EP 462 – No More Mr. Nice Mittens




This Week in Mormons show

Summary: <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> [dropcap]W[/dropcap]hat a week! Latter-day Saints were making waves all over the place, and with one Josie Gleave in our midst, we will also get a nice dose of international news.<br> Mitt Makes His Move<br> In the same week that <a href="https://kutv.com/news/local/for-the-first-time-a-majority-of-utah-voters-approve-of-president-donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Utahns finally gave Trump a slight overall approval rating</a>, Mitt Romney, Lord of the Forest, Scion of Righteousness, liege to all, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-02-05/romney-utah-trump-impeachment" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">white horse</a> jockey, shocked the world by becoming the first senator to vote to convict a president from his own party as President Trump's impeachment trial wrapped up. McKay Coppins <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/02/romney-impeach-trump/606127/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">sat down</a> with the senator and former Republican Party nominee for president before the vote to discuss his decision and the reasons behind it. Romney now famously invoked his faith as part of his decision, arguing that he is accountable to God as a sworn-in impartial juror. In case you haven't seen his speech on the Senate floor, here it is for your enjoyment (or beratement).<br> <br> <br> <br> Naturally, Mitt is taking plenty of heat from what I suppose we now call the GOP establishment (i.e. supporters of the president i.e. nearly everyone in the power block of the GOP), but all is not lost. While his vote has proved divisive in Utah, he's <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry/romney-vilified-d-c-vote-convict-trump-finds-respect-support-n1133106" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">garnered plenty of support</a>. What will the future hold for a senator who admits his actions will have serious repercussions? Mitch McConnell was quoted as saying there's "no doghouse" in the Senate, and life will move on. Donald Trump, however, has already gone to work connecting Mitt with the Bidens and Burisma, as if it is all part of one, yuge conspiracy.<br> Coronavirus<br> Coronavirus! What fun! It's shutting down entire cities and disrupting global travel and commerce. Our own missionaries are not immune, as those serving in Hong Kong and Macau are <a href="https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/coronavirus-impacting-missionary-service-in-hong-kong" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">being pulled for the time being</a>. But the Church is doing more than protecting the health of missionaries. It is actively engaged in the humanitarian effort to combat the outbreak. President Nelson, speaking as if he just called up his old golf buddies, <a href="https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-china-combat-coronavirus" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced</a> an aid package to China.<br> <br> <br> Unfortunately, the Asia Women's Conference, a staple of the Latter-day Saint expat community in Asia, has been canceled this year. Josie, who lives in Singapore, is among those changing her plans. She also brings us some insights from the ground about how the coronavirus outbreak is affecting Southeast Asia.<br> Adventures in Rebranding<br> We almost named this episode "At Chuh" or "Too Much Chuh," but the phrase makes no sense without context. Here's the context! As part of the ongoing efforts to rebrand everything, the Church is finally abandoning the @ldschurch Twitter handle <a href="https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-twitter-handle-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">in favor of "@Ch_JesusChrist</a>." We're, um, not exactly on board with this strange choice, although we recognize that "@ChurchofJesusChrist" is longer than the 15 character limit imposed by Twitter.<br>