LDS Church Can’t Hide Behind A Temple

[meegbear]

This commentary is the opinion of the author and may not necessarily reflect those of other authors at Box Turtle Bulletin

The Mormon church doesn’t like the attention it’s getting in the wake of California’s Prop 8. Church leaders released this statement yesterday:

It is disturbing that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is being singled out for speaking up as part of its democratic right in a free election.

Members of the Church in California and millions of others from every faith, ethnicity and political affiliation who voted for Proposition 8 exercised the most sacrosanct and individual rights in the United States - that of free expression and voting.

While those who disagree with our position on Proposition 8 have the right to make their feelings known, it is wrong to target the Church and its sacred places of worship for being part of the democratic process.

Once again, we call on those involved in the debate over same-sex marriage to act in a spirit of mutual respect and civility towards each other. No one on either side of the question should be vilified, harassed or subject to erroneous information.

Well, the Mormon leadership is right on their last sentence. If only they had heeded that advice during the campaign. Gay couples throughout the state were vilified, harassed and subject to dump truck loads of erroneous information during the campaign that the Mormon church itself played an enormous role in waging. There was no sense of civility during their campaign. Why should they not expect to reap the seeds that they sow?

The leadership of the LDS Church has their hand prints all over the campaigns in Arizona and California:

• We know Arizona state Senators who didn’t want to be present for the vote to place Prop 102 on the ballot, but were coerced and harassed by their bishops and other church members into cutting short their vacations to cast their vote.
  
• Once on the ballot in California and Arizona, we know that Mormon prophets called on their followers to give of their “time and means,” and that this call went out to all Mormons in California and Arizona, as well as in Utah.
  
• We also know that the Arizona anti-gay campaign was under the direct leadership of some of the most prominent LDS members in the state.
  
• By some estimates, more than $20 million of Mormon money went to fund the $36 million California campaign, while an additional estimated $3-7 million funded Arizona’s $8 million campaign.
  

One thing must be made clear: the leadership of the LDS church has every right to do this. Churches are barred by IRS regulations from endorsing political candidates, but they are fully free to participate in the political process on the issues — including ballot propositions. To claim otherwise would be to deny the LDS Church’s right to speak out on what it sees as important moral issues. It would also deny the rights of LDS members to fully participate in the democratic process.

But exercising those rights in the democratic process brings with it public scrutiny and criticism. That, too, is an integral part of the democratic process from which no one is exempt.

<snip>

http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2008/11/08/5985

[Clovis Sangrail]

1. 'act in a spirit of mutual respect' ???

fuck you

[Dogmudgeon]

2. I thought that churches were not permitted to do ANY specific political advocacy

Can anyone clarify that?

Thanks!

--p!

[Clovis Sangrail]

3. they're allowed to speak about issues

like how "xxx is wrong" but they're not allowed to specifically endorse any particular candidates or specifically tell congregants to "vote x on measure y"
I'm not clear if there's a loophole that allows them to tell non-congregants to "vote x on measure y"

[Dogmudgeon]

4. That's what I thought.

It's a big "gray area" -- which is the whole point, I guess.

--p!