"Among the core tenets are ...that some of those revelations were in lost biblical texts that Smith translated into the Book of Mormon..." This part of the article is worded awkward or is misinformed. The traditional use of the word "biblical" is "of the Bible". The Book of Mormon is not lost Biblical texts in that sense. The reason that Mormons hold the book in such high esteem is because of the confirming witness from ancient American prophets contained in the written records that Jesus Christ truly is the Messiah, that He was crucified, that He resurrected on the third day, and that we can be saved through baptism. See the intro page to the Book of Mormon: http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/introduction?lang=eng

The propaganda arm of the DNC, also known as the main stream media, are determined to keep reminding the voters that Romney is a Morman and they aren't so different from the rest of us. Their heavy handed way of saying "He's a Momon and their different from us". I should look in the archives and see what the Globe was saying 52 years ago abut the now sainted JFK.

The problem is not with Mitt being a Mormon, but the fact that an unquestioning belief in such shows an uncanny lack of the ability to think critically.

It is Barack Obama who is outside the mainstream, not Mitt Romney. Barack Obama would be a democratic socialist if he were in Europe and he sat in the pews of Rev. Wright's black nationalist church for years. Mr. Viser, stop carrying buckets of polluted water for the DNC. Stick to the issues that matter: creating jobs, reforming our crazy tax code and public education system, and reducing the federal budget deficit.

I assume it's a typo, but it's one of the strangest I've ever seen -- and at a most peculiar place, right after the story's "jump" in the paper. The quote, from Kristen Goaslind, in a story about religion and fear:"They think we're secretive, but we're not. We're just...sacred." Could she have really said, "We're just scared"? In a story on such a sensitive topic, a real stopper.

We will find that people express their reservations about Mitt's values and beliefs very differently that they do in a poll.

Moved here from Boston 7 months ago, (here is Lehi, UT.) Trust me when I tell you, these folks are wacky. Very rude, no manners..they act extremely entitled. This is reflected in their driving, not a turn signal in the bunch. The big surprise was the lack of manners, it's very strange. They are, for the most part, quiet and secretive, that's the truth. I realize these are generalizations, but, I am a keen observer and take my word for it, they are a creepy bunch.

It's a question of the ability to think and the ability to tell the truth. Any religion is ludicrous if considered rationally, and I have particular concerns with those who claim the Bible as literally accurate. Main stream protestant religions, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican communion of churches do not require this particular belief. Intelligent people who belong to those churches can be believers while acknowledging openly that belief is irrational. Claiming the Bible is literally true requires either that one is a hypocrite or one is unable to see the conflict between reality and the Bible, or even the internal lack of consistency in the Bible. When a smart man, like Mitt Romney, says he believes in the Bible literally, I can only conclude that he is lying.

"Much of the animosity stems from the church's departure from traditional Western Christianity. Among the core tenets are the beliefs that God has continued to reveal his messages after the ascension of Christ" I'm afraid you got this part wrong. Much of the New Testament takes place after the the ascension of Christ. There is no Christian denomination that does not believe that God has continued to reveal his messages after the ascension of Christ.

This religion sure started off as a "crazy-cult". One of the reasons we know, is that this is all quite recent history. Church was founded by a crazy sex addict about 160 years ago. I actually admire Mr. Smith. Woke up one day after his wife caught him cheating and simply told her that God made him do it. Moved on to DOZENS of marriages. This guy was sowing his seed twenty-four-seven!! Non-stop-talker, what a rocker!!

"the Mormon church has strict policies about its officials steering clear of politics". You've got to be kidding! Anybody who follows the news at all knows that the Mormon hierarchy is very actively involved in supporting - through words and money - very conservative causes throughout the country.

Here are 10 reasons why critical thinking leads me to remain a Mormon. 1. 1833 - Joseph Smith receives a revelation that will become D&C 101. Verse 79 states "Therefore it is not right that one man should be in bondage to another." 2. 1838 - Mormons are expelled from Missouri under threat of extermination (Executive Order 44). A petition against them complains that Mormons invited "free negroes and mulattos" to join them in Missouri. 3. 1844 - Joseph Smith runs for president with a plan to free all slaves by 1850. He is murdered 4 months later. 4. 1869 - Utah gives women the vote. Up to this time only Wyoming has female suffrage. 5. 1887 - The federal government takes the vote away from Utah women (Edmunds-Tucker Act). 6. 1978 – The governor of Missouri apologizes for xecutive Order 44. 7. 1996 - Genetic research reveals that using observed mutation rates, most American Indians are descended from a guy who lived in 151 BC (Underhill 1996) 8. 2004 - Genetic research reveals that 15% of Yemenite Jewish males have Y-chromosome belonging to a subclade of lineage group Q1a3. Most Native Americans belong to a subclade of Q1a3. 9. 2008 - Genetic research by Ugo Perego fails to find a single descendant of Joseph Smith through any woman other than Emma Smith. Emma had always declared that Joseph had no other wife than her. 10. 2008 - The location of NHM is discovered in Yemen and 1 degree from due east is found an uninhabited oasis called Khor Karfet that meets the description provided in the Book of Mormon.

If someone made general comments such as these about Muslims, blacks or Latinos, the comment would be removed by the Globe censor. Why can a crude anti-Mormon comment like this one survive the censor? Does the Globe support anti-Mormon prejudice?

I wonder how people from Rev. Wright's church feel about Obama?

As most of the commenters confirmed, the Mormon story raises the hackles of the DNC base, which sees all religion as cult-like fanaticism, destructive to the US body politic. The presentation of today's story seemed reasonable, but it's intention is to provoke fear. It also is a reminder that people's religiosity is a one-way street for the MSM/DNC. I don't recall them interviewing congregants of the-not-so-Reverend Wright. I missed them NOT being questioned about Black supremacy, anti-Semitism and anti White beliefs. There's still time, Mr., Ms. and Mrs Globe, to play religion right down the middle! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I thought it was a description of Bostonians.

Just as I cared less that JFK was a Catholic, I care just as less that Romney is a Mormon. What I care about is that Mit is too damn militaristic or maybe not since what he says today may be ontradicted next month. Right now I hear that he wants to beef up our military. This is like feeding more corn to the already obese porky pig.

correction: contradicted

Ozark - I grew up and spent my first 25 years in Sweden, a country which has been ruled by the democratic socialists for roughly 90% of the last 100 years. Thus, I know a democratic socialist when I see one, and Obama is nowhere near being one of them. In fact, Obama's policies would place him quite near the right end of the political spectrum (from both an economic and a social policy perspective) in any northwestern European democracy. I really don't see where the epithet "socialist" came from as applied to Obama. If anything, his policies remind me of a mid-90's moderate republican: widespread tax cuts and a hawkish foreign policy.