Mitt Romney and Mormonism in 2008

Mitt Romney has his eyes on the Presidency in 2008. This is not so unusual, since there are some 11 people currently running for the Republican Presidential nomination and 8 for the Democratic nomination. What sets Mitt Romney somewhat apart, though, is that he is a Mormon.

Mormons are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints which was founded by their Prophet Joseph Smith back in 1830. A central text of the LDS (as they are often called) is the Book of Mormon, a collection of supposedly ancient texts written by the descendants of Israelites who had settled in North America.

For most of their history Mormons have been incredibly controversial, for many reasons. Their rejection of all other Christian denominations as untrue and abominations (according to Joseph Smith's First Vision), many of their strange beliefs about God and Jesus and most of all their polygamy. Many times relations between the Mormons and non-Mormons in the early years became exceedingly violent, such as when Joseph Smith was murdered by an angry mob while in prison in Carthage, Illinois, the Mountain Meadows Massacre and the Utah War.

With Mitt Romney running a strong campaign for the Presidency in 2008, Mormonism has once again been brought into the spotlight. While polygamy has been removed from Mormonism since 1904, the faith has never achieved a true mainstream status and Romney's presidential race has many people wondering just what Mormonism is and if a Mormon will make an effective President.

Interestingly enough Romney's own father could have been the first major Mormon presidential candidate. In 1967 he was the forerunner for the Presidential nomination after serving as president of General Motors and being a popular governor of Michigan. Then he made a statement about feeling he was "brainwashed" in Vietnam and he was all but dropped from the Presidential race.