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.

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