PEW Forum Interview

Last night a phone interviewer talked to me for over 30 minutes about religious and political issues. Some of the questions were almost like a temple recommend interview. Every time the interviewer asked for my response as a Mormon I would respond, "As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints..........".  She finally started using "LDS" in place of  "Mormon" which she was required to use when reading the question.

After the interview I looked up the results of the previous survey (2007). There were 35,000 people 18 years and older contacted. Of these about 600 said they were "Mormons," This category included Community of Christ and Fundamentalists. The survey also included non-Christians like Atheists, Hindus, Muslims, etc.  Can't wait for the 2011 update since I helped make it.   

The results of the 2007 Survey made me proud. We "Mormons" ranked near the top in adherence to important values and practices. The other groups that had similar responses in many of the questions were Jehovah Witnesses and Born Agains. Many of the questions were about the current political candidates and issues. It was interesting that a large percentage of Muslims and Hindus are immigrants. The Black Christians are a powerful Democratic voting block which does not support Romney.

I then linked over to a recent meeting where leading magazine and newspaper writers interviewed Professor Richard L. Bushman, Columbia University Historian,  about the reasons for prejudice towards Mitt Romney's presidential bid. Bushman's responses were powerfully enlightening from a historical perspective. There is no one else I know about who can defend the LDS faith among intellectuals like he can. I've been a big fan of his ever since I read his 2005 book, "Joseph Smith, Rough Stone Rolling."   If interested go to http://pewforum.org/Politics-and-Elections/Mormonism-and-Politics-Are-They-Compatible.aspx