Obama to Meet With Mormon Church President Today
By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country
Tucked into the president's schedule this afternoon: a closed-press meeting with the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—better known as the Mormon church—and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the highest-ranking Mormon in the U.S. government.
Some Mormon/Obama trivia in advance of the sit-down:
- Unlike traditional Christianity, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) regards its president as a living prophet who receives divine revelation. "[R]evelation for the whole Church comes only through the living prophet," according to the LDS website.
In a lesson designed for children, the LDS website explains the unique role of the church president: "[W]e should always listen to what the prophet says, because he tells us what Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want us to do. The prophet receives instructions from Heavenly Father and Jesus for the entire Church."
Current LDS President Thomas Monson assumed his position last year following the death of Gordon Hinckley.
- According to the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey, there are about 3 million American Mormons, accounting for 1.4 percent of the population. They're one of the country's fastest-growing religious groups.
- Most American Mormons lean Republican, though a recent Gallup Poll found that slightly more approve of President Obama's job performance than disapprove. Still, Mormons are much less bullish on Obama than members of other religious groups.
- Obama recently appointed Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a Mormon Republican, to be ambassador to China. Huntsman stunned Utah's political establishment earlier this year by announcing his support for legalized civil unions for gay couples. The move came shortly after the LDS church had helped spearhead the campaign to pass Proposition 8, California's gay marriage ban.
- See Obama's 10 most important faith leaders.
- See photos of the Obama's behind the scenes.
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- Read more about the Obama administration.
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The Bible
We don't even HAVE an original of the bible. the oldest records we have as of Yet discovered are GREEK!
The elders who oppose gay marriage are slowly dying.
Andm let's face it.. There were a FEW ecumenical councils held, that altered the known writings of the bible, edited some out, and aded stuff in.
And then there's the fact that the LDS church gave huge amounts of money to go against Prop 8, and they expect to HEAL the homosexuals after they convert! WTF....
Obama, why do you even waste your time with these radicals, that live among us, there are many more important matters than the Mormon Church! The bastards that called me evil, because all I wanted was love between me and my partner!
Newsroom has pictures!
newsroom.lds.org has pictures of this event.
Obama Meets Mormon Church President
Regrettably, the Pew survey underestimates the number of Latter-day Saints in the United States by about half; the true figure is about 6 million.
It is fascinating to see the amount of vitriol that the names of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young have the power to evoke even today, well over a century after their deaths. I would suggest that interested readers consult books by reputable historians regarding these two men.
Suggestions:
o Richard Lyman Bushman, _Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling_ (New York: Knopf, 2005). Bushman, a former Columbia University history professor, is a Latter-day Saint, but brings professional objectivity to the best biography ever published about Smith.
o Leonard J. Arrington, _Brigham Young: American Moses_ (Paperback, Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1986; hardcover edition by Knopf). The late Arrington was also LDS, but brought his own style of scholarship and objectivity to the best biography every published about Young.
Concerning the Book of Mormon, the Smithsonian letter merely states that then-current archaeological research had not uncovered evidence for it. Because the Book of Mormon focuses on only one relatively small group of people in the Americas, it should not be expected that such evidence would be available. Readers may be interested in the following:
o Terryl L. Givens, _By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion_ (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002). Givens, also LDS, is Professor of Religion and Literature at the University of Richmond, in Virginia.
Ultimately, the truth of a religion should be determined by two things: impartial investigation, and personal inspiration to the honest investigator from a divine source. Yes, the truth is out there--but it will not be found in rageful, vitriolic attack, but rather in the calm whisperings of the Spirit of Truth to one's own soul, in privacy.
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