Perry backer calls Mormonism a ‘cult’

 WASHINGTON – The pastor who introduced Texas Gov. Rick Perry at a conservative gathering Friday said rival presidential candidate Mitt Romney is not a Christian and is in a cult because he is a Mormon.

 Robert Jeffress, the senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Dallas, made similar remarks about Romney in 2008. Event organizers at the Values Voters Summit selected Jeffress to introduce Perry, but the Perry campaign was consulted about the choice and approved Jeffress to introduce the Texas governor.

 Jeffress endorsed Perry at the event. After his remarks, Jeffress told reporters that Perry’s religion is different from Romney’s.

 “Rick Perry’s a Christian. He’s an evangelical Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ,” Jeffress said. “Mitt Romney’s a good moral person, but he’s not a Christian. Mormonism is not Christianity. It has always been considered a cult by the mainstream of Christianity.”

 Romney is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are commonly called Mormons.

 Perry and his campaign made clear that he disagrees with Jeffress. Asked by reporters Friday night in Tiffin, Iowa, whether Mormonism is a cult, Perry replied, “No.”

Associated Press