Tuesday, December 04, 2007

If I Were Romney's Speechwriter...

...I would include the following main points in his "religion speech":

I would explain that the several core beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints cause it to possess a doctrine and history that is arguably one of the most consistent with the founding values of this nation. These include:

Free agency: Freedom or Liberty. The right to act freely to do the right thing or the wrong thing.

Responsibility: The responsibility, before God, to do the right thing in accordance with Scriptural principles of love, forgiveness, diligence, perseverence, and personal responsiblity and accountability before God.

Importance of the Family: Next to trust in God, the family is the most important set of relationships, forming the foundation for learning, responsibility and civility. Few institutions stress the need to keep the family unit strong more than The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Eternal progression: The innate desire of people and the will of Heavenly Father to consistently become more Christlike, more Godly in our attitudes and actions. If evangelicals condemn this doctrine, they are condeming the Biblical mandate to be Godly. If not more like God, then what? More like Satan?

Faith/works: Acknowledge that the Bible teaches both faith and works as essential components of a unified doctrine. Mormons believe Christ died for our sins, and at the same time understand that we must persevere in faith in striving to be more Christlike through good works. If evangelicals condemn this doctrine, they are condemmning major portions of the Biblical mandate for the perseverence of the saints.

Origins of the Church: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was founded in America, born out of the principles of religious freedom and tolerance.

Tolerance toward all religions and no religion: Recognizes, based on the historical experience of the church, how wicked religous persecution can be. (This is in stark contrast to the religion of Islam, which has demonstrated itself to have the polar opposite view toward religous tolerance.)

United States was founded by divine providence: The Churchs' doctrine parallels the beliefs of the founding fathers of this nation that this country has a divine purpose and a divine destiny.

All of these core values of the Church ought to be highlighted to inform the voters of Romneys own core values.

What I hope Romney does not do is apologize for his religion, or suggest, as did John Kennedy, that his religion will take a subservient role, a "back seat" to his role as President. A President's faith should inform and enhance his Presidency. Romney's faith provides ample evidence that upholding and defending the constitution of this nation is entirely consistent with the doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He knows that this nation was formed out of these shared religious principles. The nation did not become "a god" to replace God. Individuals, including our Presidents, should remain free, in fact held accountable, to have core values that are greater than the nation that they are chosen to lead and serve.

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