A test of tolerance

Triangle Mormons know Romney's dilemma

Gay West knows what presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is going through.

Ever since she was a girl, West has had to endure misconceptions about being a Mormon. She has lost count of how many times she or her five children have been asked whether they practice polygamy, a behavior banned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than 100 years.

"We're really not weird," said West, 50, of Garner. "We're just as normal as blueberry pie."

For West and other Mormons in the Triangle, Romney's speech today on religious tolerance is a theme they know all too well. They say it's not just presidential candidates who must defend the faith, especially in North Carolina, where Baptists and other old-line denominations dominate.

A poll conducted in August by the Pew Research Center for People and the Press found that 51 percent of the public has little or no awareness of the precepts and practices of Mormonism.

The 19th-century movement sees itself as a restoration of the true Christian church and views Jesus as central to its beliefs. Mormons believe marriages performed in the temple are sealed in the life to come. And although members long ago stopped practicing polygamy, the perception that they still do so persists.

In the Pew poll, when asked to describe their impression of the faith in a single word, people more often offered a negative word than a positive one, with descriptions such as "polygamy," "bigamy" or "cult" most often cited.

Among white evangelicals who attend services weekly, 52 percent of those surveyed in the Pew poll said they don't believe Mormons are Christians.

Given his need to do well among Republican primary voters in the first contests early next year, Romney has concluded he must quell concerns about his religion. Commentators are comparing Romney's address with John F. Kennedy's 1960 speech to Protestant ministers in Houston. In that speech, Kennedy declared that his Catholicism would not affect his judgment as president.

Romney will likely try to convince voters that Mormon values are compatible with those of evangelical Christians.

Although Romney shares with evangelicals the same convictions on abortion, same-sex marriage and the significance of the traditional family, many evangelicals view his faith as something akin to a cult. To many Mormons in the Triangle, the question of whether they are Christian is the most hurtful of all.

"I tell people the official name of the church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," said Jennifer Despain, 42, of Cary.

Jenae Bethers, also of Cary, said that when people ask her that question she quotes Matthew 7:20, referencing her Christian acts: "By their fruits, ye shall know them."

Mormons don't deny that some of their beliefs differ from those of mainstream Christians. For West, that started when she was a girl and had to explain that she couldn't drink Coke or Pepsi, because those drinks include caffeine, which members of her church avoid.

As an adult, she and other Mormons are often asked whether they worship Joseph Smith, the founder of the faith, and whether the Book of Mormon has replaced the Bible. The answer to both is no.

Which beliefs odd?

Laurie Maffly-Kipp, a professor of religious studies at UNC Chapel Hill who teaches about Mormonism, said her students are often willing to question core beliefs of Latter-day Saints without stopping to ask how odd their own beliefs might sound to others. For example, students say they don't know how anyone can believe that Mormon founder Smith found a set of golden plates written in an ancient Egyptian language near Palmyra, N.Y.

"How much crazier is it to believe that someone died and three days later rose from the dead?" Maffly-Kipp responds.

Mormons said not everyone has negative opinions of their faith. Cory Johnson of Apex said his two degrees from Brigham Young University in Utah impressed his employer, Tekelec, a network applications company in Morrisville. Johnson's bosses told him the mostly Mormon school has a reputation for producing graduates with strong ethics and personal integrity. In addition, many Americans consider Mormons dedicated family members who emphasize healthy living and hard work.

That goes to the heart of the problem. Many people perceive Mormons through a stereotype -- clean and righteous on the one hand but heretical in their beliefs on the other. In fact, Mormons aren't monolithic. Their opinions vary, and their religion encourages them to develop an individual conscience. Just ask them whom they're going to vote for.

"Just because [Romney] is a Mormon doesn't mean I'll vote for him," said Despain of Cary. "I'll vote for someone I feel will govern in a way that's appropriate."