Memo reveals Mormons had anti-gay marriage "strategy" since 1997

[Bluebear]

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - On Election Day, LDS Church members helped pass the Proposition 8 same-sex marriage ban in California. But now, a new internal LDS Church document has surfaced, one showing the Church's involvement and strategy going back more than a decade. This memo was reportedly sent from a LDS General Authority to a member of the Quorum of the Twelve. It deals with the issue of same-sex marriage and it is dated, March 4, 1997.

This eleven-year-old memo gives a glimpse into President Gordon B. Hinckley's strategy for dealing with same-sex marriage. It talks of a meeting with President Hinckley who reportedly said to "move ahead" with the church's opposition to same-sex marriage. This memo also discusses joining forces with the Catholic Church, saying: "...the public image of the Catholic Church is higher than our Church. In other words, if we get into this, they are the ones with which to join."

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top%20stories/story.aspx?content_id=4a8a2464-6cf3-45d1-a0bd-606f034bae33

[bliss_eternal]

1. I wondered about this.

How long they planned? I figured they had to plan for some time, considering the amount of money and how organized it seemed.
Something else that bothers me....anyone notice the mormon church advertising more than ever before?

Where is a non-profit getting so much money (for ads, etc.)?

:shrug:

[NMMNG]

2. Their members

They're required to tithe 10%. And I do mean required. It's actually a "law", if you can believe that.

And what the members don't give to the church they're "strongly encouraged" to donate to certain causes. Like the Yes on 8 campaign, for example.

[bliss_eternal]

8. Yikes--

During the years of "forced family church going", I recall tithing but it was "suggested", not required (i.e. christian and catholic churches).

Ok. Now the increase in "the mormon bible" and lds commercials I've seen over the years make sense. And of course, the incessant prop8 ads, prior to the election.

No wonder that church traditionally encouraged (and taught) families to be poly.(Wait--it's called something else isn't it?) That's more followers being born into the faith, and eventually more $$$$. That church must have to silly amounts of money.
:wow:

[marshall]

13. That sounds like taxes to me!

I wonder where it spreads around to?

[Seldona]

4. Faith based initiatives?

Even if that money supposedly isn't used for proselytizing, it has to free money up from other programs to be used like this. I wonder how much they have received in public money?

Is there a place to track who is getting what from the faith based trough?

[Double T]

3. Organized religions cause MOST of the problems in this world,

Some things NEVER change. idiots!

[Political Heretic]

7. I agree and I appreciate you phrasing it the way you did.

Organized, institutional, hierarchical religion cause most of the problems in the world. Some guy sitting in the grass in his backyard quietly saying a prayer to the heavens is not what we should be railing against.

That's why I deeply appreciate rational attacks against domgatism, institutional religion and its historical consequences, but also why I deeply detest christopher-hitchens like belittling and attacking of a persons personal / privated interpretation of a spirituality.

[Submariner]

5. "...the public image of the Catholic Church is higher than our Church"

This statement was obviously made before the catholic clergy child rape scandal broke.

[Joe the Liberal]

6. I wonder what they are planning for next. n/t

[NMMNG]

9. They want same-sex marriage bans nationwide

Then they go to work on our adoption rights.

[skooooo]

10. Too bad they didn't take all that time, effort, and energy..

..and fight something like child abuse.

[fasttense]

11. Mormons have absolutely No Right to object to any marriages.

Those Mormon booty farms scattered throughout the country (especially in Utah and Texas) certainly undermined any traditional marriage arguments they may make.

When the Mormon church has taken a public and active effort to prosecuted and jail all those old white men with six pregnant 13 year old wives, then they have a right to speak out about marriages of other people. There are thousand of 25 year old women with 12 children who are brainwashed and abused by the conservative sects of Mormonism. Yet Mormons seem to do nothing about them. What the f**k? Clean up your act, then you have a right to discuss marriage.

When they clean up the crazy polygamist ideology that breeds abusive Mormon sects, then they may have a right to question other people's marriages. But until then they are merely hypocrites.

[Political Tiger]

12. Whatever happened to feeding the poor?

Or helping the downtrodden? Maybe I missed it, but I don't recall Jesus ever saying to His followers that they should spend millions of dollars to stop gay people from getting married!

[KharmaTrain]

14. Wanna Bet This Goes Far Further Than That?

Bigotry has been a main plank of the GOOP for the past 40 years. The key was to "energize" the fundies and "social conservatives" (religious) with a constant boilerplate of issues. It started with race relations then abortion and on to school prayer and gay rights. The GOOP hoped they could turn every pulpit into a political ally and find the common causes in the religious world that would help further their agendas.

Many of the big organizers on this front worked closely with many religious groups...Christian Coalition and its allies became very saavy at both generating press and winning elections. I wouldn't doubt the LDS was in on the game here...getting support and offering it to the GOOP where and when needed. The interesting question is if Hinckley had met with GOOP strategists or other groups in this memo.

If there's any group that knows how to work the media, it's LDS. They own a large broadcast chain and spread their money and influence far and wide.

[Bertha Venation]

15. Gee. What a shock. n/t

[RedLetterRev]

16. I really think it goes much, much further than just GLBT rights

I think this is only the first battle in the Dominionist long view of removing existing rights from citizens, starting with the weakest, setting precedent for doing so, one at a time. As they build up precedents, it gets easier and easier to remove existing rights from broader classes of people until *poof* their goal of getting rid of that pesky Constitution will have been achieved. It's not like I'm inventing this out of wholecloth -- the Dominionists have been right out in the open with it all along. Let's not lose sight of the long battle, either.

Throughout the * administration, rights have been impinged or curtailed subtly, until this bunch thought they were bold and solid enough to go after a group they thought were weak and that we wouldn't stand up for ourselves.

Sur-friggin'-prise. You can push a free and forgiving people only so far. I'm now of a mind that if they mash my toe, I'm ready to stomp their whole foot, hard.