I grew up LDS.

Through the years, my faith has become something I could most tactfully describe as NOT LDS. For reasons that are not at all relevant to this blog, except to establish the fact that if anyone had a bone to pick with the LDS church, I would.

And yet, if Mitt Romney wins the GOP nomination, my vote will probably be cast against him, but because he is a Republican, NOT because he is a "Mormon". See, Mr. Romney's religious persuasion is as irrelevant as his hair color. It is interesting trivia, but not enough in itself to qualify or disqualify a voter.

I find it highly ironic that the anti-LDS rant came out of a mouth of someone who purports to follow the dream of a man for whom content of one's character was meant to be the utmost standard of the worth of a man. Someone who has collected millions in bribe money to overlook the racial affronts of various US companies and individuals.

I would say that I have known as many Mormons over my lifetime as I have other religions. And while there are certainly bad apples in the LDS faith (as there are in all) , there are also good, decent, honorable and loving people in the LDS faith(as there are in all). The truth is that, while the spiritual values of a faith may be measurable to an ethical standard, the actual practice of that faith is not.

Oddly enough, one thing many Christian Coalition types overlook as they evaluate Mormons is that our basic values are exactly the same. While there are theological differences, the Mormons believe point by point the same as "mainstream" Christians do on most moral matters (and if you EVEN bring up the Mormon practice of polygamy which was abolished in the 1800's, I'd be happy to throw in the Salem Witch Trials, the Inquisition, and a host of other offenses by members of various "Christian" factions).

Mitt Romney should be judged by one basic standard: can he do the job? If you feel he can, his faith is immaterial. If you feel he can't, likewise.