Mormons in the Electoral Game

It is the fastest growing religion in the world. In the United States, there are about 6 million Mormons, a third of which are in Utah, a semi-desert state in the west of the country. As imposing as its temples are, where no one can enter if not baptized, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints took another step in its quest, moving from its century-old persecuted status to that of “minority respected by the powerful”; one of their own has been selected for inclusion in the race for the White House.

Top French official Alain Gillette found himself by chance in Salt Lake City, home of the Mormons, as an exchange student on scholarship from 1963-1964. Since then, he has never stopped being interested in the church founded by Joseph Smith, a 15-year-old farmer to whom God appeared in 1820 in the state of New York. In 1969, Mr. Gillette was received by George Romney, the father of the candidate, then secretary of housing and urban development. In the last half-century, he says, the church has modernized. But it has not gone through an aggiornamento. It has accumulated temples; it has transformed its logo so that the name Jesus Christ is in capitals. But basically, it has never really changed.

Mormons call themselves Christians, but 97 percent do not have the same sense of the trinity of father-son-holy spirit. They think of them as three distinct people. They believe in a “heavenly mother” called God the mother and believe that one of their missions on Earth is to save the souls of the dead. They believe that the Book of Mormon was given to Joseph Smith on tablets of gold.

Joseph Smith’s successors are considered prophets and continue to receive revelations. The church renounced polygamy in 1890 but estimates still report some 30,000 to 50,000 Mormons practice it, often in parallel sects. The faithful have kept the psychosis of revocation and exclusion, left over from their historical exile to the West and to Mexico. They still maintain three months to one year of survival supplies.

Alain Gillette describes a “theoretical/technological structure that is rich, powerful, oiled, efficient.” It is a close-knit community and social control affects many aspects of privacy. During the Sunday service, the faithful are engaged in confessions or public sessions of self-criticism. To enter the temple, one needs a certificate of good conduct and to be up to date on tithe payments. The faithful must abstain from alcohol, tea and coffee, and wear liturgical underwear which is supposed to protect against “any physical or mental harm.”

The Mormon Church, which always has 55,000 missionaries around the world, is run like a multinational. For the faithful, financial success goes hand in hand with faith. The church has purchased hundreds of domain names and websites to counter critics. The church of Salt Lake City is patriarchal. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, 58 percent of Mormons say that the ideal marriage is one where the woman stays at home (compared to 30 percent of the general population).

This helps to understand the reluctance of women to accept the candidacy of Mitt Romney.