Idaho GOP gubernatorial candidate Rammell expands on controversial prophecy in YouTube video By Dan Popkey - dpopkey@idahostatesman.com Published: 01/04/10
Idaho GOP gubernatorial candidate Rex Rammell says saving the U.S. Constitution requires God's help. Rammell's thoughts are captured in a nine-minute excerpt from a recent news conference now available on YouTube.
"America would not exist if it wasn't for the divine hand of providence in not only intervening to win the Revolutionary War but in writing the inspired words of the Constitution," Rammell says in the video. "To think that we can save the Constitution without God's help when the government of the United States is corrupt is absurdity."
Adds Rammell: "We are in America's second Revolutionary War to save our freedom, which we paid for with blood. We need God's help and I'm not ashamed to ask for it."
Rammell says he has invited about 100 Mormon men to a Jan. 19 meeting in Idaho Falls to discuss the "White Horse Prophecy," which some attribute to Mormon Church founder Joseph Smith. The prophecy, which is not embraced by top Latter-day Saints Church officials, holds that the Constitution "will hang ... by a single thread" and LDS leaders will step forward to preserve it.
Late last month, the church issued a statement distancing itself from the prophecy and from Rammell, saying the prophecy has "not been substantiated by historical research." The statement also said "we hope that the campaign practices of political candidates would not suggest that their candidacy is supported by or connected to the church."
Rammell is running against incumbent GOP Gov. Butch Otter and Ada County Commissioner Sharon Ullman in the May 26 primary.
In the video, Rammell defends his decision to meet only with Mormon men, because he wants to speak to those who believe Smith is a prophet. "I didn't think anyone else would want to come," he said.
Rammell said he is willing to discuss the issue with non-Mormons and expects them to join efforts to defend constitutional principles.
"I do not believe this responsibility lies solely on the shoulders of the LDS elders, but I do believe the LDS elders will play a significant role in it, and I believe I am one of those elders," Rammell said. "I am tired of people telling me that I can't bring God and the Constitution into my campaign speeches."
The video excerpt is from a Dec. 23 news conference with Rammell at his home in Ammon. It was posted on YouTube by a user called "ChinoBlanco," who headlines the excerpt "Mormon candidate for Idaho governor: Uncut, Unedited, Unhinged." Clips from the news conference have aired on Idaho television stations as well.
Rammell has twice been defeated in runs for the Legislature in Eastern Idaho. In 2008, he won 5.4 percent of the vote as an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate, a race won by GOP Sen. Jim Risch. Rammell at first said he was running for the U.S. House in 2010, but changed his mind and said he would run for governor.
Rammell first became a statewide figure in 2006 when then-Gov. Risch ordered the killing of domesticated elk that escaped from Rammell's elk hunting preserve. Risch said the animals threatened the health of wild elk. So far, Rammell's efforts to sue the state for damages have failed.
I just ran across this. I think it points out the fundamental difference between the 2 camps. And, of course, each thinks it has the correct viewpoint. Personally, I prefer the first......something about being a sheep-like in the second version, with no personal responsibility other than "to believe", that bothers me.
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