Can Mitt Romney Serve Two Masters?

This evening on CNN's "In the Arena" Tricia Erickson stridently argued that Mitt Romney was unfit to be President of the United States because of the covenants he had made in the Mormon Temple.

Ms. Erickson, a former Mormon, has written a book entitled Can Mitt Romney Serve Two Masters, and argues that Romney's Mormon beliefs are an issue far more serious and threatening than Kennedy's Catholic beliefs when he ran and became president. As a former member of the LDS Church, she claims to understand the indoctrination to which members are subjected, and the extreme loyalty to the Church they promise to maintain.

As of this writing, the video of her interview on "In the Arena" was not yet posted on CNN, however, CNN blog posting with essentially the same discussion is available on CNN.

To read the CNN blog posting, click here.

A Mormon Temple is not a place of public religious worship

A decision published today by the House of Lords (Gallagher (Valuation Officer) v Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), reaffirmed the decision issued in the case of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints v Henning (Valuation Officer) ([1964] AC 420), in which it was determined that for tax purposes, Mormon temples do not qualify as places of public religious worship in Great Britain. This is apparently because Mormon temples are open only to Mormons in good standing.

The decision clarified that this was not a case in which Mormons were taxed on account of their religion, rather it was that their religion prevented them from providing the public benefit necessary to secure a tax advantage.

To read the full story click here.