Oops, sorry for that misprint in the headline. Actually, I'm not sorry. I did it on purpose to get your attention. So now that I have it, what I really wanted to give you was a lesson on LDS, or Latter-day Saints.
In case you somehow have avoided all avenues of media until picking up this paper, let me tell you there is an election bearing down upon us, and the race is on to see who the party nominees will be.
Now, most of the hype has been circling around the Democratic nominees because, let's be honest here, our next president is going to be a Democrat. But that doesn't mean the Republicans aren't going to try their hand at it anyway, which is as it should be.
I know the majority of college students don't get overly involved with politics, but this is an exciting election coming up, and I encourage you all to take an interest.
From the same pool of nominee-wannabes we could have our first female president, first black president, first Hispanic president or - that's right, friends - we might just have our first Mormon president.
Just about every time I see Mitt Romney mentioned in the press, the story sounds somewhat like; "Ol' Mitt's a great guy, he accomplished a lot as former governor of Massachusetts, he's handy at organizing budgets and he'd be a great candidate for president - if only he weren't Mormon."
Got to love that separation of church and state don't you?
If you're going to consider a candidate's religion, then you at least should educate yourself on the religion. I'd like to say you shouldn't consider religion at all, but I'd be a bit of a hypocrite if I did.
I would vote for an openly non-religious candidate over a religious one if they had similar policies. So that shows I do consider religion - at least so much as I think it has no place in politics.
However, I know many of you don't care to separate church from state. That is, so long as it's your own church that's involved.
I resent the fact my future president may be picked because of this religious bias. But despite that, or perhaps because of that, I think it's important for you to at least make educated decisions about religion.
I heard a caller on Sean Hannity say he wouldn't vote for Romney because Mormons aren't Christian. An old co-worker of mine said a similar thing to me about three years ago. Not that he would refuse vote for a Mormon, but that Mormons aren't Christian.
If any of you hold the same misconception, I'd like to ask you the same thing I asked that co-worker: "What is a Christian?"
I was under the impression a Christian was someone who believed Jesus was the son of God, he died for men's salvation and was resurrected three days after his crucifixion to join his father in heaven. Do I have that about right?
The full name of the Mormon Church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The "Latter-day Saints" part is where Mormons differ from other branches of Christianity.
If you're a Christian, Mormons believe everything you do. On top of that, they believe after Jesus was resurrected, he came to America to continue his teachings.
I won't go into all the details of their faith - you can actually watch the Mormon episode of "South Park" and get a fairly honest and humorous portrayal - but they believe Jesus came to America because they have a book that tells them so. Sound familiar?
Well, they use that book, too. But they also have the Book of Mormon, which was written by a man named Mormon and translated hundreds of years later by a teenager named Joseph Smith.
Basically, it's the story of how people came to be in America and what happened before and after Jesus came.
Perhaps this sounds a little farfetched to you. But if you believe a virgin could give birth, a body of water could be parted by faith and one man's hands could cure disease, why is it so difficult to believe Jesus wanted the whole world to know of his plan?
Look, I'm not trying to convert anyone. Much to the dismay of my Mormon family, I'm not a believer. I'm not even encouraging you to vote for Romney. I don't want another Republican president; I want religion out of the White House.
I just know most of you don't feel the same way, and since your opinion dictates who governs my country, I want you to be informed.
Freedom of religion doesn't only mean we allow people to choose their own religion; it also means we don't discriminate against them because of it.
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