Mormon Church Tries To Revamp Image With ‘I Am A Mormon’ Campaign

Here & Now Guest:

Lisa Wangsness, religion reporter for the Boston Globe

With two Mormon GOP presidential contenders and the Broadway musical “The Book Of Mormon” winning nine Tony Awards, Newsweek says we’re having a “Mormon moment.”

But are Americans ready for that? A new Gallup poll found that nearly a quarter of Republicans would not vote for a Mormon, with similar numbers from Democrats and Independents.

After church researchers found that Mormons were often perceived as being “cultish,” “polygamist” and “secretive” the church is rolling out a new ad campaign, that features a NYC Times Square billboard, subway ads, and online videos.

The church plans to push more ads out across the country in the fall.

We welcome comments from all of our listeners. Post below. Please stay on topic and be civil. Comments may be moderated by us, but you are solely responsible for the content of your comments.

Anonymous

Their work to ban equal marriage rights marks them as bigots.
- PS Frog
  
  During his successful Presidential campaign, President Obama was for the Defense of Marriage Act. Did that make him a bigot?
  - Anonymous
    
    I suspect that he is in favor of equal marriage but is spineless. He opposed Prop 8, opposed amending the Constitution, and has worked for gay rights on other fronts.
BHA in Vermont

Perhaps one of the reasons the Mormans are not thought of well is BECAUSE they shove their religion down non believers’ throats. If you see a couple of very well dressed (generally young) people walking down your street on Saturday, it is time to pull the shades. If I want to know about any specific religion, I will go to them.
Donna

I don’t care what, if any, religion a candidate believes in. In fact, I’m pretty sick and tired of candidates touting their religiousness like they’re special and the rest of us are lesser people.
Sandyutah717

Mormons allowed blacks to join the church when George Romney ran for president. Hummm.�
Mormons were forced to ban polygamy by the government. When they get into local government they see to it that church members get preferential treatment. Every time I hear that they are the fastest growing faith, I wonder how many new members are alive. Do they count the dead that they seal including the Holocaust victims? It is odd to hear of American college women who have to brush their husbands hair every morning. The church even has rules for how to take off your Mormon underwear when stepping into the shower. If they were in a third world country we would call them a cult.
- MeasuredResponder
  
  You mean I
  can make my wife brush my hair? Sweet! Maybe I can even get her to fold my
  Mormon underwear when I step into the shower. I’m so glad someone took the time
  to inform me of some rules that have absolutely no basis in fact.
  
  If it
  sounds outlandish folks, it was probably made up by someone who either doesn’t know
  about our church, or was purposefully trying to malign it. I can just imagine
  “Sandyutah717″ speaking with a friend that was a member of our church,
  and either not understanding something that was explained to her, or had
  something explained to her badly.
  
  As for the
  church changing aspects of our religion to fit the world around it, you can
  flip that on its head just as easily: George
  Romney ran for president, when Mormons allowed blacks to hold the priesthood
  (African Americans were not denied membership).
  
  As for any
  politicians who gave preferential treatment to fellow church members, is it
  that unheard of for a politician to curry favor with those groups that can
  support her and help her get re-elected? I don’t know what evidence
  Sandyutah717 has of that, but if that person lives in Sandy, Utah, there’s a
  good chance 90% of her politicians are Mormon and 90% of that politician’s constituents
  are Mormon. It would be tough not to favor the majority.
  - Jrryreilly
    
    Another brainwashed cult member!
Olorcain2

One thing about this great country is that you can be part of any religion you want, or no religion at all. I really don’t care what religion my candidate is, it is their right to be Mormon or anything else. The problem is that as an elected official you have to look at everyone and treat everyone fairly. I don’t happen to believe in god but I am still a citizen and expect to be treated like one. If an elected official can put aside their religious beliefs to govern all people then I do not care what your religion is. Unfortunately what is happening in this country of late is the idea that you have to be a god loving (or fearing) Christian or you are considered un-American, you have to follow the rules of a Christian church or you somehow have no values. That cannot be further from the truth. If your religion is going to cloud how you govern so that you are closed minded and only interested in a part of the popultion, then I say stay home whether you are Mormon or otherwise.