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[ronito]

did anyone else's parents give them tons of crap for not voting for romney?

Nah my parents know not to discuss politics with me.
And they refuse to talk religion.

 

[radios shipping overview]

I've avoided discussing the subject directly with them. I did the same for all the rest of the relatives I saw when I visited Utah last week. There's nothing to be gained by it, as it seemed like my dad has begun to believe all the wingnutty/conspiracy-ish stuff about Bams.

 

[CorvoSol]

did anyone else's parents give them tons of crap for not voting for romney?

I'm 95% confident that at least my mother voted for Obama. My parents never discuss politics with each other or with us for that matter. Just as some households let the kids take a "Choose Your Own Adventure" approach to religion, my parents have always been hands off about politics. I'm fairly sure my mother is left-leaning, but my father's a complete enigma politically. To be perfectly honest, if he weren't raised in the cold war and a soldier from that time, I'd be tempted to think he was a radical.

2 of my white companions caught Latina fever and were always flirty and checking up on the cuter latin laurels or young single adults. They're both married to latinas now.

It went both ways. Had transfers been a week later I would have gotten an emergency transfer from an area where I was zone leader because there was a young single adult latina who was actively stalking me. She was pretty damned hot too... but completely insane. The Sister missionaries tried to befriend her and talk to her. Apparently she would spend all the time she was with the sister missionaries talking about me. Then apparently due to oversaturation from being around the stalker one of the sister missionaries started calling me to talk every night, and kept finding excuses for me to meet with her.

Missions are weird.

I fluctuate. I served in BRAZIL, so catching Latina fever was inevitable, but my father was stationed in Korea for a long time, so I've got me the Asian Persuasion, too. And I have a weird thing for gingers. At present I don't much care which way.

And we had an absolutely reprehensible saying about hot sister missionaries . . . "If she's hot and on a mission there's usually a good reason for it." Which was really, "If she's hot and on a mission, there's usually a good reason she wasn't married already and it's that she's crazy."

 

[Jeff-DSA]

I've avoided discussing the subject directly with them. I did the same for all the rest of the relatives I saw when I visited Utah last week. There's nothing to be gained by it, as it seemed like my dad has begun to believe all the wingnutty/conspiracy-ish stuff about Bams.

Next time you're around, you have an open invite to visit my home arcade.

Goes for anybody, really.

 

[Eight Diagram Bat Fighter]

Next time you're around, you have an open invite to visit my home arcade.

Goes for anybody, really.

No visit my home arcade, they are Japanese arcades, not fake dumb american wood ones with lame ball top and happ buttons like Jeff's. Boo Jeff arcades. Boo I say.

 

[ronito]

No. You should come to Sacramento! I can show you...some new trees they planted last year.

 

[Jeff-DSA]

No visit my home arcade, they are Japanese arcades, not fake dumb american wood ones with lame ball top and happ buttons like Jeff's. Boo Jeff arcades. Boo I say.

I have three candy cabs. One vertical, one horizontal, and one that rotates. Boo me not.

 

[Eight Diagram Bat Fighter]

I have three candy cabs. One vertical, one horizontal, and one that rotates. Boo me not.

You get them from Ken in woodland hills?

 

[Jeff-DSA]

You get them from Ken in woodland hills?

One of them, yeah. The other two were from a guy who used to gut them and build MAME cabinets. I saved these two and kept them as JAMMA cabs. He might have got them from Ken, but I'm not sure.

 

[Eight Diagram Bat Fighter]

One of them, yeah. The other two were from a guy who used to gut them and build MAME cabinets. I saved these two and kept them as JAMMA cabs. He might have got them from Ken, but I'm not sure.

Half-boo then. Mame is a 2 point reduction. I don't make the rules I just follow them.

 

[Jeff-DSA]

That's why I had to save them. Couldn't see them go and get MAME'd. One I use with a 4-slot NEO-GEO, one a vertical for shmups (currently has Donkey Kong Jr though), and the third is for horizontal stuff.

 

[CorvoSol]

All of you undoubtedly live in places more interesting than my current residence. So don't anybody come visit Rexburg, because a tour of town takes less than the full day, after which you, like me, will arrive at the same question "What does one do for FUN around here?"

The obvious answer:
-engage in illicit skirt-tailoring
-back-room games with face cards and coca-cola, in which one must dress and speak in faux prohibition era speakeasy style.
-text and cross the street without getting caught!
-secret underground make-out clubs--no wait, those are only in Provo.
-not bowling, please for the love of God, not bowling.
-serial hugging
-covert snowball fights on questionably city property
-climb trees when no one is looking
-Full contact Ultimate Frisbee gambling (no real money and don't keep scores because that encourages foul play!)

 

[ronito]

I would post more, but the topics don't interest me very much.

So here's something that might interest you. Now that the "mormon moment" is over. Do you think that Romney's candidacy was good for the church or bad for the church?

To me, the church handled it as best as it could. There were no real missteps but no real victories either. The "And I'm mormon" campaign was sorely needed after Prop 8.

I do think the biggest damage was done by America finding that Romney was *gasp* just another guy. One of the things I always used to hear before the election was 'Oh you're mormon? Mormons are the happiest, nicest people I know!'

Now after seeing that Romney gets pissed, has issues just like everyone else that's been replaced with 'oh, you're mormon...' I think it's double edged sword. I think people need to realize that mormons are just like them. But then that takes away the 'mystique' that mormons used to have.

Of course I think the biggest damage is internal to the church. Between a lot of mormon doctrine being put out there mormons that don't know/aren't ready for it will have issues. Like that guy that was like "LOL all these anti-mormons saying that Jesus will come to Missouri!" Yeah, I bet he was a bit confused to learn that yeah, mormons do. But more than that there's the culture of people prophesying victories and all that, rumors of stake presidents making prophecies and even rumors of the First Presidency prophesying victory. Those are no doubt untrue, but people will know someone who they look up to that did. Not to mention those fasting and praying. I've seen several very confused facebook posts from mormons. That's not the church but the culture did it to themselves.

In the end I think the mormons have gotten the spotlight they wanted. But the problem is they also can't hide either. Good and bad.

 

[Meus Renaissance]

Is the Mormon attitude to non-Christian faiths any different to that of mainstream Christianity?

 

[Jeff-DSA]

Is the Mormon attitude to non-Christian faiths any different to that of mainstream Christianity?

Leadership always preaches tolerance, respect, and love. It all depends on the individual members on how tolerant they want to be, however. This article is a little old, but I wish there were many more like it put out by the church.

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2000/08/a-latter-day-saint-perspective-on-muhammad?lang=eng

As early as 1855, at a time when Christian literature generally ridiculed Muhammad as the Antichrist and the archenemy of Western civilization, Elders George A. Smith (1817–75) and Parley P. Pratt (1807–57) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles delivered lengthy sermons demonstrating an accurate and balanced understanding of Islamic history and speaking highly of Muhammad’s leadership. Elder Smith observed that Muhammad was “descended from Abraham and was no doubt raised up by God on purpose” to preach against idolatry. He sympathized with the plight of Muslims, who, like Latter-day Saints, found it difficult “to get an honest history” written about them. Speaking next, Elder Pratt went on to express his admiration for Muhammad’s teachings, asserting that “upon the whole, … [Muslims] have better morals and better institutions than many Christian nations.”

Latter-day Saint appreciation of Muhammad’s role in history can also be found in the 1978 First Presidency statement regarding God’s love for all mankind. This declaration specifically mentions Muhammad as one of “the great religious leaders of the world” who received “a portion of God’s light” and affirms that “moral truths were given to [these leaders] by God to enlighten whole nations and to bring a higher level of understanding to individuals.”

 

[CorvoSol]

Is the Mormon attitude to non-Christian faiths any different to that of mainstream Christianity?

Yes and no? Like any Christian denomination, Mormons view Christ as the only pathway to the eternal salvation of mankind. It differs in that it IS a view of the Church that non-Christian faiths were inspired of God to some extent or another (this is in the Missionary manual, Preach My Gospel, that men like Gotama and Confucius, for example, endeavored to enlighten their people with the amount of the Light of Christ they themselves had to work with.) and that those who have lived and died without receiving the Official Baptism tm of Christ can receive his Gospel in the interim between Death and the Final Judgment and Resurrection. This is why Mormons have that whole "Baptisms for the Dead" thing; because they view it as performing by proxy the ordinances of salvation (baptism, reception of the Holy Spirit etc) for the dead who are, in turn, being offered the Gospel in the spirit world.

There's also weird things like the school of thought in the Church that all religions are related, in some sense, to the Gospel, because Adam taught it to his children and so on. This isn't exactly a doctrine of the Church, at least not an upper-echelon one, but it certainly exists. Yesterday, on the way to class, I received a handout from some lady about a lecture being offered somewhere in town on this and similar subjects (a lot of stuff about Paleolithic Jaredites, iirc). There is also, of course, the very firm belief in LDS minds that Quetzalcoatl of Mesoamerica is some kind of mutated belief of the Christ who, according to LDS teachings, visited the Americas after His resurrection.

I have no idea if any of this answers your question even remotely. It probably raises a couple more.

 

[ronito]

Is the Mormon attitude to non-Christian faiths any different to that of mainstream Christianity?

Yeah like Corvo said yes and no.

I will say though that Mormons have a soft spot for Jews. They like them a lot more than any mainstream christian faith I've yet found.

 

[Meus Renaissance]

Interesting. Thank you all. I admit I am intrigued by Mormons. Would love to have dinner with some of them one day and hear about their past and how they view their role in a 'Christian' society that sometimes alienates them

 

[CorvoSol]

Interesting. Thank you all. I admit I am intrigued by Mormons. Would love to have dinner with some of them one day and hear about their past and how they view their role in a 'Christian' society that sometimes alienates them

That's going to depend entirely on what kind of Mormons you invite to dinner and what you serve.

HINT:Funeral Potatoes = YES. Green Jello = Not so much.

I don't think, on either of the continents I've dined with them, I've ever known a Mormon who'd turn down Funeral Potatoes.

 

[Eight Diagram Bat Fighter]

That's going to depend entirely on what kind of Mormons you invite to dinner and what you serve.

HINT:Funeral Potatoes = YES. Green Jello = Not so much.

I don't think, on either of the continents I've dined with them, I've ever known a Mormon who'd turn down Funeral Potatoes.

Hello I would like to introduce myself as a mormon who would turn down funeral potatoes.

 

[ronito]

Interesting. Thank you all. I admit I am intrigued by Mormons. Would love to have dinner with some of them one day and hear about their past and how they view their role in a 'Christian' society that sometimes alienates them

Yeah it would change according to the mormons. I will say that mormons seem to care less about what other denominations think of them than they used to now that they've gotten more "mainstream" acceptance. For better and worse the church can be very insular at times.

 

[ronito]

Hello I would like to introduce myself as a mormon who would turn down funeral potatoes.

Is there NOTHING we can agree on?

 

[Eight Diagram Bat Fighter]

Is there NOTHING we can agree on?

I'm from Argentina, and in that alone you can see why I have disdain for Utah/Idaho food. Jello with carrots, funeral potatoes, corn flake casserol, ugggggh

 

[CorvoSol]

Hello I would like to introduce myself as a mormon who would turn down funeral potatoes.

Wait, what, how is that even-

I'm from Argentina, and in that alone you can see why I have disdain for Utah/Idaho food. Jello with carrots, funeral potatoes, corn flake casserol, ugggggh

OH. OH. Of course.

Spoiler

/endprobrazilsnobbery

Well this just goes to show how very different the members of the Church can really be. What are your thoughts on rice and beans? Is it rice and beans or beans and rice? THIS IS IMPORTANT.

 

[Jeff-DSA]

I hate Jello, no matter how it's served. It makes me literally gag due to the awful consistency and terrible flavor.

I also dislike funeral potatoes, but I'll eat them without too much complaint. It's another texture I don't like too much.

Oh, and bluerei...CHI-CHI-CHI-LE-LE-LE CHILE! CHILE! CHILE!

 

[CorvoSol]

TRUE STORY.

On my mission I received a box of green jello in a care package. As food was scarce and funds scarcer, I made the whole thing in one go.

I ate half of it and have never since ingested green jello.

Also, we're two days late, but two days and four years ago I entered the MTC. That might not be a big deal to anybody else, but for me it's big news man. My life has changed considerably in four years. Four years ago, I NEVER would have considered going to BYU. EVER.

ALSO TRUE STORY:

Today before American Foreign Policy my professor was discussing whether or not the Republican party was effectively dead after this election with another teacher. He also assuaged our irritations over all our peers going "HAW HAW Christ is coming sooner 'cuz Obama got reelected" by telling us they said the same thing when Jimmy Carter was elected.

Now I don't really mean to spoil the thread with political talk, but I mention this so anybody perusing the thread can see that even at BYU Idaho the members run the political gamut.

 

[AlteredBeast]

So here's something that might interest you. Now that the "mormon moment" is over. Do you think that Romney's candidacy was good for the church or bad for the church?

To me, the church handled it as best as it could. There were no real missteps but no real victories either. The "And I'm mormon" campaign was sorely needed after Prop 8.

I do think the biggest damage was done by America finding that Romney was *gasp* just another guy. One of the things I always used to hear before the election was 'Oh you're mormon? Mormons are the happiest, nicest people I know!'

Now after seeing that Romney gets pissed, has issues just like everyone else that's been replaced with 'oh, you're mormon...' I think it's double edged sword. I think people need to realize that mormons are just like them. But then that takes away the 'mystique' that mormons used to have.

Of course I think the biggest damage is internal to the church. Between a lot of mormon doctrine being put out there mormons that don't know/aren't ready for it will have issues. Like that guy that was like "LOL all these anti-mormons saying that Jesus will come to Missouri!" Yeah, I bet he was a bit confused to learn that yeah, mormons do. But more than that there's the culture of people prophesying victories and all that, rumors of stake presidents making prophecies and even rumors of the First Presidency prophesying victory. Those are no doubt untrue, but people will know someone who they look up to that did. Not to mention those fasting and praying. I've seen several very confused facebook posts from mormons. That's not the church but the culture did it to themselves.

In the end I think the mormons have gotten the spotlight they wanted. But the problem is they also can't hide either. Good and bad.

Overall, and I owe this mainly because the world is mainly a very stupid place, I think Romney's mormonism was good for the church. His press amongst the masses wasn't anything too damaging in most ways. Many mainstream Christians are now more accustomed to the fact that Mormons are regular people and not to be feared. Showing Romney's family and talking about his turn at a mission and lay ministry were great, as well.

But for those who discern, his general disdain for the truth and his full embrace of teachings and practices that I just don't think Jesus would get behind left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouth. I didn't vote for him mainly because I think he isn't a very good person. Sure, he seems like a great family man and probably kicks ass at the stern but fair father and grandfather role, but his business experience was only around making money for him and his investors. He never built a damn business outside of the one he built with Bain to make money. He seemed to be a mostly fair governor whom I would have voted for to be the President, but he turned his back on every moderate position he held or at least approved while governor to embrace Republican stupidity. He knowingly lies more on the campaign trail than should have ever been possible, and much more so than Obama, who had his fair share.

For those reasons, I find him to be a very bad representation of Mormonism. I would have loved this bold but honest person get up there and tell America the hard Schooner Tuna truth. "we're all in this together so let's share the sacrifice, even us wealthy folks up here on stage and watching me all over the country."
and "when things get better, we can start to go back to lower taxes and not needing so much investment in infrastructure, but right now, the country, our communities and the neighbors that live beside us, need to pitch in more and get this country rolling again. With our faith in God and our determination to equality, fairness, and justice, we will lower unemployment and lower dependence on government aid programs that are unfortunate necessities of our failings as a society."

Bam. He would have been telling the honest truth, kept the precious but retarded Evangelical vote, affirmed his faith as a guiding principle, gotten more independent, women, latino and maybe even black votes on his way to the White House. Mormons would have looked better and he would have looked like a true follower of Christ instead of an "F you, I've got mine! Lower taxes!!!" kind of guy.

 

[Eight Diagram Bat Fighter]

Wait, what, how is that even-



OH. OH. Of course.

Spoiler

/endprobrazilsnobbery

Well this just goes to show how very different the members of the Church can really be. What are your thoughts on rice and beans? Is it rice and beans or beans and rice? THIS IS IMPORTANT.

I hate Jello, no matter how it's served. It makes me literally gag due to the awful consistency and terrible flavor.

I also dislike funeral potatoes, but I'll eat them without too much complaint. It's another texture I don't like too much.

Oh, and bluerei...CHI-CHI-CHI-LE-LE-LE CHILE! CHILE! CHILE!

It's obvious that the church is firmly on my side when I say that brazil and chile are both bastions of evil due to inferior empanadas and soccer teams to that of Argentina.

 

[Bornstellar]

It's obvious that the church is firmly on my side when I say that brazil and chile are both bastions of evil due to inferior empanadas and soccer teams to that of Argentina.

Not every team has the hand of god on their side.

 

[CorvoSol]

It's obvious that the church is firmly on my side when I say that brazil and chile are both bastions of evil due to inferior empanadas and soccer teams to that of Argentina.

Well I guess I know who's not taking the Sacrament this week for telling STRAIGHT UP LIES. Besides, Pamonha is waaaaaaay better than empanadas.

 

[AlteredBeast]

You guys have obviously not had aji de gallina or papa a la huancaina or rocoto relleno or alfajores con manjar or Ceviche Limeno or Picarones and a million other things

I want some Peruvian food!!!

 

[CorvoSol]

All they have in Peru are mustaches, sweaters, and the Llamas from whence both of those originate.

 

[bluemax]

I'm 95% confident that at least my mother voted for Obama. My parents never discuss politics with each other or with us for that matter. Just as some households let the kids take a "Choose Your Own Adventure" approach to religion, my parents have always been hands off about politics. I'm fairly sure my mother is left-leaning, but my father's a complete enigma politically. To be perfectly honest, if he weren't raised in the cold war and a soldier from that time, I'd be tempted to think he was a radical.



I fluctuate. I served in BRAZIL, so catching Latina fever was inevitable, but my father was stationed in Korea for a long time, so I've got me the Asian Persuasion, too. And I have a weird thing for gingers. At present I don't much care which way.

And we had an absolutely reprehensible saying about hot sister missionaries . . . "If she's hot and on a mission there's usually a good reason for it." Which was really, "If she's hot and on a mission, there's usually a good reason she wasn't married already and it's that she's crazy."

Dad usually votes for veterans as far as I could ever guess. Other than that I have no idea who he votes for.

Mom is totally left leaning. Sometimes I wonder how she comes to terms with the church and her own view point but I suppose she makes it work.

 

[Patryn]

did anyone else's parents give them tons of crap for not voting for romney?

Exactly the opposite. My mom is still a loyal member, and she's in the Romney family's Michigan ward. She's dear friends with Mitt's sister.

She's also an Obama supporter. In addition, she personally met Mitt a few times, and wasn't impressed.

She kept talking to me about how much she had to bite her tongue while out with her Relief Society friends who kept talking about how unfair everyone was being to Mitt. She was also bummed that she couldn't put an Obama bumper sticker on her car because it would hurt her friend too much.

 

[AlteredBeast]

I think a lot of mormons, but obviously not most, are secret bleeding heart liberals, since the GOP is so callous to provide for the poor sick and elderly.

 

[Jeff-DSA]

Chilean empanadas are best empanadas.

Oh man, I miss authentic empanadas so bad. There are a few Chilean bakeries around here, but it's not quite the same.

 

[AlteredBeast]

Chilean empanadas are best empanadas.

Oh man, I miss authentic empanadas so bad. There are a few Chilean bakeries around here, but it's not quite the same.

Peruvian empanadas are especially delicious. They wrap it in a banana leaf instead of a corn husk, which makes all the difference.

 

[Jeff-DSA]

Peruvian empanadas are especially delicious. They wrap it in a banana leaf instead of a corn husk, which makes all the difference.

Chilean empanadas don't need any stinkin' leaves!

There's a Peruvian restaurant about half a mile from my office. I go eat there once in a while. Good food, and it's 100% authentic. Nobody even speaks English in the place, and for the non-Latinos that go in, they have to basically get by with hand signals.

 

[AlteredBeast]

Chilean empanadas don't need any stinkin' leaves!

There's a Peruvian restaurant about half a mile from my office. I go eat there once in a while. Good food, and it's 100% authentic. Nobody even speaks English in the place, and for the non-Latinos that go in, they have to basically get by with hand signals.

In Centerville or Bountiful?

The only Peruvian places I found in Utah were La Carreta in Orem and American Fork and Se Llama Peru in Provo. Both were pretty good for different reasons, but neither were perfect Peruvian food.

If it is neither of those, I might have to try it next time I am in Utah!

 

[Jeff-DSA]

In Centerville or Bountiful?

The only Peruvian places I found in Utah were La Carreta in Orem and American Fork and Se Llama Peru in Provo. Both were pretty good for different reasons, but neither were perfect Peruvian food.

If it is neither of those, I might have to try it next time I am in Utah!

Bountiful. It's called Rico Pollo.

 

[AlteredBeast]

Bountiful. It's called Rico Pollo.

Sounds good, I am headed there next time I out that way! The only Peruvian restaurant in town just closed here

It was pretty dang good, too. We probably ate there once a month but they couldn't make it.

 

[ronito]

It's obvious that the church is firmly on my side when I say that brazil and chile are both bastions of evil due to inferior empanadas and soccer teams to that of Argentina.

Nope. I guess there really is nothing we can agree on.

 

[ronito]

Overall, and I owe this mainly because the world is mainly a very stupid place, I think Romney's mormonism was good for the church. His press amongst the masses wasn't anything too damaging in most ways. Many mainstream Christians are now more accustomed to the fact that Mormons are regular people and not to be feared. Showing Romney's family and talking about his turn at a mission and lay ministry were great, as well.

But for those who discern, his general disdain for the truth and his full embrace of teachings and practices that I just don't think Jesus would get behind left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouth. I didn't vote for him mainly because I think he isn't a very good person. Sure, he seems like a great family man and probably kicks ass at the stern but fair father and grandfather role, but his business experience was only around making money for him and his investors. He never built a damn business outside of the one he built with Bain to make money. He seemed to be a mostly fair governor whom I would have voted for to be the President, but he turned his back on every moderate position he held or at least approved while governor to embrace Republican stupidity. He knowingly lies more on the campaign trail than should have ever been possible, and much more so than Obama, who had his fair share.

For those reasons, I find him to be a very bad representation of Mormonism. I would have loved this bold but honest person get up there and tell America the hard Schooner Tuna truth. "we're all in this together so let's share the sacrifice, even us wealthy folks up here on stage and watching me all over the country."
and "when things get better, we can start to go back to lower taxes and not needing so much investment in infrastructure, but right now, the country, our communities and the neighbors that live beside us, need to pitch in more and get this country rolling again. With our faith in God and our determination to equality, fairness, and justice, we will lower unemployment and lower dependence on government aid programs that are unfortunate necessities of our failings as a society."

Bam. He would have been telling the honest truth, kept the precious but retarded Evangelical vote, affirmed his faith as a guiding principle, gotten more independent, women, latino and maybe even black votes on his way to the White House. Mormons would have looked better and he would have looked like a true follower of Christ instead of an "F you, I've got mine! Lower taxes!!!" kind of guy.

Yeah, and that's the thing. People who knew I was once an active mormon figured I wouldn't vote for Romney because he was mormon. I had to correct them. I didn't vote for him because I didn't trust him and wasn't the kind of mormon I looked up to, I have no beefs with mormons I can look up to. If had been more honest as you say I would've been behind him. Ironically, for me the thing that I think would've made him a good president made him a candidate that I could never support. His pragmatism.

Really if Romney would've won I don't think it would've been as great a disaster as the democrats foretold, I do think it'd be a few steps back but really if you look at Mitt's history he has a tendency to bowl over everything to get what he wants done. Be that changing a stance, or overlooking something that might be morally questionable for a mormon. That would have made him a pretty good president I think. But it also made him a terrible candidate for me. I didn't want to elect a guy I thought was on my side to find when he needed to go against my interests to get the job done he'd handily do so.

 

[ronito]

NRP just did a story about what we're talking about right now.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpoli...neys-loss-mormons-lament-what-could-have-been

Poor Chris Stewart. The former Air Force pilot had just won a landslide victory in his first bid for Congress in Utah, but the crowd of Republicans listening to his acceptance speech at a Salt Lake City hotel kept pointing to the massive television screen behind him.

"Do you want me to stop?" Stewart asked. "You would rather listen to Gov. Romney than to me, wouldn't you?"

Some in the crowd shouted "Yes!" and the sound of Romney's concession speech filled the room.

Given Utah's Mormon majority, and its dominance of the Republican Party and most elected positions in the state, it's safe to say the crowd was predominately Mormon. There was complete silence for the first time all night as Romney spoke. Some in the crowd choked back tears.

Utah gave Romney his biggest election victory Tuesday night with 73 percent of the vote.

"This is not about religion," said Lara Marriott, a health and fitness saleswoman who attended Romney's Mormon congregation in Massachusetts when he was the top local leader.

"This is about our country," Marriott added.

But she and others deeply disappointed by Romney's loss also reflected on the gains and losses for their faith as its latest spotlight fades.

"He definitely helped bridge the gap between believing things that are not true and what Mormons really believe," Marriott said.

"There's more acceptance of our faith," added Elizabeth Crofts, who was seated at a table with Marriott as they watched election night returns. "There's more interest in our faith."

Romney's candidacy focused intense attention on the faith. Last Sunday, television crews from around the world filmed at Mormon Sacrament Meetings in Utah and Massachusetts. It was a regular monthly day of fasting and prayer, and some of the faithful told reporters they were fasting and praying for a Romney presidency.

"I don't know what would have been," said Louvonne Newman, a customer service representative from Willard, Utah, at the deflated Republican gathering Tuesday night. "I guess we'll never know."

Romney, she said, is "definitely a great ambassador for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It would be nice for people to know more about our religion. I get tired of being called a cult."

Newman said that a Romney presidency would have, by example, presented a positive image of the faith.

"He's a fine man, and he has a good character; and that comes from his roots, which are influenced by his religion," she said.

But some also recognized that a Romney presidency could have triggered even more scrutiny for the faith. Some would have tried to link Romney policies and decisions to Mormon leaders, including the president of the church, who followers believe is a prophet of God.

"The prophet guides us," explained Bill Marriott, who sells farms and ranches in Utah. But "we choose what to do."

Bill Marriott insisted that Romney, as president, "would choose the best course for the nation."

Brian Birch, an administrator at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, told The Salt Lake Tribune that Romney's loss "may be a blessing for Mormons concerned about further public scrutiny of their faith."

Birch told the Tribune that "a Romney presidency would almost certainly have kept Mormonism under the microscope for many years to come."

Mormon leaders issued a statement late Tuesday night congratulating President Obama and calling for Mormons and people of all faiths to pray for the re-elected president.

"It is a long tradition among Latter-day Saints to pray for our national leaders in our personal prayers and in our congregations," the statement said. "We also commend Governor Romney for engaging at the highest level of our democratic process ... We wish him and his family every success in their future endeavors."

A church spokesman did not respond to NPR's request for further comment.

"People now understand that Mormons don't have green horns," said Lamont Green, an airline worker and state Republican convention delegate. Romney's candidacy, he added, "dispelled a lot of the criticisms."

In fact, Romney's Mormon faith wasn't much of an issue after the primary season ended and he secured the nomination. Even evangelical Protestants, who were wary of Romney's candidacy in the 2008 primaries, supported him in great numbers going into the general election, according to a July survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

Philip Barlow, who teaches Mormon history and culture at Utah State University, told the Tribune that the faith itself "developed a thicker skin in the eyes of the world" during Romney's presidential quest. "And the world could see that a Mormon who runs for office isn't, by definition, a nut case."

So far the general consensus has been that it's weathered pretty well. And like I said I tend to agree. This could've gotten very ugly especially with the race factor, which I'm actually surprised wasn't made nearly as big a deal as I expected.

I do think people think it's over though, Romney's father ran once and look where we were before Romney ran. They need to keep it up. Otherwise inf 5 years it'll be back to where it was.

 

[speculawyer]

Well Mitt put up a decent fight, he was one of the best candidates of the slate of Republican presidential nominee challengers, and Mormonism was very rarely brought up as a campaign issue.

Mitt didn't win but he definitely advanced the ball of mainstreaming the LDS religion. Lots of evangelicals that formerly called Mormonism a 'cult' have stopped doing that. We'll see if the back-slide on that, I suspect they won't since other Mormon candidates are up & coming.

 

[CorvoSol]

Dad usually votes for veterans as far as I could ever guess. Other than that I have no idea who he votes for.

Mom is totally left leaning. Sometimes I wonder how she comes to terms with the church and her own view point but I suppose she makes it work.

You mean Dad votes for military veterans or incumbents? Hmmm. I could see him voting for veterans, yeah. He's never actually spoken to me about his political views, though. But yeah, I think Mom's pretty obviously left-leaning. I don't think she bothers to really hide that. Still, Mom and Dad have been pretty quiet about their political beliefs at home. At least, that's my opinion of how things have been.

 

[AlteredBeast]

I think Harry Reid does a good job of presenting the other side, but I have major problems with the way he conducts himself as well. All told, there are a fair amount of very visible mormons out there.

 

[bluemax]

You mean Dad votes for military veterans or incumbents? Hmmm. I could see him voting for veterans, yeah. He's never actually spoken to me about his political views, though. But yeah, I think Mom's pretty obviously left-leaning. I don't think she bothers to really hide that. Still, Mom and Dad have been pretty quiet about their political beliefs at home. At least, that's my opinion of how things have been.

Military veterans is what I meant. But yeah overall Mom and Dad were pretty personal with their political stances and never hoisted them on us and I'm really grateful for that.

 

[CorvoSol]

Military veterans is what I meant. But yeah overall Mom and Dad were pretty personal with their political stances and never hoisted them on us and I'm really grateful for that.

Huh. I never knew that about Dad. It makes sense, though. Still, I'm really grateful Mom and Dad never did that stuff. Granted, I sometimes think Mom and Dad have a hidden list somewhere of stuff they never talk about with us.

I wish that list had included Mom's newlywed letters to Dad, though.

 

[ronito]

Whoa wait, corvo and bluemax you guys related?

It bet blue is the older more seriously conservative brother.