Letter: Jim Margetts on Mormon faith

Dear Editor,

In a recent editorial (“Romney’s faith is fair game, to be fair” October 27, 2011), Aaron Gonzalez’ description of Mormon beliefs paints at best an incomplete picture. I would urge Eagle readers to also investigate other perspectives on the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the formal name of the church) through websites such as mormon.org when formulating their own opinions of the faith.

I must also take issue with Mr. Gonzalez’ assertion that Mr. Romney’s faith is “fair game”; As a practicing Mormon for 44 years of my life (to paraphrase Mr. Gonzalez), I am grateful that when I interviewed for a position on the CSC faculty, the merits of my candidacy were decided solely upon the demonstration of my qualifications for the job. Thanks to Equal Employment Opportunity practices, the hiring committee was prohibited from asking me questions about my religious affiliation, marital status, family situation, sexual orientation, etc., to avoid bias. In today’s political environment, Mr. Romney and his fellow candidates can only dream of being considered in like manner.

— Dr. Jim Margetts,
Associate Professor of Music