The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is receiving more attention than usual these days. Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has recently taken a turn for the best in National polls, gaining a substantial lead over running-mates Rick Perry and Herman Cain. Romney’s lead has since posed a more prominent question to Americans, “is Mitt Romney Christian?”
“The church isn’t called ‘Mormon’, it’s called ‘The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormons are fervent believers in Jesus Christ. He is our personal savior,” Utah Senator Orrin Hatch said on Fox Wednesday morning. “We should pick people based on their ability to do the job as president, not their religion.”
The nationwide debate has grown significantly since Texas Pastor Robert Jeffress endorsed Perry as a “genuine follower of Christ” and dubbed the LDS church as a cult. “That is a mainstream view, that Mormonism is a cult,” Jeffress told reporters on POLITICO. “Every true, born again follower of Christ ought to embrace a Christian over a non-Christian.”
Members of the LDS Church have come out to use the recent interest in their religion to prompt missionary work. LDS Facebook groups have come out and asked members, “How have you turned recent political debates and questions on our faith into missionary experiences?”
Just over a year ago, the Church released its “I’m a Mormon” campaign on several major markets, broadcasting television and radio ads to cities, as well as billboards. The ads, coupled with missionary work, have been aimed at informing those who know very little about their church, a main goal being to tell others who Mormons are and what they believe.
Religious leaders told SUN News that just 20 years ago, when you mentioned their faith to someone, the first words that came to mind were: Polygamy and Joseph Smith. If you ask someone now, the words family and genealogy might come to mind.
Do you think Mitt Romney’s Latter-day Saint membership will hurt his chances for election?