Joseph Smith, the "White Horse Prophecy", and Mitt Romney

[jberryhill]

From some LDS folks, some interesting prophetic lore:

http://www.ldslastdays.com/default.aspx?page=pscthread.htm

This is not about "religion". This is about history and group psychology, and a story that if you don't know, you should.

Joseph Smith was killed by vigilantes while being held in jail after having vandalized a newspaper that was critical of him. At the time, he was in the course of fulfilling the destiny that he should be both prophet of God and President of the United States.  Years later, the nation of Deseret was faced with an existential threat of forcible subjugation by the United States.  To forestall the destruction of their temples and the confiscation of their property, the citizens of Zion would have to come to terms with the United States.  

BUT... They'd have to give up one thing.  The sacred and sanctified doctrine received by Joseph Smith from God Himself establishing the practice of plural marriage. 

Now, the LDS is not an organization where doctrine is decided by vote or scholarship or canon legal reasoning.  They have a living prophet to whom, should it happen, God directly communicates.   So, it's not as if the mere mortals of Utah Territory could simply agree to this demand.  

But God intervened in a peculiar way. Rather than to tell the prophet what to do, God told him to put it to the people and that God would confirm within them the right path forward.  And the question boiled down to "Do you realize how screwed we are if the US invades and takes all of our stuff?" And from the Logan Temple where this was revealed, it was confirmed in the hearts of all that God wanted them to end the practice.  

Now, this is odd.  If God told them to knock it off, why would some of them disagree?  Why would some of them instead either continue secretly and, when discovered, flee to Mexico?  And stranger still... Why would those among the group who apparently didn't get God's message, but have since come back into the fold, be among the most influential, and considered closest to "authentic" Mormons.  

One thing is for sure, the LDS, having been threatened with extinction by the US government became its most ardent and zealous supporters.   Patriotism, in the most flambouyantly ostentatious sort runs hot in their veins.  They have surely established themselves as the leading patriots among religions.  And why not? It is the only divinely revealed religion indigenous to the US itself.  It is - like the namesake of the basketball team they bought - like jazz, an American original.  

Now here's an odd quandary.  God never said the doctrine of plural marriage was revoked.  Having a stellar divorce rate among states, and in contrast to other religions, serial marriages are common in Utah.  What happened in the late 1800's was really something of an accommodation with the US government.  

But, wait, wasn't Joseph Smith destined to lead the United States?

And here we come to the prophecy linked above.  When the Constitution itself hangs by a thread on the verge of destruction, it will be the LDS which save it.   

If you thought that the Prop. 8 campaign was an amazing exertion of political and financial force by an organization having a peculiar fascination with "the sanctity of marriage", then I don't think we've seen nothin' like what is coming down the pike in the next 278 days. 

And what stands in Mitt's way?

A White Salamader named Newt.

[knowbody0]

1. i really enjoyed reading this

it's like a sci fi script, sacred undies and albino newts.

[jberryhill]

2. The last time they were threatened by a white salamander...

...people ended up dead.

[Major Hogwash]

3. Well, what do you expect from something that only started in 1830?

I mean, they don't even have a very long history.
What, 4 generations?

The Mormon church is a business, like any other church.
But, they don't want to pay taxes like any other business, so they claim they are a church.
Start taxing the churches, and then see how much money they spend on lobbyists to find out bad they want to keep the corporate taxes down!

"Corporations are people, my friend."
If that didn't sink Mitt within the GOP party, nothing ever will.

He is Mister 1%.
He is the embodiment of the policies the GOP has been regurgitating for the last 40 years!

His religion doesn't even matter that much when you think about it.
That's why the GOP is willing to squint and hold their noses to support him in these primaries.

Fuck, Noot wants to colonize the gawd damned moon!!
If that doesn't prove that Noot is absolutely certifiably batshit crazy, I don't know what does!

[CanonRay]

4. Don't kid yourself, Mitt's religion matters a lot

to him and to the million Mormons who will be all over this country working (and paying) to get a Mormon in the White House. I agree with the poster, you ain't seen nothing yet.

[jberryhill]

5. It's more than a "religious" thing

There are no religions of which I'm aware, in which obtaining political control of the United States is an objective of the church.

[Ruby the Liberal]

6. If this is a topic of interest to you, look up Dominionism

It is Sarah Palin's bag - along with a lot of teevee 'preachers'.

In a nutshell, they believe Jesus isn't coming back until the church takes over and cleans up the world for his return. Something about a spotless bride.

Lots of reading out there about these folks.

Christian Dominionism, Seven Hills (or Laws or Promises or something like that). Rick Joyner is a notorious leader within this group but he is only one small fry in the box.

[highplainsdem]

7. More on Romney & the White Horse prophecy here (see replies 11 & 26 there, too):

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002237275