The Mormon in Mitt

 

 By Jon Meacham Monday, Oct. 08, 2012

Romney and his wife Ann leave the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints near their lake house in Wolfeboro, N.H.

Brian Snyder/Reuters

 

On the eve of America's bicentennial in 1976, a leading authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rose to speak at the Mormons' biannual General Conference in Salt Lake City. "Can we maintain our basic freedoms, peace and prosperity for another 200 years?" he asked, rhetorically, before continuing, "The answer to this question is yes, if we shall individually repent and conform to the laws of the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ."

The sermon that followed was titled "America's Destiny." Its preacher was Marion G. Romney, a member of the Mormon elite and cousin of former Michigan governor George Romney and of Mitt Romney. The Salt Lake address and a follow-up speech the next spring at Brigham Young University neatly captured the Mormon vision of America's special role in sacred and secular history--a vision that greatly expands the traditional Protestant view of America as a new promised land.

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