Pastor Richard Jeffress and the 2012 presidential election

I enjoy listening to Wallbuilders podcasts. I find them informative and uplifting. However, the November 5 edition entitled "Voting: Doing What's Right" with Pastor Robert Jeffress was troubling.

Several times during Rick Green's interview with Dr. Jeffress, the pastor alleged that we Mormons are not Christian. Mr. Green did not challenge him on the veracity of that allegation. I assume, therefore, that Mr. Green accepts this assertion.

It is true that we members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (note the wording of the correct name of our church) do not fully subscribe to the popular description of God, the Father; His Son, Jesus; and of the Holy Spirit. We take our understanding of the Nature of these individuals from the Bible and from the teachings of men we believe to be modern-day prophets.

The Nicean Creed, on the other hand was created by a committee of theologians and church bureaucrats assembled by the Pagan Emperor Constantine some 300 years after the death of Jesus. That committee was assembled to negotiate disputes already arising in the Church over the true nature of God.

There are thousands of sects professing to be Christian. They all have differing interpretations of the Scriptures, yet they all -- Mormons included -- claim Jesus as their divine savior. Mr. Green surely knows that. Dr. Jeffress surely knows that.

I believe that to claim that any Christian sect is not Christian simply because they deviate from a committee-created "politically-correct" description of God is unfair at best; bigoted and unchristian at its worst. Would I be correct to say that Dr. Jeffress, David Barton, and Rick Green are not Christians simply because Mormons might think that their understanding of God is wrong? Of course not! Well, we Mormons deserve the same respect.

Over the year leading up to this week's election, many evangelicals said they would not vote for Governor Mitt Romney because countless evangelical pastors have, like Dr. Jeffress, told their congregations that Mormons are not Christians but members of a cult. These pastors have consciously and maliciously spread ignorance and bigotry among the very people who trust them the most. This sinister and reckless influence of pastors like Dr. Jeffress may very well have turned this week's election over to Barrack Obama. That is inexcusable.

Those on the Left who are perceptive enough to see what happened surely must be laughing at the so-called "Christian" voter and his ignorance, gullibility, and consequent bigotry.

I urge Wallbuilders to take a closer look at the status of Mormons as followers of the Christ and accept us into the fold of Christianity. I also urge Wallbuilders to vigorously challenge merchants of dishonesty like Dr. Jeffress who oppose that fellowship.