before joseph smith finds the book of mormon, he has a vision of god, the father, which in mormonismed heavenly father and jesus, and jesus is the son of god. he's not the way christians think about this as god himself, although in mormonism you can become a god but that's another piece of theology. you need to think of them as two different entities. god and jesus both have physical form. that's a very important distinction between mormonism and what i would consider to be mainstream christiananity. >> give us the differences between christians and the beliefs of mormans? point out some of the key differences. >> first, mormons believe in a pre-existence life. you have a soul before you come to earth. you have made a decision whether or not to follow heavenly father. when somebody is born on earth that means you made a correct decision to follow heavenly father, and you found a plan to work out your salvation. you can go to one of three different heavens in the afterlife. with christians, you are born and you work things out, and you believe you can be saved or not, and then you hav

we are experiencing a mormon moment. the mormon faith is unique in culture and theology contribute to the success of the people you mentioned. the church has based historical persecution and as part of the dna of the faith, this drive to achieve. we argue in the story that that contributes to so many successful mormons in the public. >> it can't be argued about the resilience that the mormon faith aspires to be perceived better than it has been. there is a stigma that is associated with the christian voters across the country. taking a look at mitt romney, how they handled the questions when it comes up and how that would impact them in a presidential race >> sure. in 2008, mitt romney knew it would be an issue in the primaries and he kind of gave his big jfk-type speech on mormonism. he tried to confront it. a lot of mormons were dissatisfied because he said yes, i'm a mormon and i'm proud of my faith, he shied away from questions some of the doctrines that sounded weird, he didn't want to talk about them. john huntsman

how mormonism is going main stream. but is the country ready to elect a mormon commander in chief? >>> dogs versus bears. in the wild scramble to keep bears out of the suburbs, wild life officers are turning to one incredible breed. but could these fearless dogs in fact be a bear's best friend? >>> and, death race the most dangerous motorcycle race in the world. held every year on a british island where nothing stops the riders. not even death. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," june 21st 2011. >> good evening, i'm bill weir. many americans knowledge of the mormon church may be limited to casual associations with salt lake city, polygamy or pairs of missionaries in neck times going door to door. but that may be about to change. you seep, mormons and mormonism are now front and center on several of the country's biggest stages, from broadway to the 2012 presidential campaign. jonathan karl got exclusive access to the newest face of the republican field and starts us there. >> re

harry reid is a mormon. senator hatch is a mormon. go look at their voting record. serve this country with distinction for a long time and would i vote for harry reid if i lived in nevada, i would send him a check. wouldn't matter to me. wouldn't matter to me if someone else did. i think this is in my mind it should be a nonstarter in anybody's mind. there's record of mormons serving with distinction. >> the other thing is that mormon business people that we know have created a lot of jobs. including his father who i have known for 40 years who is a terrific guy. they come from very good family. they are very, very good at creating jobs. >> that's a good point. jobs is what's so important here. tony, i want to ask you about this abortion pledge making the rounds. there are some who are suggesting that all of this talk again about some of what used to be called wedge issues is taking a little bit of the focus away from the fact that we have a jobs problem and there are still maybe suspect a clear and easy solution out of the jobs problem and so are things like this a

but the ultimate mormon moment could be a mormon in the white house.re's one thing that could benefit both romney and huntsman. the mormon community has been proven to be a big base for political fund-raising. a source of campaign dollars, david, that both candidates are already tapping into. >> all right. jon karl on capitol hill. jon, thanks to you. >>> 7,800 miles from washington and the race for president, first lady michelle obama and her girls continued their week-long trip to africa. tonight, new images from botswana and their safari. you can see the first lady there. they saw an elephant in the land cruiser. mrs. obama's mother, as well. there she is in the front, mrs. robinson. they've been in africa, pushing efforts to end hunger, hiv and to empower young women. >>> we were there with her this week. and in our one-on-one interview, we also asked her about politics back here at home. with unemployment more than 9%, she knows her husband will face a fight for his second term. how do you handle the incoming fire? all of the talk with the economy

joseph smith, the founder of the mormon religion. (laughter) >> he couldn't be here tonight but you did it, joseph, you got the tony! (cheers and applause) >> congratulations. that's it everyone, that's our show, so wait, tomorrow f anyone asks you what happened at the tonys, qusai this, we straightened things out in the opening number. ellen barkin and john bench hine hickey took home their awards for" the normal heart "daniel radcliffe kicked some butt and we were even related even voldemort wasn't nominated. chasing trey and casey because they nabbed a tony statue, ♪ from the grand imagination of a kander ebb collaboration andrew reynold sang i believe he landed it now he's mitt romney's candidate. all as cross the country from the north and to the south saying brooke is a hottie with a crazy pottie mouth. john larocquette put an el ghent mood in the room. i'm still managing him in his fruit of the looms. >> they sang a balance add, we didn't need our protective gear but the nun sang raise your voice, memphis is relentless, they'r

he has for instance said he is a mormon background. not necessarily a mormon faith. that has angered some mormons. especially in utah. but so far, i think two or three years ago we were asking whether or not the country was ready for a black president. of course -- >> nia, you used the word he's clearly left in relationship to the rest of the field. how conservative and how moderate is jon huntsman and how does this shake up the rest of it with huntsman to his left, does this make the world safe for mitt romney? >> well, that's the thing. they are running in the same lane in some ways. but of course jon huntsman fancies himself as being the guy on the dirt bike. going to the desert. but that's -- that's the question. gwen: that was the video he released over days, a guy on a dirt bike riding nowhere apparently. and they said here he comes. and at the end it wasn't even huntsman on the dirt bike. >> it wasn't him. >> but a prop. >> i am not mitt romney. >> his campaign fancies him as the cooler version of mitt romney. you see him on his dirt bike and likes to eat fast

he's in the play "the book of mormon."w rannells is stopping by. [ cheers and applause ] he's killer. he's so funny in this play. and then, like the show couldn't get any better -- i can hardly believe i'm saying this -- the cars are reuniting on our show tonight! [ cheers and applause ] their first tv appearance in 24 years. they'll be performing a song from their new album called "move like this." the cars. i mean, here's just some songs i printed out. ♪ you say you're just what i need just what i needed ♪ ♪ i needed someone with me just what i needed ♪ >> jimmy: and then you've got -- ♪ you might think i'm hysterical [ laughter ] to call out with you ♪ ♪ you might think it's ridiculous to buy a "thank you notes" book ♪ [ laughter ] >> steve: wait, what? >> jimmy; i think that's the words. >> steve: that's the words? >> jimmy: that's just some of the cars great music. >> steve: that's some of them. >> jimmy: they're reuniting tonight on this show! [ cheers and applause ] >> steve: come on. >> jimmy: i am so excited. what

you had to go, so you finish "book of mormon." and then you run right back to do the south park season. was there any part of you in your mind after all this were you thought, you know what, [bleeped] that? we're tired. >> not me because we love "south park." >> it feels so good. [cheering and applause] i love the cynicism of the show. >> well, that's always so funny. we did that last episode. we did it by the seat of our pants. obviously a lot of things we were feeling. we came back and people are like, are you okay, is the show coming back? and we're like, we had a really good time doing that. it's fun. we don't know what's going to happen. but we'll figure it out in august. >> also comedy central let us know. >> but it's funny. >> we can say bleep bleep. [bleeped]. >> jon: it was like 80 times in that episode. you remember the hull ba loo that happened on your first episode, [bleeped], to see how many times you could say it. how many times was it by the way? >> 164. >> i had 162. >> 160 something. >> jon: 160 something, because

huntsman did not mention his mormon faith when he announced his candidacy.nd romney downplayed his faith's importance saying he's not running for pastor in chief. and there are reports that the gingrich campaign is already a million dollars in debt. earlier in month, his top aides, 16 of them, and advisors resigned en masse over disagreements with gingrich. >>> ecofriendly vehicles are getting preferred parking in the bay area. we have a photograph. which shows one of spots of the new parking lot at cvs drugstore in santa rosa. a store did it to boost its green image. you will see more of these spots starting january 1. state law requires 10% of those parking spots at new commercial buildings to be devoted to fuel efficient cars, or van pulled vehicles. >>> after decades of changing tires, bringing gasoline and dispatching tow trucks, triple-a moving to the electric car era. the auto club plans to launch a fleet of fast-charging trucks for stranded electrical vehicles. the first system will be unveiled next month in north carolina. later in the summer, fleet

also ahead, could this be the mormon moment. church of jesus christ of latter day saints is expanding its own marketing campaign right now, trying to change its image and correct what it calls misconceptions about mormonism. we're going to take a look at that project. >> also ahead for you in this half hour, summer travel discounts. we'd all like some of those, right? price of gas, still about $1 a gallon higher than it was last summer. hotels and resorts are starting to worry a little bit that that could mean you are not coming to visit. so they are offering everything from gasoline gift cards to free parking. and a few other goodies. we're going to show you some of the best deals available out there right now. >> a lot going on. >> first though, the future of greece's government is hanging on a vote of confidence later today. it's the latest complication in that country's debt crisis which threatens to cause problems around the world. cbs news correspondent elizabeth palmer is in athens this morning with the latest. liz, good

>>reporter: i said yes ma'am mormon told me. to pull it up i couldn't because i was carrying 2 big bag and i was in a line of people all moving fast towards the plane. the airline says his pants were below his knees. exposing his underwear. mormon gentleman pam bottoms loose but insist they weren't hanging below the knees. only the top of my underwear was showing. young man says he went to his seat and put his bags away. but flight attendant came and told me to step off the mraechbility i told her. i did nothing wrong why are you asking know get off the plane. i refuse the do that. then the piloté@ ordered him off the plane. pilot talked to me in a belligerent tone mormon said. he was talking down to me when he asked me to leave. captain called police and mormon was arrested when he got off the plane. his coaches at university of new mexico say he's got a big future in football. >> he does. he has a big future with u.s. q air after this caseism the captain made a citizen arrest charging mormon with trespassing and that brought

too bad you didn't win. >> reporter: are you from the book of mormon? oh, my god. >> reporter: all right. i hope you guys have fun (beep) yourselves. it became clear that no one, not even this intrepid reporter, was immune from their takeover. >> i think that new york is a part of the world right now. new york is going to still be new york. just a part of everything else. >> reporter: really? >> yes. >> reporter: then how did this happen? three minutes ago i was wearing a suit. i have no idea how i even got in these. >> good luck, buffalo. you'll need it. >> jon: anarchy. let me tell you this. the marriage equality act passing in new york wasn't the only bit of good news here this weekend. take a look at this. >> up next, setting the record straight about our interview last week with jon stewart. >> jon: yes! finally. ( applause ) let me tell you what's going on. i do an interview with chris wallace. i mentioned fox news viewers were the most consistently misinformed viewers in every poll. politifact said i shouldn't have said every poll. just most. i b

too bad you didn't win. >> reporter: are you from the book of mormon? oh, my god. >> reporter: all right. i hope you guys have fun (beep) yourselves. it became clear that no one, not even this intrepid reporter, was immune from their takeover. >> i think that new york is a part of the world right now. new york is going to still be new york. just a part of everything else. >> reporter: really? >> yes. >> reporter: then how did this happen? three minutes ago i was wearing a suit. i have no idea how i even got in these. >> good luck, buffalo. you'll need it. >> jon: anarchy. ok, people. show me the best way to design a vacation on a budget with expedia. make it work. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia. let me tell you this. the marriage equality act passing in new york wasn't the o

>>reporter: mormon says he's never had problems with u.s.fore t.would you ever fly them again. >> him if i doubt it. you kno know. i don't think they want me to fly. >>reporter: u.s. airway says mormon quote ignored repeated request to follow flight crew instructions. he told me he will be flying back to university of new mexico for summer football camp. now the school issued a written statement saying we plan to support him and help him move forward. he's attending school there on a full football scholarship. vick lee, 7 news. >>> in antioch investigators say that 5 fires in two week time in the same grassy area surrounded by homes is the work of an arsonist. all of the fires were set in the open space area near country manner park. flames scorched about a quarter of app acre near yorkshire drive before firefighters got it under control. authorities say they can not release detailed information about the investigation but they say that the pattern so far points to the juvenile suspect. >> fire still burning as we speak in abandoned 19 centu

. >> what is the mormon position on homosexuality being a sin?at's something that you can take up with the church. i'm not a spokesperson for my church. >> don't you know? >> i'm not a spokesman for my church. one thing i won't do in running for president is become a spokesman for my church or apply a religious test, which simply is forbidden by the constitution. i'm not going there. so i can tell you, if you want to learn more about my church, talk to my church. if you want to learn what i would do as -- >> let me ask you then, do you personally think homosexuality is a sin? >> nice try, but i'm not going to get -- >> it is a valid question. >> it is a valid question and my answer is nice try. i'm not going to -- >> nice try at what. >> as a leader of the american people, i will do everything in my power to treat all people with respect and dignity, and to advance the rights people have to choose their own course in life. >> there are people watching saying nice try, piers, repeatedly, saying why don't you just answer the question? >> if you're

he could be on his way to nomination. >> are he and mitt wrong knee are mormons, of the mormon faith, that would be a first, is that something which we have any evidence the americans are ready for that big a change. >> a gallop poll out just in the last couple days shows one in every five americans, 20% say that they would not support a nominee of their party who is a mormon. but the vast majority is fine. in fact, we've seen those numbers get smaller, those that actually would not vote for someone because of their mormon faith. since mitt romney ran the last time around, the country has a little more comfortable as the polls show but it is something that's again part of the biography and he's putting biography front and center so there will be an exploration. >> his campaign headquarters is in orlando, florida, what do we read into that. >> that's where his wife is from. that is a key state for the nomination, for the republican party, it's going to be early in the process. and it's a key state of course in the general election should jon huntsman get there, he will be really positi

hoping to become the alternative to presume front-runner mitt romney, also a mormon. >> he's pro-life, pro-gun, pro-business, pro- civil unions and pro immigration, it's an interesting mix and people are ready for something different. >> reporter: with the statue of liberty behind him he channelled ronald reagan's 1980's campaign without the polish. before he was introduced a faulty sound system. >> we just came from new york where we announced in front of the statue of liberty -- >> reporter: except he wasn't in new york, it was new jersey. in a tumultuous tea party area he appealed for old-fashioned civility. >> but the question each of us want the voters to answer is who will be the better president? not who's the better american. >> reporter: but civility can be hard to find. after posting this web video, by the way the rider was not the candidate, huntsman was blindsided by this response. from republican rival rick santorum, attacking huntsman to ban abortions, and more likely to back michele bachmann or texas governor rick perry, a possible candidate. >> if huntsman were to get

. >>> two new polls suggest that fellow mormons jon huntsman and mitt romney share a handicap as theyother candidates if for 2012 republican presidential nomination. a fifth of republicans in a new gallup poll said they would not vote for mormon as president even if the candidate was qualified in other ways. in a pew research poll, with third of white evangelicals say mormon would be less than likely to get their vote. huntsman did not mention the mormon faith when he announced his capped dassy and -- candidacy. >>> after decade of changing tires, bringing gasoline and dispatching tow trucks, triple-a is moving in the electric car era. they will launch a fleet of trucks. later this summer the fleets are charging trucks and will roll out in the other major cities off. toe makers say -- auto makers say fear of being stranded without power is a major roadblock to people testing electric cars. >>> just ahead on abc7 news at 6:00 a.m. -- a stick-up for a check-up. the extreme measures one man was willing to take to get medical care. >> the newly release document to end the debate over who

but i don't think we should assume that all mormons have the same i did say what it was that i said don't underestimate me it would have the same had the same political motives there are by the way there's two mormons in the race here i'm going to point harper to me runs and thanks to both of you after the break do you want your campgrounds taken over by ronald mcdonald and ideally take i'll tell you how republicans are trying to turn the grounds for profit centers just the latest bad idea. let's not forget that we had an apartheid regime. i think. even one well. whenever the government says they're safe to graduate because of their freedom. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else here sees some other part of it and realized everything you thought you don't know i'm sorry is a big picture. it's a good bad of a very very. ugly we get up a good priorities usa action the present organization is launching an ad an ad campaign targeting the republican agenda take a look. we are america we know right from wrong and

but i don't think we should assume that not all mormons have the same i did say what it was that i said don't underestimate arrowsmith did have the same have the same political motives they are by the way there's two mormons in the race here on principle point being a helper to anyone still thinks. after the break do you want your campgrounds taken over by ronald mcdonald in tonight's daily take i'll tell you how republicans are trying to turn our grounds for profit centers just the latest bad idea the great so often. let's not forget that we are in a park right. i think. we have the government says they're pretty safe if you can give them free. our. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else and you hear see some other part of it and realized everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm sorry welcome to the big picture. it's a good or bad of a very very good dear i believe we got up a good priorities usa action the progressive organization is launching a ad and ad campaign targeting the republican agenda take

can a mormon be elected president of the united states?cafferty file and post a comment. you remember the speech. he was cruising along and decided he was going to be out in the open about the religion and a lot of people say it department work. >> controversial at the time and didn't work out the way he hoped. we will see how it goes this time. good question. thanks very much. we are a little bit more than 90 minutes away from the president's speech to the nation announcing his plan to bring home troops and surge forces by the end of next summer, 2012. let's talk more about this with wesley clark, the former supreme ally commander. thanks as usual for coming in. >> can you hear me? i see something that is a little strange. maybe you can show me. right now there 100,000 u.s. troops on the ground in afghanistan and 40,000 additional in afghanistan they ared up by afghan and police forces. nearly a half million good guys fighting 100 or so al qaeda terrorists in afghanistan and navy at the most 25,000 taliban fighters. what's wrong with this

. >> host: are either you or john krakow are mormon, and could this be considered an anti mormon book? >> guest: i am. john is not. as far as -- i don't feel that this is an anti mormon but in any way. the fldsr nothing. nonmoral and all. they have chosen to distance themselves. they don't practice any of the release. the only thing they really have going on is they believe in some of the same. but they have taken their armed taken spin on it. you know, i think a lot of the outside world tends to group the two together. mormons are no more and sell the s and lutheran or catholic. i mean, the lutherans chose to separate themselves from the catholic church there are their own religion. >> host: sam brower. this is his book, after one, it comes out october 2011 published problems were. >> coming up next, book tv presents "after words," an hour-long program where we invite guest hosts to interview authors. this week former secretary of state henry kissinger. the diplomat to accompany president nixon presents his thoughts on the history of china's relationship with the united states and it

. >> is the winner is -- the book of mormon! wow! the book of mormon from the creators of south park won best musical and best director. best play went to the puppet drama "war horse." >>> tonight at 5:00, a school project gone awry. a middle school student and his teacherer in trouble with the law over a prop the student was using to make a movie. that story and more coming up in our next newscast. ktvu channel 2 news at 5:00. thank you for watching. have a great day.

the book of mormon won best musical and performer and best actorred award in new york tonight.t play went to the world war i puppet drama war horse. among the acting highlights tonight the best actress in a play and the best featured actress in a play. and best actor in a musical. >>> one of the biggest names in boxing was given a big honored to. >> that's right. sylvesterer stallone was inducted into the international boxing hall of fame in syracuse, new york. the rocky movie series which started in 1976 captured the heart of the boxing world. the actor wrote the script about rocky balboa, an underdog boxer from philadelphia and then he played the part in the movie. mike tyson and mexican boxing champion chavez were among the others inducted. >>> thousands of people went carless through the streets of san francisco today. [ music ] >> it's all part of the city's sunday streets event. today's street party shut down car traffic along the third street corridor from mission bay all the way to the bayview opera house. attend's walked, biked and skated as they enjoyed the music, foo

he's a mormon, speaks mandarin, and is about to join presidential hopefuls.we're going to head on into the interview. krystal. . . krystal . . . what lead to your decision to go with the fusion? i just keep on going back to looks; it's a great looking car. how do your co-workers feel about your decision? they were the ones who were against ford. they were like they're a truck company. for the most part i am pretty sure i have changed most everyone's mind. krystal, you seem pretty comfortable up there, are you sure you haven't done this before? umm. . . i did 8th grade telecommunications class. >>> formaldehyde is found in many household items and is now added to the list of known cancer causing agents. where exactly do we find it? >> it is all over the place. it really is. you think of formaldehyde, people think of embalming fluid. it's in there, too, but it's in things that you and i use every day. it's in things like hair straighteners. you go get your hair straightened at the salon. nail polish, pressed wood. you get that new car smell. >> is that formalde

it included dancing nuns, and mormons, reference to the book of mormon. the most nominations and already won several awards. >>> successful, a tects are often praised for their -- architects are often praised for the creativity of their vision. john black stone tells us about a newark tect in the bay area. >> reporter: the sounds of everyday life are nothing more than background noise to most people. >> as i move around, i can hear how the space changes. >> reporter: for chris dough knee, they're clue -- downey, they're clues and markers to where he is and where he's going. >> i knew that was the kitchen. >> reporter: chris' world has been in total darkness for three years. he thought he was just getting odor is having trouble -- older and having trouble focusing. >> i couldn't see the ball anymore coming at me. >> reporter: they successfully removed the tumor but in the process he lost his sight. and his work depended on sight. chris is an architect. but he couldn't imagine giving that up. >> well, what else would i do? i could always -- the other thing

romney says his mormon faith should not be a political issue, but it was a concern for some conservativevangelicals in the last election. in 2008, more than 40% of republican primary voters were evangelicals. with that in mind, a parade of presidential hopefuls and other gop leaders spoke to religious conservatives in washington this week at a meeting organized by the faith and freedom coalition. >> i want to thank you for forming this faith and freedom coalition, because nothing long survives without advocates, and that includes values. >> joining me now is cherie harder, president of the nonpartisan trinity forum. beforthat, she worked in policy positions for first lady laura bush and former senate majority leader bill frist, a republican. cherie, welcome. >> great to be here. >> how important are religious conservatives, and specifically evangelicals, to the whole republican coalition? >> well, they're quite important. one thing i think i should mention is, of course, evangelical spans a whole range of ideological temperaments. i mean, within the evangelical umbrella, you have everyon

. >>> "the book of mormon." >> "the book of mormon" cleaned up at last night's tonys.t is about two missionaries sent to uganda, written by trey parker and matt stone, behind "south park." >>> a battle is under way for pensions for public employees and teachers and others are getting ready for a fight. ben tracy reports. >> if it dries out, you can add a little bit more water. >> reporter: family science night is a chance for teacher julie van winkle to show parents the experiment she's been doing in her classroom. the 32-year-old has been teaching for seven years. it's her first year at nightingale middle school in los angeles. julie who makes $58,000 already feels like a veteran of what some call a war against teachers. >> i've had to fight tooth and nail to keep my job. looks like i'm going to have to do that again to keep my pension. >> reporter: like public workers across the country julie considers her pension one of the prime perks of teaching, after 25 years on the job she would get 80% of her salary in retirement. with 203,000 california teachers already colle

. >> and there's romney's mormon religion. many christian conservatives, the key republican voting bloc, say they would not vote for a mormon. still admirers like talk show host hugh hewitt think romney can pull it off. >> the worse the country's problems become -- and they're pretty enormous -- the better he looks because of his record of turnaround as a job creator and someone who can solve very complicated problems. >> while romney appears to be doing everything right. he's spending time in new hampshire and raising tons of money, he'll still got the moneys on his back. our talk back question. can romney shed his political baggage and win? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read some of your comments later this hour. >> and running into mitt romney covering the campaign, can he be more interesting this go around? a lot of people want to know. >> he took the tie off. >> people want to see that. >> he's listening to the beatles. what more do you want? >> does he have a whole plate of fruits and veggies? >> i'm sure he follows the ne