NBC gets no Romney campaign help on Mormon special

[highplainsdem]

Source: AP via KOAA.com

NEW YORK (AP) - NBC News is having no luck getting Mitt Romney to participate in its prime-time special on the Mormon church this week.

The show's executive producer, Rome Hartman, says the hour-long episode of "Rock Center" will air as planned Thursday evening.

NBC requested an interview with Romney weeks ago but was denied. It tried again on Monday after it seemed the Republican was becoming more open to talk about his faith.

Hartman said Wednesday many Americans know little about the church even though one of its members is on the eve of becoming the first Mormon nominated by a major political party to run for president of the United States.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.koaa.com/news/nbc-gets-no-romney-campaign-help-on-mormon-special/

[Panasonic]

1. Fuck the religionapalooza.

Just cancel the damn special and put on a rerun or something.

[freshwest]

2. Aw, NBC missed a moment to shill for Mitt! Boo fucking hoo!

[davidpdx]

3. I wonder if NBC will interview any former members

I know there are quite a few out there that are vocal about the church.

[defacto7]

4. a little entertaining reading

Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer

This is a former Mormon and a church historian. It is an awesome read if you want to really know about the Mormons, the chosen religion of a presidential candidate. The LDS hates it because he reveals all the "secret" stuff and the real history. I live in Utah and I know this is the real thing. It couldn't be better as fiction, but it's true. Crazy world.

A fun one, Southpark on the Mormons...

http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/104253/joseph-smith-part-1
http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/104256/joseph-smith-part-2
http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/104257/joseph-smith-part-3
http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/154257/joseph-smith-part-4

I don't know why they cut up the episode. It used to be an easy link under the name All About the Mormons from season 7. It is a bad link now. But these work and it's worth the ride.

[CountAllVotes]

14. Thanks for the links!

and Welcome to the Democratic Underground and thank you for sharing this with us!

[boppers]

5. Are they gonna do UU next? Maybe Quakers?

"Hey, look at these people through a religious bias!"

[bushisanidiot]

10. If a member of the UU church or a Quaker were running for

President of the United States, you can bet there would be a special or two dedicated to that religion.

There is a lot of secrecy in the mormon faith and a lot of people are turned off by that. I don't think it helps when we imply that no questions should be asked about a presidential nominee's beliefs. My concern is that Romney is beholden to the "prophet" of the mormon church. Mormonism is not the same as catholicism where a catholic running for president doesn't have to align himself or herself with everything the pope says. In mormonism, you HAVE to obey the prophet otherwise you lose benefits that you worked hard and made sacrifices in order to obtain. Mitt Romney will not have a choice but to obey his "prophet".

[CountAllVotes]

15. Richard Nixon was a quaker

and no, I do not recall seeing any specials, etc. being run about what being a Quaker is all about.

He was Tricky Dick to me, Quaker or no Quaker!

[boppers]

24. UU's and Quakers have not only run, but became presidents.

Mormons are not beholden to the current prophet, and more than Catholics are beholden to the pope.

"In mormonism, you HAVE to obey the prophet otherwise you lose benefits that you worked hard and made sacrifices in order to obtain."

WRONG. See: Catholics. It's the same deal.

[xxqqqzme]

6. The more I learn about

LDS the more convinced I am it is a cult!

[byeya]

11. LDS has a short traceable history and it's a cult. It just got rich enough to get away

with calling itself a religion.

[Historic NY]

7. Why is Bishop Williard running from his church?... &

and why is Roman Catholic Archbishop Dolan running to rmoney?

http://www.irishcentral.com/story/news/periscope/cardinal-timothy-dolan-to-offer-closing-prayer-at-gop-convention-in-florida----taking-sides-so-openly-in-presidential-election-is-not-a-very-smart-idea-167162855.html

[Mnpaul]

8. I would bet they won't even mention the "Lost Boys"

Sounds like another fluff piece probably to be hosted by Brian Williams.

[Brother Buzz]

12. To be fair "Lost boys" are a product of a splinter group, FLDS, not LDS

Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) have no official connections to the LDS's. The operative word is official. Nod, nod, wink, wink.

[Mnpaul]

13. Followers of Islam get held to the actions of their extremists

Why not Mormons?

[Brother Buzz]

16. Islam doesn't have a single supreme leader to speak one voice

Mormons absolutely do, albeit an old stodgy fart.


I don't disagree with your comment about this being a potential fluff piece up-thread so I posted a link to a real investigative documentary from BBC. Invest one hour watching it; you won't be disappointed unless you're expecting fluff:

http://mormonisminvestigated.co.uk/2012/03/29/bbc-mormon-documentary/

[Mnpaul]

18. Damn

BBC pulled the video

[Brother Buzz]

20. That's odd. Try this one

&feature=related

[Mnpaul]

22. That one worked

Thanks. Very interesting.

[boppers]

25. Islam doesn't have a single supreme leader to speak one voice, and neither do all the mormon faiths,

You tarnish both with your ignorance about both.

[bushisanidiot]

9. Almost sounds like he's ashamed of his religion

let's see. he wants to hide his true beliefs from everyone regarding his mormon faith; he wants to hide his taxes from everyone; he wants to hide his records as governor (didn't he have emails destroyed?); I thought I heard something about him hiding information regarding his work with the olympics. It goes on and on. He is not an open book at all. So many secrets. So many things to hide.

[CountAllVotes]

17. I'd be ashamed

Who would not be ashamed when they wear the Magic Underwear?

Where do you get more of this when the need emerges? :rofl

[Redford]

19. What a boring idea for a tv show

Mormons don't drink, smoke, or cuss. They are family oriented and all the ones I have known were decent people. I have a neighbor family across the street and their children (all 8 of them) are very respectful. They work hard and teach their children to work hard also. The world could use more cults like the Morman church, if you ask me. I would think Romney would like to showcase his faith but like JFK he would want to distance himself from appearing to be beholden to religious leaders.

[renate]

23. the only Mormons I've known were very nice, like your neighbors

It's still kind of weird religion. I admit to not knowing a lot about it--I only found out about the god-of-your-own-planet thing from DU--but I think there are a lot of positives to any community that takes care of each other and expects its members to behave well towards others. Still... while Mormons make good neighbors, I don't want my president to make decisions about my life because of his religious beliefs, no matter what they are but especially if they're as hierarchical and inegalitarian as the Mormons' seem to be.

But as you said, and at least in my experience as well, they seem to be very nice people.

[Blue Idaho]

21. The only disaster bigger than Willard's taxes is his whack religion.

Mittens and Queen Ann know that if America gets a strong whiff of his real Mormon beliefs they will be about as popular as last weeks funeral potatoes.

Lets see - a religion that believes in multiple gods with physical bodies each ruling over individual planets...

The promise of becoming a god yourself (guys) if you strictly obey the church elders...

The ability to be "sealed" to multiple wives for all eternity...

Jesus and Satan and the rest of us all existing as heavenly spirit brothers and sisters before coming to earth...

Temple ceremonies and garb borrowed from the Freemasons... Baptism of the dead... Secret Handshakes... Blood Oaths...

and the list goes on, and on, and on, and on...


Perhaps the most disturbing fact - the LDS penchant for actively disappearing troubling bits of its very short history and previously taught doctrines in order to become more attractive to potential converts.

this isn't so much a christian church as it is a well oiled faith based money making machine.

[boppers]

26. Hm, as a born and raised mormon, now Omnist:

"Lets see - a religion that believes in multiple gods with physical bodies each ruling over individual planets... "

Yup, unlike freakier faiths which believe in only one god, and one planet, at the center of the universe.

"The promise of becoming a god yourself (guys) if you strictly obey the church elders... "

Contrasted with faiths that hate people so much just about everybody goes to hell.....

"The ability to be "sealed" to multiple wives for all eternity... "

Yeah, in the heaven of the old testament, many church founders had multiple wives, and marriage wasn't just an "oh, oops, you're dead, my vows are over" thing.

"Jesus and Satan and the rest of us all existing as heavenly spirit brothers and sisters before coming to earth... "

Pulled straight out of the same mythology as the rest of the churches and faiths of the 200BC-200AD era.

"Temple ceremonies and garb borrowed from the Freemasons... Baptism of the dead... Secret Handshakes... Blood Oaths... "

Seen a Catholic Mass lately? They ritually eat the dead flesh of their gods. Weekly. Without thinking: "hey, this is insane.".

"Perhaps the most disturbing fact - the LDS penchant for actively disappearing troubling bits of its very short history and previously taught doctrines in order to become more attractive to potential converts. "

Martin Luther taught that Jews were inherently evil, Catholics worship so many gods it's impossible to track them, the bible is a hack-job of religious texts based on power and politics of the time of various versions....so, by comparison, yes, Mormons are batshit insane, just like the rest of them. Just like the rest of us.

[Blue Idaho]

27. Clever

But you can hardly qualify Mormon beliefs as bog standard Christian theology.

[boppers]

28. As if that's a good thing?

"standard Christian theology", depending on who you talk to:
1. Virgin birth by a woman impregnated by a god (Who doesn't have have a body).
2. God who is a man, and a god, but not, and yet, is.
3. God (but not god) died, and came back, and promised to come back again (but hasn't)

Uhm, yeah.

[Blue Idaho]

29. I'm thinking more about all those good Christians

Being asked to swallow hard and vote for Mitt cuz he's a believer just like you.

Except he's not... And neither is his religion.

[boppers]

30. He has more in common with them than athiests.

Similar book, similar god worship, more eschatology than Obama.