Mormons -- No Fire and Brimstone Preachers

With Mitt Romney running for President, Mormons are in the news daily. We get to find out what others think of us. Conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg says Mitt Romney "... seems more like a super-helpful manager at a rental car company than a fire-and-brimstone preacher." It was one of his criticisms. It seems like a good quality. Who doesn't appreciate a super-helpful manager? Who wants a fire-and-brimstone preacher? According to "Pollyanna", that's synonymous with Sunday sour stomach.

Unlike preachers like Billy Graham or Pat Robertson, Mormon leaders don't preach; they talk. Mormons don't have a paid clergy; bishops and stake presidents have other jobs to support their families. They may serve as a bishop for three years, a stake president for ten years, and then serve in the Primary, teaching kids, or in the nursery, babysitting two year olds.

There's no theological school where Mormons are taught to become orators. Mormons don't give sermons--they give talks. In fact, all members from age three and up give a talk about once a year. There's no clapping in a Mormon Chapel. It is quiet after members speak. We don't give fire-and-brimstone sermons. Frankly, that sort of thing would give me "sour stomach" too.

What would Jonah Goldberg say if Romney preached hell-fire and damnation?

Here's two examples -- A Mormon talk and an Evangelical Preacher --