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Texas pastor says Mitt Romney belongs to a Mormon cult

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Updated: 10/09/2011 10:48 pm | Published: 10/07/2011 10:32 pm

Reported by: Jonelle Merrill

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) – Pastor Robert Jeffress of The First Baptist Church of Dallas said Mitt Romney, who is Mormon, is not Christian. And that Christians should not vote for him.

His comments are causing an uproar at the National Summit of Social Conservatives in Washington D.C.

He was there to introduce Texas Governor Rick Perry who many see as Romney’s chief rival in the race for the GOP nomination.

The pastor not only took a swipe at Romney, but millions of Mormons as well.

“Do we prefer somebody who is truly a believer in Jesus Christ? Or somebody who is a good moral person, but he’s part of a cult,” said Jeffress.

“I, myself, being one (Mormon), believe very strongly that Jesus Christ is my savior and that he truly is the son of God,” said LDS member Paul Jensen.

“It's not a cult. We don't have horns. We don't have several wives. So, let's get past that,” said Jennifer Jensen.

At the D.C. Convention Friday, Jeffress couldn’t have been more clear over his take on Mormons.

“Oh absolutely. And that's not some fanatical comment that's been the historic position of evangelical Christianity,” Jeffries told CNN.

Jeffress called all Mormons non-Christian.

“The Southern Baptist convention which is the largest protestant denomination in the world, has officially labeled Mormonism as a cult,” said Jeffress.

It took ABC 4 a matter of minutes to find members of the LDS Church contradicting Jeffress beliefs.

“It's not true. He's just not educated,” said LDS member Linda Morison.

“We have Christian beliefs. We believe in Jesus Christ. He is the center and focal point of our lives,” said Jennifer Jensen.

Jeffress claims that, unlike Mormons, Rick Perry is the ture Republican, Christian leader.

“It's not politically correct to say, but it's true. Mormonism is a cult,” said Jeffress.

Jeffress says this is what he believes because Perry puts Jesus Christ at the center of his religion.

“So do Mormons. They do. God the father and his son, Jesus Christ,” said Morison on the brink of tears.

But, the LDS members ABC 4 spoke to said they didn’t feel attacked, they just hope people take the time to figure out the LDS faith for themselves.

“So, I think a little more education, a little more outreach to educate them would help,” said LDS member Liz Ence.

“Let's just stay focused on the name of the church. It's the name of the person who leads it,” said Jennifer Jensen.

This isn’t the first time Jeffress has attacked the Mormon faith. He said similar comments about Romney during the 2008 Presidential campaign.

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allsagacity - 10/11/2011 6:23 PM

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@CA Native: Confessing you are a sinner and asking God to forgive you IS a work. And if "Works are like filthy rags unto the Lord" then why would He give us commandments? Everything Christ did was work... And what was his command? "Come follow me." The Pharacies condemned Christ for performing good works on the Sabbath. Are you going to throw in your lot with those "knowledgeable theologians of the time"?

allsagacity - 10/11/2011 6:22 PM

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allsagacity - 10/11/2011 6:18 PM

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@ CA Natice... Confessing that you are a sinner and asking for God to forgive you IS a work. If "works are like filthy rags to the Lord" then why would He have commandments?

sweet29 - 10/10/2011 11:36 AM

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@CA Native..You are correct. We cannot get into heaven without repenting of our sins. But isn't that work on your part? After reading James 2:17-20 I pose this question: Can you really have faith without works? The bible tells me No. I believe Christ did die on that cross for me. Since he did that for me, my thoughts lead me to action, I try to do good works for him. My works will never be good enough. That is why Christ died for me and is my Savior.

emstisme - 10/8/2011 10:15 PM

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@CA Native... get this, @Emmitta is married to a teacher. ROFL! Somebody needs to get some homeschooling from their spouse.

CA Native - 10/8/2011 9:01 PM

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works will NEVER get you to heaven. Confessing you are a sinner, asking for God to forgive you and asking Him to come into your heart... Works are like filthy rags unto the Lord. He paid the price when he gave Himself to the cross - how can you work for that? It was His gift to us. You don't work for a gift - if you try, it nullifies that gift.

Jan Riley - 10/8/2011 8:20 PM

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Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints claim to believe in, worship, and most importantly to God, follow the teachings of Jesus Christ....that would be the one born in a manger to Mary, the one who is the Son of God, the one who is the only Begotten, the one who died on the cross of Gogatha, the one who has 12 apostles while he was on the earth, the one who was resurrected and appeared to Mary...that one. If you check your bible you will note that God is not particularly interested in your opinion of just who His followers really are. He is quite aware of who His followers are, regardless of christianity's creedal definitions from the Westminster Confession of Faith, written by a couple of nice guys in 1665, not prophets or apostles, creeds which completely constrict all christian interpretation to this day. No, God has made it pretty clear: 1 John 2:3-5: "You can know if you know God, if you keep his commandments." That, folks, defines whether you are a christian in God's eyes, or not. The latter day definition of a christian, according to the man-made creeds of latter day pastors and latter day christianity, could not be more irrelevant, both to God and to the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, who love Him and therefore follow Him. If Mitt Romney is not a christian, proven by the life he has lived (which is all that matters), then who is? The question we should all ask ourselves is this: will there be enough evidence in our life to prove to God that we were His true followers, when we stand before Him to be judged of our works? From all evidence..Mitt Romney is sitting pretty in that regard.

CA Native - 10/8/2011 7:31 PM

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Emmitta, I tried reading what you posted - have you ever gone to school and if you did, did you learn to speak, write and understand the English language. Cults follow without asking questions - Jim Jones comes to mind. Polygamy - Joseph Smith said God told him this was from him, so Mormons followed - the State of Utah wants to become a State so there is another revelation and polygamy is wrong. Blacks were unworthy then there are temples built where blacks are the majority and waaalaaa, get another revelation blacks are worthy, no one questions. LDS church has been changing to become more mainstream Christian...you are not suppose to question LDS authority and women are dependent on their husbands to go to their heaven....CULT, yes but as I said, there are many LDS who are good people and do good things. Sure we all have freedom to believe as we want and to respect that person's choice but when someone calls this religion a cult, they have hit the nail on the head..can a Mormon run this country??...if they are the right person and the people vote him/her in, fine, as long as he is the one running the country and not calling church headquarters when decisions need to be made. State of Utah politicians doesn't seem to be able to make decisions without getting church headquarters involved. It would be a refreshing change to make decisions without involving the LDS church.

NetScanr - 10/8/2011 7:27 PM

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Let's remember and enjoy the proclamation by Joseph Smith & Brigham Young (prophets 1 & 2) back in 1892 of their absolute certainty that Earth's moon and sun were indeed inhabited. Only true prophets would have such knowledge! It sure beats anything Jesus professed! URL to photograph of LDS publication bearing this great revelation: http://www.challengemin.org/moon.html

NetScanr - 10/8/2011 2:07 PM

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I was stationed at Hill AFB 91-94. I remember when all the local 'news' was abuzz about the LDS president/prophet (profit?) of the time had a REVELATION from ONE of their 'gods'! He declared it was now ok for devout mormons to drink Coke or Pepsi. I don't recall which the church had recently bought significant shares of, and it certainly wasn't part of the then profit's 'revelation', but it was just a miracle when that happened! I remember my legs trembling as I was standing over my ironing-board working on my uniform!

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