More on Romney and the Second Coming of Jesus

Here is an excerpt from an interview of Mitt Romney by George Stephanopoulos. (The complete interview here.)

Stephanopoulos: I just have one more question about this and it has to do with the Muslim world. In your faith, if I understand it correctly, it teaches that Jesus will return probably to the United States and reign on earth for 1,000 years. And I wonder how that would be viewed in the Muslim world. Have you thought about how the Muslim world will react to that and whether it would make it more difficult, if you were president, to build alliances with the Muslim world?

Mitt Romney: Well, I'm not a spokesman for my church. I'm not running for pastor in chief. I'm running for commander in chief. So the best place to go for my church's doctrines would be my church.

Stephanopoulos: But I'm talking about how they will take it, how they will perceive it.

Mitt Romney: I understand, but that doesn't happen to be a doctrine of my church. Our belief is just as it says in the Bible, that the messiah will come to Jerusalem, stand on the Mount of Olives and that the Mount of Olives will be the place for the great gathering and so forth. It's the same as the other Christian tradition. But that being said, how do Muslims feel about Christian doctrines? They don't agree with them. There are differences between doctrines of churches. But the values at the core of the Christian faith, the Jewish faith and many other religions are very, very similar and it's that common basis that we have to support and find ability to draw people to rather than to point out the differences between our faiths. The differences are less pronounced than the common base that can lead to the peace and the acceptability and the brother and sisterhood of humankind.

Stephanopoulos: But your church does teach that Jesus will reign on earth for the millennium, right?

Mitt Romney: Yes.

What Mitt Romney said about Jesus appearance at the Mount of Olives is correct. However, what he says about Christ not ruling in the United States is incorrect. Of this he says, “I understand, but that doesn't happen to be a doctrine of my church.”

In the YouTube video Stephanopoulos says a “Actually we checked with a Mormon spokesman who said that is not exactly true. They believe that the New Jerusalem is here in the United States in Missouri, and that's where Jesus is gonna come.” See this post for information on the doctrinal aspects of the Second Coming and why it is a non-issue for a President Romney.

YouTube interview


Later Stephanopoulos got it right, that there will be at least two appearances (here).