LDS Living has a nice profile on Glenn Beck and his conversion to the Church. Anybody interested in a long discussion we had at M* regarding talk radio can find that post here.
With his CNN gig and the growth of his talk radio show, Glenn Beck is becoming one of the country’s most famous Mormon media personalities. His conversion story is very similar to mine — we both tried a lot of churches before deciding on the LDS church, we both were baptized in 1999, we both have gotten our lives together after joining the Church. And we even share initials.
Seems to me Glenn is a truly good guy.
Are not most people “nice guys.” If you compare him to Sean Hannity, Dr. Laura, or Bill O’Reilly, he surely is the nice guy of conservative talk radio/tv. Of course, those others are as nice as a cactus. While I am a liberal, I tend to agree with your assesment of Beck as a nice guy. However, I worry about him being a public face of Mormonism.
Chris, I think Glenn would agree with you: in the attached article, he says he hesitated about identifying himself as a Mormon at first because he was ashamed of himself and his past. I like that humility.
If it makes you feel better, I think Gladys Knight is an even better public face of Mormonism than Glenn Beck and arguably more famous.
Just one warning: I will not tolerate this thread becoming a “Glenn Beck trash-fest.” I linked this article for spiritual, not political, reasons. If you disagree with his politics, take it elsewhere. Thanks.
Chris H, that comment was not aimed at you but instead at several people who sometimes frequent this site who feel it is their job to be the political orthodoxy police. Sometimes those types of comments are appropriate, but not on this thread.
I resisted the temptation to do so. There is no need for politics to always be contentious.
I remember a recent show where he talked about how he was glad to only be the third-ranked show in the land, that #1 was too much pressure and #2 was unhappy about not being #1. He went on to say that he was, however, #1 amongst Mormons, alcoholics, and Mormon alcoholics — his rationale was that he was a Mormon alcoholic and since he listened to his own show, he *must* be #1 in that category.
When Beck sticks to the more humorous treatment of social issues, he’s wonderful.
Beck is a ‘nice guy’. There are good parts to this and bad parts to this. He can say the most patently bizzare things with a straight face, yet when compared to Limbaugh and Colter he really appears to be the most sane of the right wing pundits.
Oh well…
Even Mechum could still be running Arizona. Bo Gritz could still be running in Utah.
Mormon politics have come up in the world…lol
Geoff B.
Hmmm. All the coincidences between you and him… Can you prove you’re NOT Glenn Beck? I’ve always suspected…
The thing I like about Glenn Beck and his “public-ness” is the fact that he goes against the stereotype of Mormons. The Gospel net gathers of all kinds.
mondo cool, it’s even weirder than that: we are the same age, we got divorced about the same time, we remarried people who are active in the Church, we have the same number of children, and I could go on an on. Don’t worry, though: he has a lot more hair than I do and he makes more money in a week than I make in a year.
Readers: I have had to delete three comments violating the “no trashing Glenn Beck” policy for this thread.
To summarize: there are several people who really, really don’t like him. I guess that’s what happens when you are a celebrity. My suggestion to those posting those comments: send Glenn Beck a letter or e-mail or go post on a “I hate Glenn Beck” web site. This is just not the place for such comments. They were not overly rude or hateful, just inappropriate for what I wanted to create for this thread. Thanks for understanding.
Geoff #8: To summarize: there are several people who really, really don’t like him. I guess that’s what happens when you are a celebrity.
Geoff, that’s really an unfair oversimplification. The fact that he’s a celebrity has nothing to do with the issue.
There are a number of reasons I am uncomfortable with Glenn Beck as “one of the country’s most famous Mormon media personalities.” My main issue — and it’s the same problem I have with your posts in general — is that he’s a partisan. He’s not interested in the truth, or in learning from people who believe differently than he does. He’s not as “rabid attack-dog” as Bill O’Reilly or Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh, but he still takes positions and then stands by them, even when his guests have opposing views that are legitimate and superior to his own.
But the problem I have with all of these people is the same problem I have with virtually everyone — left or right — on talk radio or “talk TV”: The partisanship, the lack of respect, the overexaggeration, and the general spread of FUD. This is the main reason I enjoy listening to NPR, despite the fairly transparent “big government” bias in their reporting — they don’t fall for sensationalism and they treat people of all views with respect.
As far as your (now deleted) question regarding my general mood goes, I’m pretty much a happy guy who gets along with most people. I admit to having strong personal, political, and religious beliefs that I enjoy debating with others. But the one thing that really drives me nuts is partisanship (which is probably why I’m always making comments on your blog posts).
As for Mr. Beck personally, I’m grateful that he’s off drugs and alcohol, and that the gospel has helped him with his personal difficulties. So I do have some positive things to write about him.
Mike, I will print out the penultimate sentence of your comment, laminate it and put it on my wall. I will cherish it always. Finally, a positive comment (kind of) about some thing or some subject. Halelujah!!
But seriously, I’m pretty sure you’re a nice guy, at least as nice a guy as Glenn Beck, and I think GB is a pretty darned nice guy. Just remember, to quote Julie Andrews, that “a spoonful of sugar makes the Libertarian medicine go down.” Sugar up those comments with occasional praise, my man. It will do wonders!
Geoff #11: Sugar up those comments with occasional praise, my man. It will do wonders!
Orrin Hatch, one of my two senators, deserves significant praise for voting NO on the General Immigration Bill, S 1639, last week.
(How’s that?)
Glenn is anything but a partisan. Listen closely. His producers are, and they’ve gone head to head in some pretty heated (and awkward) on-air spats. I’m a partisan so I know a partisan when I hear one. Glenn Beck ain’t a partisan.
The longer one listens/watches Beck, the more comfortable one gets with him being one of the public faces of mormonism.
“but he still takes positions and then stands by them,”
Oh the horror! He stands by his positions!
“even when his guests have opposing views that are legitimate and superior to his own.”
Superior…. in your opinion. All you’re saying is that you buy into the arguments of those who oppose him, therefore Beck must accept those arguments too. There is some illogic in that.
I want to comment more on your comment, but I’d cross too much into the political, and Geoff B wanted this to remain more spiritual. I hope I can get away with saying that your comment #10 displays (what appears to me) to be your own political bias, in spite of your claims to having problems with both the left and the right.
My political bias is in line with Geoff B’s. 🙂 Geoff is a breath of fresh air that balances the left-leaning tendency of the bloggernacle.
Beck sure has a lot of chutzpah to go public with his Mormon beliefs. It’s been a few years now since his conversion, but he was out there with his religious beliefs shortly after he joined.
I guess I was fooling myself if I thought that by posting a link to Glenn Beck’s conversion story we would all stand around and sing “kumbaya” and think warm thoughts about him.
I posted this in the spirit of another post I did on Harry Reid in which I basically said, “I disagree with the guy’s politics, but at least I know he’s a good Church member and family man. More power to him.” I was hoping we could say the same thing about Glenn Beck. And, notice, on that post everybody did stand around and sing “kumbaya” about Harry Reid. Interesting to notice the partisanship in the Bloggernacle.
But I guess I am also guilty of suppressing free speech about GB. I apologize to Mike P and another person whose comments I deleted. So, critics, fire away!
My take: GB is a good man who talks for four hours a day (three on his radio show, one on his TV show). He is an entertainer who is a conservative. He is likely to offend a lot of people, which is pretty much inevitable if you talk to millions of people for four hours a day.
I listen to him pretty regularly. He is the opposite of partisan — he is a conservative who criticizes the Republicans almost as much as the Democrats. He urges people to register as independents. Really. Mike, if you call him partisan I can only surmise you have not listened to him very much.
Does he support the war? Yes. Is he pro free-market and does he make fun of liberals all day long? Yes. Does he praise Republicans more than Democrats? Yes. But he is the least partisan talk show host out there. And I listen to them all.
If you want to say that Rush and Sean and Laura Ingraham and especially Hugh Hewitt are partisan, I am with you 100 percent. I agree, they are partisan. But it is simply untrue to say that about Glenn Beck.
Ok, fire away Glenn Beck haters! It might be more worthwhile if you used actual examples when criticizing him.
Geoff- Wanna bet the only specific examples anybody will come up with here are the ones readily available on a google news search from Soros-funded Media Matters? I’d wager that nobody here who detests Glenn Beck has listened to more than an hour of his program.
I have listened to several hours of his program, and still am not a fan. Ihave, as you suggested, written him a letter. Of course, with no response. It was my comment you deleted. I was not trashing his politics. I was, however, commenting on the fact that he cannot seem to disagree with someones policies, beliefs, etc without resorting to name calling. I was taught to not make fun of those who were different than me. I believe it is even in a primary song. I just personally do not feel comfortable with the face of mormonism being someone who for the sake of humor will resort to such blatant disrespect of humanity. Go ahead and delete this too, I guess.
I will explain myself. The first time I listened to Glenn, I was unaware of his religious affiliation. I was interested in listening because the stationed claimed to promote family values. The discussion Glenn had with his producer turned slightly sexually in nature when discussing racy photos. Enough so that if I had been with a teenage boy in the car, I would have felt the need to change the station. So I decided to write the station and Mr. Beck. I was quite shocked to learn that he was a Mormon. I did write the letter, but then also decided to try and give him another chance. Maybe I had just caught a bad day. The next time I listened he was calling two different women he disagreed with politically “fat witch†and “stereotypical bi***†respectively. Now, I do not agree with these women, either. However, I do not think it is appropriate, no matter how much you disagree with a person, to resort to name calling. Stick with the facts, they speak for themselves. I have tried several other times to listen to Mr. Beck. Each time I have felt uncomfortable. I do not like to think of him as the face of Mormonism. I have enjoyed the portrayal of the church based on President Hinckley’s media interviews. I cannot imagine him speaking in such a way about other human beings. Mr. Beck is just too harsh for me. I guess I still hold to the primary song “Jesus said love everyone, treat them kindly too.†I imagine that Mr. Beck is a kind person to those around him. However, I do not enjoy his comments on the air. I just wanted to inform that I got this all from listening to him directly, and not from some other filtered place.
I’ve recently started listening to Beck on my drives home from work each day over the last couple months, as well as watching his TV show when I can. I can’t remember how I found out he was LDS, but it was then that I took interest in watching and listening to his programs.
I’ve become a big fan of his because I do agree with a lot of his points, and I’ve been impressed with how he will stand by and promote many values that are in harmony with the gospel, especially on his radio show and if you listen often enough, you can even hear his testimony of Christ, and the Atonement being born through his messages.
I understand the points that Maren and Parker makes (I do find myself uncomfortable too at times and a bit surprised at some of the things he can say that can do a disservice to the public Mormon image)and therefore I definitely do not condone some of the things he has said, I do consider the lifestyle he has come from, and that despite that he’s been LDS for a number of years now, he still has some ‘natural man’ thoughts and attitudes in him that will surface from time to time that he needs to get better control of.
As for me though, I do support him, as a member of the church and as someone who I’m convinced is really making an honest effort to become a better, more humble person, someone who strives to be the best dad and husband he can be as well. Despite the fact that he can say things that would make you think his wife would want to slap him when he got home, his wife must be a great wife to be able to love him through his weaknesses that he still needs to overcome just as we all have our various weaknesses to overcome.
I think Glenn is progressing in that direction because as I’ve listened to him lately versus, when I first started to listen to him, I think he’s been getting a bit better. I do think he can come across as a bit arrogant and rude with certain people he interviews and doesn’t see eye to eye with and I don’t like how he often cuts them short of being able to finish their point, but I guess that is such with just about all radio talk shows to some degree though. Perhaps it’s just their producers pointing to their watch in the background and planning too many topics to discuss in their allotted time, but I tend to think Glenn cuts people of rudely and intentionally at times and I wish that he and his producers would give people he interviews or people who call in with opposing view points more respect and time to finish explaining themselves even though they don’t agree. After all, one thing Glenn often preaches is that we are becoming divided as a nation and not talking to each other and not working around our disagreements and that we need to start talking to each other and keep talking to each other and agreeing to disagree when necessary. I think that if he got better at doing this himself, he would improve his image with a lot of people.
The real reasons why I still listen to and watch him though, is that he does make a lot of sense on political and social issues. He is a guy who for the most part, does a great job of promoting and standing by values of faith and family. He is very patriotic and conservative, but not a partisan who’s loyal to anyone party at any cost. He wishes for more unity in our government from both Republicans and Democrats to work together for the benefit of our ‘choice land’, much like we expect husbands and wifes to unite and work together for the benefit of their children and families.
Many of the points Glenn makes and discusses actually make me to reflect on Christ and His Second Coming and the need to be continue to prepare myself and always be on guard and strive to be as worthy as I can to greet Christ whenever that great day happens to come. In that respect I often feel the Spirit in listening to Glenn’s points and reflecting on how we really are living in the last days and the need for us to be prepared both spiritually and temporally for great and terrible prophecies that are coming to pass and will continue to come to pass.
A heart felt testimony from Glenn and his conversion can viewed at http://youtube.com/watch?v=wKtAPT9KEfM.
Geoff #15: I posted this in the spirit of another post I did on Harry Reid in which I basically said, “I disagree with the guy’s politics, but at least I know he’s a good Church member and family man. More power to him.”
IIRC, you wrote that “Harry [Reid] loves to hate President Bush and VP Dick Cheney,” and I challenged you on that claim.
https://millennialstar.org/index.php/2007/06/13/the_least_popular_national_mormon_politi
See comment 7.
John Mansfield recently wrote something nice about Harry Reid, though. And there were two nastygram responses from those who think that it’s impossible for a good Mormon to be a Democrat.
https://millennialstar.org/index.php/2007/03/16/why_harry_reid_is_glad_he_believed
See comments 8 and 9.
FWIW, I’m certain that Mitt Romney, Harry Reid, and Glenn Beck are all wonderful people who live the gospel and have terrific families. I agree with some of the political policies they advocate, and disagree with others.
Kumbaya, my Lord, kumbaya….
The longer one listens/watches Beck, the more comfortable one gets with him being one of the public faces of mormonism.
Well, at the risk of being shown the door on this thread for being negative, my reaction has been the opposite.
I agree Mark.
I am trying to send Glen my latest about 20th century immigration (its about my father’s vision and journey from Italy)- does anyone have his actual mailing address?
Sorry – correction to my previous posting —
I am trying to send Glen my latest book called, My Father’s Compass: Lessons for an Immigrant Son, about 20th century immigration (its about my father’s vision and journey from Italy)- does anyone have his actual mailing address?