Mormonism: Religion, Denomination, or Cult?

By Frank Pastore
Saturday, April 28, 2007

Am I an anti-Mormon bigot for simply raising this question?

In this column two weeks ago (available here), I stated I would vote for Mitt Romney should he win the Republican nomination, and that “though I am willing to unite with and befriend Mormons in common cause to advance our shared values, I am hoping to be a voice of clarity – unwilling to allow Mormonism to be mistaken for orthodox Christianity and unwilling again to disqualify a candidate simply because he is from a faith tradition so different from my own.”

I also stated, “many Mormons in recent years have taken to calling themselves Christians, and a growing number of Christians are willing to speak of Mormonism as something akin to another Christian denomination. But, Mormonism is not a Christian denomination, nor is it merely ‘a non-Christian religion.’ To be theologically precise, though perhaps politically incorrect, Mormonism is a cult of Christianity.”

Everyone should read this and post comments about how you feel on Frank Pastore's Blog site as well as on the Spyglass site. http://politicalspyglass.blogspot.com/

Here is the complete story....
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/column.aspx?UrlTitle=mormonism__religion,_denomination,_or_cult&ns=FrankPastore&dt=04/28/2007&page=full&comments=true

Captain Mark

Greene won't run for term at helm of Republican Party

By Bob Bernick Jr.Deseret Morning News

Enid Greene, Utah Republicans' first female party chairperson, will not run for her own two-year term as state party leader in the June party convention, she said Friday.

Enid Greene But whether she ran or not, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. will not be endorsing her or any other candidate for the top party post — a change in tradition. "I am not going to run," said Greene, who was appointed to head the party earlier this year. "We all assumed Fred Lampropoulos was going to run and would be the governor's pick. I don't know why (Lampropoulos) isn't. But this is quite a change. It is a wide open field." Lampropoulos ran against Huntsman for governor in 2004, losing in the state party convention. Historically, the "top of the ticket" GOP incumbent recruits or anoints the Republican Party chairman. That won't be the case this year. "It is a change," acknowledged Jeff Hartley, state GOP executive director on Friday after meeting with top Huntsman aides. Greene — divorced from convicted felon Joe Waldholtz for more than a decade — is planning to remarry this summer. And she said she wants to give her time to personal pursuits. "We're selling houses and building a house and blending families and I have much to do," said Greene. She's not closing the door to any future political campaign, just this one. "I want to see the party in good hands. There's a bit of a vacuum in leadership. I believe we will find a good chairman; it just won't be me." Mike Mower, Huntsman deputy chief of staff and spokesman, said "The governor encourages all good candidates" for party chairman to run. "And the governor will work closely with anyone who wins" the two-year term as party chairman, Mower added. Huntsman is running for re-election in 2008, and is the "top of the ticket" candidate for Republicans, said Hartley. As such, historically Huntsman would have a big say in who the next party chairman is.

Read the Rest of the Story...

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660215867,00.html

Captain Mark