Romney attends Mormon leader's rites

SALT LAKE CITY -- Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney took a detour from the campaign trail Saturday to be at the funeral of his spiritual leader, the prophet of the Mormon Church.

With just days to go until 21 states divvy up Republican delegates in Super Tuesday contest that appears John McCain's to lose, Romney was to pause with hundreds of thousands of his fellow Mormons to say good-bye to Gordon Hinckley, 97, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). The popular church leader who shepherded the Mormon Church through a massive worldwide expansion died Sunday.

Although Hinckley's funeral was to be broadcast in 69 languages to more than 6,000 LDS sites around the world, it wasn't clear whether non-Mormon voters preoccupied with Sunday's Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants would take notice.

For Mormons, though, the passing of the longtime Mormon leader has been a major event. Thousands of faithful waited for hours in the mountain chill to view Hinckley's body in Temple Square's Hall of the Prophets. Flags were flown at half staff. Mourners streamed into the 21,000-seat Mormon Conference Center as the famed Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang hymns, accompanied by the facility's massive, 7,708-pipe organ.

In a bind

Romney met Hinckley when he was president of the Salt Lake Olympics Organizing Committee in 2002 and again just before he launched his presidential campaign.

The former Massachusetts governor, who sat with members of his family in the second row from the front, was one of several prominent Mormons at the service. Among those in the first row were Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.; Utah Sens. Orrin Hatch and Robert Bennett, both Republicans.

"He could not not be there," said University of Utah political scientist Matthew Burbank of Romney. "Given the world of (Mormon) political insiders, this is an absolute must-attend."

Romney staffers described the visit as strictly non-political.