April 2007 @ 3:43 pm

The Church might as well be blogging.  The Newsroom hasn’t seen tonight’s PBS documentary, “The Mormons” but posts an article today on some of the media reviews.  The Church will further respond later in week after having had a chance to see for itself.

Just like Jeff Lindsay, I received a friendly email from PBS, promoting the documentary, as I imagine most LDS bloggers have:

Watch the trailer:
http://www.pbs.org/mormons/

Read the reviews:
“There is no doubt that, simply because of its subject matter, “The Mormons” will draw criticism from both sides. Which is probably an indication that Whitney has done a lot right with the documentary.” — Deseret Morning News

“This film is a breath of fresh air, in a genre filled with misunderstanding.” BYU NewsNet

“A gripping look at the foundations of Mormon faith” — Boston Globe

“..it’s as if thousands of years of world religion had been compacted into two centuries—and right here in America, for us to study.” World Magazine

Here’s hoping you’ll tune in, and visit our site after the broadcast for more on “The Mormons,” including:
* Frequently asked questions and answers about the intricacies of the Mormon religion, its core tenets, its history, growth and controversies, and its contemporary issues and realities;
* An interactive map on the Mormons’ westward trek;
* Profiles of key people and events in Mormon history;
* The extended interviews with leaders and members of the church, leading writers and historians, and supporters and critics;
* The major themes explored in this report, with commentary drawn from the extended interviews;
* Teachers Guides on Mormon history and the issues of religion, politics and the separation of church and state;
* A “Join the Discussion” area for viewers;
* And, the full four-hour program video streamed for viewing online.

Anyone fearing a hit job can take comfort in reviews that find the documentary as too sympathetic.

The Church is working on a revised Mormon.org site at beta.mormon.org.  “The new site includes multimedia and the option for nonmembers to ‘chat live’ with missionaries (Church members should not use the chat feature).”

Both the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News find today’s Cheney protests “quiet.”

” . . .the most hierarchical structure this side of Rome paradoxically becomes the most democratic. . . “

A helpful tidbit showing that Mormons aren’t as “clannish” as some would suppose. Especially those Republican and Utah Mormons.

Asked why he wasn’t supporting fellow Mormon church member Mitt Romney, Huntsman replied, “The primary driver should not be religion, but should be policy and authenticity. I’m looking at what Sen. McCain is standing for and fighting for.”

The FBI raided the house of LDS politician Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) and his wife for their alleged ties to Jack Abramoff.

Perhaps Utah and Mormons can deliver on fundraising.

Of Romney’s $21 million raised last quarter, Utah gave nearly three million, second only to California. Interesting that while candidates used to completely ignore Utah for fundraising and campaigning, all three major GOP candidates have visited and raised money there. Especially so early in the race.

This caught me as funny:

“I would have to assume it’s the Mormons,” says Julian Zelizer, professor of American politics at Boston University.

Mitt Romney’s official campaign blog launched yesterday. Five Brothers features Romney, his wife Ann, and their five sons.

Rep. Chris Cannon has started a new political action committee called Eagle PAC. While Eagle PAC’s own description only mentions its intent to suport “smaller government, individual freedom and the security of our nation”, The Politico reports that Eagle PAC is unique in targeting Mormon donors who wish to support candidates who share “Mormon values.”

The goal of Eagle PAC, which will start fundraising later this year, is to spread Mormon political contributions across campaigns, said a Mormon church member familiar with the PAC’s creation.

“If it only goes to other Mormon candidates, that doesn’t accomplish that much,” said the church member, who did not want to be seen as speaking for the PAC. “Any community that wants its voice to be heard, unless you’re being heard by people who are not members of your community, you’re not being effective.”

Hunter said Eagle PAC will support viable Mormon candidates for Congress. But he and the church member said the PAC probably could get a better return by funding non-Mormon candidates who the PAC board members believe to be ideologically synched with Mormon values.

Although Mormons are not known to be big political donors, Eagle PAC purportedly hopes to capitalize on Mitt Romney’s fundraising success. While large donations may not result, a network may develop of like-minded conservatives who have traditionally not been politically engaged.

I am skeptical that outside of Utah, Mormons could make a substantial difference as a voting bloc or political base. The SL Tribune adds that Cannon hasn’t been a very big fundraiser and his chief of staff downplays the Mormon angle:

“The reality of it is that Chris Cannon is a Mormon from Utah and part of it is inherent in a leadership PAC that Chris Cannon would establish is that it would rely somewhat on trying to tap Mormons who are politically involved,” said Hunter, who is not Mormon. “That’s not the goal of it. The goal is to help get good guys elected to Congress.”

(Thanks, Article VI Blog)

The Senate passed two embryonic stem cell bills sure to create another standoff with the President.   Religion Clause points to Senator Gordon Smith’s floor speech where he explained his decision to vote for the embryonic stem cell funding by reading from Genesis and explained that passages in the Bible lead him to believe that life does not begin until an embryo is emplanted in the mother.

I believe Senator Hatch has used similar reasoning which has been mistaken as official LDS doctrine.  That is not so.  The official LDS church position is that there is none.

Of the five LDS Senators, all but Senator Reid voted for S. 30 which funds research for embryos with no chance of survival (which the President supports) and all but Sen. Crapo voted for the bill, S. 5 which expands funding for embryonic stem cell research.

I’m inclined to think it’s inappropriate for the government to fund speculative embryonic stem cell research.  Plus, the whole embryonic stem cell issue is so murky, I believe that it is better to err on the side of preserving life. 

That said, I don’t think Sen. Smith was wrong to use the Biblical passages in support for his views.  But I am surprised he did and wonder if someone who opposed the bills and did the same would have not escaped wider attention.

The Church Newsroom has published an excellent response to Kenneth Woodward’s unhelpful op-ed in Monday’s NY Times answering some of its curious claims such as our “clannishness” and being “secretive.” 

Although I thought Woodward’s article did more to add to the confusion, the Church’s release artfully uses his piece to emphasize that the best way to evaluate its effect on politics is to “review the church’s record.” 

As frustrating as the constant rehashing of the “Mormon Moment” has been, I believe that the Church and the public at large will be better off for it.  Although it won’t be easy or come soon. 

As the release (charitably) interprets Woodward’s conclusion:

He seems to be suggesting, at least in this case, that fears and concerns will work out with experience, accurate information and patience

The NY Times looks at the BYU protests over Cheney’s commencement mostly in terms of disgruntled Republicans and those disappointed that the commencement will not be more spiritual. The most supportive comment calls the Vice-President “easily the most powerful man in the world” (?!?).  As conservative as it describes Utah County, the article sure seems to have cherry-picked its sources.

Some BYU graduates are hoping to organize an alternative commencement in opposition to V.P. Cheney featuring Ralph Nader .  April 26 looks to be a very busy day for Provo: two pro-Cheney rallies and an on-campus College Democrats protest are also shaping up.

At a press conference today, Senator Reid invokes his religious leader of choice to critcize the war.  No, not President Hinckley, but the Pope:

As the pope has said, it’s a slaughter. Those are not Harry Reid ’s words or Jack Reed’s words or some Democratic operative. They are the pope. The spiritual leader of more than a million people says to everyone that’s listening to his voice and he is — he presides over more than a billion people, and many more have great respect for him. And he is saying there’s a slaughter in Iraq. Those are his words. And nothing good is coming from Iraq.

The president should understand that it’s not just the Democratic Congress that is crying out for a change in direction. It’s the pope.

A little late, but the Drudge Report links to a report on last week’s BYU protest.

Hugh Hewitt, the great non-Mormon Mormon defender interviews Kenneth Woodward on his obnoxious NY Times op-ed from yesterday. Article VI Blog does the play by play. For a religion journalist, Woodward came across as arrogant and unwilling to have his prejudices challenged, as Hewitt did so well.  To best appreciate the interview listen to the audio here .

The Politico looks at the Church’s public relation efforts in light of heightened scrutiny (Romney campaign, Cheney BYU visit, PBS documentary, etc.).  The Church may or may not be changing tacts as it seeks a new PR firm.

I found the following particularly interesting:

In contrast to some other religious bodies, the Mormon church remains virtually inactive on Capitol Hill. “Our interaction at that level is minimal,” Otterson says. “That’s not high-priority for us.”

For about two decades, the Mormons have maintained a presence in Washington, primarily to cement relations with ambassadors from countries where the church does extensive missionary work. Since 2005, the six-person staff has been led by M. Kenneth Bowler, 64, who for 16 years ran a $6 million-a-year D.C. lobbying operation for Pfizer, the world’s largest pharmaceutical company. He estimates that only 5 percent of the office’s work deals with Congress or with the Bush administration. When contacts with lawmakers occur, they tend to deal with issues of direct interest to the church. For example, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), a church member, notified Bowler that he planned to amend pending bankruptcy legislation to ensure filers could continue to meet their religious tithes.

Thanks to Mormon Stories.

A NY Times Op-Ed suggests that Mitt Romney should use his Regent University commencement address as the time to discuss his Mormon faith before an evangelical audience.  Kenneth Woodward follows the reasoning of many others in believing that Romney needs to be a “teacher” and explain his Mormon beliefs to the American public, similar to what JFK had to in 1960 with regards to his Catholicism.

Woodward purportedly describes many of the public perceptions of Mormons but grossly overstates and misrepresents many qualities to make us out as a secretive group known for our “clannishness” (interesting choice of words).  Supposedly, “[to] many Americans, Mormonism is a church with the soul of a corporation.” And “any journalist who has covered the church knows that Mormons speak one way among themselves, another among outsiders.”

Mitt Romney has had to confront his Mormon beliefs in nearly every interview and I believe he has deftly handled the question by responding that he is running as commander-in-chief not as theologian-in-chief, and he cannot speak for his church on religious matters.  The closest he comes to addressing his beliefs is explaining that they have made him and his family better people and the public is free to judge that for themselves. 

By addressing his religious beliefs Romney only opens up himself to even more religious questioning and he would be validating a line of questioning that shouldn’t be part of a presidential candidate.  I am wary of my fellow Mormons developing a victim’s mentality, but Hugh Hewitt is correct to ask if the same statements were made about  another religion would be seen as plain bigotry.

UPDATE:  Jonathan Green at Times & Seasons does an excellent take down on specific points of the article from an LDS perspective while Ed Morrissey has excellent (non-LDS) comments too.

A look at how technology has improved the missionary selection process as told by an Apostle and posted by someone who helped make it happen.

Responding to the BYU Cheney protest, BYU College Republicans have organized their own petition in support of Cheney’s appearance and held a counter-protest Wednesday. I signed the pro-Cheney petition but I did think the “Cheney and Voldemort 2008″ sign mentioned in the SL Trib article was funny. BCC has some photos of the protest.

As of today, the Cheney Protest petition has 3,319 signatures and the pro-Cheney petition has 931, with a later start. More information can be found at their website, ISupportBYU.com.

The Church’s newsroom continues to be busy by adding the following comment about the Church’s position on capital punishment:

Capital Punishment
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints regards the question of whether and in what circumstances the state should impose capital punishment as a matter to be decided solely by the prescribed processes of civil law. We neither promote nor oppose capital punishment.