Mitt Romney
A friend just sent me a link to a blog post that recounts the experience of the writer’s cousin with his “home teacher,” which he explains in Mormon parlance to be a “spiritual first responder” who “jumps at any opportunity to be of service.”
Providing some good insights into Mitt Romney as a person and a leader in a way that entirely suits the purposes of MittTheMan.com, the entire post is worth reading, especially by someone who has no idea what service in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints entails. Here is the gist of the story:
A few years back, a hive of hornets decided to make its nest on top of a second-story swamp cooler outside my cousin’s Boston-area home. My cousin made an ill-fated attempt to remove the hornets, which resulted in a two-story fall and a broken arm.
“This looks like a job for your home teacher,” said my cousin’s home teacher.
The home teacher brought over his own ladder and clothed himself in homemade beekeeping gear. He then made his way to the hornet’s nest and gathered the whole thing up in a garbage bag, avoiding any stings or the more severe injuries that had beset my cousin. He did this with no public fanfare, no accolades, and no thought of collecting payment for his efforts.
And who was this noble home teacher? A man by the name of Mitt Romney.
The writer concludes that “Among other things, Mitt Romney is a good home teacher.” Speaking of church service that often requires men such as Mitt to serve “forty hours a week in their unpaid positions in addition to their ‘real’ jobs.” He describes those called as church leaders such as “bishop” (lay pastor) and stake president (in charge of several congregations), as Mitt has been numerous times:
So they must lead without being authoritarian; they must judge without being judgmental, and they must minister without offending. That means the people who get this assignment are often more even-tempered that exciting, more reassuring than revolutionary, and more competent than colorful.
I wrote here previously here how Mitt is above all things a problem solver, and this blogger concludes his post in a way that shows he agrees completely with that idea. Writing that one should not expect a President Romney to “dazzle the masses with rhetorical virtuosity,” he concludes that “One should instead expect him [Mitt] to practically and quietly remove the hornet’s nest from the nation’s second-story swamp cooler.”
I love the metaphor!
My admiration for Mitt Romney … and his beautiful wife ….
includes their devotion to what is right, their intelligence and ability to live without wealth interfering with common sense!
I would love to help with Romneys campaign in any way I can. Please let me know what I can do to help.
Christy, we are not directly connected with the campaign, but we do know that they have set up various ways for people to help. You can go to http://www.mittromney.com for more information.
Thanks for your interest!
As a politically active Mormon tea partier….went to DC for original TeaParty and back for Glen Beck….I am innundated with emails on a daily basis that support our cause (ie: two emails today re: Obama’s lack of citizenship). I generally find that if the story is too good to be true…it usually is not true. With this in mind, I received an email referencing Mitt Romney and removing the hornets for a home teaching family. The source of this story is a blog with a “cousin”….I would like to send this forward, but, can we do any better on the source?
This is a wonderful story. Has it been vetted and entirely true? Any possible inaccuracies could come back as a problem. Stories like these are always helpful as long as they are completely true.
Thanks for your question. Although we try to stick to stories of which we have first-hand knowledge, we decided to make an exception in this case. Names are not provided in the original source, so it is impossible to vet completely. Nevertheless, the nature of details the details provided are such that it tracks completely with what we know personally about Mitt.
Although I am of the Baptist Faith, over the years, I have met and become friends with numerous people of the Mormon Faith, AND I CAN TRUTHFULLY SAY “I HAVE NEVER MET A MORMON MAN OR WOMAN WHOM I DID NOT LIKE IMMEDIATELY!! I am a retired law enforcement officer with over thirty five years public service, both city and state!
Look carefully at the picture of Mitt that accompanies this article. It is the same expression he has when he looks at his wife, Ann. I see a lot of goodness there.
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How nice it was to read that a Baptist has something nice to say about “us.” Thank-you. I think the Romneys are a wonderful example of servants of Christ, which so obviously they are!
I am glad I found this site, and praying for a new direction for our Great Nation.