction, and has been my inclination all along). Romney is now tied for the lead with Giuliani in national polls, and I will eat my trousers if Huckleberry, McCain or Thompson win the Republican primaries. I think Huckabee will go down in flames like Howard Dean….within the next 6 weeks, I predict. I really do think that it is now Mitt’s to lose. Now the general election…that’s another thing entirely. I’m still putting my money on Billary.
It looks as though Fox News worked w/ the LDS Church to publish answers to some of the typical questions regarding Mormon doctrine. Most of the answers seem relatively accurate…here are the few that did not seem right to me (either because they come across as “partial” or “technical” truths, but not the “whole truth”): Q: Does the Mormon Church believe its followers can become “gods and goddesses” after death? The Church’s Answer: “We believe that the apostle Peter’s biblical reference to partaking of the divine nature and the apostle Paul’s reference to being ‘joint heirs with Christ’ reflect the…
Kinda fun. Sunstone magazine (or San-stone) was quoted today on NBC’s Meet the Press interview with Mitt Romney. You can access the entire interview here, and the question/quote begins around time code 4:37. Go Sunstone!!!
Holy moly. This guy ( Lawrence O’Donnell ) is a maniac! He’s not backing down in the slightest — guns are a’blazin!!!! I knew this was coming…the whole “litany of dark Mormon doctrines played out in the mainstream press” thing. Do we (as Mormons) owe Mitt Romney / Lawrence O’Donnell / Mike Huckabee a sneer, or a thank you? Time will tell. Unfortunately, as a 5th generation, semi-informed, active Mormon — I have to admit that Mr. O’Donnell gets it pretty much totally right in his enumeration of a few of the “dark” Mormon doctrinal and historical secrets. For example….…
For those interested, the LDS Church has been very open/candid about the belief that Jesus and Lucifer are brothers. “On first hearing, the doctrine that Lucifer and our Lord, Jesus Christ, are brothers may seem surprising to some—especially to those unacquainted with latter-day revelations. But both the scriptures and the prophets affirm that Jesus Christ and Lucifer are indeed offspring of our Heavenly Father and, therefore, spirit brothers. Jesus Christ was with the Father from the beginning. Lucifer, too, was an angel “who was in authority in the presence of God,” a “son of the morning.” (See Col. 1:15;
This is kinda interesting. Baptist Press is doing a multi-part series on Mitt Romney and Mormonism. The currently released articles include: An Introduction: When Mormons Come Part 1: About the Mormons Part 2: Mormons and the Bible Part 3: Archeology and the Book of Mormon Part 4: Mormonism and the Book of Abraham Is Mormonism Christian? Part 1 Is Mormonism Christian? Part 2 Christian / Mormon Doctrinal Differences What do you all think about this? Is this accurate? Totally inaccurate? Mean spirited? Friendly?
I love Jan Shipps AND the Christian Science Monitor (and thanks to Eric for the referral). What made Romney’s big speech so Mormon His tent vision fits his church’s bid to enter the religious mainstream. By Jan Shipps from the December 11, 2007 edition Bloomington, Ind. – When Mitt Romney gave his “Faith in America” address last Thursday, observers wondered how “Mormon” it would be. “Not very,” is the understandable consensus. Mormonism 101 it was not, and he said very little about his personal religious beliefs, sticking to his announced topic.
It’s official. I definitely prefer Romney to Huckleberry (and yes…I know Romney some big weaknesses). By: Logan Murphy on Tuesday, December 11th, 2007 at 10:32 AM – PST Via Daily Kos: Huckabee’s opinion on gay marriage is out there, but we should also be publicizing Huckabee’s opinions on heterosexual marriage. Specifically, what he believes about a women’s role in a marriage. In August of 1998, Huckabee was one of 131 signatories to a full page USA Today Ad which declared: “I affirm the statement on the family issued by the 1998 Southern Baptist Convention.” What was in the family statement…
According to the LA Times and WSJ, Mitt Romney has run the first negative ad of the 2008 Campaign (is this accurate?) — Against Mike Huckabee. Have a look. I can’t help but add that this approach (for Romney) seems a bit ironic and risky — given the fact that it’s pretty well known that he has (apparently) hired illegal immigrants to take care of his lawn. Seems like Huckabee could create counter-ads that really hit Romney hard on immigration (for hypocrisy) — but does Huckabee have the $$$?
From the Drudge report….. DEMS HOLD FIRE ON HUCKABEE; SEE 'EASY KILL' IN GENERAL ELECTION Tue Dec 11 2007 10:27:53 ET Democrat party officials are avoiding any and all criticism of Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee, insiders reveal. The Democratic National Committee has told staffers to hold all fire, until he secures the party's nomination. The directive has come down from the highest levels within the party, according to a top source. Within the DNC, Huckabee is known as the "glass jaw -- and they're just waiting to break it." In the last three weeks since Huckabee's surge kicked in,…
Man….Keith Olbermann did NOT like Mitt Romney’s religion speech. (Warning….brief profanity)
This is definitely worth the watch….Lawrence O’Donnell, a liberal commentator, says Mormonism is “demented, Scientology-like” and is rooted in racism. Pat Buchanan defends Mormonism by noting that his Christian great grandfather “had slaves.”
For those interested…. Full audio of Mitt Romney’s “Faith in America” speech Part 1 of our analysis Part 2 of our analysis The best way to listen to these podcasts is by subscribing via iTunes. All music from my podcasts are provided by Clayton Pixton and Skye Pixton.
Surprise, surprise. Christopher Hitchens didn’t like Romney’s speech. Can’t you be witty without being just plain rude? If you are so inclined, let Hitchens know how you felt about his article.
Holy flip! Good Morning America and ABC News went crazy on Mitt Romney and Mormonism the past few days/weeks. Check all these out: Mormonism 101: What does it mean to be Mormon The First Mormon Presidential Candidate Thompson Camp: Mormonism a Tough Sell Romney Gambles on Religion Will ‘Pulling a JFK’ Be Enough for Romney? Romney Says Giuliani Would be Wrong for GOP Read Excerpts of Gov. Romney’s Remarks Romney: I’m Not Giving a JFK Speech Romney Delivers Major Speech on Faith The Speech Vote God 2008 Polls: Romney, Clinton Lead in New Hampshire
Here is a link to Mitt Romney’s “Symphony of Faith” speech as a podcast. ============== Mitt Romney’s giving the religion / mormon speech this week. Should be fun….
The LDS Church just released a press release called “Approaching Mormon History. It’s definitely an interesting read. My buddy was most concerned with this part: “It is often asked, for example, how the Church can reconcile the authenticity of the Book of Mormon with the absence of archeological proof. This difficulty is inherent in all religious history and illustrates how spiritual matters are best verified by spiritual means…At a time when many religions are pressured to treat their sacred histories as myths, the Latter-day Saints on the contrary embrace their history as a literal expression of their faith.” “Church President…
This is really cool (from an “understanding them” perspective). It’s from the Salt Lake Tribune, and it’s a “Day in the Life of a Polygamous Family” multimedia screencast. For those interested, there appears to be an entire SLTrib blog dedicated to modern Mormon polygamy. Check it out if you feel so inclined. (Thanks to David for the head’s up)
For those of you who didn’t catch, I happened to be on Good Morning America today. You can watch it here. I have a few reactions/thoughts:
Politico: Mormons Heighten Public Relations Efforts By: Andrew Glass April 9, 2007 04:20 PM EST Amid heightened scrutiny because of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney’s White House bid, the Mormon church is raising its public relations profile, making moves that reflect deep concerns over widely held myths about the faith and internal anxiety over the need to convince outsiders that it will remain neutral as a Mormon runs in the 2008 contest. “We have to walk a very fine line to stay away from political issues,” said Michael Otterson, media relations director for the 12.6 million-member worldwide Church of Jesus…
Just found out from T&S that the trailer is now out for the PBS / Frontline / American Experience Documentary “The Mormons.” It does look very interesting. Check it out. Set to air April 30th and May 1st, 2007
Just got these from a friend. I have no idea what they mean, but ya’ll can analyze, come back, and explain. If you can’t read, save to your hard drive, and find a way to expand visually. LDS Official Membership Annual Growth 1860-2005 10 year moving average. LDS Missionary Service and Baptisms 1977 to 2007 Please return, and report.
LDS Church stats for 2006 are out, and the story to me is: growth is strong. 44 new stakes 3 new missions 388 new wards and branches 307,737 more members An increase in 29,737 more convert baptisms than in the previous year 1,104 more missionaries than we had last year 5.1 baptisms per full time missionary — an increase over 4.7 from the previous 2 years. A few other stats listed below. Raw stats can be found here. Finally, I do wish that they would publish activity rates. I also wish that the church would allow external auditors to publish…
For the last year or so, I’ve had 3 primary goals for all I do with Mormon Stories Podcast: –More Knowledge within Mormonism –More Understanding/Empathy/Compassion within Mormonism –Less Pain within Mormonism When I conduct an interview, it is always with these 3 goals in mind. Recently I’ve had to discuss and justify (in a friendly setting) the costs/benefits of what I do (which is a very healthy exercise, I might add). Clearly I feel like what I’m/we’re trying to do is a good thing, but sometimes it’s hard to articulate. Perhaps this recent news article I stumbled upon today helps…
