TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — During Mitt Romney’s presidential candidacy, much was made of his religious background.

Would his membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints help or hinder his campaign? Could Americans vote for a Mormon president?

For many Americans – 35-percent, according to a Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll – the prospect of voting for a Mormon candidate was unthinkable. But for others, the candidate’s political credentials far outweighed matters of faith, and Romney should have been evaluated accordingly.

But how would Romney do among other members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

Before dropping his bid for the presidency, Romney received 89.6 percent of the primary vote in the heavily-Mormon state of Utah and in Nevada; nine out of 10 Mormon votes helped him to win an easy victory in the Republican caucuses.

Such numbers showed strong support among fellow Mormons, but in no way guaranteed support from all LDS members. In fact, the Church of LDS takes great pains to remind members to vote based upon their own political convictions, and not upon religious affiliation.

Randy Gibson, public affairs representative for the Tahlequah LDS congregation, said the church takes no position regarding candidates for office – nor office holders.

“Elected officials who are Latter-day Saints make their own decisions and may not necessarily be in agreement with one another or even with a publicly stated church position,” said Gibson. “While the church may communicate its views to them, as it may to any other elected official, it recognizes that these officials still must make their own choices based on their best judgment and with consideration of the constituencies whom they were elected to represent.”

The official LDS position, Gibson said, is staunchly neutral, and church members are encouraged to vote their own consciences.

“The church’s mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, not to elect politicians,” said Gibson.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is neutral in matters of party politics.”

In fact, a letter explaining church’s neutral stance is regularly sent to church members during election cycles.

According to www.lds.org, the church’s position is stated as: “The church does not endorse, promote or oppose political parties, candidates or platforms; allow its church buildings, membership lists or other resources to be used for partisan political purposes; attempt to direct its members as to which candidate or party they should give their votes to (whether a candidate for office is Mormon or not); attempt to direct or dictate to a government leader.”

Likewise, the policy states: “The church does encourage its members to play a role as responsible citizens in their communities, including becoming informed about issues and voting in elections; expect its members to engage in the political process in an informed and civil manner, respecting the fact that members of the church come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences and may have differences of opinion in partisan political matters; request candidates for office not to imply that their candidacy or platforms are endorsed by the church; reserve the right as an institution to address, in a nonpartisan way, issues that it believes have significant community or moral consequences or that directly affect the interests of the church.”

For Tahlequah resident and Latter-day Saint Lenea Patterson, her religion did not guarantee a vote for Romney.

“I can’t say that I’ve really been paying a whole lot of attention to the Republican side since I’m Democratic,” said Patterson. “When I first heard that Mitt Romney – a fellow Latter-day Saint – was running for president, I thought it was quite interesting. A Latter-day Saint hasn’t run for president since Joseph Smith Jr. – the first president of our church (as many don’t seem to actually know this).

“I thought it would be nice to have a LDS U.S. president,” Patterson said.

But as she saw more of Romney’s political performance, Patterson said her view of the candidate changed.

“As I later heard about his waffling or flip-flopping statements, it just sounded like he was another one of those people who just took the side of whatever was popular at the time,” said Patterson. “After that, I really haven’t wanted to vote for him. I don’t think I could vote for someone who can’t keep their main focuses straight.

“I think I’d like to see Romney run again in the future – that is, if he can stick with the same points rather than changing his mind all the time.”

For Patterson, the national attention focused on the Church of Latter-day Saints has shed some light on America’s perception of Mormons – for better or worse.

“People seem more accepting of non-‘mainstream’ religions, but there are still many who are not,” said Patterson. “I constantly hear about those who will not vote for Romney just because he is ‘Mormon’ and they don’t like Mormons – I think this incredibly stupid.”

Patterson looked to the past for a lesson from a similar situation.

“Look at John F. Kennedy,” Patterson said. “He was the first Catholic president and when he ran, many didn’t want him as president because he was Catholic. I think it’s stupid not to vote for someone just because of their religion.

“Yes, religion can be a big influence in how someone lives their life, but that does not necessarily mean that their religion is something they will force on someone else,” Patterson said. “People should have a better reason not to vote for someone besides religion.”