Mormonism's multiple wives on earth and in heaven, denial of the Virgin Birth, and the practice of "Lying for the Lord": where is the Religious Right's fanatical 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?

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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."

Mormon Tabernacle, Salt Lake City
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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).

Twofaced
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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:

Meryl Ann Butler is an artist, author, educator and OpedNews Managing Editor who has been actively engaged in utilizing the arts as stepping-stones toward joy-filled wellbeing since she was a hippie. She began writing for OpEdNews in Feb, 2004. She became a Senior Editor in August 2012 and Managing Editor in January, 2013. In June, 2015, the combined views on her articles, diaries and quick link contributions topped one million. She was particularly happy that her article about Bree Newsome removing the Confederate flag was the one that put her past the million mark.

Her art in a wide variety of media can be seen on her YouTube video, "Visionary Artist Meryl Ann Butler on Creativity and Joy" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcGs2r_66QE

A NYC native, her response to 9-11 was to pen an invitation to healing through creativity, entitled, "90-Minute Quilts: 15+ Projects You Can Stitch in an Afternoon" (Krause 2006), which is a bestseller in the craft field. The sequel, MORE 90-Minute Quilts: 20+ Quick and Easy Projects With Triangles and Squares was released in April, 2011. Her popular video, How to Stitch a Quilt in 90 Minutes with Meryl Ann Butler can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrShGOQaJQ8

She has been active in a number of international, arts-related projects as a citizen diplomat, and was arts advisor to Baltimore's CIUSSR (Center for Improving US-Soviet Relations), 1987-89. She made two trips to the former USSR in 1987 and 1988 to speak to artists, craftpeople and fashion designers on the topic of utilizing the arts as a tool for global wellbeing. She created the historical "First US-Soviet Children's Peace Quilt Exchange Project" in 1987-88, which was the first time a reciprocal quilt was given to the US from the former USSR.

Her artwork is in collections across the globe.

Meryl Ann is a founding member of The Labyrinth Society and has been building labyrinths since 1992. She publishes an annual article about the topic on OpEdNews on World Labyrinth Day, the first Saturday in May.

OpEdNews Senior Editor Joan Brunwasser interviewed Meryl Ann in "Beyond Surviving: How to Thrive in Challenging Times" at https://www.opednews.com/articles/Beyond-Surviving--How-to-by-Joan-Brunwasser-Anxiety_Appreciation_Coronavirus_Creativity-200318-988.html

Find out more about Meryl Ann's artistic life in "OEN Managing Ed, Meryl Ann Butler, Featured on the Other Side of the Byline" at https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/OEN-Managing-Ed-Meryl-Ann-in-Life_Arts-Artistic_Artists_Quilt-170917-615.html

On Feb 11, 2017, Senior Editor Joan Brunwasser interviewed Meryl Ann in Pink Power: Sister March, Norfolk, VA at http://www.opednews.com/articles/Pink-Power-Sister-March--by-Joan-Brunwasser-Pussy-Hats-170212-681.html

"Creativity and Healing: The Work of Meryl Ann Butler" by Burl Hall is at
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Creativity-and-Healing--T-by-Burl-Hall-130414-18.html

Burl and Merry Hall interviewed Meryl Ann on their BlogTalk radio show, "Envision This," at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/envision-this/2013/04/11/meryl-ann-butler-art-as-a-medicine-for-the-soul

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