John Leland, Joseph Smith, and 21st Century Presidential Aspirations

Over two centuries after the Baptist-infused First Amendment became the law of the land, the United States seems unable to move beyond public religious tests of presidential candidates. Otherwise level-headed Baptists fell into this trap in the twentieth century, opposing Roman Catholic presidential candidates solely on the grounds of the candidate’s faith.

Early Baptists knew better. In 1794, some three decades before a treasure-seeker named Joseph Smith claimed a revelation from God in the form of golden plates, the famed Baptist evangelist John Leland, echoing American Baptist founder Roger Williams, declared that it makes no difference in the public or political sphere “if a man worships one God, three Gods, twenty Gods, or no God.”

In the early decades of the American nation, to the chagrin of many Christians, several Deists were elected to the presidency. Today, Mormonism is under political scrutiny as twice-presidential candidate Mitt Romney is berated by many Christians for his Mormon (Latter Day Saints) faith, a religion frequently referred to by some Christians as a “cult.” In response to these charges, Latter Day Saints officials openly affirm that Mormonism is not orthodox Christianity and that Mormon doctrine is, instead, grounded in “biblical teachings as confirmed by the witness of the Prophet Joseph Smith.”

Historically, enmity between Christians and Mormons has existed since Mormon founder Joseph Smith declared Christianity to be “an abomination in his [God’s] sight; that those professors [Christian believers] were all corrupt; that: ‘they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Joseph Smith, History, 1:19) Because Christianity was false, God instructed Smith to restore the true church. Contemporary Mormons affirm these declarations of Joseph Smith as “divine teaching.” In order to be considered a full-fledged (temple-worthy) Mormon, one must personally embrace Joseph Smith’s revelation of the apostasy of Christianity and hold to the exclusive truthfulness of the Mormon faith (of the latter, some Baptists have historically been guilty of claiming the Baptist faith as the one truth faith). Mormonism’s claim to exclusive truth is manifested in the ordinance of baptism for the dead (one of two temple rites, the other being eternal marriage) performed on behalf of non-Mormons (or “Gentiles”) as the only way non-Latter Day Saints can obtain salvation. (In recent years, the Roman Catholic Church has criticized the Mormon practice of baptism for the dead.)

A further source of friction between the two faiths is the Mormon belief in henotheism, a form of polytheism that is characterized by the worship of one God among many recognized Gods. In Mormon theology, faithful adherents are Gods-in-the-making. “Men and women who are faithful in receiving the necessary ordinances, keeping their covenants, and obeying God’s commands will enter into their exaltation and become as God.” (“The Guide to the Scriptures: Godhood, Man”) This doctrine of Mormon theology is called Exaltation, defined as “eternal life—the kind of life God lives. Heavenly Father’s plan enables his children to return to live with Him forever as exalted beings, ultimately becoming gods.”

Yet, as John Leland and other Baptists of yesteryear would say – “so what?” Whether Mormonism is a cult (as Baptists were once considered by many) or not, or the declarations of Joseph Smith are true (or not), should be irrelevant in American politics. The United States is a secular nation founded upon the separation of church and state, our laws making no distinction between monotheists, polytheists, and atheists. Thus, the personal faith of any given presidential contender is a non-issue.

What was a concern to Baptists of old, and should be a concern of all Americans today, is whether or not a given candidate is committed to the separation of church and state. Tragically, though, many candidates today are pressed by the Religious Right to deny church state separation or, at the least, to castrate the concept by advocating government favoritism of a particular faith. The platform of the Texas Republican Party, for example, declares: “We pledge our influence … toward dispelling the myth of separation of church and state.”

Some two centuries ago, Baptists rejoiced in the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, a man considered by many other Christians as an atheist (he was more properly a Deist), because Jefferson was their staunch ally in church state separation. Today’s Baptists can – as citizens – best serve their country by remaining true to their four-century heritage of church state separation.