The candidacy of Mitt Romney for president of the United States has helped me to become more aware of a strange phenomenon that exists regarding religious faiths. That is that many "Christians" who profess that they have found Christ and accepted him as their personal Savior have decided that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS)- including of course me - are not "Christians." At first this was a little frustrating and bothersome. Research (informal as it usually is with me) has led me to believe that these so-called "Christians" have simply co opted the word "Christian" for their own narrow purpose. Kind of like homosexuals who have decided that they are "Gay" and that word that once had such a happy and carefree connotation now only refers to members of that sexual persuasion.

To me, a Christian is simply a person who believes in the divinity of Jesus Christ, in other words that He is truly the Son of God. To some, the term "Christian" includes only those people who follow the teachings of certain preachers and pastors in a variety of interwoven but specific Christian faiths. These "pastors" or "preachers" have "felt the call" to serve. Having now "felt" or "experienced" the "call" they now feel free to decide what should or should not be adopted as doctrine for those who follow them. Of course they get together from time to time in ecumenical meetings or councils and adjust their beliefs and doctrines so as to be in line with the general and accepted "Christian" belief. A large number of them have decided and preach that the LDS Church, its teachings and its members are well outside of the accepted sphere of "Christianity" as they have defined it. Interesting and unfortunate.

I think the candidacy of Mitt Romney who is a very active member of the LDS Church has helped explode that myth. I and most other LDS Church members believe that it is a little absurd that we who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and who have as our first Article of Faith, "We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in his Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost" should not be able to refer to ourselves as Christians. We are Christians in every logical sense of the word.

I think the key to all of this is Priesthood authority. Before I go on, let me emphatically state that this is not an attack on anyone's faith. Fortunately (and correctly I believe) the LDS Church does not attack the faith of others. One of God's greatest and most important gifts to His children is free agency.

By way of analogy, I am a policeman. I have been given the authority by the duly constituted governments of the City of Los Angeles and the State of California to perform certain duties - some of them pretty significant - in order to preserve the peace in the communities within which I work. I have been given a badge (authority) and a uniform so that most people recognize that authority. From time to time, bad people decide to impersonate police officers in order to accomplish their own purposes. Some of these people are evil and greedy. Others just think they have a better way of doing things. Either way, the results are chaotic.

When Joseph Smith was a young man, he wanted to know what God wanted him to do. He apparently had no desire to form a church. He simply wanted to know which church was the right church so he could join it. There were many churches in his neighborhood and they contested one with another to get people to join. Joseph's own version of what happened:

"While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible."

Joseph prayed and his prayer was answered in a very memorable way. He asked which church he should join and was told to join none of them. They were all wrong.

Well, I have written a lot and I'm getting in deeper and deeper, so I'll try to extricate myself in as few words as possible. Joseph also received instruction about the Priesthood which is not a group of people but the divinely given authority to act for God in building His Kingdom in the earth.

The following excerpt from the 121st Section of the Doctrine and Covenants contains some very deep explanations about the Priesthood.

34 Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?
35 Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson—
36 That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.
37 That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.
38 Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God.
39 We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.
40 Hence many are called, but few are chosen.
41 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;
42 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—
43 reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;
44 That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.
45 Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distill upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.
46 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.

Last night I went to a Stake General Priesthood Meeting with one of my sons, Jacob. I was thinking during that meeting that we who were there had our uniforms (white shirts and ties) and our authority (The Priesthood of God). When you have that, there is much less chaos... kind of like having a good police department but better. Much, much better.