[Martin E. Marty's biography, current projects, upcoming events, publications, and contact information can be found at www.illuminos.com.]

Now that Governor Romney is off the campaign trail—we don't do any Sightings of candidates on the trail—we can, without commenting on him or the part his church and faith played in his demise, do a retrospective on the Mormon-hate that blighted air waves, the internet, and some printed quotations while he was spotlit. The locus classicus of the hate, one that has plenty of company, is the on-air MSNBC spewing by Lawrence O'Donnell, Jr., "pundit and actor," on the McLaughlin Group TV show. I quote: "Romney comes from a religion founded by a criminal who was anti-American, pro-slavery, and a rapist. And he comes from that lineage and says, 'I respect this religion fully.' . . . He's got to answer." The other religion that gets treated that way with impunity is Islam. O'Donnell was not treated with total impunity; he was knuckle-rapped with a feather-duster suspension. That could change by the time you read this, but for now the remark was not treated with the seriousness that an anti-black or anti-Semitic comment by the merest sportswriter would elicit.

One needs hold no brief for (or against) the Latter-day-Saints or the Muslims and their founders to find occasion to ask what went wrong, what goes wrong, when in a United States where so many good things are happening on the inter-religious, racial, ethnic, and gender front, this underground of "anti"s so frequently emerges. I've had numerous Latter-Day-Saint Ph.D. students, know some leaders, have spoken at some of their scholarly gatherings, have learned and taught much about their history, and can't find anyone who can find something that would rule out a Mormon as Mormon from being Chief Executive. (Curiously, the issue did not even come up, so far as I can remember, when Mitt Romney's father ran for President in a generation that putatively was more prejudiced than our enlightened generation is.)

Let the O'Donnells rant on as they present their bill of particulars: The Mormons have secrets. So do the Masons, who met lethal prejudice one hundred and fifty years ago, but get a free ride now along with your friendly neighborhood fraternities and sororities. Mormons are too clubby and do favors for each other. So are the Notre Dame (or any other strong college of your choice) grads. Or they are too successful. That's not a blight elsewhere in capitalist America. Finally: their founding story is really weird. Let's stop right there: I like to quote George Santayana, who wrote that "every living and healthy religion has a marked idiosyncrasy. Its power consists in its special and surprising message. . ." One notices: Every religion looks "idiosyncratic" and its stories are "surprising" to all others. We Christians and Jews are empowered, motivated, and—hey! I'm a Christian!—are "saved" by those stories and messages. We spend decades and energies helping fellow-citizens and ourselves live creatively with people who, again in Santayana's terms, propound "another world to live in."

Taking testimony about the evils of Mormonism by ex-Mormons is likely to be as objective as it is if it comes against Catholicism by ex-Catholics. Were it our calling, we could find profound fault with many policies and actions of some Latter-Day-Saints or members and leaders of other faiths. My own company, that of historians, is in the business of telling stories about others' stories. No one is to be uncritical, where there is often much to criticize. But criticism is one thing; hate-speech and untruths are another.

Julie Shill - 2/24/2008

The comments for this article are a perfect exclamation point for the article itself.

Clint Roges - 2/21/2008

For what it is worth - I recently blogged about what it was like for me to grow up in the LDS Church: http://www.clintrogersonline.com/blog/?p=75

Brett Stone - 2/19/2008

Deb, You have seriously had to ignore a lot of history to arrive at your opinons. There is a counter point or 2nd side to every point you made and each of which is easly obtained.

I will mention but one. You referenced the Nauvoo Expositor. I won't pretend that Joseph's decisions were made in the heat of the moment. But why do you not also lament the destruction of the Mormon Printing Press in Missouri. Along with the attempted destruction of many of the LDS Church's founding documents. Mormon's had suffered under many attempts to silence their voice and on this one of but a few occasions lashed out themselves. Sorry but your arguments do not ring true.

Amanda R Certeza - 2/19/2008

Thank you so much for that article: what a breath of fresh air from all the narrow-minded hypocrites out there! People in this country are so quick to forget that we were founded on the belief that a man shouldn't be judged for his religion, or how he's descended from "weird" people that started it. I think they're just afraid of someone with a life founded on beliefs that call for integrity and accountability - qualities that this country is so unfamiliar with and no wonder they'd be afraid of it. No one ever said that by electing Mitt Romney, everyone would have to conform to Mormonism - that idea in and of itself blatantly contradicts one of their most fundamental beliefs - agency. Research before criticism, people! Grow up!

S Center - 2/18/2008

Actually Lynne Barton does a better job with many of the details than I did.

S Center - 2/18/2008

The truth is that the story is lame. Joseph Smith was a very poor teenager. A man, a stranger to the community, met Joseph and convinced Joseph along with several other young men to attempt to find hidden treasure. Joseph was found guilty along with every other teenager. They were told by the sentancing judge they were being punished to teach them a lesson about the company they keep. There is not much to the story but my assumption is that this is less relevant than being able to play "gotcha!" with the Mormons.

S Center - 2/18/2008

You are right Deb. Clearly the Mormons deserved to die. When the protestants in the area committed the Hans Mill Massacre when they shot into a barn and killed women and children the Mormons simply got what they deserved. Christianity is clearly a religion of love. You are a tremendous example of that.

N Martineau - 2/17/2008

Ok I quit. Copy the links without the semicolon and they work fine. I'm off to read "Blogging for Dummies".

N Martineau - 2/17/2008

Don't know how that happened...
View of the Hebrews link:
"http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/bookschapter.php?bookid=8&;chapid=66"
Nauvoo Expositor link:
"http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&;id=344"

N Martineau - 2/17/2008

Don't know how that happened...
View of the Hebrews link:
http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/bookschapter.php?bookid=8&;chapid=66
Nauvoo Expositor link:
http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&;id=344

N Martineau - 2/17/2008

Don't know how that happened...
View of the Hebrews link:
http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/bookschapter.php?bookid=8&;chapid=66
Nauvoo Expositor link:
http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&;id=344

N Martineau - 2/17/2008

You know, Deb, you make accusations that are unfounded, and you have to ignore quite a bit of evidence to make them. If you look at the references for the wikipedia article, very few are from the LDS perspective. The few that are tell a different story than is presented in the article. Apparently there are at least 2 sides to that story.

As for View of the Hebrews, read this: http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/bookschapter.php?bookid=8&;chapid=66 think about it and see if it still makes sense that Joseph got the idea for the Book of Mormon from View of the Hebrews or any other book.

Also, no mention of the Nauvoo Expositor? Actually, it's mentioned a lot by critics of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Read this article, think about it and you'll see there are 2 sides to this event as well: http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&;id=344

You'll find that we do want to be taken seriously. We are serious. But we're not the ones telling the lies - we leave that up to our detractors.

James Young - 2/17/2008

I think we should be beyond shock at what people who look for excuses to hate do to others given the opportunity.

James Young - 2/17/2008

I almost have to laugh when the hatemongers run in as soon as they are called. Never say bigots aren't consistent.

Lynne Barton - 2/17/2008

I was shocked that you feel an extermination order was justified. I don't believe any group of people (Jews, Catholics, Blacks, Quakers, etc.) should be under threat of extermination. That's genocide or ethnic cleansing. Men, women and children were driven from the state of Missouri in winter because of their religion. There is no excuse for that.

Lynne Barton - 2/17/2008

You can find out more information on the 1826 trial of Joseph Smith, Jr. at http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2002_1826_Trial_of_Joseph_Smith.html

This is copied from the list of conclusions on that site if you want a brief reference and don't want to go to the site.

Conclusion
It wasn't a trial, it was an examination
Likely initiated from religious concern.
Seven witnesses.
Editing of witness testimonies.
Most witnesses testified that Joseph did possess a gift of sight
We can accept Joseph in his culture and time.
What we can obtain from the conclusions are first of all that it wasn't a trial, it was an examination. It was likely initiated not so much from a concern about him being a money digger, as it was that Joseph was having an influence on Josiah Stowell. Josiah Stowell was one of the first believers in Joseph Smith. His nephew was probably very concerned about that and was anxious to disrupt that relationship if possible. It is likely that there were seven witnesses. It is also probable there was some editing of the witnesses' testimonies. All witnesses however, testified that Joseph did possess a gift, though there is some variation about how strong that gift was. The key issue is that we can accept Joseph Smith. When we put him in this early 19th century culture, he is consistent with that environment. We can accept that what he did was part of that culture, his age and experience, and it doesn't have any impact or discredit that fact that he was a prophet of God.

Deb Bunno - 2/17/2008

Along with the usual assertion of 'victimization' of Mormons by state and local governments at least acknowledge the role Joseph Smith and his followers played in creating their own problems with local governments in every state they went to. Here is why that order was issued - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extermination_Order_(Mormonism)

Why is there no mention of the "Nauvoo Expositor" newspaper (in the Mormon founded town of Nauvoo, Illinois) and that Smith had been arrested and put in jail for ordering the newspaper's printing press to be destroyed, in violation of state laws and the U.S. Constitution? (he was mayor of Nauvoo)

Why no mention that Smith, a man who knew few bounds on his own personal ambition, was campaigning for President of the United States at the time of his death and that newspaper was about to print unsavory, but true, things about him?

Why were the Mormons trying to run settlers in Missouri near Independence off their land because they happened to believe that it was the site of the New Jerusalem? Etc. Etc.

What about the book View of the Hebrews written by a minister of the church where young Oliver Cowdery (primary scribe of the Book of Mormon) had attended in Poultney, Vermont, which presents the idea, prior to the existence of the Book of Mormon, that American Indians were descended from Israelites?

If you want to be taken seriously and be respected, you have to tell the truth. At least don't lie about others.

Deb Bunno - 2/17/2008

I would welcome answers from a faithful Mormon, I have so many questions. Too many to ask all at once, but I'll start with some things you mentioned.

Arrest records and court documents show that Joseph Smith was convicted of a felony, for a common practice at the time called "glass-looking". This is fact, and has nothing to do with his founding of the church. Why is mentioning this fact called discrimination?

I don't expect to get an answer. At most I'll get a denial of the fact. If truth is not acknowledge, if it is only given by ex-members, how can investigators ever trust a member? This is one of the problems I have with the Mormon church. This church can never be taken seriously or respected until this question is honestly answered.

john pilafas - 2/17/2008

The reason that many people including myself have a problem with the LDS church (not its people) is it is not a Christian religion and tries to decieve people into believing it is.As A Greek Orthodox priest I can say there is no evidence in the early church for any Mormon doctrine.Its a man-made cult.There is also NO evidence for any American continental evidence for mormon claims of civilizations etc.That is why the show Frontline which recently did a show on the LDS church showed there is no tolerance for looking into the church's history objectively. When people do they realize Joseph Smith was a fraud. The Orthodox faith on the other hand can trace itself historically to the apsotles with no change in worship or doctrine.

Nicholas Alexander - 2/14/2008

I guess it would be a personal choice, I just don't see why one would welcome suffering. Maybe what we welcome is the opportunity to have a dialogue with others about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

As for Mr. Romney's difficulties, I wish I could have been proud, as a Mormon, to support him. However, I was troubled by his evasiveness. Granted, politics is a game of words, but honesty is something we can't sacrifice in such a manner.

Latoya Williams - 2/13/2008

Thank you for your objectivity in this. I feel that people can express their disagreements, or personal preferences when it comes on to religion without being extremely nasty, untruthful or bigoted in their expression. I wish people would stop 'hating' on Mormons . Surprisingly enough, no other group holds more contempt, and practice actively "anti-Mormon" tactics that of evangelical or protestant based Christian denominations.... all over what? - That Mormons differ in points of doctrine and practice.We need to all grow up some more and see our fellow brothers and sisters as Jesus would.

Michael James Ian Jackson - 2/13/2008

Thank you for your comments on the hateful statements directed at the Mormon people and belief system that emerged while Gov. Romney was on the campaign trail. It is truly tragic to see such discrimination in a society that supposedly tolerates people of various religious beliefs.

However, there is nothing that happened in the past few months that particularly surprises me. Let's not forget that Mormons are the only people in the United States that have actually had an extermination order issued against them from the government. This type of discrimination has happened for years and will continue to happen.

Personally, I welcome the opposition. In the book of Acts, the apostles rejoiced when they were counted worthy to suffer for the Lord's sake, and so do I.