The Challenge of Stereotypes - ABC News (Video)

It is not so much the Mormon faith that presents a challenge for Huntsman and Romney, as it is the (mostly incorrect) stereotypes surrounding that faith.

Mormon Mission: Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman Challenged by Stereotypes

By LAUREN VANCE

June 25, 2011

Mitt Romney, considered the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, and Jon Huntsman, the GOP candidate who may just be the one the White House fears most, share something that makes them different from anyone ever elected president: They are Mormons.

For the full story, go here

For the real stereotype I would hope we would come to be known for, watch below

Huntsman v Romney - Marketwatch

MarketWatch Blogs

Political Watch

June 21, 2011, 12:20 PM ET

Sizing up Huntsman, Romney, Mormons for president

Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman are both Mormons who went to college in Utah and share similar views on taxes and regulation. Both try to appeal to moderates as well as conservatives and they have occasionally broken ranks with Republicans on issues such as global warming and health care. Both of their fathers served briefly in the Nixon administration and they are even distant cousins.

Yet the two presidential contenders for the 2012 Republican nomination also have plenty of differences.

The more soft-spoken Huntsman, who announced his candidacy on Tuesday, is not....

For the full article, go here.

Teen Puts AU$1.5 million on Hold for a Mission - Sydney Morning Herald

And you thought the choice between a car and/or a girlfriend and a mission was tough....

Battle of Will: clubs all want a piece of Hoppa, says agent

Wanted ... William Hopoate has become hot property with a number of clubs vying for his attention. Photo: Getty Images

Daniel Lane

June 22, 2011

WILLIAM HOPOATE might be spending two years out of the NRL on a Mormon mission, but that has not stopped several clubs trying to sign him for the 2014 season.

It had been assumed that if Hopoate decided to resume his post-missionary football career it would be with his club, Manly. However, his manager, Tyran Smith, has revealed there has been "a lot of interest" from several clubs, although he has declined to name which clubs have made approaches.

It is understood the 19-year-old Hopoate will announce where his long-term football future lies before the end of the season. "I'm going through contract negotiations now," said Smith, a former New Zealand international. "But, we aren't rushing things. There's been no need to rush things.''

To read the full article, go here.

Flash....Mormon! Choir Surprises Visitors to Colonial Williamsburg

If you have never been to Colonial Williamsburg, this would have been the day to have gone.

Mormon Tabernacle Choir surprises visitors

Members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir laugh with eachother after their surprise flashmob appearance. Scott (foreground), was one of the first men to start the song off. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir made a surprise appearance during Colonial Williamsburg's 'Revolutionary City' adventure program. (Alyssa Ki, Daily Press / June 21, 2011)

By Cara R. Anthony, cranthony@dailypress|247-7429

8:53 p.m. EDT, June 21, 2011

WILLIAMSBURG — Sightseers' jaws dropped in Colonial Williamsburg when the 360-member Mormon Tabernacle Choir broke out into flash mob-like performance Tuesday.

Just after noon, harmonized voices suddenly erupted from a large crowd that gathered to watch a historical presentation about the American Revolution.

For the full article, go here.

Click below for a video of the performance. Music starts at 3:27

A New Type of Mormon Ad - Boston Globe

The Boston Globe discusses the ad campaign going up in New York City.

Mormons’ image campaign

Ads coincide with church’s greater visibility in 2012 race

A Times Square billboard in New York is part of a Mormon ad campaign to counter negative attitudes toward the faith. (Peter Foley for The Boston Globe)

By Lisa Wangsness

Globe Staff / June 20, 2011

SALT LAKE CITY — In the fall of 2008, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened focus groups across the country as part of a major market-research study to learn more about anti-Mormon sentiment in America.

The researchers found that the most common negative associations with Mormonism included being “pushy,’’ “cultish,’’ “secretive,’’ “controlling,’’ “sexist,’’ “antigay,’’ and “polygamist.’’ There was scant interest among those surveyed in learning more about Mormon doctrine, but they did display curiosity about Mormons as people.

“I’ll never forget this one woman,’’ said Stephen B. Allen, managing director of the church’s missionary program. When participants were asked how they would feel about doing community service with Mormons, “She said’’ — Allen adopted a stage whisper — “if you are serving alongside them, you can ask them the questions you always wanted to ask.’’

To read the rest of the article, go here.

To see my wife's "I'm A Mormon" bio, go here.

The "Real" Reason Romney and Huntsman Will Struggle - Foreign Policy

I am usually a fan of Foreign Policy magazine...its articles generally get me thinking.

This article, however, was a little harder to understand. She talks about Mormons, and she talks about Romney and Huntsman. But I had to read it a few times to get what she was trying to say with the following tagline:

Mormonism will affect the foreign policies of Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman -- just not in the way you might expect

Her basic thesis (I think) is that Romney and Huntsman's Mormon upbringing make them pragmatists and patriots. She does so while distancing the current candidates from Joseph Smith (whom she paints in a pretty negative light).

That "pragmatic" and "patriotic" thesis is not so bad....I think.

In the end, she states that Romney's and Huntsman's (Mormon-bred) pragmatism will be their downfall as (she believes) voters tend to want more polarized figures.

While her statements on Joseph Smith illustrate she tends to listen closer to those antagonistic about him, her opinions on Romney and Huntsman are that, while highly qualified and have good intentions, they will have a harder time getting to the White House for reasons most scholars are overlooking.

So here is the article.

The Missionary Position

Mormonism will affect the foreign policies of Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman -- just not in the way you might expect.

BY MOLLY WORTHEN | JUNE 13, 2011

When Joseph Smith, the religious genius and sometime-treasure hunter who founded the Mormon faith, announced in 1844 that he was running for president of the United States, international affairs were not his top priority. In a pamphlet outlining his campaign platform, Smith quoted James Madison's inaugural address declaring that he would "cherish peace and friendly intercourse with all nations." But he never got the chance to elaborate on his foreign policy: Later that year, while Smith was in jail awaiting trial on charges that he had ordered the destruction of an anti-Mormon newspaper, a mob of armed men stormed his cell and fatally shot him as he jumped out of the window.

To read the full article, go here.

Mormons are becoming a ‘true part of the American culture’ - Anniston Star

A little ditty about the Mormon faith written by a newspaper in Alabama.

You'd think that one story covering everything from the church's founding to TLC's "Sister Wives" to Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman to the Tony award winning The Book of Mormon would be biting off more than one journalist (or their readers) could chew.

But it is a great overview of the Church.

This

is as American as

This?

And This?

Using as sources, a local Bishop (and converted Mormon), a fellow journalist (also Mormon), the "foremost non-Mormon scholar of the Latter Day Saint movement" (so says Wikipedia about Jan Shipps), and a University of Richmond professor (and Mormon), the author gets a pretty good understanding of how many Mormons feel about themselves and how many of them view themselves in history.

Mormons rising: Mormons are becoming a ‘true part of the American culture’

by Brett Buckner

Special to The Star

Sid Kooyman has never felt like a stranger in a strange land.

Since moving to Jacksonville in 1986 to teach ROTC at Jacksonville State University, the career soldier assimilated himself within this close-knit college community by doing the things that virtually everyone else does, including regularly attending church. But it is where Kooyman worships that occasionally raises the eyebrows of his faithful peers.

To read the rest of the story, go here.