MSNBC‘s Lawrence O’Donnell Apologizes for ‘Insensitive Phrasing’ During Anti-Mormon Attack on Romney
- Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:44pm by
Billy Hallowell
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Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) has pledged that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints won’t be exploited as a Democratic target during the 2012 electoral season. But what about the media — will they, too, join in on this leftist pledge not to use faith against GOP candidate Mitt Romney (should he secure the nomination) during the general campaign? If what we‘ve seen so far from MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell is any indication, there’s no telling how LDS will be treated over the coming months.
Last night, O’Donnell, host of the network’s “The Last Word,” apologized for disparaging remarks he made last week on his program. As The Blaze reported, he originally said, “Mormonism was created by a guy in upstate New York in 1830 when he got caught having sex with the maid and explained to his wife that God told him to do it.”
And he wasn’t done there. He went on to tie Romney into his rhetoric, while continuing to speak disparagingly about LDS’s founder.

“Forty-eight wives later, Joseph Smith’s lifestyle was completely sanctified in the religion he invented to go with it,” O’Donnell continued. “Which Mitt Romney says he believes.”
On Wednesday, the host, who apparently issued these controversial comments in response to Romney’s statement that Obama is trying to “establish a religion in America known as secularism,” walked these statements back.
Mediaite reports more about O‘Donnell’s “I’m sorry”:
During his apology in last night’s “Rewrite (which, technically, was a Re-Rewrite),” O’Donnell apologized for his “word choice” and “insensitive phrasing,” but not necessarily for the substance of his remarks.
“I am truly sorry if I said something inaccurate about Joseph Smith,” O’Donnell said, “and I am happy to provide time on this show to a Church of Latter Day Saints spokesman to correct any inaccuracy.” [...]
Watch the host backtrack — sort of — below:
(H/T: Mediaite)



















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Comments (181)
ReaganBaby
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:23pmMan i can see there are several who have a skewed misconception of the LDS church and Joseph Smith who never had any relationship with a maid. for those who care about facts try going to to facts at Mormon.org and do the research yourself in the meantime if you don‘t know something don’t spread the lies.
Report Post »kapu
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:20pmi am a very proud member of the LDS faith, and will defend it to the teeth when warrented.
Report Post »i will be gracious, and, yes, forgiving to his very ignorant and highly offensive statements, and will simply ask him to seriously know FACT before he goes off half-cocked on ones color, infirmities, and FAITH first. you see, you, sir, cannot talk effectivly about squat unless you are first able to understand/and converse INTELLIGABLLY about the topic. you simply cannot as this proves very graphically.
think of it in these terms—once words are out there, one cannot take them back /cover them up in any way, and make them vanish with a simple wave of the hand or a fistful of apologies.
marhee9
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 3:14pmYou shouldn’t have to defend anything. This country has become so divided since the election of Barack Obama “the supposed great uniter.” What a joke that has become. Just wait and see how divided we become if this obamacare gets enacted. This IPAB thing is scary.
Report Post »http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhpXDNIocJw
dmerwin
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 3:37pmWhat is to defend? I am not LDS, but the Mormons I know are extremely hard working, very successful, family oriented people who truly care about others. Even though my son is not Mormon they allowed him to play in their basketball league and were very friendly WITHOUT trying to recruit. Basically normal people with real values and ethics doing the right thing.
Report Post »Patrick Henry II
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 3:59pmJoeseph Smith was just another new ager from that era like the Philmore’s, Unity founders, and a little later Alice Bailey. Wanna talk that era??? I’ll prove him wrong 6 ways to Sunday.
I believe Joeseph Smith met the same angel that Mahammed did.
However I guess we all like Mitt now. He is at least wayyyyyy better than McCain. I like most Mormons I meat though; even the in-laws and out-laws.
Report Post »Darren
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 4:16pmPatrick Henry;
“I believe Joeseph Smith met the same angel that Mahammed did.”
Oh ,please.
” Wanna talk that era??? I’ll prove him wrong 6 ways to Sunday.”
Good luck with that.
Report Post »Prepare for the 2nd Coming
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:18pmWho asked him to crawl out of his cave anyway? Is he deluded into believing he has anything relevant to say?
Report Post »rambosharley
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:35pmThat MORON doesn’t have anything relevant to say!
Report Post »Kankokage
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:17pm*sigh* This is more of the same garbage my faith has had to deal with with for more than a century. If there was any validity to these claims, the church would have been rightfully destroyed by now.
But since I’m sure the more hateful of you will insist:
1) Joseph Smith was “sealed” to a number of women, many of whom chose to seal themselves to him after his death (a practice that was quickly stopped). He had no children with any other women aside from his first wife, the only one with whom he lived, indicating that polygamy wasn’t necessarily about sex but rather support.
2) The Joseph Smith “getting caught with a maid” story is false. Tell the lie long enough, and people will believe it. The “reading out of a hat” story is also false.
3) There is a difference between “marriage” and “sealing” in the vernacular of the church. Look it up. It’s important.
My faith is based on my personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Please, if you reply, keep in mind that my faith cannot be shaken, as I believe in salvation through Christ, not Joseph Smith or any earthly figure.
Lawrence O’Donnell, Biggest Douche in the Universe 2012
Report Post »Kankokage
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:22pmI made an error here. Joseph Smith didn’t just die, he was brutally murdered by a mob.
Report Post »ReaganBaby
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:27pmyou could not have said it better, I too am LDS and my conviction will not shaken, i am sure the lies will continue to spew, but only those who care about truth will pray and ask God whether or not what they hear is truth or friction.
Report Post »ELAN114
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:48pmThank you Brother, well said.
Report Post »rambosharley
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:49pmI’m Southern Baptist, MORONS like Larry say alot of untrue things about all religions. I was brought up to respect all religions and all people regardless of their skin tone, as most NORMAL Americans are.
Report Post »ReaganBaby
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 3:05pm@ RamboSharley
Thank you, People of all faiths must stand together or else one day your faith may be on the line.
Report Post »dmerwin
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 3:41pmrambosharley
Report Post »The only religion endorsed by MSNBC is secular progressive-ism built on a foundation of union based communism. They will however, advance any Islamic group or cause, which is really strange considering that Muslim would not see them as any different than any other infidel.
RJJinGadsden
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 5:59pmKANKOKAGE, Couldn’t agree with you more. While I am not LDS I worked with several officers who were while in the Army and helped the Boy Scout troop sponsored by one of the local LDS churches before retiring. All that I can say is that I learned to truly respect and honor the Mormons all of whom that I knew were truly dedicated to their faith, God, and Jesus.
Report Post »The biggest agreement that I have with you is your reference to O’Donald. Couldn’t possibly be a bigger dusche on the face of the earth. BSNBC – “LEAN FORWARD….THIS WON’T HURT MUCH.”
Gonzo
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:16pmKeep it up Larry, you and your kind are getting our base fired up, thanks.
Report Post »paperpushermj
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:10pmWhat a Weasel this man is and Yes the Network he represents. Because they have not repudiated nor fired him, leads one to assume they find favor with his weasel words..
Report Post »ReaganBaby
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:19pmI am Mormon and there was not one ounce of truth to any of what this pitiful man uttered to all 50 viewers to his pathetic show. O’ Donnell you sure are one classy guy.
Report Post »mcsledge
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:10pmMany will mock and speak ill of the Prophet Joseph Smith. There position will be based on lies, half truths and facts taken out of context. But then again, agency allows a man to dig his own way to hell.
This I can promise (based on my knowledge about the facts of this great man – from The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, from his own wrotings, from the writings of those who knew him best, from the words of living Prophets and Apostles and from personal prayers), he will be known as one of the great Prophets of The Dispensation of the Fulness of Times and he will be one of the first (of many) to greet and embrace those who return to the Father’s presence.
Report Post »Nevermind
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:10pmLocked
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:49pm
“I am truly sorry if I said something inaccurate about Joseph Smith,” O’Donnell said, “and I am happy to provide time on this show to a Church of Latter Day Saints spokesman to correct any inaccuracy.”
Question to Mormons (or those who study the history of religion)… how much of what he said was accurate?
- How many wives did Joseph Smith take?
- Is there record of him getting caught with a maid?
***************
1. he had at least 33 wives
2.Yes, her name was Fanny Alger
So while his tone was poor he was factually correct
Report Post »SingerGuy
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:33pmJoseph Smith preached of polygamy several years before he met Fanny Alger, so O’Donnell was NOT “factually correct.“ He was never ”caught with the maid.” They entered into a polygamous marriage. Anything they did together was within the bounds of that marriage. Since there is no record of Fanny ever having had children with Joseph Smith, there is even doubt that they exercised their marital rights.
Report Post »dmerwin
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 3:56pmThe facts are not as important as his intent, which was to demonize, belittle and marginalize. You would think that with a name like O’donnell (presumably Catholic) and his age and political leaning he would appreciate that these were the exact same tactics used against JFK.
Report Post »West Coast Patriot
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 5:18pmI am Mormon, but my first name is Jack, lol. My wife and I dropped away from the church because of the pluralty of wives subject. When we asked our bishop about this subject and why Christ would allow that, given what he said in the New Testament about adultery, the only story he could say was that wives were left without husbands during the persecution of Mormons driving them west. Husbands took on these wives in order to help them make the journey west. We did not like this answer as in the Doctrine and Covenants, Joseph Smith wrote that only Melchizedek Priests could take on another wife (up to ten), she had to be a virgin and be given by Christ. That did not set well as it seems to contradict itself as if she was married to someone that was killed, it is highly unlikely that she was a virgin. I am not sure if the Bishop was wrong, or if there is another more rational reason that Christ gave these permissions to Smith. But this caused us to stray away from the church. Anyone want to take a crack at another reason? I will listen.
Report Post »fritz57
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 7:26pmNevermind, you are just a little less wrong than Larry! nice try of subterfuge!
Report Post »imalan3
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 8:34pm@West Coast Patriot- Hope this helps, Jacob 2:27-30. The whole chapter is good but vs 30 addresses the issue the best I believe. And we would love to have you back.
Report Post »IndyGuy
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:07pmNothing but CYA…Apology NOT accepted…
Report Post »Clive
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:12pmmormons are a fruity cult, founded by a scoundrel.
thats why it was a half hearted apology.
it would be like apologizing to scientologists for calling them crazy.
Report Post »IndyGuy
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:20pmNo…It wasn’t even half hearted…It was a lie…He believes everything he said…He’s just trying to reel it back for Obama…And I don’t follow Mormonism…O‘Donnell’s just a jerk…
Report Post »bkf
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 5:02pm@Clive. Nobody with a quarter of a brain would believe anything you said. Why stop with the Mormons and Scientologists? Keep it going you awesome human being you (ahemmm),
Report Post »PAULA J ANDERSON
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:03pmI forgive, but don’t forget!
Report Post »spirited
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:02pmAhhhh yes, another apology.
>Put yer car in reverse and drive forward.
Report Post »heavyduty
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:02pmI didn’t know being a dictator was a religion! Still no matter how much he apologizes the words were still spoken and can’t be taken back with a simple apology. His actions will speak louder than his words ever will.
Report Post »chainsawharry
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:59pmO‘Donnell’s comments about Joseph Smith were inaccurate, untrue, and dripping with ignorance. The only thing exposed by O-Donnell’s rabid rant is that he is a rude, bigoted man who will be mocked by history. I would have never known about O‘Donnell’s comments had it not been for THE BLAZE. I do believe THE BLAZE is the only audience this man has.
Report Post »SFfam
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:56pmIf he *really* heard from a couple of Mormons supporting him on Twitter, they were not truly Mormons. A Mormon would never have supported the vile things that he said last week.
Report Post »jrcess
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:56pmTypical Obama Hack, Odonnell is a miserable excuse for a human. He an Chris Matthews piss up and down each others leg and a total of 500 people watch. Totally disgusting.
Report Post »bandi9
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:56pmsay it, apologize, say it, apologize, repeat…a very tiresome theme from the left.
Report Post »SoxFanJake
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:55pmCan’t wait to hear what Larry has to say about Mohammed and Islam. Never mind, he’s too much of a coward.
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:54pmAnybody else notice how Larry O’Donnell looks a bit like Chris Matthews? I swear, they must community breed them over there…
Report Post »TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:52pmI get this sneaking suspicion that O‘Donnell and Matthews regularly make each other’s legs tingle…
Report Post »West Coast Patriot
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 5:29pmTime_2, I sure wish you would change your name, it makes a statement on Paul each and everytime you post even when you are not bashing him in your post (which is very seldom). I thought you might want to see these links:
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/polls/221163-rasmussen-obama-and-romney-tied-nationally
Yeah, the media. Romney, Obama tied in poll nationally, Ron Paul beats Obama in the poll nationally 44 to 43.
http://i.imgur.com/UvJTT.jpg
The media stays silent. St. Charles, MO update. After reconvening in St. Charles for the caucus, Brent Strafford (the one the GOP chair had arrested at the first failed caucus) emerged and was voted as the new chair.and Paul won all of the delegates and alternates from St. Charles county. 59 delegates and 59 alternates to CD2, 88 delegates and 88 alternates to CD3, and 147 delegates and 147 alternates to State.
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Report Post »★ ☆ ★ ☆ RON PAUL 4 PRESIDENT 2012 ☆ ★ ☆ ★
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marine249
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:53pmsorry azz a–hole
Report Post »marine249
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:52pm“ IF I ” sorry, sorry
Report Post »barber2
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:52pmAm sure the Left is feeling more “ sensitive” since they have been outed as the atheists that they really are . Am sure that the Obama Campaign Political Correctness Committee has told them to be nicer to all of those “ fools” who believe in God because, after all they do VOTE ! It is all about WINNING. Any way you can.
Report Post »ZepShepley
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:51pmwhat a snake
Report Post »Matrix22
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:51pmFirst of all, it’s “The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints” and secondly, saying that it was bad “word choice” is like saying 9/11 was “minor aircraft mishap.” Everything he claimed about the foundation of the Church is absolutely false, and any reporter with a shrivel of investigative insight would have fact-checked that a bit more.
Report Post »Mark0331
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:50pmGot to love liberals and their ilk…degrade someones beliefs and then ‘apologize’ over it…add vitriol and hate to the public discourse than say “Oh, my bad”…its as though they ‘beta test’ a derogatory statement then see the publics’ reaction…and they call themselves ‘journalists’…what a pathetic bunch.
Report Post »Locked
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:49pm“I am truly sorry if I said something inaccurate about Joseph Smith,” O’Donnell said, “and I am happy to provide time on this show to a Church of Latter Day Saints spokesman to correct any inaccuracy.”
Question to Mormons (or those who study the history of religion)… how much of what he said was accurate?
Report Post »- How many wives did Joseph Smith take?
- Is there record of him getting caught with a maid?
Matrix22
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:58pmAs a life-long proud member of the faith, I’m not 100% sure on the first question, but it is true he took multiple wives. HOWEVER – this only happened well after the foundation of the church and well after he had been married to his first wife (Emma), who, by the way, was supportive of it. That being said, plural marriage was very short lived in the church and served a valid purpose for a short time. (For a more in depth discussion, contact the church and they’ll be happy to send over a couple of missionaries to explain the history of the church in greater detail.) However, the act has been banned from the mainstream church since I believe 1860. As to the second question, I have never heard anything of the sort. I’d be curious to know where that data came from, and if there’s any credibility to it at all. From countless journals, records, speeches, etc. that I’ve read about him and his life, he was a beloved husband, father, leader and friend. Those that knew him best loved him dearly.
Report Post »SingerGuy
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:59pmThe “caught with a maid” comment is a gross mischaracterization of Fanny Alger, believed to be his first polygamist wife.
http://en.fairmormon.org/Joseph_Smith/Polygamy/Fanny_Alger_and_William_McLellin
From the article’s summary: “Probably the wife about whom we know the least is Fanny Alger, Joseph’s first plural wife, whom he came to know in early 1833 when she stayed at the Smith home as a house-assistant of sorts to Emma (such work was common for young women at the time). There are no first-hand accounts of their relationship (from Joseph or Fanny), nor are there second-hand accounts (from Emma or Fanny’s family). All that we do have is third hand accounts, most of them recorded many years after the events.
Unfortunately, this lack of reliable and extensive historical detail leaves much room for critics to claim that Joseph Smith had an affair with Fanny and then later invented plural marriage as way to justify his actions. The problem is we don’t know the details of the relationship or exactly of what it consisted, and so are left to assume that Joseph acted honorably (as believers) or dishonorably (as critics).”
Report Post »iblvingd
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:59pm@locked If you want to be “correctly” educated on the history of the church and Joseph Smith, why don’t you go to the lds.org web site and learn all about the religion from the church itself? By continuing to come to conclusions from lack of knowledge or hearsay & interpretations from other uneducated persons, is only saying that you want an argument and really do not want to know the truth, and obviously keeping the hate flowing.
Report Post »Chet Hempstead
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:00pm34 Wives. Of course not, who keeps records of that. He did marry a woman who worked for him as his maid, but that was years later, after he had already invented Mormonism and made up rules allowing polygamy.
Report Post »Doctor Nordo
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:03pmMormon here.
Accounts vary as to how many wives Joseph Smith had, but we only have records proving that he had around 25. Certainly not the 48 that O’Donnell claimed. Granted, records may be incomplete so he may have more, but there is no way to prove it.
Interestingly, as far as I’m aware there is no evidence of Smith having children with any wife but Emma. This leads me to believe that Joseph did not implement polygamy just to get laid. And no, there is no record of him ever being caught with a maid.
And to those that claim that polygamy is unBiblical and against God’s word, they obviously haven’t read the Bible or are at least are suffering from selective memory.
Report Post »v15
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:21pmPeople will always want to believe what they want to believe and twist things to attack the LDS church. People outside of the church look at sealing as a perversion. If people actually read the Book of Mormon without bias, then I think they would realize that Joseph Smith saw what he said he saw. If you read through all of the suffering he and his family went through all because he said he saw Heavenly Father and Jesus, then I think you have to reach two conclusions: Joseph Smith was/is a prophet or he was completely delusional.
I believe he was and is a prophet. :)
Report Post »Locked
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:21pm@Iblvingd
“If you want to be “correctly” educated on the history of the church and Joseph Smith, why don’t you go to the lds.org web site and learn all about the religion from the church itself”
I checked the site first, actually. They didn’t mention anything about the number of his wives (the search engine was pretty poor; I couldn’t find anything in several pages of results), nor did they mention anything about a maid.
I appreciate the rest of the answers, thank you.
Report Post »Doctor Nordo
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:37pmLOCKED
It‘s important to note that Smith’s first plural wife, Fanny Alger, was a servant in the Smith house. However, it’s never been proven one way or the other that he was caught in infidelity.
Report Post »SingerGuy
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:51pmLet me just add this one additional source regarding Fanny Alger.
“Hostile accounts which report a marriage or sealing
For example, Fanny’s marriage was mentioned by Ann Eliza Webb Young, a later wife of Brigham Young’s who divorced him, published an anti-Mormon book, and spent much of her time giving anti-Mormon, anti-polygamy lectures. Fanny stayed with Ann Eliza‘s family after leaving Joseph and Emma’s house, and both Ann Eliza and her father Chauncey Webb[2] refer to Joseph’s relationship to Fanny as a “sealing.”[3] Eliza also noted that the Alger family “considered it the highest honor to have their daughter adopted into the prophet’s family, and her mother has always claimed that she [Fanny] was sealed to Joseph at that time.”[4] This would be a strange attitude to take if their relationship was a mere affair. And, the hostile Webbs had no reason to invent a “sealing” idea if they could have made Fanny into a mere case of adultery.”
Source: http://en.fairmormon.org/Polygamy_book/Introduction_of_eternal_marriage
Report Post »iblvingd
Posted on April 12, 2012 at 3:14pm@locked Another LDS site Mormon.org will also give more information. If you don’t find your answers there, then make contact with them and get the answers you desire.
Knowledge is the intellectual part of life that seems to be lacking in todays world, therefore allowing misconceptions in all things, which allows for the moral decay of our society.
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