Posted by
Phil E. on Saturday, November 11, 2006 2:27:00 PM
I didn't hear the caller on Hugh Hewitt's show Friday, Nov 10, who apparently disparaged Mitt Romney for President because Mitt Romney is Mormon. But I heard guest host Jed Babbin give his - and a - typical response. He's said it before. "Can't we get over it? We elected a Catholic for President. Why not a Mormon?"
Why not? I'll tell you why not.
Because Catholicism and Mormonism are NOT the same! Mormonism is a cult! Roman Catholicism is not.
Mormons swear an oath to their church, to use EVERYTHING they've been given to build up their church. Catholics do not.That we elected a Catholic for President and so we should elect a Mormon is a specious analogy that comes up all the time. One wonders if Mitt Romney's campaign is partially behind it, to elicit sympathy (and votes) for Mitt Romney by painting him in the image of JFK? So let's deal with it. I didn't know John Kennedy, but still, I can say "
Mitt Romney is no John Kennedy!"
Roman Catholicism is NOT a cult. No Roman Catholic swears a secret oath "to consecrate yourselves, your time, talents, and EVERYTHING (like a U.S. Presidency) with which
the Lord has blessed you, or with which he may bless you, to the Church."
But Mormons do. And Mitt Romney has. And that's all you really need to know. He's compromised. He cannot serve two masters. You can't imagine how he thinks. The rest of this post is just the grisly details.
-----------------------------------------------
Roman Catholicism might have been
a cult - in the mind control sense - in the Middle Ages when it had more characteristics of a cult. So what follows will be instructive to see why it was a cult then; why it's not a cult now; and why Mormonism has always fit the definition of a mind controlling cult even today.
"When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done." (An actual Mormon quote.)1) In the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic layman wasn't allowed to
read the Bible for himself. The Bible, either wholesale or various translations thereof,
was prohibited reading, being on the
index of Forbidden Books. Some argue whether the Bible was actually on the list or not,
but the mere fact the Roman Catholic church had an index of Forbidden Books is characteristic of a cult. It's mind control. Fortunately, the Roman Catholic church dropped the index in 1966 (interestingly, after J.F.K.'s presidency. Maybe a similar discussion then resulted in a change of heart?) and Catholics are now free to read the Bible for themselves in their native language. They are now presumably free to come to their own conclusions about what God said and to consider alternative views against the church. But before then, they were told it was damning sin.
Contrast this to the Mormon church today. While there's no official index of forbidden books (that I know of), Mormons are not really free to read what they want. If nothing else, they are strongly discouraged from reading so-called "Anti-Mormon" literature. (That is, Christian literature, explaining why Mormonism is not Biblical.) To demonstrate this, here's an actual sign from a Mormon event,
warning their members about "unofficial" literature. 
The implication is they should only be reading Church approved literature. And they get the message. Watch a Mormon accept religious literature from an evangelist. Mormons ALWAYS flip it over, looking for the official Church logo, the "stamp of approval" on the back. And here's another, more ominous, somewhat mesmerizing
audio warning about reading unofficial literature and questioning church doctrine. The fact that the term "anti-Mormon" exists in their vernacular demonstrates a de facto class of material that is ungood.Further, while Mormons are allowed to read the Bible for themselves, they are to read the King James Translation only. While the KJV may be a fine translation, its archaic language makes it difficult for the layman to understand. (What are "kine?") Also, while Mormons are taught that the Bible is the word of God, "as far as it is translated correctly," that's really code for
"Who knows that even one verse of the Bible has escaped pollution...?" This is subtle, and Christians are likely to miss the point. Mormons don't really believe the Bible to be the inerrant Word of God in the sense that Christians do. Again, they're told to read official church doctrine, like the Book of Mormon, which, they say, "is the word of God (period)," which is often changed without notice.
2) Again, in the Middle Ages, under Roman Catholicism, if you thought too much, if you came to conclusions different from the Roman Catholic church's and wrote about it, or were considered politically incorrect, you might be penalized by being blackballed in the
index of Forbidden Books. But the church's mind control extended beyond the borders of pure religion and so did its power. We all know
the pressure Galileo was under to recant his belief that the earth was not the center of the solar system. He was convicted of heresy by the Inquisition and confined to house arrest for life. Fortunately, the church reversed itself circa 1980 and I'm not aware of a similar organ today. Certainly not one that can confine someone to house arrest in our country. But again, the very fact that there was such a thing as the Inquisition, along with the fear it fostered, demonstrates the existence of a church Thought Police.
3) In the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic clergy sold
Indulgences, a way (supposedly) to make a down payment today to pay off future punishment in the hereafter. Given the way these were marketed, coupled with the fact the layman was kept ignorant, as in 1 above, it seemed the clergy really did hold the keys to heaven in the mind of the laity. The church had absolute authority over your very soul. Even though there's still the concept of penance in Roman Catholicism, we don't hear stories in the States of priests selling Indulgences.
The practice has stopped. (At least overtly in this country - I think). Since Catholics are now allowed to read the Bible for themselves, I presume they would see the sale of an Indulgence for the extortion that it is.
Contrast this with the Mormon church. The "
temple recommend" is the rough equivalent. I wrote about it previously in the entry asking if Utah Prosecutors are opening a Pandora's box. In Mormonism, you NEED a temple recommend to get to the highest level of heaven (they have three levels), to be a god someday. And what is required to get and maintain a recommend?
Why, money, of course. For the Mormon, the church holds absolute authority over your soul, and while perhaps not as obvious, extorts money from its members as a requirement to become a god.
Another
characteristic of a mind control cult is that they are "elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself,
its leader(s), and members." In this sense, the Roman Catholic church and the Mormon church are, in theory, the same. But not in practice. Not today. Even though the Roman Catholic church, like the Mormon church, claims that "
There is no salvation outside the church," (
the latter claiming NONE of the other churches are true), in the former it seems few practitioners really believe that. (At least, not here in the States.) You don't hear much about the R.C. church excommunicating anyone anymore, and even if they were to
excommunicate Madonna, no one really believes she's going to hell because she's outside the church. (She's going to hell, so far, for her sins.) She's obviously not worried about the Roman Catholic church holding any special keys and will not be influenced.
Not so the Latter. Mormons really do take excommunication seriously. (Mormons, that is, who have not come to the realization that the church is not true.) You can see their steadfast belief that the church has the authority to determine who goes to the highest heaven and who doesn't by their willingness to dress in their special underwear, spend hours in their temples earing points by doing baptisms for the dead and watching the same movie over and over as they receive their "
endowments." And of course, as they tithe a full 10% to the church. The danger here is that you don't know what Mitt Romney is obligated to do as a Mormon if he's President of the United States. He is obligated to do whatever he leaders tell him to do.
Like the Catholics, the Mormons are focused on a "living leader to whom members seem to display
excessively zealous, unquestioning commitment." Anyone remember the Monty Python skit featuring Cardinal Fang and the Spanish Inquisition? "...
an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope..." Today, in the States, even though thousands come out to watch the Pope, not many Catholics seem to take him very seriously today, as evidenced by the fact that many Catholics use contraceptives,
despite the Pope's command. In the 60's it might have been a little different, but today, no one thinks a Catholic President would be blindly beholden to the Pope. Justice Roberts and Alito are both Catholics and were confirmed to the Supreme Court.
But it's different for Mormons. They attend a biannual
General Conference in Salt Lake, to where the faithful, Mecca like, pilgrimage. If they aren't there in the flesh, they're there in the spirit as most Mormons spend the weekend in front of a TV in their Ward building or on cable, watching "
the Prophet." It would be incorrect to say that Mormons "worship" their prophet, but they sure do venerate him highly. It's difficult to convey to Christians the mindless devotion these people have to him unless you spend some time with them. They don't genuflect in the flesh like Catholics, but they do in spirit. This man can do no wrong.
Now, imagine, if you can, that you are a good Mormon. You believe your church is the one true church and that your prophet speaks for god on earth. He, and any hierarchy in the church can at anytime, and without recourse, pull your temple recommend, destroying your chance of obtaining godhood. Or worse, they can send you to hell for disobedience. And, you're the President of the United States. Who you gonna take orders from? Who will you surround yourself with, if so ordered? What if God has a special calling for you, now that you're President. (Think Ahmadinejad instead of Kennedy. Do you know the Mormon prophesies about the end times?)
"No one can serve two masters..."
While Jesus' quote, in context, was about money, it also applies to the Mormon church. (Which is not unassociated with money.)
The last item (for this long post) that distinguishes Roman Catholicism from Mormonism -
and easily documented - is that Catholics do NOT swear an oath to their church during a secret ceremony “to consecrate yourselves, your time, talents, and EVERYTHING with which the Lord has blessed you, or with which he may bless you, to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for the building up of the Kingdom of God on the earth and for the establishment of Zion.” Prior to 1990, Mormons swore they
would rather be butchered than reveal this secret oath. Mitt Romney is obligated under that death penalty.
While many people seem to blow off oaths (oaths of office, oaths to tell the truth, oaths to spouses), you would be foolish to think a Mormon would take this oath so lightly. His salvation depends on keeping this oath.
You only need to live among them to realize this truth.Mitt Romney is no John Kennedy. Mormonism is a cult.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
[Please help me get
the Word out. Please forward the address to this blog to your friends.
It's easy, but you need the http:// part.
http://romneyforpresident.townhall.com/
Tell them that, like Mormonism, the blog isn't like what it seems.