I don’t know any Mormon who promises such absolute allegiance to anyone. We even struggle to follow Christ sometimes.

I think the perpetuation of the idea that Mormons are somehow sheep to some mortal man or men is very ironic, considering the primary purpose of those mortal men is to help us individually get in touch with God and know his will.

Thomas S. Monson, Gordon B. Hinckley, Joseph Smith himself… Their power to influence members of the Church can be found in these profound, yet simple, verses from the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 121: (Pay special attention to verses 36 and 41-46!)

34 Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?
35 Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson—
36 That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.
37 That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.
38 Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God.
39 We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.
40 Hence many are called, but few are chosen.
41 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;
42 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—
43 Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;
44 That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.
45 Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distill upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.
46 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.

http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/121

Joseph Smith himself was asked how he was able to govern the Church, and he answered, “I teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves.”

Thomas S. Monson, current President of the Church, I respect first and foremost because of his example of service to others throughout his life, not his title. When my grandfather’s sister-in-law died last year, the President of this now 14 million member church quietly showed up to comfort the family.

While there is an established hierarchy in the Church that has changed at times to accommodate the rapid growth of the Church throughout the world, it is unfair to call the Church in any way authoritarian or rigid. It is organized, as one would expect the household of God to be. “My house is a house of order,” God said.

I don’t agree Romney is completely done in by his previous campaign. In this age of instant media, he can re-tool his image and play up the competence angle. Obama is starting to be perceived as having a competence problem (see Noonan’s latest column)–remains to be seen whether he turns this around. If the economy is still down the tubes in 2012 or if unemployment is still high, Romney, I think, can credibly show he has a fundamental understanding of the economy and how the private sector works. I think independents are pretty practical–they’ll choose someone they think can “fix” things over ideology. If he fails on politics, that’s one thing. If we self-exclude him because he’s a Mormon, we’re shooting ourselves in the foot. These discussions on whether Mormonism is or is not outside of Christianity make my head hurt–I have no problem with his Mormon religion.

From what I’ve seen of Eric Cantor, I would consider supporting him in a run–doesn’t bother me he’s Jewish. Except the House of Rep is often too small a platform to run from.

Objective thinkers should be judging Romney by his record rather than his religion. There is no reason to think that the LDS church would have more influence on his politics than it does on Harry Reid who is also a Mormon.

I remember reading that post and wondering why he wasn’t embarrassed to have written something like that.

An AM political talk show host here in Austin last year declared that he would never vote for a non-Christian if there was a Christian in the race. And he still has his job. Go figure.