A Mormon answers Mar Van Steenis' question to Slick Dancing Mitt Romney

[Ian David]

My Answer To Mary Van Steenis
Posted by Guy Murray under Mitt Romney , Revelation , Book of Mormon , Politics


Book of Mormon Mitt Romney stumping in Iowa today was confronted by Mary Van Steenis, one of the Christian conservatives he was there to court.

Her question to him was:

Mary Van Steenis asked Romney how he would ponder important decisions as president and which source of inspiration he would seek.

“Where would the Bible be in that process?” she asked. “Would it be above the Book of Mormon or would it be beneath it?”

Mitt’s polite, politically correct response was:

“I don’t know that there’s any conflict at all between the values of great faiths like mine, like yours, like other faiths, like Jews who don’t believe in the New Testament,” Romney said.

Not satisfied, Van Steenis persisted:

“I asked if you had to look to one source what would it be? He didn’t really respond to that,” she told reporters after the event. “This is serious to me.”

Well Mary, Mitt has to be diplomatic as he runs for President, and not offend voters, the press, other candidates and the like. But, I, on the other hand am not running for anything. Since it is apparently so important (and serious) to you to know where the Book of Mormon stands in Mormon belief, let me fill you in on what I, a card carrying Mormon, believe about the Book of Mormon and the Bible.

The Prophet Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Restoration, taught the following about the Book of Mormon:

“I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book”

Now, I can’t and don’t speak for Mitt Romney; but, many, many Mormons just like him, including me, believe exactly what the Prophet Joseph taught about the Book of Mormon:

1. The Book of Mormon is the most correct of any book on earth;

2. It is the keystone of our religion;

3. A man will get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.

You’re right about one thing. This is serious to me too. I hope this helps. And, thanks for asking!

More:
http://messengerandadvocate.wordpress.com/2007/06/30/my-answer-to-mary-van-steenis/

[C_U_L8R]

1. Forgive my ignorance...

but what does the Book of Mormon say?

[wtmusic]

3. Wikipedia is your friend

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_mormon

[C_U_L8R]

6. Thanks WT and Ian .... that was helpful

[Ian David]

7. From South Park

<snip>

Dad: All right, you rascals. Gather round. [the kids draw
closer to thei dad] Joseph Smith lived in a little American
town in the early 1800s. [A little American town in the early
1800s. A man rides by in a small carriage pulled by one horse.
In the distance, Joseph Smith strolls into town]

Singers: Joseph Smith was called a prophet
Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb
He started the Mormon religion
Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb

Blacksmith: There goes that kooky Joseph Smith

Customer: You know, he claims he spoke with God and Jesus.

Woman: Well, how do you know he didn't?

Singers: Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb
Joseph Smith was called a prophet-

Butler: Hey, Joseph! I told my wife that you spoke with God
and Jesus, and she didn't believe it.

Smith: Well it's true. I did.

Wife: Where?

Smith: I was out in the woods, praying [a shot of him on his
knees in the woods] I was asking God if I should be a
Protestant, or a Catholic, or what? And suddenly God and Jesus
appeared before me. [a bright light appears before him and he
shields his eyes from the glare] And they said I should start
my own church, because none of the others had it right. [the
flashback ends] And that's exactly how it happened.

Butler: You see? You believe it now?

Wife: Well yeah, sure. Why would he make that up?

Singers: Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb
Many people believed Joseph
Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb
And that night he-ee saw an angel
Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb

Smith: [in bed inside a shack] And please bless Mother and
Father, and please keep our bellies full of yum-yums and
luscious goodies. [a flash of light and a glowing orb carroms
around the room] AAAHH! [the orb turns into an angel] Oh my
gosh!

Angel: I am Moroni. I am a Native American.

Smith: A... [looks at the camera] Native American? [looks at
Moroni] But your skin is white.

Moroni: Yes. Long ago all Native American were white. We all
came to America from Jerusalem. And while we were here we were
visited by Christ.

Smith: [looks at the camera] Jesus lived here in America?

Moroni: Yes. Eventually, my people were all killed by the
other tribe of Israel, and as punishment, God turned their
skin red. These are the Native Americans you know today.
[Smith looks at the camera dumbstruck]

Singers: Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb

Moroni: There is an ancient book buried near here, written on
gold plates that account my people's lives. Also buried with
the book are two seer stones, the Urim and Thummim, which will
allow you to translate the writings. Find it, and fulfill your
destiny. [brightens and then vanishes]

Smith: Wooww... [gets up and dressed. He exits his shack]

Singers: Joseph Smith was called a prophet
Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb

More:
http://www.rickross.com/reference/mormon/mormon134.html

[Ian David]

4. Here you go

The Book of Mormon

<snip>

What does the Book of Mormon say?

... The Book of Mormon is essentially the narration of a group of Israelites who migrate to the New World 600 B.C., led by a prophet figure called Lehi. It chronicles God's dealings with them; it chronicles the fragmentation of that people into two primary races, the Lamanites and the Nephites. In many ways it's a morality tale, as it chronicles the adversities they face when they are wicked, the blessings that are accrued through righteousness.

The dramatic peak of the book occurs at the time of Christ's crucifixion in the Old World, whereupon he visits the Nephites shortly after his crucifixion in Jerusalem, and then the book ends on a very tragic note, as we see the onetime righteous Nephites gradually overcome by wickedness, by unbelief, and they're eventually destroyed by a fratricidal war with the Lamanites. Along the way we're exposed to various missionary journeys, Gospel messages and teachings, but primarily it surveys the sweep of the family history that becomes a civilization unto itself in the New World. ...

More:
http://www.pbs.org/mormons/themes/book.html



Also:

All About Mormons
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"All About Mormons" is episode 108 of the Comedy Central series South Park. It originally aired on November 19, 2003.

More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_About_Mormons

Also:

"All About Mormons" is episode 108 of the Comedy Central series South Park. It originally aired on November 19, 2003.
Original air Date: 2003-11-19

A Mormon kid moves to South Park and Stan has to kick his ass. But when Stan and his dad meet their new Mormon neighbors, they become fascinated with how genuinely nice they are. Meanwhile the other boys mock Stan relentlessly for wimping out.



http://www.southparkstudios.com/show/display_episode.php?season=7&id1=712&id2=111

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. Wikipedia gives a synopsis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Mormon

It is another testament of Jesus Christ

Some exact quotes from the article:

# Men and women are "free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself."<18>
# All mankind must be born again, for the natural man is an enemy to God until he yields to the holy spirit and is born of Christ, being changed to a state of righteousness, becoming his son or daughter.

snip

3 Nephi is of particular importance because it contains an account of the resurrected and glorified Jesus' visit to the Americas sometime after his resurrection at Jerusalem, following his 40-day ministry and ascension into heaven. During his American ministry, Christ repeated much of the same doctrine and instruction given in the Gospels of the Bible and established an enlightened, peaceful society which endured several generations.

I know that the Mormons believe in baptizing deceased individuals, because they go to great lengths to do genealogical work so that they can have more names to baptize. They have gotten into trouble since they do this without permission--they baptized all the Jews who died in the Holocost, for example, which caused a great stink. This is a particular bugaboo with me because some Mormon found my living mother's name, assumed from her date of birth she was dead, and had her baptized in this manner. Neither the individual nor the church would do anything about it, so I don't trust them not to interfere in other people's lives.

[Ian David]

8. I'm a minister. Maybe I should posthumously baptize Romney's grandfather into Pastafarianism.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

9. Oooooh!

Does it involve dipping his name into gentle boiling salt water with a touch of olive oil?

[LiberalFighter]

10. Need someone to also to do ritualize Romney family in Satanic belief

:evilgrin:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. I went to Nauvoo IL

when I was a young adult because I love history and old houses, and I'd heard that the Mormons gave tours for free. I went with a fundamentalist Christian friend of mine. I didn't know that the house tours were part of the Mormon mission until I got there, and was treated to their "witnessing". My friend really got into it with them. At one place, the young man sort of cringed most of the time--and finally admitted he'd not read the Bible, only the Book of Mormon, which was all he needed to read anyway. All in all, it was rather entertaining--sort of like having an R/T forum long before there was an internet.

[mimitabby]

11. unfortunate religion

it's unfortunate for the folks who are Mormons that Joseph Smith is such a recent "prophet"
It has been easy for many devote Mormons doing research to dig enough stuff up that they
had to leave the church.

the same form of denial that it takes to "believe" in the origins of this church is why the * administration is in power. People will believe what they want to believe, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary.