Persecution vs. Chastening: When #MormonMafia Is No Joking Matter

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by Rob T:



When Fox News personality and Donald Trump supporter Lou Dobbs went on a rant last week about LDS presidential candidate Evan McMullin, which included referring to him as a “Mormon Mafia Tool” in a tweet, Mormons on Twitter responded hilariously.

I got in on the #MormonMafia fun (see the HuffPo link above, he said unhumbly), because I enjoy a good-natured Twitter hashtag joke stream. And I appreciated that most Mormons were having fun with it instead of seeing it as an instance of “persecution.”

While joining in the social media levity, however, two things came to my mind that weren’t joking matters.

First, Trump supporters on Twitter haven’t suddenly surfaced to go after Mormons. There have been countless instances of anti-Semitism, misogyny, racism,* and now Latter-day Saints are in the crosshairs, due in part to Trump’s declining popularity in Utah.

Romney Vs Holyfield Charity Fight

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As you may have already heard, former Massachusetts governor and 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney is set to take on five-time heavy weight boxing champ Evander Holyfield in the ring on May 15th. Event proceeds will benefit Charity Vision, a non-profit with the goal of eliminating curable blindness by providing treatment to those who would otherwise be unable to access care.

While Paige Lavender first covered the news in her Huff Post article breaking news of the main event, what you may not already know is that this fight comes complete with an official weigh-in featuring the contenders. The official weigh-in will be held at XCEL Fitness in Holladay, UT on May 14, the night before the main event. As with the main event, proceeds from tickets purchased for the weigh-in will benefit Charity Vision and its efforts to eliminate curable blindness around the world.

The weigh-in event will feature all Fight Night fighters as they complete their physical exams and weigh-in for the big fight the following evening. The Weigh-in roster includes Evander Holyfield and Mitt Romney, as well as fighters Wes Capper, Steve Rolls, Leon Spinks III, and Jose Haro. Evander Holyfield is also scheduled to take the mic to share stories from his career as well as his views regarding the importance of maintaining physical fitness and giving back to the community.

If you’ll be in the SLC area that week, you can purchase tickets online for the weigh-in event. Each $25 General Admission ticket gives the gift of sight to someone with curable blindness. The weigh-in event will take place from 6:00PM to 8:00PM at the local training facility.

The main Fight Night event will be held at the Rail Events Center in Downtown Salt Lake City the following night, May 15, at 6:30PM, and Weigh-in attendees will have the chance to win a pair of tickets to attend the sold-out black-tie gala featuring the headliners as well as preliminary fights between Freddy Spielberg and Gary Cobia, Jordan Smith and Christian Nava, Wesley Capper and Kent On Sippio-Cook, and Leon Spinks III and Rashad Ganaway.

Following the MayPac madness, join in the fun to be at one of the most buzzed about fights this year while helping an amazing cause!

Religious Liberty Mingled with Discrimination

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by Kyle:

I want to take 38 seconds and applaud the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for their support of laws that would protect LGBT people from discrimination in areas of housing, employment, and services. This is a good step in the right direction to not only do the right thing, but also to repair relationships with the LGBT community and allies.

I said 38 seconds because that is the time I calculated that was spent in actual support of non-discrimination laws during the 19:43 long "news conference."

Unfortunately, the Church’s support rings hollow. Nowhere in this "news conference" was any real concern expressed for the LGBT community and the persecution they continue to face today (except for maybe 6 seconds when Sister Neill F. Marriott acknowledged that there have been centuries of persecution and violence against homosexuals).

A Response to Bishop Mark Paredes

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by Kyle:

Hey Bishop Mark Paredes,

I’m not gonna lie, your article over at Jewish Journal was not cool. Like really not cool. Like “omg I can’t believe a bishop actually wrote this and thought it was a good idea to put it on the internet” not cool.

But that’s okay. I believe we all make mistakes, and we can more often than not fix those mistakes. And as a Democrat I believe that you’re just so incredibly wrong. But what I want to tell you is not how wrong you are about Harry Reid (I mean…do you even know him?), or how wrong you are about the Democratic Party (again, terribly wrong), but how wrong you are as a bishop.

You see, Mark, you’re a man with religious authority and responsibility. You oversee the saints in your ward, and you have authority over them. You have used your position in the church to spew some pretty harmful words that will put you at odds with your congregation. And by so doing, I believe you have tainted the very calling in which you serve.

GIF Out the Vote

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by Kyle:

If you live in the U.S. then you probably know that today is Election Day. If you don't know it's probably because you live in a very red or blue state and have zero campaign ads on your TV. You lucky jerks.

I love Election Day. Not just because I work for political campaigns, but because it's the one day every two years where we get to overthrow the government, or bolster your party's influence, depending on what side you're voting for.

I'm not going to write a long post about the teachings of church leaders as to why you should exercise your right to vote. Or about how important being a part of the democratic process is to making sure Joseph Smith's prophesy about the constitution hanging by a thread and the only people who can save it are us Mormons comes to past. I'll just simply say:

This stuff is important. Federal, state, and local all have major impacts on your life.

So please. Go *vote. Don't know where your polling place is? Find out here.

If you still need a little extra motivation to go vote, then perhaps this GIF Out the Vote will help.

You don't have to be a genius to vote (but seriously, it helps if you read even just a little about the candidates and ballot measures before you vote).

Re-Thinking My Position on The Death Penalty

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by A-Dub:

Before you read any further, I want you to think about what your position on the death penalty: Are you for or against it?

Done? Alright.

In years past, I have always been a proponent. And I think my reasoning boiled down to the following, in order of importance:

1. I don't want my tax dollars supporting a criminal for the rest of his life
2. Capital punishment deters violent crimes
3. It gives closure to the families of the victims
4. It permanently keeps the criminal off the streets
5. It seems like there are some crimes that are just deserving of it; some people just don't deserve to live after committing certain heinous crimes

First I'm curious as to what you all have seen in the Church. It has been my experience that many, if not most of the people in the Church are in favor of it. Admittedly, I don't go around asking people about it, but that's my general impression. If you've had a different experience, I want to know about it, but this is typically what I've seen.

But the more I think about it, the more strange I find it that many in the Church seem to be pro-death penalty (again, maybe I'm wrong). There have of course been times in the scriptures where people had to die – Laban, Amalickiah, tens of thousands of Lamanite soldiers. But should it be happening now? Doesn't the gospel value life, even that of the vilest of sinners? Don't we believe in justice and mercy? Isn't it core to Christ's teachings that everyone can change, including those that may have committed some of the worst crimes imaginable? So why is it that we would have a tolerance level for the uber-sinner such that he or she must die for their crimes?

Since the Church doesn't have an official position on capital punishment, over the years I've been looking at the five reasons I just outlined and re-thinking my position. What I've found is that this is a very complex issue, much more so than I can put in one blog post. Maybe I'll do a follow-up at some point. But where I net out now is that I am against the death penalty. Here's why:

COST: Honestly, as a super-fiscal conservative, this is a big one for me. But what I've realized after a lot of research is this: It's an indisputable fact that on average it costs MORE to sentence someone to death than to life in prison. A lot more. It's simply that the appeals process drags on for so long and the state spends so much money defending the verdict, that it would be cheaper to just keep a criminal as an inmate for life. There are tons of great sources on this. Here's one: Enforcing the death penalty costs Florida $51 million a year above what it would cost to punish all first-degree murderers with life in prison without parole. Based on the 44 executions Florida had carried out since 1976, that amounts to a cost of $24 million for each execution. (Palm Beach Post, January 4, 2000).

Civil Government Mingled With Prayer

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by Kyle:

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down their ruling in Greece v Galloway, a case dealing with a city council opening its legislative meetings with prayer. In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that the town of Greece, NY did not violate the First Amendment’s prohibition of an establishment of religion when it allowed residents to give an invocation at the start of its monthly meetings.

You’re probably thinking, “But wait, haven’t towns, states, and even Congress itself been opening meetings with prayer since like that Washington guy?”

The answer is yes, but just because we’ve been doing something for a long time, doesn’t mean that we should keep doing it.

Unfortunately Justice Kennedy doesn’t agree with me, which is fine, because you know he’s like a ton smarter than I am. In his opinion for the majority Kennedy wrote:

From the earliest days of the Nation, these invocations have been addressed to assemblies comprising many different creeds.

These ceremonial prayers strive for the idea that people of many faiths may be united in a community of tolerance and devotion.

Thoughts on Same-Sex Marriage

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by Pete Codella:

Note: This post has been mulling around in my head for a while now. I’ll share the two separate concurrent Sunday conversations that motivated me to finally write it, then provide a few thoughts.

Conversation 1

Heard in Relief Society, as retold to me by my wife last Sunday afternoon ...

Question posed by the teacher: What threats do our families face in this day and age?

One woman's answer: The gays.

Conversation 2

A thought I shared in Elders Quorum that same Sunday during a lesson on the divine nature of the family ...

What the LDS community has is an opportunity to live with love and charity towards all; to be accepting of everyone even when their values don’t align with ours. There are plenty of laws in the U.S. and other countries that are contrary to the laws of the gospel.

Even when homosexual marriage becomes a federal civil right (which I believe will happen during President Obama’s second term) we can still honor and support marriage and the family as described by living prophets:

“The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity.” — The Family, A Proclamation to the World

This approach is no different than keeping the Word of Wisdom when others choose to smoke, do drugs or drink alcohol.

Some Additional Thoughts

I was amazed by the bigoted comment shared in the women’s Sunday meeting. Can you imagine how a comment like that would be received if it were focused on people of a certain race or religion?

Brother Jake and Religious Freedom

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by Brother Jake:

Just in time for the annual conflict for Christmas, here is my latest video. Warning: this one gets political.


Growing up in rural Arizona, I had a pretty long bus home from elementary school every day. On the days when I didn't fall asleep, miss my stop, and have to wait in the "bus barn" for my Mom to pick me up, I'd pass the time chatting with my childhood buddy Joe, who lived even further along the route than I did. There was one particular week of the long commute that I've never forgotten. Joe, who was extremely sharp, was describing some picture book that he had read about the history of life on earth. When he arrived at the topic of cavemen, my mind simply rejected the thought outright. Cavemen?! How could such a thing exist? It must be blasphemy! For some reason, the idea of cavemen did not fit in the timeline of earth history I had in my mind, which was something like this:

dinosaurs --> Adam and Eve --> Moses/Egyptians/etc. --> middle ages (possibly dragons) --> America --> me

So, I decided to change his mind. And by "change his mind," I mean I repeated variations of the phrase "there's no such thing as cavemen. How could there be cavemen?" over and over. It took about 45 minutes, but just before my stop, he finally threw up his hands and said "Fine!" I smiled, grabbed my backpack, and trotted off the bus.

I never told Joe this, but I felt a sharp pang of regret as I watched the bus pull away. What was my problem? He had just been sharing something he thought was interesting, but I felt compelled to brow-beat him into submission. As I've grown older, I realized why I had been so insistent: the thought of my friend not sharing or endorsing my worldview freaked me out, so I lashed out.

MMM Survey Results

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For our 1000th post, we asked MMM readers to take a survey (a big thank you to the 184 readers to date who took the time). Most of the results that could be put to graph are below. The rest, mostly typed feedback, was very helpful and will result in some future changes to the blog. Stay tuned and thanks again.

(you can still take the survey here)

We also asked the following question: How would you describe your level of belief in the LDS Church? (believing, semi-believing, traditional, unorthodox, agnostic, unbelieving, etc.)

Believing: 102 (64%)
Semi-believing/unorthodox/believing with a qualifier: 53 (33%)
Unbelieving: 4 (3%)

Guest Post: I'm CB. I'm a Professor, a Liberal, and a Mormon: A Measured Response to Joni Hilton

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It doesn't matter if you're man or woman, gay or straight, dark- or light-skinned. All can equally submit guest posts to Modern Mormon Men. Write something now and submit via email.

Cougar Buckeye is a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a transplant to Utah from Ohio. He has been married for six years to his wife and has three small children. Joining the church was one of the hardest decisions CB ever made, but also one of the most rewarding. He's still trying to adjust to being a Liberal Midwesterner in the heart of Conservative Zion. Read Cougar Buckeye's first guest post here.

Like many of you, I recently read Joni Hilton's editorial for the Meridian Magazine where she skewers so-called Liberal Mormons. While some responses have utilized snark or sarcasm to counter Sister Hilton's argument, it is my goal to discuss the various possible interpretations of her article, as I see them, and the greater meaning that we can get from the dialogue which resulted from article and the various replies to it. In the interest of full disclosure, I am an active Mormon, hold a leadership position in the ward, work for the Church, and have a testimony of both the Gospel and the Church. I am also a self-described politically liberal/progressive Mormon who tends to (but not always) vote Democratic. I'm married and have three kids. These issues likely color my response to Sister Hilton's article and the thoughts and feelings of those who agree with her piece. Cards on the table: I do not agree with it.

One Interpretation

One issue I see in Sister Hilton's piece is that she feels that Liberal Mormons are lunchline Mormons. What do I mean by a lunchline Mormon? Someone who picks and chooses which aspects of the Gospel they agree with or want to believe in. In this case, both are a pejorative term that, I believe, fundamentally misstates how people tend to feel about the Gospel and the Church. To use one of Sister Hilton's examples, she argues that Liberal Mormons do not support all aspects of the Proclamation on the Family. Its unclear what she is referring to here, but one could guess that she is arguing that Liberal Mormons support same-sex marriage, while more Conservative Mormons do not (as stated in the Proclamation). I don't wish to get into a same-sex marriage debate here, but want to gently suggest that many Mormons (Liberal, Conservative, Moderate, or whatever they may be) see the Proclamation in with a similar kind of lens which leads to different views—typically with the lenses of their political ideology. For example, how many Mormons judge women who work outside the home or stay-at-home dads while ignoring that the Proclamation clearly states that families should adapt to their individual circumstances? How many of us look at the Proclamation and try to fit in it into a Western conception of the family, ignoring the fact that this is a global church?

My point here is that many (most ... the vast majority of ...) Mormons see the Gospel and the Church through various lenses. Perhaps this is the product of the finite nature of the human mind, or maybe we attach greater meaning to certain aspects of the Gospel and less meaning to others in order to ground our faith. For example, I frequently cite King Benjamin's discourse or the various consequences of forgetting the poor (the Saints not being protected in Missouri, the destruction which occurred prior to the Savior's arrival in the Americas, etc.) because I believe strongly in social justice, social welfare, and equality. I'm sure that my more conservative friends do the same with other passages of scripture, general authority talks, and the like. Each of us also have certain aspects of the Gospel that we must put on our shelves with the understanding we will comprehend them later. To illustrate, I know people who do not understand why men can be sealed to more than one woman in their lifetimes, why men of African descent could not hold the Priesthood, or why women do not hold the Priesthood. Our ability to understand and have firm testimonies of certain aspects of the Gospel and not others is part of our progression, perhaps. Our testimonies are constantly evolving as we think, pray, mediate, and study over our earthly lives.

A Second Interpretation

Throughout her article Sister Hilton seems to make reference to culturally liberal Mormons. For example, she references trips to Europe, being fashionable, or believing that some callings are intellectually beneath them. Overall, this seems like a stereotypical caricature of what we might think of as highly-cultured, progressive, or non-mainstream individuals. The issue, it seems to me, is that Sister Hilton conflates culture and doctrine. Culture is not doctrine. Further, why do we care if some Mormons have traveled the world, like trendy fashions, or fancy themselves as intellectuals? One of the things about the Church which most fascinates me and truly strengthens my testimony is that both the Church and the Gospel appeal to a diverse range of people. Men and women; people of various races and ethnicities; people from across the world; Conservatives and Liberals; and people from many other backgrounds. The truthfulness of the Gospel and the broad appeal of the truth is probably what led to the bold declaration that the Gospel would be taken to people of all kindred, nations, and tongues. The diversity of people in the Church is truly amazing and should be celebrated, not be ridiculed or minimized.

Guest Post: Thoughts on the Government Shutdown

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Born in Cheyenne and blown from his crib westward to California, David has lived on both coasts, in the middle and in Uruguay/Paraguay on his mission. He currently works in international development in Washington D.C. focusing on agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean. He is twice married with 7 children and ten grandchildren located on both coasts and three continents. His youngest recently returned from a mission in the Philippines dodging mostly successfully (big) spiders in the shower. He and his wife, Mary-Anne, have traveled to 46 countries (Italy ranks #1). An ardent Giants fan, he loves watching the Dodgers lose. Yes, Willie Mays and Babe Ruth were the best who ever played the game. If he had just kept all his baseball cards.

In view of the government shutdown perhaps it would be useful to reflect once again on the view of the Founding Fathers for some context. Last year MMM posted my thoughts on the then upcoming national election discussing the independent voter. In it, I referenced George Washington's quote from his Farewell Address in which he said of political parties, "They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force — to put in the place of the delegated will of the Nation, the will of a party; often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community..." Sadly, we see once again how party politics is tearing at the very fabric of our government and our society. Both parties say they are driven by principal however as one evaluates the behavior (not just the statements) we see that it is far too often that power and politics are defining positions and strategies. The media does not help when it constantly seeks to find a winner or a loser. Or one who "blinks" first implying weakness rather than a resolve to find a solution to the impasse.

We also see the reality of what one Hill staffer told me last year just before the election. I asked him who would win the presidential election. He said, "It really doesn't matter because whether it is Obama or Romney the losing party will do everything it can to destroy the other party's purposes." We have now in the U.S. a polarization of political views in which "Obamacare" or gun control are lightning rods to focus each party's anger and agenda.

The country is torn apart on many issues and its citizens are becoming more polarized in their thinking. Some may argue that this is not new. We saw this during the civil rights battles and even regarding the U.S. entry in World War II as isolationists weighed heavily upon President Roosevelt's responses to Churchill's entreaties and pleas. We can go back to the issue of slavery which impacted our politics since the beginning of our country as yet another example.

At least for the moment and for the foreseeable future we are faced with chasms of massive proportions in forming policy. Gone at present is the practice of negotiation and compromise. Instead, we see blame and brinksmanship at its height with the U.S. economy and the world's economy hanging in the balance. As the budget debate continued the clock was relentlessly ticking to then force an even more important debate on the debt ceiling. October 17th has now come and gone but the political landscape shows many scars that will not easily be healed.

Fam Spammers

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by Seattle Jon (bio)

via someecards

I'm sure we each have a sibling, parent, grandparent or relative who frequently - sometimes despite sincere pleas to stop - bombards us with email forwards. You know the emails I'm talking about - the "Back in My Day," "WTF, Social Security" and "Wake Up America" emails (Buzzfeed has documented 42 different types of these emails).

I have two of these fam spammers. A grandmother in Eastern Washington and my wife's grandfather in St. George. The following email forward is the latest to clog my inbox. I'll not post my feelings about what was sent to spare this grandparent's feelings, so what do you think about this email and/or about email forwarders in general?

Is a Prophecy Being Fulfilled?

On June 13th, the National News reported two items of cataclysmic importance.

1. As of 2014, there will be more children of Minorities, age 5, than children of Whites, age 5, and this trend will continue.

2. In 2012 more elderly whites died than white children were born and this trend will continue.

Think of the ramifications of these two bits of news, and flash forward 3 or 4, maybe fewer, National Election cycles, and visualize who will be governing the United States. Of course, many of the "Minorities" beliefs and lifestyles are such that they could be counted with the whites with respect to values, but sadly, many of the Whites' beliefs are contrary to our traditional values.

These two news items were attributed to the fact that minority couples have more children than whites. No surprise. The birth rate of white couples is about 1.87 children, fewer than is needed to replace their parents, and has been so for many years. This same trend has also been in effect in most of the "white" nations in Europe for several years. And if the minorities in other countries are not gaining statistical dominance, they soon will. The Proclamation on Families issued by the Church stresses the fact that families are the basic unit of the church and of our civilization, and with the trend toward unmarried women having children, the broken marriages producing single mother families, the ascending numbers of gay and lesbian unions, the eventual result is inevitable. The traditional American Family is doomed.

Mormon Mashup 3: Politics and Government

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by A-Dub (bio)

If you combined politics and Mormons, what would you get?

Too Easy
  ·   Elders Quorum President of the United States
  ·   Executive Secretary of State
  ·   Political Action Activities Committee
  ·   White House of Order
  ·   I’d like to bear my testimony before Congress
  ·   White House of Israel

Clever
  ·   Calling and Presidential Election made sure
  ·   Praise to the Congress Man
  ·   Air Force 1 Nephi
  ·   Monroe Doctrine & Covenants
  ·   CNN Our Lovely Deseret
  ·   Born of Watergate

Reaching
  ·   Oval Office of a Deacon
  ·   Filibustered with the Holy Ghost
  ·   Articles of Confederation of Faith
  ·   Surgeon General Conference
  ·   Choose the Bill of Rights, when a choice is placed before you
  ·   Mitt Romney

Writing Under the Influence

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by Seattle Jon (bio)

Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), a practicing mormon, was recently arrested in Virginia for driving under the influence. Senator Crapo had previously said he doesn't drink, stating publicly in 2010 that he would celebrate the passing of a measure reducing taxes on small beer brewers with root beer because he doesn't consume alcohol. As I read about Senator Crapo's very public break from what were apparently strongly held beliefs, I was reminded of a passage from Grant Palmer's The Incomparable Jesus:

If Jesus visited our various religious societies today, which of our prescriptions about behavioral minutia, to which we assign near-commandment status, would Jesus call "traditions of the elders"? Dictating and repeating a code of conduct for individual behavior on almost every occasion encourages Church members to engage in unrighteous judgement of others. Such judgement creates an atmosphere of tension, causing some to feel unaccepted.

In others it breeds hypocrisy, with people outwardly pretending conformity even while they secretly violate these near-commandments. The multiplication and emphasis of such rules blurs the distinction between significant commandments and trivial observances, making them seem of equal importance, especially among young people. Having observed these consequences first-hand during his formative years, Jesus rejected this approach to religion in his new church. He taught the things that mattered most and left the remainder to individual choice.

I'm honestly not sure what Jesus would think of how the Word of Wisdom has been applied since 1921, when Heber J. Grant made adherence an absolute requirement to enter the temple. BYU historian Thomas G. Alexander points out that while the original Word of Wisdom as a "principle with promise" was given by revelation, there is no evidence that any church leader, including President Grant, has claimed a separate new revelation, or even a spiritual confirmation, of changing the Word of Wisdom from "a principle with promise" to a commandment.(1) What is clear is that the near-commandment status of the Word of Wisdom does encourage church members to engage in unrighteous judgement of others, as evidenced in this case by the reactions of some of Senator Crapo's mormon political peers.

Palmer's second point - that the church's prescriptions about behavioral minutia make unequal "near-commandments" seem equal to commandments, especially in young people - seems spot on. Some of my children's strongest reactions to "sinning" have been toward strangers disobeying words of wisdom they know nothing about. "Daddy, that man is DRINKING BEER!" was a passionate response certainly not distilled instilled in them by their parents. Imagine if the one "sinning" was grandpa, as is the case for Senator Crapo's three grandchildren. They must be wondering what they should think, but there is no question in my mind what Jesus is thinking. Disappointment because he drove drunk, endangering the lives of others, but also love and forgiveness towards a man who almost certainly is under a lot of political pressure and who knows what else.

When these sorts of things happen, let it be a reminder to us to not reduce our religious life to a pattern of performances and of obedience to a few rather unique things in our church, but rather to live more like Jesus lived. To love and forgive others.

(1)Thomas G. Alexander, "The Word of Wisdom: From Principle to Requirement", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 14:3 (1981) pp. 78–88.

The Worth of a Soul is $752.3 Million

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by Ben Johnson (bio)

In the book Starship Troopers an interesting conversation takes place between a soldier and a professor at the military academy. They debate a hypothetical situation where, after a protracted and vicious war between two countries, prisoners are being kept by one side. The question posed to the soldier is "are a thousand unreleased prisoners sufficient reason to start or resume a war?" Without hesitating he answers in the affirmative. The professor then says "Very well, is one prisoner, unreleased by the enemy, enough reason to start or resume a war?" This time the soldier isn't so quick with his response. After much thought the soldier comes to the conclusion that the worth of just one man is sufficient reason.

What if the conversation was about souls instead of men and we were talking money and not war? What do you suppose one soul would be worth? Let's think about this in terms of something we can relate to. How much money do you think the church spends each year on missionary work? I’m talking about keeping the lights on at the MTCs, printing copies of the Book of Mormon, running the I’m A Mormon campaign, pass along cards, other radio and TV advertising, etc. Add that all up and you are looking at a check with a lot of zeros on it.

Someone cleverer than I could suss out a fairly accurate dollar amount and then divide into that the number of convert baptisms each year. That would give you how much we spend for each baptism. Do you think there is some sort of 'return on investment' that the church has to have in order to continue to spend the money on missionary work that they do? Would the church spend that amount of money if they knew they would only baptize 10,000 people? 500? One?

Mormon Doppelgängers 12: Special Mitt Romney Edition

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by Scott Heffernan (bio)

See all Doppelgängers here.

Welcome to a special edition of Mormon Doppelgängers featuring a slew of Mitt Romney look-alikes. If you are still undecided on who to vote for, this may help you make up your mind (though I'm not sure in which direction). Some I thought of myself and others I found on the net. (More after the break.)

Mitt and Nephi looking disapprovingly. They even kind of act the same.

Giveaway 19: Connor Boyack's Latter-day Responsibility

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Connor Boyack is a web developer, political economist, social media consultant and author of the upcoming book Latter-day Responsibility, a prequel/sequel to the popular Latter-day Liberty. Connor views MMM's readers (or was it founders, can't remember) as largely irresponsible so would like to giveaway one of his books to help remedy the situation (okay, it was founders).

For this giveaway, Connor is generously providing one reader with a signed copy of his book, Latter-day Responsibility. Connor also humored us by answering some questions (some serious, some less so) below the giveaway guidelines.

Giveaway Guidelines:
You have THREE chances to enter. Each entry requires a separate comment.
1. Leave a comment on this post.
2. Like MMM on Facebook or share this post on Facebook. Leave a comment letting us know you did.
3. Follow MMM on Twitter or share this post on Twitter. Leave a comment letting us know you did.

• 7 days to enter (closes Sunday, November 11th at midnight).
• Winner announced Tuesday, November 13th.
• Can't wait? Buy the book now.

Q: Tell us briefly about your new book, Latter-day Responsibility.

In many ways, this new book is a prequel to Latter-day Liberty, released last December. In that book I primarily discussed liberty in the context of what the government should not do. In Latter-day Responsibility, I discuss liberty in the context of what we should do. Liberty cannot exist without a foundation of personal responsibility; to the extent that we do not take care of ourselves and those around us, then people will cry out for the state to take care of us for ourselves.

So this is a step back after the first book to understand something more fundamental, and recognize that if we want to promote liberty, limited government, etc., then as trite as it sounds, it begins with us. My book dedicates a chapter to each of several personal responsibilities that I believe we must individually and collectively fulfill if we're to have a shot at reducing the size and scope of the state.

Obama vs. Romney

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Election day is just around the corner, so we asked Mormons for Obama to present their best case for another Barack Obama presidency and Romney CTR to argue for why the country should make a change and elect Mitt Romney. We hope you find their efforts below to be both informative and helpful as you make your final decision. Now get out and vote on November 6th!

The case for Barack Obama

The case for Mitt Romney

Guest Post: The Case for Barack Obama

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Robert Taber is the national director of Mormons for Obama, a grassroots campaign to support and mobilize Latter-day Saints who are voting for President Obama’s re-election. When not campaigning, he’s a PhD candidate in Latin American history who also specializes in helping his preschooler staple together paper crowns. He roots for the BYU Cougars and Florida Gators. If they play each other, he will root for the Gators but will bask in the misery of his current classmates should BYU prevail--sweet, sweet memories of the 2010 NCAA basketball tournament.

I saw a tweet the other day: “Only a Democrat could prevent a depression, end a war, get bin Laden, and double the Dow & then be told he can’t run on his record.” The economy is growing: we’ve added 5.2 million private sector jobs during 31 straight months of growth—including 500,000 manufacturing jobs—the most growth since 1997. The unemployment rate has fallen to 7.8% (the lowest since Dec. 2008), housing starts are at a four-year high, retail sales are re-accelerating, car sales are at their highest since early 2008, consumer credit is growing, the Dow is above 13,000 (it closed under 8,000 on the day President Obama was inaugurated and bottomed out at 6,629 in March 2009), consumer confidence is a five-year high, and home prices are on the rise again. I think President Obama is doing all right.

The President’s plan for the next four years is making education and training a national priority, investing in manufacturing, boosting American-made energy, reducing the deficit in a balanced, responsible manner, and ending the war in Afghanistan so we can focus on rebuilding America.

As a student of history, I see President Obama as having a firm grip on our national situation and where we need to go. At the end of World War II, the United States dominated the world in manufacturing output (and would dominate the global economy for the next two decades). Policy makers took deliberate steps through the Marshall Plan, the International Monetary Fund, and other institutions to help the rest of the world catch up, with the (sound) idea that if we’re all making & trading with one another, we will be less likely to go to war with one another. Now, however, the challenge is dealing with the consequences of this success. It behooves us today to build an economy that’s more substantial than financial manipulation and a society that gives equal opportunity to get ahead in a more competitive world. President Obama recognizes this, and his domestic policies have focused on five pillars: healthcare, education & training, manufacturing, investment in infrastructure, and an all-of-the-above approach to domestic energy production. These five work together to bring us back to full employment. For me, healthcare is the most important.