My response to the Rick and Bubba Show - Dec. 5, 2007

Dear Rick and Bubba,

I have been a long time listener, over 13 years, to your show. I have never been disappointed in the show until yesterday, December 5, 2007. You have been long-time supporters of the Bush administration, which I have enjoyed. You seem to be upstanding citizens and Christians who try to live faithfully. Yesterday you had a Mr. James Walker on your show. This is a man who left the LDS Church back in 1976 and has been working fervently since to debunk The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Now that is all well and good. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and if Mr. Walker feels that the Church is wrong and wants to tell everyone about it, that’s his prerogative. I have to tell you, just because his family before him had been members of the Church for four generations does not qualify Mr. Walker to be a spokesman for the church. He left the Church at the age of 21 and has been discrediting it ever since. He is hardly credentialed to explain what members of the LDS Church teach and believe. Like all other detractors, he has taken quotes and teachings of church leaders out of context and presented them in a way that is not accurate or true. I understand that he contacted you, but if you really want to make the community aware of what is taught and practiced by the LDS Church, there are people in the Church, such as bishops, stake presidents, and even PR people that would be in a better position to explain and answer questions. The thing that really bothers me is you have an ex-Mormon on your show, and then the callers that get on the air are other ex-Mormons and those that aren’t exactly the most well-versed members. The Church has nothing to hide, and is not trying to obscure its teachings or practices. Go to the source. I could give you contact information for people you might want to talk to in order to get a better understanding, for yourself and the community.

The whole point of my writing is not the above paragraph, although I really feel you have failed the public by only having the opinions of outsiders and no facts from the source. No, the reason I am writing is out of a concern for the welfare of our country. The 6^th Article of the Constitution of the United States declares, “…no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” And yet this is what is happening in this election, and on your show. The entire interview with Mr. Walker was under the premise that people need to know what Mormons believe before voting for Mitt Romney. Strangely, former Baptist minister Mike Huckabee has ads in Iowa that state he is a “Christian Leader”, obviously declaring he has won such a religious test while implying that Mitt Romney has lost this test because he is a Mormon. Need I remind you that such a campaign and religious test got us a Jimmy Carter as President. I don’t think I need to expound further on that point. This line of thinking is the same as Hillary Clinton saying women should vote for her because she is a woman (which she has done), or blacks should vote for Barack Obama because he is black. None of these are qualifications or ultimate reasons why one should vote for any of these candidates. I maintain that the church a person belongs to has absolutely no bearing on his ability to perform the duties of the office of President of the United States. Rather, look at the man’s leadership experience, his voting record, his values, his foreign policy, but not his religious affiliation. What Mitt Romney believes about the ultimate destination of his soul has absolutely no bearing on the decisions he will make when we are faced with a national emergency or healthcare reform or raising or lowering taxes. Did John F. Kennedy force his Catholicism on the USA? Did he bring the influence of the Vatican into his Presidency? Did he consult the Pope on matters of war or foreign policy? What makes anyone think that Mitt Romney will be taking orders from Salt Lake City? I think there would be serious repercussions for him if he took such actions and do not think for one moment that such will be the case.

Let’s look at Mitt Romney’s accomplishments. He has taken businesses that were near bankruptcy, turned them around and now they are among the most profitable businesses. When the 2002 Winter Olympics were severely in debt and on the brink of ruin, Mitt Romney was called on to turn it around. The 2002 games were one of the most successful in history. As governor of Massachusetts he took a state that was billions of dollars in debt and in four years balanced the budget and now the state enjoys a huge surplus. I might add he did this while lowering taxes and cutting costs. As governor, he fought against abortion and same-sex marriage. He instituted a plan whereby all Massachusetts citizens have affordable healthcare (no tax raising for that one either). As Romney has pointed out, the United States government is one of the biggest enterprises in the world. He has the experience and the knowledge that will enable him to get us out of debt and strengthen our economy. He knows how jobs are created and how to build the economy. Mitt Romney has been married faithfully for over 35 years. He has children and grandchildren who love and support him. Looking for someone with good family values? No divorces, no cheating, loves and spends time with his family. This is the man who will fight for stronger families. I’m not voting for Mitt because he is a member of the LDS Church. My mind is made up because of his record, policies, and values. To make my point, Harry Reid is the Democratic Senate Majority leader at this time. He is also a Mormon. I wouldn’t vote for him in a million years. His policies and record and values do not match those I am looking for.

Let’s now look at our theology degree Baptist minister. As governor of Arkansas, he raised taxes repeatedly. There wasn’t a tax he didn’t like. He increased spending from $6 million to $16 million. Tax and spend, sounds like a Democrat policy. He fought to spend Arkansas citizens’ tax dollars on giving scholarships to the children of illegal immigrants. Think about that. Illegal immigrants would have gotten better benefits than would the children of United States citizens. Do you think that would continue? Furthermore, when asked about his limited (nonexistent) experience in foreign policy, Huckabee only joked, “And the ultimate thing is, you know, I may not be the expert as some people on foreign policy – but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.” (WABC Radio, 12/04/07) This is not a joking matter. Is this really the man you want running our country? I mean, he does have a theology degree after all. This surely qualifies him to know what to do about radical Jihadism…maybe not. You must be aware that Huckabee has absolutely no chance of winning the Republican nomination for president. Sure, he can rally the evangelicals, but he’ll never gain support of fiscal conservatives. His record proves he cannot be trusted with our money. A vote for him is a vote for Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani’s pro-abortion and pro-same-sex-union stances are just like most of the Democrats’ positions. We might as well be voting Democrat.

On the other hand, we could vote for Mitt Romney who is a proven social and fiscal conservative. He can unite the Republican base, and he can win the Presidency. He has earned the endorsements of such evangelical leaders as Bob Jones III and Robert R. Taylor, pro-life leaders such as James Bopp, Jr., and important social and religious conservative leader Paul M. Weyrich, among others.

One more thing I want to touch on. Rick, you made a comment that I have heard over and over and over in my life. When talking to one woman who is a member of the LDS Church, you brought up a scripture in an effort to discredit the Book of Mormon. Of course you know that I am referring to Revelation 22:18-19. This is the standard Baptist answer to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. This is also the most ignorant use of Bible of which I know. Some facts:

• Most Biblical scholars agree that John wrote Revelation 10-25 years before he wrote his Gospel.
• The Bible wasn’t compiled in its current form until nearly 370AD.
• It was common practice for prophets to add a warning about adding to, taking away, or changing their writings (see Deuteronomy 4:2).
  

In light of this information, the Bible as we have it today did not exist when John wrote Revelation. Those verses related to his revelation which he was writing at the time, and not to the Bible as a whole. Honestly, Rick, for someone who studies the Bible so much, or claims to, all you know is a few verses in the Bible. Like many “ministers”, you know the verses but you have absolutely no idea of the background, where it came from, or how we got it in its present form today. These things are relevant, and like all Protestants before you, your argument has no relevance or credibility. Get your facts straight and don’t use scriptures in an attempt to nullify the credibility of a religion other than your own.

Lastly, as you can probably tell, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I want you to know my feelings about my Savior. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior, the literal Son of the Living God. I know that nearly 2000 years ago, he was born of a virgin in Bethlehem. He grew to the stature of a man, and at the age of 30 began his public ministry. I know that His words, teachings, and works lay out the path to salvation and eternal life. The Jesus I worship is the Jesus from the Bible, and none other. I know that he suffered, bled, and died for my sins. Through his atonement, I know that I can be saved. There is nothing in this world that I can do of myself to bring salvation to my soul. It is only through the grace, merits, and mercy of Him that I am saved, on condition of full repentance of my sins. I do make mistakes, but as I repent and strive to live His teachings, I know that His mercy and grace are sufficient for salvation. This is my testimony, that He lives and loves me and loves each and every individual.

Sincerely,
Joshua LaDeau
Trussville, Alabama

Faith in America - Speech by Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney's Speech

Quoted from Charles Mitchell, blogger on www.EvangelicalsForMitt.com. concerning Mitt Romney's speech to be given today.

"Honestly, I'd like to see the speech reflect a distinction I think we've talked about, but not necessarily called out, and that's the difference between a spiritual leader and a moral leader. As we say all the time, the 2008 election is for president, not pastor. And it's a mistake to think the president is a spiritual leader -- indeed, some of our greatest presidents, such as Thomas Jefferson, had distinctly un-Christian theologies, and some of our worst, namely Jimmy Carter, were undoubtedly evangelicals.

But I think you can accept all that and still say that the president should be a moral leader. Meaning, you shouldn't be looking to him for theological discourses and advice, but he should have good values that are worthy of emulating and he should be living them out. And so I think Governor Romney's speech should be about the values his faith -- however wrong its doctrine may be -- gives him. I think they are the same values conservative evangelicals espouse -- and, candidly, I think he also does a better job living them out than most of us. I also think he deserves great credit for seeking -- as he said in his FRC speech -- to use the presidency as a "bully pulpit" for messages like the sanctity of life and the need for parents to stay together.

Honestly, it's been a long time since we've had someone like that in the Oval Office. President Bush's values are wonderful, but he doesn't really do the whole bully pulpit thing -- and we all know the eight years of debauchery that preceded him. If Governor Romney can send a message to conservative evangelicals tomorrow, though, that as president he would be a moral leader based on the values that most American share -- not "the Mormon president," based narrowly on some doctrine few people share -- I think the day will be a huge win, politically speaking. And, more importantly, it will be a day in which he sets out a way to unify people around shared values -- not divide them through an overtly sectarian campaign, as at least one other candidate is apparently seeking to do."

Roll Tide anyway...

I can't say that I really expected a perfect season this year. With new head coach Nick Saban, I knew there would be a spark and improvement this year. And I can honestly say there has been improvement, although the final record of the regular season is the same as last year and we lost the last four games like we did last year. Once again the Iron Bowl has eluded us. 6 years is a long drought, but it hasn't been 9 years - the longest streak Alabama has on record in the Iron Bowl. We're going to lose some great talent in some of our departing seniors, but the talent that is up and coming, not to mention the outstanding recruits lined up by Coach Saban, gives hope for the next several years. I said at the beginning of this season that we'd win some games we weren't supposed to win (Arkansas, blowout of Tennessee). We also lost some I never in a million years thought we'd lose (UL Monroe). But at the end of the day, it's like Saban has been talking about. It's not immediately winning championships, it's creating a process of winning. It's getting back a winning culture. I sincerely believe we will be in national championship contention in a few years. Now that we're not on probation, we can use the scholarships as we need to bring in players who can become a national championship team. While I'm talking about recruiting, let me say this: At the beginning of the year, Les Miles started talking about his LSU team was his team (with the departure of Jimbo Fisher to FSU). Well, he conveniently forgot that 17 of his seniors were recruits of a man named Nick Saban. 17 seniors without which, LSU wouldn't have had a hope or prayer of being in national championship contention. I'm so glad that Arkansas beat them and they now have no shot at it. I also want to go on record to say that Les Miles will never beat Nick Saban again!!! Mark my words!!!!!! Truth be known, if the referees didn't call back that 41 yard pass, Alabama would have won the game. That call reversal, which was totally wrong - it was clear as day that it was a definite catch - changed the whole game. Now, Miles may go on and take the Michigan job. Personally I hope he doesn't. I want to see Alabama crush LSU like a cockroach next year with Les Miles at the helm. He doesn't have the recruiting power that Saban has, and he will never have the talent he now has again. That being said, tough year this year, Alabama has a lot of growing and building to do. Next year is going to be different. ROLL TIDE!!!!

Barry Bonds...

You know, everyone needs to back off Barry Bonds. We have this thing in the U.S. called "innocent until proven guilty." And yet, all these folks just assuming he's guilty of using steroids and lying about it. He's never been proven guilty. In fact, he's never tested positive for steroids. You know, I really don't know if he's used steroids or not. He says he never knowingly used steroids. How can anyone prove otherwise?? What ticks me off is Mark McGwire and others under oath denied using, so why aren't they being indicted as well?? Why is it only Bonds who is being called to question? Maybe it's race, I doubt it. So what if he's not good with the media? That's no reason to take away his record. I'm not particularly a huge Barry Bonds fan, but leave the guy alone. He's devoted his entire life to the game of baseball. How can people take that away from him? How can they blot his record and his name from the books?? I don't get it. Like I said, he NEVER tested positive for steroids. There's absolutely no proof he's knowingly used them. Give him some peace and let him enjoy playing the game. I hope he continues and keeps knocking them out of the ballpark and adding to his homerun record.

Happy Birthday Jill!!

Can't believe my baby sister is 23!! Sometimes I wish I was 23 again. I was in much better shape back then. Hope you had a great birthday. Love you!!!

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Senator Judd Gregg Endorses Mitt Romney

Senator Judd Gregg
R-New Hampshire

Another great one from Dad!!

Health Care

Japanese doctor says, "Medicine in my country is so advanced that we can take a kidney out of one man, put it in another, and have him out looking for work in six weeks."

A German doctor says, "That is nothing. We can take a lung out of one person, put it in another, and have him out looking for work in four weeks."

A British doctor says, "In my country medicine is so advanced that we can take half a heart out of one person, put it in another, and have both of them out looking for work in two weeks."

The American doctor, not to be outdone, interjected, "You guys are way behind. We are about to take a woman with no brains, put her in the White House, and then half the country will be out looking for work."