Although U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is not a Mormon, a couple of his biggest backers are, and they have made a big push in Utah to put the GOP presidential candidate over the top.
U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), a popular figure who is running for re-election in the Beehive State, appeared with Cruz and talk radio host Glenn Beck at campaign stops over the weekend. Calling Cruz his “best friend,” he urged Utahans to vote for the Texas senator in Tuesday’s primary.
Beck, on the other hand, gave a fiery speech that included some Mormon prophecy.
“We are here for the Constitution of the United States,” he said. “It did not come from men. It came from God.
“Like many Mormons, I believe in a prophecy that the Constitution will one day hang by a thread in the last days. I believe that time is now, and I believe people like Mike Lee and Ted Cruz will save it.”
He continued by saying the Book of Mormon was given to man to protect freedom. In response, many in the audience shouted, “We believe!”
Beck has made comments like these in the past, particularly during the Obama presidency, both on his radio program and on the various incarnations of his television program. They are references to a Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints prophecy.
This was the first time the radio host, who is Mormon, has attributed the prophecy to a particular person.
The White Horse Prophecy is not officially part of the LDS canon, but it is widely believed by many Mormons. It is based on a statement attributed to LDS founder Joseph Smith Jr. that has yet to be substantiated.
In it, Smith is alleged to have said the LDS would become a “great and mighty people” located in the Rocky Mountains, and that the Constitution would one day “hang by a thread,” and would be restored by the “efforts of the White Horse.” The reference to Revelation has been injected into presidential politics a couple times—each time with candidates named Romney.
In the 1968 presidential election, George Romney said he believed the prophecy referred to the work of government leaders who happen to be Mormon who would work to answer the question of whether or not the U.S. would continue as a constitutional republic. His son, Mitt Romney, said in 2012 that he didn’t ascribe to the prophecy at all.
Nearly two-thirds of Utahans are Mormon, of which about two-thirds again are active LDS members. In Arizona, about 7 percent of the population is Mormon. Both states go to the polls in their respective Republican presidential primaries on Tuesday.
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