By now you've probably heard Ann Romney say even though her husband and sons didn't serve in the military they did serve their Mormon church by going on its missionary work. The wife of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney on
October 19, 2012

[H/t Dave]

By now you've probably heard Ann Romney say even though her husband and sons didn't serve in the military they did serve their Mormon church by going on its missionary work.

The wife of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney on Thursday said that her husband and sons had not joined the U.S. military but had found "different ways of serving" by going on religious missions as part of their obligation to the Mormon church. During an interview on ABC's The View, co-host Whoopi Goldberg asked Ann Romney how she would explain to the families of fallen soldiers why her husband and sons had not served their country.

"When I read about your husband, what I had read -- and maybe you can correct this -- is that the reason he didn't serve in Vietnam was because it was against the religion," Goldberg said. "That's not correct," Ann Romney insisted. "He was serving his mission, and my five sons have also served missions. None served in the military, but I do have one son that feels that he's giving back to his country in a significant way where he is now a doctor and he is taking care of veterans."

"So, you know, we find different ways of serving," she added. "And my husband and my five boys did serve missions, did not serve in the military."

The candidate's wife explained that Mormon missions were like military service in that "you're going outside of yourself, you're working and you're helping others. And it changes you. And are we so grateful in this country for those people -- men and women -- that are volunteering, they're sacrificing their life for us, and we cannot forget that or we have to acknowledge that always."

See, serving a Jehovah's Witness type service of being a door-to-door Mormon salesman in Paris is just the same as going into Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Just ask Ann. I'm sure the mothers of slain sons and daughters will relate to that. Losing a limb in combat will certainly change you just as having a door slammed in your face as you spread the word of Joseph Smith.

"So, when you're facing these mothers whose children have not come back, how will you explain to them that your sons haven't gone?" Goldberg pressed. "Will you talk about the missions they've gone on?"

"I would say it's probably the hardest thing that a president and a first lady probably do is to comfort those that have lost a love one and have gone in harm's way," Ann Romney replied, not directly answering the question.

Of course she didn't answer that question. Her response was repulsive. Imagine trying to tell a grieving mother that you understand military combat because her husband went to France and knocked on doors to convert people to Mormonism. That's a very hazardous job because there are many IED's placed throughout the streets of Paris just waiting for unsuspecting Mormons.

Here's how Mitt's father George described his missionary work. (pg75 The Life of George Romney)

Missionary work is often character-building and it proved so for George Romney. He found his mission the best training that he received and later said that it meant more to him in his work than any other single experience that he ever had. "The first thing you find out," he once explained, "is that you have to decide what you really think, what you really believe. Secondly, you have to acquire the ability to explain what you believe to others and to do it in various manners. The third aspect is exposure to people of all types of religious, economic and social conviction. This is stimulating."....

Oh, I get it. Honing your Mormon beliefs and meeting different people is a lot like facing down your NVA enemy at the MacNamara Line in the DMZ.

Here is the dangerous work George, Mitt and his sons faced every day during their mission years. (pg.76)

The missionaries were required to keep diaries and account on printed forms for their time. Much of this was spent in door-to-door "tracting."

"Good morning," was the proper greeting, "I am a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and I have a very important message about the restoration of the Gospel that I would like to explain to you. Would you care to accept a tract ?"

The tracts explained the beliefs and story of the Church, how Joseph Smith, prophet and founder, started it at Fayette, New York, in 1830 after the Book of Mormon was revealed to him; how its members believe theirs a restoration of the true church....

The danger Tagg Romney feels when he knocked on a door and asked someone if they'd like to hear his message about revealing the nature of the true church probably adequately equates to a troop in the battlefield hearing his commanding officer yell the words 'INCOMING!" Mitt Romney did have two major car accidents when he was there trying to convert the masses so there's that too.

There were six people in a car that would comfortably seat five, but otherwise it was an ordinary drive that happened to turn tragic.On the way back from Pau, the car was hit head-on and Anderson's wife, Leola, was killed. Anderson's driver, a 21-year-old missionary named Mitt Romney, is now a leading candidate for the Republican nomination for president of the United States, with the June 16, 1968, accident one of his rare dark moments.

Journos don't usually bring up his second major accident in France. I wonder why?

The missionaries apparently had good reason for concern. In December 1968, they were in another accident, in which the Peugeot Romney was driving through Le Mons was hit from behind by a dump truck. "I looked in the rearview mirror, and there was a garbage truck coming quickly behind us, with people in the front seat, all laughing and talking, and it was a snowy day," Romney said. "He ... slammed into the back of my vehicle, which caused it to slam into the car in front of us, and they kept going - bang, bang, bang, bang!"

See? Serving your church is exactly the same as serving your nation.

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