As a Southern Baptist Pastor who vehemently disagrees with a substantial majority of the theological views and religious practices of Mormonism as a whole, I have to admit that I have become particularly fond of practicing Mormons over the past few years. As a former resident of the great state of Idaho which is predominantly Mormon I have to admit that the people of the LDS church have always impressed me for their kindness and overall decency. Even Mormon missionaries who have knocked on my door (much to my chagrin) before have always been polite and respectful young men and women. But today I have an additional reason to respect the Mormon people; their active role in support of California's constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage which passed on Nov.4th. As a social conservative I have always recognized that Mormons have a lot in common with Evangelical Christians.

During the primaries I voted for Huckabee because I liked his ideas and he is after all, like me, a  fellow Baptist (a preacher at one time) but I also liked Mitt Romney. Now I would have gladly voted for Romney because I agree with him on most issues as a conservative but of course he did not win the GOP nomination. But what troubled me during the primaries was that many evangelicals said that they would not vote for Romney because he was a Mormon and my response is WHAT? What a short-sighted and ridiculous view. If the Christian right isn’t careful it might alienate itself within its own party. Evangelicals should unite with Mormons to move the agenda of this country towards socially conservative policies. The powerful influence of the LDS church in the passing of prop 8 in liberal California should be taken note of by those who value traditional conservative social values. I

If the GOP is to remain a viable force on the national scene the religious right must figure out how to unify with those who share their values. If the GOP wants to become a formidable force for years to come going forward it needs to figure out how to unify Evangelicals, Catholics, Mormons, and Hispanics, who tend to be socially conservative, into a united coalition of values driven voters. But this can only happen if each group learns to table theological and religious issues for the sake of political expediency. It is not necessary to change ones views about God and religion but it is essential that social conservatives table their theological differences when looking forward to the political future of our republic. These socially conservative values driven voters have more influence than most people realize but they must be galvanized and mobilized in order to move the cause of social conservatives forward.

After Romney lost the nomination I watched as Mormons lashed out in anger against evangelicals who wouldn't vote for Romney because he is a Mormon. Of all the stupid things I have seen Evangelicals and Republicans do over the years this was one of the most foolish I have ever seen. Values driven voters need to realize that those who are for their cause aren't against it and need to be mature enough to separate religious views from political goals. If the party can figure out how to cobble these groups together going forward the Democratic party will be at a huge disadvantage for years to come but the leadership of the GOP and the religious right need to work together to make this happen. We have to much at stake to squabble over important but irrelevant issues. I say lets work together to make America the kind of place we think it ought to be. Let's promote a culture of life, lets fight the subversive influence of the gay mafia in our country, and lets insist that traditional values are protected in America, and lets learn how to work with those who share our values even if they don't share our faith, because I a not scared to say "I Love Mormon's".

See this story regarding protests of Prop 8 : http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,447744,00.html