Really – this is where we’re going – something somebody might have said 30 years ago?  Something somebody said, which was motivated by his religious doctrine? 

Presidential politics should just admit what it has become – another stupid reality show destined for the E Network.  At the next debate, they should compete in a physical challenge where they have to swing over a mud pit onto a moving platform.  WAH, WAHHHHHH!!!!!!!

It appears Romney saw that the woman was struggling financially,  and she was better off giving the child up for adoption!! He had no right to interject his opinion in the matter!!

And to say “this is what the Church wants you to do” is definitely uncalled for and intimidating!!

No. It is where we have been for 30 years. In case you missed it, both sides now demand college term papers and grades, pull student speeches, refer to things OTHER people said in the candidate’s presence 20 years ago and so on.

Sadly, this is exactly where we are and have been thanks to professional politicians who have turned both parties into the same party and are only about winning, a Congress that prefers to do little or nothing except run elections and a media that is simply too lazy (both sides) to cover actual news, so they root around for salacious tidbits to make leering headlines.

Mitt knows what it’s like to give a child up for adoption.  He almost gave up the one with the overbite and the weak chin.

I wouldn’t vote for Mitt Romney for dog catcher, but this story is completely irrelevant to the current election process. The LDS church is run this way; clearly the woman was part of the LDS, and she had to know that bishops are required to see to the spiritual and moral lives of their people. This is not about Romney intimidating a woman into submission, but a bishop instructing one of his people on the teaching of the church. There’s no actual story here, and yes, I do think this is liable to fuel intolerance towards LDS. It’s an attempt to elaborate on the “Mormons are weird” theme, which is an insult to the American electoral process. Someday we might have a candidate who’s both LDS and competent at the same time, and that person won’t be allowed to serve. What a shame.

So if you believe everything anyone says about Mitt. Can I now believe every bad thing anyone wants to say about Obama? It must be true.

“Since I have failed completely, and have no record to run on, I hereby direct my forces in the media to attack Mr. Romney, a private citizen who dares to try to take my job. Go after his family, religion, business and even his dog.

We will destroy him !! ”       From Inside Barack Obama’s Brain. January, 2012.

I felt that giving up her child would open up economic opportunities. 

Yes, you can assume everything bad you hear about Obama is true.  That’s something you could absolutely do.

How did I not have the right to give her my opinion?  I had no right to force my opinion on her, but I did have the right to offer a suggestion.  Would you rather I had told her to eat the baby?

Didn’t you already believe anything bad said about Obama is true??

There’s no proof whatsoever that the woman’s statements are false!!

Mitt, she didn’t ask for your opinion, you need to mind your own business and stop interfering in other people’s lives!!

*Chunkle*

Mitt, why didn’t you just buy the baby from her and then resell it for a profit??

Child labor laws and the 13th amendment.  Such regulations are killing businesses in America.

I didn’t ask you for that advice.  Expect to heat from my lawyers very soon.

No I don’t. Never was a birther (Palin or Obama). So there goes that theory. And there is just as much proof of this woman’s story as there is that Obama cheated on his wife. I believe neither story. But you keep buying into this tripe if you want.

Hear*

The official LDS Church policy is that if marriage to the baby’s father is not a good option, then the mother should seriously consider giving up the baby for adoption so that he/she can be raised in a more stable home with two parents.  Research has shown, time and time again, that on average, children raised in a home with a mother and father do better in life than those raised by a single parent. 

However, if the young mother-to-be chooses to raise her child, this is in no way an excommunicable offense in the LDS Church.  I find it highly dubious that Romney would have threatened excommunication. 

I guess if it was Obama, he would have visited the mother and suggested she have an abortion.  See the difference?  The mother was struggling and acting like a reality TV star having babies she couldn’t afford by different men. Libs would call for abortion, conservatives for adoption.  Also, this kind of proves that Romney is pro life.

People like Romney will never see the face of God for spewing crap like this, so the joke will be on them….

Voters beware. Especially female voters.

Female voters beware?  They be more or less concerned than they were during clinton’s tenure?

Where is Obamas College records? Why did the Dems demand Bush’s College records and military records but no one is allowed any thing from Obama past? No one even knows how he paid for Harvard Law school! 

Its so hypocritical it should make any decent journalist whether left leaning or not sick to there stomach on The North Korean attitude journalism that takes place in this country with Obama!

My point exactly. Why did they need Bush’s records? Why does anyone need Obama’s? Who really cares except to find some tiny little grade or comment that can be magnified into a huge negative.

By the way, if one could read, one would know that Obama went to Harvard on a scholarship. Everyone, except apparently you, knows this. But it really does not matter.

Thank you for proving my point so ineloquently.

It does not matter…. Obama could say he wants to put his face on the American flag or say anything… and the left still follow him like he is there messiah. They are blinded sheep and he knows it!

But do you know this story to be true? Does anyone? Or do you just want it to be true so much that you blindly accept it, much like a lot of the anti-Obama nonsense and the anti-Bush nonsense.

Doesn’t work that way. Innocent until proven guilty, remember? The correct comment is, “There is no proof this woman’s statements are true.”

I believe this!  I grew up Mormon and the VERY same thing happened to me!  It was HORRIBLE!  I ran as far away from that church and never looked back.

LauraMH you are misinformed!  This happened to me and it was awful!  I was threatened and told that I didn’t deserve my own child and that I was taking away a baby from a loving family, HA!  Of course I kept my child, who turned out great. I didn’t raise him in that cult and we are both better off for it.

Also, they don’t adopt all the babies, if the baby was not white, they lied to the bio mother and father and the child was never adopted and instead, raised in foster homes.

If Romney comes out and denies the story, then the woman’s statements getting scrutinized would be warranted!!

If Michelle Obama came out and said her husband cheated, then the would be merit to the story!!

This was a conversation between Mitt and the woman and the is no evidence the woman is lying… until then, her story should be taken as credible!!

Was I in the room witnessing the conversation… No!! Doesn’t make the woman’s account of what happened false!!

Why don’t you ask yourself why you’re so willing to claim her account of what happened could have never occurred??

Many people claim to have first hand knowledge of this alleged affair. That’s equal to your alleged first hand account. Both are crap. Both are claims by people looking for either fame or money. I just choose the be consistent reguardless of party.

Ok she got her 15 minutes. Next

I grew up in Jeramiah Wrights church and it was horrible.  I ran as far away from that church and never looked back.

Unless you are Barack Obama, then no one is allowed to question anything in your background. If Barry is so smart, what kind of grades did he get in college? What did he do for a living in his late 20′s and early 30′s? The part of this article that is going to get no play what-so-ever is that here was a woman who was admittedly struggling to earn a living, and “The Romneys also arranged for her to do odd jobs for other church members, who knew she needed the cash. “Mitt was really good to us. He did a lot for us,” -but that will not get in the way of Mitt the great capitalistic destroyer press invented image of him.

These

Actually, if these are direct quotes from the woman in question, this isn’t about “something somebody might have said,” it’s a first-person account of something that person says they experienced. 

And yes, for me, it further reflects how out of touch Romney is with real humans and how little regard he has for women. Remember, this is the guy that begged a woman not to have a life-saving abortion, as well. 

Men may not see why these stories are scary, but most women do.

What do Barack Obama’s college grades have to do with the fact Mitt Romney felt (feels?) it’s appropriate to bully a woman into giving up her child for adoption?

I never said the story was not true. I said innocent until proven guilty. You seem to be taking the view of guilty until disproven.

I suspect there is a goodly amount of truth in there but here in America we believe a person innocent until proven guilty.

I was talking about what Mitt might have said.  An encounter from 30 years ago with her local pastor, when this person was 20 years old – with her second out-of-wedlock child on the way.  I imagine most people who attend church regularly might have this conversation with their pastor if they are pregnant for the second time, without any money, or other means to take care of the child. 

Maybe the conversation went like this:

‘Have you considered adoption?”

Who knows – it was 30 years ago.  Can you remember every conversation from 30 years ago? Can you remember every time you spoke to your pastor?  

And isn’t this a responsible conversation to have?  “Hey – try adoption.”  Should we outlaw adoption? 

And should every Catholic be ineligible to run for office because Catholics do not believe in abortion?  Should every Jew be ineligible because they don’t believe in Christ?  Should every Mormon be ineligible because their religion is a little strange to most people?

I think that all religions are strange, quite frankly.  Therefore, only those people who believe in a cold, dark, empty space full of the elements are eligible for my vote.

Having served as a bishop, I can assure you that there would have been no threat of excommunication for someone who did not want to give a child up for adoption.  Anyone who knows anything about the Church would know better than to believe that. 

He gave her advice based on what is the best for her and society and she didn’t take it.  Look around.  These children growing up with single moms usually don’t fare so well.  90% of the people in prison had single moms.  Don’t bring up Obama either.  He had a rich grandmother banker who made his life easy.

In 1980 the Mormon adoption agency only adopted white babies. I knwo this to be true. Its very sick and twisted and I am glad for my son, that I did not raise him in that cult.

Montreux,  I am so sorry you had such a difficult experience, but I can say that your story is definitely not the norm and is not the way things should work in the LDS Church.  

I have one sister, one niece, and three cousins who all became pregnant out of wedlock (and were all brought up in the LDS Church).  My sister married the father of her child.  My niece gave her baby up for adoption.  Two of my cousins decided to keep their babies and raise them on their own, and one married the father.  In none of these examples were any of my relatives “threatened” or excommunicated if they did not follow the suggestions from their church leaders.

In your post, you simply said you were “threatened”–what exactly were you threatened with?  Were you excommunicated for keeping your baby?

Anti-Romney books are being written and promoted by the liberal media already, and he isn’t even the nominee yet.

Michael Hastings’ new book, The Operators, jabs at what could be a vulnerable spot for the Obama Administration, the president’s relationship with the troops.
The book describes a visit to Baghdad:
After the talk, out of earshot from the soldiers and
diplomats, he (Obama) starts to complain. He starts to act very un-Obamalike,
according to a U.S. embassy official who helped organize the trip in Baghdad.He’s
asked to go out to take a few more pictures with soldiers and embassy
staffers. He’s asked to sign copies of his book. “He didn’t want to take
pictures with any more soldiers; he was complaining about it,” a State
Department official tells me. “Look, I was excited to meet him. I wanted
to like him. Let’s just say the scales fell from my eyes after I
did. These are people over here who’ve been fighting the war, or working
every day for the war effort, and he didn’t want to take f**king
pictures with them?”

http://www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeedpolitics/book-depicts-cranky-obama-on-baghdad-visit

I think this woman would remember the threat. It directly threatened her “soul” and her child. No one asked, apparently, what she wound up doing. Did she put the child up for adoption? Did she raise the child? Did the Romney family desert her for not adhering to their orders?

Given the self-righteous behavior of ultra-conservative males, I’d say they should be very concerned indeed. Mitt will say and do anything to get elected – just like his mentor McSame. If that means stoning women for having sex out of marriage, so be it.

Absolutely nothing. The right has never forgiven that uppity Obama for being way more intelligent than their best “men.” I have no idea where Obama’s grades are and don’t really care but I doubt they would be able to read and understand them if he did publish them. As for Dubya, we just wanted to see proof he could read at a 6th grade level.

First off, “out of wedlock” is an extremely derogatory term.
I was a “single parent”.

I was threatened with damnation if I kept my own child, which
is pretty sick and twisted thing to say to someone. I was bullied by Mormons
and made to feel that I was selfish and less than for wanting to keep my “own
child”. This is their mantra, sadly. They also force young women to leave their
own home and live with strangers so they are hidden away. Kind of like what the
Catholic church did to young women in the 1950s – very sad and backwards. There
is ZERO guidance whatsoever, just “give up your baby”, that’s it. This was very
long ago but reading the woman’s story in this article, it all came rushing
back in. I was 18, btw and had a full-time job. My son turned out great and I
now have three wonderful grandchildren who are doing well – all are non-Mormons,
of course.

I ran very far away from that religion and never looked
back.

Laura, you are aware that until 1976 the LDS didn’t even allow Blacks/African-Americans into their Church/Ward.

Um.  He may have advised a single mother to put her child up for adoption 30 years ago?

This is a scandal why?  That’s what EVERYONE told single mothers 30 years ago.  That was still the days of going to stay with your aunt as you recovered from rheumatic fever, so you could have the baby out of town.  That was till the days of “they had to get married.”  Living together was still “advanced”.

Honest to God, guys, have you all lost your minds?  Or is it simply that no one on your staff is actually over 16?

Nothing unusual from a mormon. Freaks unlimitied comes to mind.

This was in 1983.  It’s very believable.

This is a pretty weak story…sorry.  I am no Mitt Romney fan but I don’t think this is a reason to smear his name.  I find it tough to believe he threatened to excommunicate her.  I will not vote for Romney.  I would consider Huntsman or Paul however.

Hi BooBoo Bear,

No, I am not aware of that, because what you said is not quite true.  From the time the LDS Church was founded in 1830, African Americans were always allowed to come to church.  There were a number of early LDS members who were African Americans (google Elijah Abel, for example).

I believe that what you are referring to is the fact that African American men were not allowed to be given the priesthood as other male members were until 1978. 

Throughout history, God has chosen (for His own reasons) to deny the priesthood or the gospel to certain people.  In the Old Testament, only those who were descendents from Aaron (the tribe of Levi) were given the priesthood.  In the New Testament, Jesus only taught the Jews, not the Gentiles.  After the Savior’s death, He authorized His servants Peter and the Apostles to take the gospel to the Gentiles.  We don’t always understand why God chooses to do the things He does, but we have faith that He is in charge.

I am grateful that all worthy male members of all races have been able to receive the priesthood in my church for the last 33 years.

Have a great day!

Hello again Montreux,

Thanks so much for your reply.  Again, I’m so sorry you had such a negative experience.  But again, I must say that I have never heard of anyone having the kind of experience you did…You said it was a long time ago, and now you have grandchildren…I am 37, so perhaps things have changed since you had your child.

I certainly did not mean to be derogatory when I referenced the words “out of wedlock”–I was not aware that this phrase was offensive.  I thought it was a fairly common description of someone who gets pregnant while not married.

Finally, I have never, never heard of any LDS member who was pregnant and unmarried (is that less offensive?) being told to hide away and live with strangers until the baby was born.

Obviously, you and I have different perspectives.  I appreciate hearing yours, and again, I’m so sorry that you had to endure what you did.  Simply put, the church you describe is not the church I have been a member of for 37 years.  I have attended the LDS Church in five different countries, and six different states, and I have not ever heard any stories like you, or the woman in the book, tell.

I’m glad to hear you and your child and grandchildren are doing well.

Sincerely,
Laura

I LOVE it I call Obama, Barry too!  Cause he came out and denied that he was ever to Mars… Now I believe he may well have been to Mars… Ya know that conspiracy theory that he was in the CIA and went to Mars and “Barry” was his name…

What sort of idiot thinks not going to a particular church means they can’t talk to God? If they didn’t want her as a member of their church, its their right as an organized group to ex-communicate her. I wish more organizations would kick out people that were going out of their way to do stupid, ungodly things. They are called sins because they make your life harder. Pregnant and cleaning out a basement? Right. Nice job using common sense and self-control, lady. If you are willing to get knocked up twice, but you still worry about God liking you, maybe you need to spend more time praying and less time having sex with a man that won’t marry you.

My son, who was raised by a single mom, grew up to be a US Marine and went to Iraq to protect you and your freedoms….

My freedom is not contingent on the latest use of the US Marines. We have gone to war 10 times more than we ever needed to. Hats off to the Marines but they are overused.

Living in Utah, and not being a member of the LDS church, is scares me to think what would happen if Romney became president.  As is stated in this article, not following the leadership of the church could potentially get you excommunicated.  I have seen it happen.  In addition, the president of the LDS church is considered the prophet of god by members.  As such, he could tell Romney what he knew God wanted, and Romney would have to follow to remain in the priesthood and int he church.

Now imagine Romney is President of the united States.  One day the president of the LDS church comes to him give him instructions, in the guile of being god’s prophet.  If this instruction was not in the nations interest, Romney would be in a position of choosing his faith over his responsibility tot he nation.  In nearly every aspect of a mormon’s life, their faith wins out due ot the consequences.  Why?  Their position is temporary, remaining a member of the church is part of their salvation.

To those of you who say this wouldn’t happen, live in Utah for a few years and follow politics.  The church has a heavy hand in Utah politics, and if something comes to the legislation that they do not agree with, they make it clear.  There have been times they have been so clear in this, that if the same actions had been taken by another church, they would lose their tax-exempt status for breaking the rules against making political stands form the pulpit.

It is real, and it is scary.  If Romney becomes president, he would still be a member of the LDS church, and therefore under the authority of the LDS president and church leadership.

For the record, to make it clear for those who have posted and would think otherwise.  I am a conservative, and republican, and I didn’t blame Obama for this.

Sorry but I have to call BS on this. I’m Mormon. The Church doesnt HAVE an adoption agency that I am aware of and Ive been LDS for close to a decade.

And no, I’m not a Romney supporter.