What Would Jesus Do? Sex, Hell and Christianity in the Noose of the Presidential Election

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Mike Huckabee's video of Hollywood-ized hellfire, posted just in time for Halloween, seems to threaten Christians with eternal damnation if they don't "cast a ballot that will 'stand the test of fire.'"  Huckabee never mentions compassion or the Golden Rule. Apparently wanting nothing to do with Jesus' "Good News" message of grace, Huckabee promotes the "letter of the law," and it's not even Biblical law, at that.  Ironically, he quotes Psalms in support of a Mormon over Obama, a Christian.

Mormons have some rather unusual beliefs, many of which are wildly inconsistent with fundamental, Biblical Christianity. Oddly, this aspect of Mitt Romney's spiritual makeup appears to present no problem for the Religious Right. 

 
For instance, when Mormons say "God," the being they reference is a man who lives on a planet near the star, Kolob. I'm not kidding. Look it up. I'll wait. 

Comparisons of additional unusual beliefs are below:
MORMONISM: There are many gods. 
JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY: The Hebrew Torah and the Catholic and Protestant Bibles note that the first commandment is "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
ISLAM: The Q'uran, holy book of Islam, agrees, "And your Lord has ordained that you should not worship anyone except Him."


MORMONISM: Jesus was not conceived by Immaculate Conception, and therefore was not the product of a Virgin Birth. He was conceived when God had sex with Mary, who was temporarily his wife. 
CHRISTIANITY: The vast majority of Christians believe in Immaculate Conception and Virgin Birth as a foundational tenet.
ISLAM: The Q'uran  confirms that Jesus was of Virgin Birth. In some respects,  Christianity has much more in common with Islam, than with Mormonism.  This seems surprising, in light of the vicious attacks on Islam by the Religions Right, and their embracement of a Mormon.


MORMONISM: Jesus had at least three wives and children while he was on this earth.
CHRISTIANITY: Most of Christianity, particularly members of the Religious Right, believe that Jesus was a celibate. In fact, the Religious Right rebelled strongly against Dan Brown's wildly popular 2003 book and subsequent movie, The DaVinci Code, because it suggested that Jesus was married. Even though this was a work of fiction, it spawned debate, protest and even accusations of blasphemy from the Religious Right.  The movie was said to have met "The Largest Protest Against Blasphemy in History."
Yet, the Mormons' belief that Jesus was married is not fiction, for them it is a fact. So it seems odd that while the inclusion of the belief that Jesus was a "family man" in a fictional work inspired abundant protest, this same belief, as fact, seems to be perfectly acceptable to the Religious Right.


MORMONISM: Every Mormon male becomes a god of his own planet, where he has plural wives, and that after death, only Mormons get to have sex for eternity in heaven, while non-Mormons will be non-sexual spiritual beings living in lower levels of heaven.
CHRISTIANITY: Christian heaven is not traditionally described in sexual terms. Many Christians believe that the deceased will be in a "limbo" or "holding pattern" until the Second Coming, when they will be resurrected,  judged, and if found worthy, allowed to enter heaven.
The Mormon concepts of multiple sex partners in the afterlife seems to have more in common with Islam's promise of "72 virgins in heaven," which has been loudly criticized by the Religious Right,  than with any of the traditional Christian descriptions of heaven.
The Religious Right has a reputation of focusing on sexual sins to the exclusion of all other sin. One only needs to remember the inflated hullabaloo that was created when Clinton was discovered indulging in activities that most of our other presidents have likely indulged in, as well.  Yet, the unusual sexual practices promised as a reward in Mormon heaven seem to escape any kind of criticism, or even notice, by the Religious Right.

MORMONISM: The only way to salvation is through the Mormon church. All other religions are "corrupt" and "abominations."
CHRISTIANITY: Many Religious Right groups believe that the only way to salvation is through Jesus Christ, and all other religions are "corrupt" and "abominations."
So, where is the Religious Right's fanatical, holier-than-thou obsession with their own letter-of-the-law Christianity when we really need it? Did they suddenly adopt religious tolerance when we weren't looking?
Even Billy Graham removed the reference to Mormonism as a "cult" on his website after he endorsed Romney in mid-October.

Mormons, like everyone else, are given religious freedom by our Constitution. But their religious freedom must end where the rest of America's freedom begins:

MORMONISM: "Lying for the Lord" is an accepted and encouraged practice.  The "loyalty and the welfare of the church are more important than the principle of honesty, and plausible denials and deception by omission are warranted by an opportunity to have the Mormon organization seen in the best possible light."
JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY: "The Lord hates a lying tongue." (Proverbs 6:17-19)
ISLAM: The Quran has instructed Muslims to say the truth even if those who are very close to them do not like it: "Whenever you speak, speak justly, even if a near relative is concerned" (6:152) "O you who believe stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor." (4:135).



Presumably the Mormon "license to lie" also extends to a presidential candidate during debates, and this might be why one can smell the pants on fire across the country.

But, according to Proverbs 6:17-19 (New King James Version), these are the things that "the Lord hates," and the Romney campaign doesn't seem to have neglected a single one:

A proud look
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.

In the Mormon commitment ceremony to the church,  according to a number of reputable ex-Mormon websites, a pledge is made to do all in one's power to help create a "Mormon theocratic government of the United States of America." 
Romney has already taken this pledge.
And he has promised his church to keep this a secret.
A Mormon's first duty, president or not, is to his church. So, even if Romney was asked, upon oath, if he had made this promise to his church, he could deny it and still be in integrity with his religion, particularly if he is swearing upon a book that he has probably never read, nor believes.
Even Brigham Young's great-great grand daughter, ex-Mormon Sue Emmett, notes that "'Lying for the Lord,'  implies that teaching the whole truth about the church should be avoided.' 

What, indeed, would Jesus do?  It's probably safe to assume that what he would NOT do, would be to cast a vote for Romney.

RESOURCES:
TO THOSE WHO ARE INVESTIGATING "MORMONISM"
Mitt's Mormonism
Mormons Believe
Top 10 List of Unusual Mormon Beliefs and Practices
The Bible (New King James Version)