Focus on the Family pulls interview over Beck's Mormon faith

Excerpts of Focus pulls interview over Beck's Mormon faith by Daniel Burke of the Salt Lake Tribune

Colorado-based Focus on the Family has pulled an online interview with conservative television host Glenn Beck after concerns were raised about Beck's Mormon faith.

Gary Schneeberger, vice president of media and public relations for Focus on the Family Action, said that "differences in the Mormon faith and the historical evangelical faith are not inconsequential."

"We can, and do, gladly cooperate with friends outside of the evangelical heritage on common causes; but in no case do we intend to alter our clear distinction as unwaveringly grounded in evangelical theology."

Beck has appeared on Focus on the Family founder James Dobson's radio program, and has hosted Dobson on his own former CNN show. Beck is scheduled to debut a new program on Fox News on Jan. 19. Both Dobson and Beck advocated for Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California.

On Dec. 22, Underground Apologetics, a Wisconsin-based group dedicated to helping Christians "defend their faith," criticized Focus on the Family for not mentioning Beck's membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in its online interview.

"While Glenn's social views are compatible with many Christian views, his beliefs in Mormonism are not. Clearly, Mormonism is a cult," the news release said.

Schneeberger said the criticism from Underground Apologetics had "nothing to do with our decision to pull the article from publication," but admitted that "some from our base" were concerned that the interview aimed to "signal theological compromise."

"We regret having communicated in a way that has caused some confusion both from some within our evangelical base as well as from our friends, like Mr. Beck, who hold a sincere and devout Mormon faith," Schneeberger said. "We intended no insult; we merely miscalculated on how best to feature Glenn."

Beck said in a statement, "Whatever your beliefs about my religion, the concept of religious tolerance is too important to be sacrificed in response to special interest groups, especially when it means bowing to censorship."

Dobson "pushed" out of Focus on the Family?

Excerpts of  Did Focus On The Family Board Force Dobson Out? by Justin Elliott, TPMMuckraker.  More on James Dobson and the LDS Church
--
A prominent friend and supporter of James Dobson believes Dobson was pushed aside by the new leadership of Focus on the Family, who want the powerhouse evangelical ministry to project a softer image on issues ranging from abortion to gay marriage to relations with President Obama.

Dobson founded Focus on the Family in 1977 and spent the next 25 years building it into the influential Christian conservative group it is today.

In little-noticed comments from the November show, Dobson seemed troubled by the board's decision to ask him to give up the program.

"[T]the board of directors voted privately on Wednesday -- before we got there -- to ask for my resignation, although their request was made with kindness and respect. We can only guess the reason for their decision because frankly I don't fully know," Dobson said. "But it apparently has to do with the desire for closure on my tenure and the beginning of another."

In a Feb. 6 Wall Street Journal story on the changes at Focus (for which Dobson also declined to comment), [new focus president] Daly said that "he has no use for the sharp personal attacks on politicians employed by Mr. Dobson. 'I don't see evil behind everything.'"

Mr. Daly said he preferred to build bridges with others. While Mr. Dobson blasted President Barack Obama for "fruitcake" ideas, Mr. Daly praised the president for his devotion to family and last summer attended a White House event celebrating fatherhood.

Strange Bedfellows

Mormons and the Coalition to Protect Marriage
Robert A. Rees

On a recent trip to Utah, I read an article in the Salt Lake Tribune titled "Minister Insists Romney is a 'Cultist'" about the Reverend Robert Jeffress, pastor of an evangelical mega-church in Dallas. That made me to think about how closely tied Mormons are in the Proposition 8 campaign with groups and organizations that consider us non-Christian at best (and cultist and satanic at worst).

I don't know whether Latter-day Saints involved in the Yes on 8 campaign have bothered to investigate the organizations with which we are in league in this initiative, but my cursory examination reveals that the majority could be classified as fundamentalist, and not a few characterized as extreme right-wing. I believe it is safe to say that many are decidedly anti-Mormon.

The majority of churches listed on the ProtectMarriage.com website as "endorsers" are Evangelical, Pentecostal, or Catholic. Endorsing organizations include the Eagle Forum, Creation Research (anti-evolution), and Traditional Values Coalition (whose website is anti-Obama and anti-homosexual). In other words, we are associated in this campaign with individuals, groups, organizations and churches that tend to represent a right-wing ideology. Many if not most of the churches and religious groups with whom we are aligned tend to be biblical literalist, anti-feminists, dominionists (America should be governed by Christian principles and biblical law), exceptionalists (the United States is chosen above all other nations), and anti-homosexual.

Other groups affiliated with the Coalition tend to fall into the same category. For example the organization providing legal counsel to the Coalition, the Alliance Defense Fund, was founded by James Dobson (Focus on the Family), Bill Bright (Campus Crusade for Christ), Larry Burkett (Crown Financial Ministries) and D. James Kennedy (Coral Ridge Ministries). A review of their respective websitesreveals their ideological bent. Another organization, the Family Research Council, also formed by James Dobson and affiliated with Focus on the Family, is the producer of a video currenly being destributed by ProtectMarriage.com ("If Prop 8 Fails on November 4th, All Public School Children Will Be Affected"). The Family Research Council, headed by Tony Perkins, is a right-wing political lobbying organization. Still another video, "Homosexuals Brainwashing Our Children in Elementary Schools," produced by Mass Resistance, features on its website an article titled "The Mitt Romney Deception."

A DVD currently being distributed by the Coalition, "Proposition 8 and the Case for Traditional Marriage," is produced by the American Family Association, an anti-homosexual group. It is a slickly-produced, propagandistic video and yet is being distributed vigorously by Latter-day Saints. As the high councilman in one stake spearheading the Proposition 8 campaign wrote to members, "There is an excellent video presentation with Chuck Colsun [sic] (Pastor) on the American Family Association website that should be a must see for all of us." He then encouraged members to buy and distribute copies to their friends, have showings in their homes, etc. He adds, "This is a moral (and mortal) issue and we are in the fight of our lives. This video removes all doubt as to what's happening." One stake president's wife recently purchased a thousand copies of this DVD for members to distribute.
Even Catholics, with whom the Church has joined arms in this battle and with whom it in general has had amicable relations over the past several decades, are not always friendly. The Vatican has recently decreed that the Mormons will no longer be permitted to copy genealogical records of Catholic churches (which means that millions of Catholics worldwide will not be able to access the records of their ancestors on the LDS genealogical database). And, since 2001, the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has refused to recognize Mormon baptism as a legitimate Christian baptism (an exception to its established principle of accepting non-Catholic Christian baptism for converts to Catholicism).
By using material that has originated from other sources and that relies on falsehoods, myths, and half-truths, Latter-day Saints in the Yes on 8 campaign are employing tactics similar to those used against the Church in the past (and that currently are being used by some of those with whom we are affiliated in this campaign). From the first days of the Restoration, Mormons have been victims of campaigns based on false, misleading, and manipulative media and inflammatory rhetoric designed to appeal to people's fears and insecurities. A review of anti-Mormon material discussed on such websites as www.mormonapologetics.org and www.fair.org and videos shown on YouTube reveal that much of the anti-Mormon material is produced or influenced by churches and religious organizations with the same ideology as those supporting Proposition 8.

If there are sound reasons for supporting Proposition 8 then Latter-day Saints should put them forth and let them contend in the marketplace of democratic discourse. If we believe that the truth shall make us free, we should never resort to using falsehoods and deceptive arguments to promote our positions. If, as we claim, Proposition 8 is a moral issue, then we should use our highest moral principles in promoting it.

I personally hope that leaders responsible for coordinating the engagement of Latter-day Saints in this campaign will be candid and straightforward about the importance of California members not yielding to the temptation to accept any source of information about gay marriage or its supposed consequences, but to stick to information that comes directly from Church headquarters. As things now stand, it seems that local leaders are immediately and circulating whatever material they receive that purports to support Proposition 8 (some of which is patently false or misleading) without making the least attempt to verify whether or not it is factual. I fear this may result in the Church's winning the battle against Prop 8 but losing its image as an organization dedicated to the highest principles of Christian behavior.

I also hope that the General Authorities will reiterate that how we vote on any matter in a general election is a decision that each member of the Church is free to make based on his or her own conscience and that "as Church members decide their own appropriate level of involvement in protecting marriage between a man and a woman, they should approach this issue with respect for others, understanding, honesty, and civility." (From "The Divine Institution of Marriage"—www.newsroom.lds.org.)

--
Truth can never be more harmful than denying it

Focus on the Family leader says they're losing battle against gay marriage

Focus on the Family Leader Sees Likely Loss on Marriage by Advocate.com Editors

--
Jim Daly, the president and CEO of Focus on the Family, which funds attacks against marriage equality across the country, concedes in a new interview that his side has "probably lost" on the issue.

Focus on the Family out-spent LDS 3-to-1 on Prop. 8 fight

This article compares the amounts spent by the two institutions.  I suspect the church would have preferred that this was the only story on LDS financial contribution towards Prop8, rather than the attention received on mobilizing its California members to raise about half of all Prop8 proceeds.

-----

The Associated Press

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. » A Colorado Springs-based evangelical group spent more than three times the amount spent by the Mormon church to support a California ballot initiative that outlawed gay marriage.

Data released this week by the California secretary of state's office show Focus on the Family donated $657,000 in money and services to ProtectMarriage.com, a California coalition that supported Proposition 8.

A September report indicated Focus on the Family had contributed $448,406. Focus vice president of media relations Gary Schneeberger says the most recent figure includes the value of non-cash contributions such as mailing costs and time on radio programs.

The data also indicate Salt Lake City-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated $189,000 to support Proposition 8.

Wall Street Journal: Mormons Boost Anti-gay marriage Effort

Excerpts from a Wall Street Journal article by mark Schoofs.

Mormons have emerged as a dominant fund-raising force in the hotly contested California ballot fight to ban same-sex marriage.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have contributed more than a third of the approximately $15.4 million raised since June 1 to support Proposition 8. The ballot initiative, if passed, would reverse the current right of same-sex couples to marry.

The tally of Mormon contributions was provided by Frank Schubert, campaign manager for ProtectMarriage.com -- Yes on 8, the initiative's primary backer. A finance-tracking group corroborated Mormon fund-raising dominance, saying it could exceed 40%.

The Mormon Church decision to enlist members on behalf of the same-sex marriage ban has given supporters of Proposition 8 a fund-raising lead. The campaign to defeat the initiative has collected around $13 million so far, said Steve Smith, a top campaign consultant for No on 8, Equality for All. Both sides raised roughly equal amounts in the early stages, said Mr. Smith, but "all of a sudden in the last few weeks they are out-raising us, and it appears to be Mormon money."

Mormon donors said they weren't coerced. "Nobody twisted my arm," said Richard Piquet, a Southern California accountant who gave $25,000 in support of Proposition 8. He said Mormon Church leaders called donating "a matter of personal conscience." Some Mormons who declined to donate said their local church leaders had made highly charged appeals, such as saying that their souls would be in jeopardy if they didn't give. Church spokesmen said any such incident wouldn't reflect Mormon Church policy.

The latest statewide poll, taken at the end of August, shows that 54% of the state's likely voters oppose the initiative while 40% support it.

The battle has drawn in money from around the country. The Knights of Columbus, a Roman Catholic group, has given $1 million to support Proposition 8. Focus on the Family, a nonprofit organization composed mainly of evangelical Protestants, has given more than $400,000. The Yes on 8 campaign has received "more proportionally from the Latter-day Saints Church than from any other faith," said Mr. Schubert, 35% to 40% of the total.

The Mormon Church encouraged its members to send their donations to a separate post-office box set up by a church member, said Messrs. Schubert and L. Whitney Clayton, a senior Mormon Church official involved in the campaign. Mr. Clayton said the church didn't keep track of how much individual Mormons donated, just the cumulative total. He said members bundled the donations and forwarded them to the campaign.

A Web site run by individual Mormons, Mormonsfor8.com, has tracked all donations to the Yes on 8 campaign of $1,000 or more listed on the California secretary of state's Web site. The site's founder, Nadine Hansen, said they have identified more than $5.3 million given by Mormons but believe that donations from church members may account for far more than 40% of the total raised.

Robert Bolingbroke, a Mormon who lives near San Diego, said he and his wife decided on their own to donate $3,000 in August. Later, he was invited to participate in a conference call led by a high church official, known as a member of the Quorum of Seventy. Mr. Bolingbroke, a former president and chief operating officer of The Clorox Co., estimates that 40 to 60 Mormon potential donors were on that call, and he said it was suggested that they donate $25,000, which Mr. Bolingbroke did earlier this month. Mr. Bolingbroke said he doesn't know how he or the other participants on the call were selected. Church leaders keep tithing records of active members, who are typically asked to donate 10% of their income each year to the Mormon Church.

Same-sex marriage hits at the heart of Mormon theology, said Terryl Givens, a professor of literature and religion at the University of Richmond. According to scholars and documents on the Mormon Church's official Web site, couples married in a Mormon temple remain wedded for eternity and can give birth to spirit children in the afterlife. Most importantly, Mormons must be married to achieve "exaltation," the ultimate state in the afterlife. Mormons also believe they retain their gender in the afterlife.

"This all explains the Mormon difficulty with homosexuality," said Mr. Givens. In a theology based on eternal gender, marriage and exaltation, "same-sex attraction doesn't find a place."

The church, which typically stays out of political issues, has occasionally entered the fray. In the 1970s, for example, it opposed the Equal Rights Amendment.

Asked if working on Proposition 8 might improve the standing of Mormons in the eyes of evangelicals, Mr. Whitney said, "That's just not been on our radar."

The entire article can be read here.

Society for Mormon Philosophy & Theology conference

SMPT Conference - 21-23 May 2009

   Location: Claremont Graduate University,
   Claremont, California
   Held in cooperation with the Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies and the Claremont Mormon Studies Student Association.

"Upon All Nations - Religious Pluralism"

Abstracts of presentations

Sharon Adams - Looking at Mormonism and Shambhala Buddhism Through the Lens of Religious Pluralism

   One way to approach the topic of religious pluralism from an LDS perspective is to focus on a comparative study between Mormonism and the teachings, sacred histories/texts and means of divine revelation from a different religious tradition. In this paper I will demonstrate how Shambhala Buddhism may offer, not only in its developmental historical trajectory but also in its core teachings, a clarifying and in some ways complementary reflection of certain aspects of Mormonism. In providing a comparison of how Mormonism and Shambhala Buddhism fits within their respective "western" and "eastern" traditions, I will focus on how each provides a type of "restoration" of Christ's and the Buddha's original and most sacred teachings. Implicit in this comparison is the role that Joseph Smith and Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche played as prophet, seer, revelator, and tertön (treasure discoverer) in restoring the authoritative power and teachings in their respective traditions. Through my comparative analysis I attempt to bring forward aspects of both lineages that emphasize the need to move toward a more inclusive and ecumenical approach to the study of religion. I argue that efforts in exploring religious pluralism in such a manner will lead not only to greater understanding from the standpoint of each tradition, but it may also encourage greater opportunities for inter-religious dialogue.

Jacob Baker - "God With Us": Panentheism, Pansyntheism, and the Mormon Concept of God

   "Though originally developed over two centuries ago in Western thought, the concept of panentheism has become an increasingly popular alternative to traditional theism and pantheism. It seeks to avoid both isolating God from the world (the absolute transcendence of traditional theism) and identifying God with the world (the absolute immanence of pantheism), by seeking a middle position that asserts that the Being of God penetrates the whole universe, so that every part of it exists in him, but that His Being is yet more than the universe. Proponents of a panentheistic view of God argue that panentheism fulfills theology's central task of articulating the appropriate harmony between immanence and transcendence, as well as a satisfactory reconciliation with contemporary science. To date there has been no extended treatment of a comparison between the Mormon concept of God and panentheism. Such an exercise in comparative religion would serve to help insert the Mormon concept of God into contemporary scholarly discourse. This paper seeks to lay a groundwork for such a comparison. There are interesting parallels and dissimilarities between the two concepts, but I will ultimately argue that the Mormon concept of God does not fit comfortably into theistic, pantheistic, or even panentheistic categories. Instead, the Mormon concept of God might more accurately be described as "pansyntheistic," a term coined by theologian Ruth Page and closely related to panentheism."

Brian Birch - "Treasure them Up": Providence, Pluralism, and the Plan of Salvation

   As the LDS Church moves into a more inclusive phase of its development, questions of religious diversity will become increasingly relevant. A well-known maxim among Latter-day Saints is Joseph Smith's declaration that "we should gather all the good and true principles in the world and treasure them up, or we shall not come out true 'Mormons.'" One important means of gathering and treasuring these principles is the effort to make theological sense of them. Questions thus emerge: What are possible candidates for these "principles"? Can Mormons declare as true a Hindu, Muslim, or Catholic principle? How tradition-specific can religious concepts be in order for it to possess this kind of truth-value? What concept of truth is required for this kind of inclusivism? This paper will explore these questions and examine some theological implications of a Mormon theology of religions.

Richard Bushman - On Being Ill at Ease in the World

   Mormonism, like every other American cultural system, is nestled in the midst of the great cultural systems dominating our time: science, democracy, and capitalism. With none of these is it perfectly at ease. Despite the efforts of individual Mormons to demonstrate compatibility with each one of these systems, Mormonism chides and chafes each one of them. Efforts to achieve perfect harmony not only lead to the idolatries of our era, they dilute Mormonism. Implicit in our belief is a potent critique of culture which it would be a mistake to dissipate in our eagerness to fit in. Our task is to make the most of the creative tensions with the ambient culture and to enjoy being ill at ease.

James Faulconer - The Secular and the Sacred

   Secularity is a necessary condition of contemporary democracy. One need know little history to know the horrors that a nonsecular government can wreak. Nevertheless, we are short-changed if secularism is not augmented by "prophets" in a broad sense, by the ethical intuitions of thosethrough whom at least the sacred and perhaps also the holy are revealed. Secularism seems to have no need of prophets. It cannot understand them because they stand outside the horizon of its possibilities. Yet it is precisely that position outside that makes the prophets valuable to secular society. Being outside, the prophets can bring the sacred into secularism, raising the question of justice and giving secularity a ground from which to make just decisions.

Alonzo Gaskill - Mormonism, Hagiography, and the Virgin Mary: A Look at the Role of Patron Saints in LDS Belief and Practice

   Throughout the church's history, Latter-day Saint leaders have occasionally publically expressed their discomfort with the place of patron saints in Roman Catholic worship and practice. It seems fair to say that such criticisms are, more often than not, the result of misunderstandings as to what the official teaching of the Roman Catholic church is on saints, their role and powers. This paper will seek to do two things: (1) establish what the official position of the Catholic church is on patron saints, and (2) show that Mormonism has their own patron saints that function in ways very similar to Catholic saints.

Farooq Hassan - Pluralistic practices in the life of prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

   The concept of pluralism and its dimensions promoted in Islam has been attested to by comments from the international community in various publications and fora. Islam is being labeled as the "enemy of the civilization," but the fact is that pluralism was a reality that Islam addressed at its very beginning 1400 years ago. Islam approves of tolerance among individuals, groups, states and family members. The teaching of the Quran and the transparent life of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) prove the pluralistic approach and utmost tolerance in Islam at all levels in life with all human beings. Muhammad (PBUH) preached and practiced tolerance and acceptance towards non-Muslims in every walk of life. Islam can be properly understood by nonMuslims if projected theoretically as well as practically in the right spirit by Muslims in general and scholars in particular. Muslims and people of all other religions face common challenges and dilemmas which have to be understood. All of us have to share the planet Earth; no matter what religion we belong to. So why should we not do it gracefully—in the true, pluralistic way?

Blair Hodges - C. S. Lewis, Latter-day Saints, and the "Virtuous Unbeliever"

   "You ask me my religious views," an 18-year old C.S. Lewis responded to lifelong friend Arthur Greeves. "I believe in no religion. . . Superstition of course in every age has held the common people, but in every age the educated and thinking ones have stood outside it." Almost fifteen years later he confessed to Arthur, "How deep I am just now beginning to see: for I have just passed on from believing in God to definitely believing in Christ—in Christianity." Since the 1950s various Latter-day Saints have shown particular interest in Lewis's religious and fictional works. This paper will make use of Lewis's recently published collected letters to argue that Lewis's transition from atheism to Christianity led him to view conversion in general as a process of "coming home" to God by retaining good and rejecting evil. For Lewis and Latter-day Saints alike, various beliefs can be seen as stepping stones or signposts pointing to higher truths on the road home. Part of Lewis's wide appeal results from an ecumenical view of other religions that is similar to (though looser than) that of Latter-day Saints. Lewis sought for ways to hope for those not converted to Christianity during mortality—those whom he referred to as "virtuous unbelievers." Because Lewis never came close to joining the LDS Church, he raises interesting questions on the eternal status of non-LDS inspired voices; to Latter-day Saints, Lewis is the virtuous unbeliever. Often quoted by LDS General Authorities, teachers and authors, Lewis is representative of God"s inspiration which Latter-day Saints believe can (and does) exist apart from official LDS channels.

Jennifer Lane - I Am among You As One that Serveth

   The status of women in LDS doctrine and practice is currently vigorously debated. This paper briefly highlights points of doctrinal distinctiveness in relation to traditional Christianity, but argues that to emphasize these doctrines above the life and imitation of Christ is a profound misunderstanding of Church doctrine and the message of Christianity. Efforts to emphasize the divine identity and role of women are important, but must also be seen in light the radical demands of the imitation of Christ and the model of servanthood that he offers. This discipleship of service is, however, a path that each must freely embrace.

Jared Ludlow - Uniting All Peoples by the Gospel

   As an apostle, David O. McKay undertook a world mission tour in 1921. One of his stops was Laie, Hawaii, where he "witnessed a most impressive and inspiring sight" as 127 children from many nationalities participated in a U.S. flag raising ceremony. When President McKay later recalled the flag raising ceremony of 1921, he referred to it as a "melting pot." This paper explores McKay's vision of bringing together diverse ethnicities and backgrounds—taught in American principles (and even language), but especially unified under the gospel of Jesus Christ—and compares it with the concept of the "melting pot" which originated in an early 1900s Broadway play. In this play, actors in various ethnic costumes descended into a "melting pot" and then reemerged from the other side dressed as "Americans." Was this the international experience President McKay envisioned when using the term "melting pot"?

Paul Miller - Subjectivity and the Sovereignty of God: Engaging with Karl Barth on Revelation Theology

   While a propositional model of revelation is vital in developing doctrine and legitimizing priesthood authority, my paper focuses on the comparable need for an experiential model that clarifies how ordinary people receive and interpret divine revelation. As a theological ethicist, I am interested in the role of prudential judgment in discerning God's will for the present moment. In taking the reality of continuing revelation seriously, Latter-day Saints are well aware of the problems associated with spiritual discernment. Mormon leaders appeal to various principles to assist members in understanding the revelatory process, such as the claim that revelation applies to each person's stewardship and that God honors human agency. My paper seeks to clarify and evaluate these criteria by exploring the revelation theology of Karl Barth. I highlight his warnings against anthropocentrism, his central concern with acknowledging the freedom and sovereignty of God, and his views on the role of inspiration in transmitting canonized doctrine to succeeding generations.

Jason Monson - Mormonism and the Religious Other

   There are numerous reasons for Latter-day Saints to be interested in the 'religious other' and a variety of positions one can take in approaching them. These various positions are fully addressed in Schmidt-Leukel's theological typology which considers all logical possibilities of theological approaches to other faith traditions within the categories of exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism. The diversity of views in Latter-day Saint scriptures, and particularly in the words of LDS Church leaders, allow them to be used to justify each of these theological positions by placing emphasis on particular passages at the expense of others. Although the inclusivist position appears to be the most common in LDS teachings and the most widely accepted, exclusivist notions are still evident and the possibility remains for a form of 'Mormon Pluralism.'

Mark Olsen - On the Corruptibility of Matter: The Possibilities for a Material Version of an Immortal Soul

   Jan Erik Jones argues that Mormon materialism, together with certain assumptions about the corruptibility of matter, require the belief that the functional elements (or Lockean "nodes") of the soul are constantly transferred by God to other actual material constituents in the face of traumatic physical events. I argue in this paper that such a view of constant transfer of functional elements is not necessary, and that furthermore, it defies Mormon orthodoxy in insisting that matter is inherently corruptible. In the process of resolving, however, the problems raised by Jones's argument, I propose a view of matter that allows that some middle sized objects may be affected by radically traumatic physical events without dissolution.

Randall Paul - Sociality: Pluralism in the Experience and Thought of Joseph Smith, Jr.

   While Joseph Smith did not directly address the topic of religious pluralism in a systematic theory, he seemed to decry it in the First Vision but embrace it in Nauvoo when he made practical appeals for reciprocal religious acceptance. I will discuss how he negotiated this tension with his radical belief that the love of God could not be coerced and really be love—nor could God win a believing heart by any power other than persuasion. Religious freedom (which means religious pluralism) was a theological tenet of his religion based in the sociality of a God who desires loving unity and real difference. After detailing the theological structure of Mormon pluralism, the sociality of gods, I conclude by discussing how some of Joseph Smith's statements pertaining to religious pluralism and conflict might be useful for advocates of any tradition.

Chris Smith - Sibling Rivalry: Mormonism and Pentecostals

   Pentecostals and Mormons have more unfavorable views of each other than of other Christian groups. To a large degree, this animosity stems from their similarities rather than from their differences. The two groups sects share a common ancestry, similar maps of the universe, similar theologies and experiences, and similar missionary ambitions. Despite modest strides toward reconciliation in the United States, it is likely that mutual demonization will continue for the foreseeable future, especially as the two faiths compete for converts in the global south. Both groups must overcome significant theological and cultural obstacles to dialogue if they are to leave sibling rivalry behind in the spirit of Christian brotherhood.

Joseph Spencer - Omnipotent Weakness: Toward a Mormon Doctrine of God's Omnipotence

   John D. Caputo has, in The Weakness of God: A Theology of the Event, argued that the traditional distinction between God as ontologically existent and God as ontologically non-existent should be deconstructed, making way for a third possibility—one might worship God as ontologically deferred. In the end, however, such a move can be revealed to be an essential politicization of God: the ontologically deferred God is the evental God of politics. Alain Badiou and Jean-Luc Marion provide a possible framework for making sense of what is ultimately at stake in Caputo's politicization of God, opening the possibility of there being a fourth category for God's essence. If orthodoxy regards God as ontologically strong (omnipotent), the critical tradition regards God as aesthetically weak (impotent), and the Derridean movement regards God as politically weak (potently impotent), Mormonism might be said to regard God as amorously weak, such that omnipotence is redefined as all-loving-ness. This, in the end, cannot be separated, however, from the Mormon idea that God is a gendered person.

Tyler Stoehr - Do Mormons Really Believe That?

   Although the LDS faith has enjoyed increased recognition in recent years, apparently its doctrinal message is still rather cloudy and obscure, as evidenced by the fact that Francis J. Beckwith, Carl Mosser, Paul Owen and Gregory C.V. Johnson have all recently been quoted as saying that "trying to figure out just what constitutes Mormon theology is like trying to nail Jell-O dipped in olive oil to the wall." In this paper I will argue that part of the explanation for this conclusion arises from the fact that when it comes to the LDS prophetic tradition, scholars (and perhaps even lay members), both within and without the Church, don't seem to be sure about the role said tradition is supposed to play when it comes to the interpretation and presentation of LDS doctrine. Furthermore, I will argue that in recent years LDS apologists have been trending towards a view of LDS doctrine that borders on sola scriptura, which has only served to contribute to the confusion already surrounding the LDS belief in continuing revelation and prophetic guidance. I will then assess recent attempts to approach this issue and argue that despite these efforts the LDS have yet to offer a consistent approach to their tradition. I will then offer a few suggestions for how this question might be approached.

Sheila Taylor - Doctrinal Development and Continuing Revelation

   In the nineteenth century, John Henry Newman proposed a model of doctrinal development as a way of understanding revelation in the church. In this process of development, one does not add new truths to the deposit of revelation, but continues over time to unpack and better articulate the truths contained therein. This kind of approach can also be seen in the work of twentieth-century Catholic theologian Karl Rahner, who distinguishes between original transcendental revelation and its categorical articulation. In this paper, I will look at these ideas in relation to the LDS notion of continuing revelation, and argue that the differences between contemporary LDS and Catholic approaches at least partially arise from different understandings of what revelation is. I will also consider the question of how much the models actually differ when it comes to practical application.

Margaret Toscano - The Jesus Rivals: Authority and Salvation in the Mormon-Protestant Debates

   Why does the position of Jesus continue to be the focal point in the debate over the Christianity of Mormons? In this paper, I suggest that the issue of authority is crucial for understanding this tension. And I take this in two different directions. First, I assert that each of the theological objections that evangelical Protestants have to the Mormon Jesus centers on the sovereignty of Christ and the Protestant rejection of an intermediary priesthood authority as necessary for salvation. Second, I link this theological question to the dynamics of the debate itself to explore the question of why LDS people want Protestant approval, especially that of evangelicals, and why Protestants won't fully give it. The crux of the issue is that Mormons can accept Protestants as Christians without giving up their authority; Protestants cannot. In both cases, Jesus is the emblem of that authority.

Miranda Wilcox - Teaching Religious Pluralism and Brigham Young University

   As violence perpetuated in the name of religious ideology escalates around the world, experts of comparative religions advocate that one of the most crucial, though neglected, ethical responsibilities of a contemporary world citizen is to develop religious literacy, literacy that promotes respectful communication rather than confrontation among people of faith. These experts suggest that religious literacy ought to be a component of every college and university curriculum. Such a goal seems particularly feasible at institutions, such as Brigham Young University, where religious education is already a fundamental aspect of the curriculum. However, BYU's comprehensive focus on the Mormon tradition discourages students from encountering and engaging with alternate religious perspectives and developing a deeper understanding of their own tradition by engaging dialectically with another. Students of Brigham Young University share the responsibility of being religiously literate in multiple traditions as ethical citizens, as charitable Christians, and as faithful Latter-day Saints. Nevertheless, specific complications arise when considering the pedagogical implications and possibilities of teaching religious pluralism to a homogenous student body living in a homogenous environment. This paper will consider theological implications and practical solutions to these questions.

Richard Dutcher on Mormon Film

http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/217694/

Good filmmaking is the only thing that will save Mormon cinema.

Six years ago, most of you were frustrated, aspiring filmmakers. You
hadn't yet made a film. Thanks to the energy surrounding the Mormon
cinema explosion, you've now made a film. Or two. Or three.

You've all had to endure the heat of criticism and the harshness of
the marketplace. Hopefully, you've been refined by the fire, but not
destroyed by it. I'll always remember the first scathing review for
"God's Army." It was a blistering attack from a critic in Phoenix. You
grow scars. It gets easier. Believe me.

Let's talk frankly: Some of your films were not very good. So what? My
first film, "Girl Crazy," was not very good either. Neither were the
early films of Martin Scorcese, Brian DePalma, etc. So much of
filmmaking is craft. Craft has to be learned. We're all, hopefully,
getting better with each film. That's the goal.

Those of you who have recently finished your first films have now been
through a graduate school more demanding and more educational than
that of any university in the world. Use it. Don't turn your back on
it. Make more films, and show us all what you've learned. Mormonism
needs excellent filmmakers.

Why is Mormon cinema dying? This is no great mystery. Diminishing
quality has brought diminishing returns.

As you know, it's a lot harder now than it was in 2002 to book a
Mormon film into a movie theater or to get the DVD on the shelf at the
local media store. Have there been too many movies in the marketplace?
Of course not. Is the market glutted? Far from it. There have been too
many badly-made films in the marketplace, too few good ones.

A sharp increase in quality will bring an increase in box office.
Increased box office will breathe new life into Mormon cinema. It's
that simple.

Your only job now: Create works of quality. Dedicate yourselves to the
pursuit of excellence, to the highest degree of craftsmanship you can
achieve.

You now know, by first-hand experience, how hard it is to make a good
movie. You know the risks, the hardships, the dedication, the battles
required even to make a bad film. Why not make a good one instead? If
you want to play in the major leagues (or even in the minors) you have
to be good at the game.

Film is the most powerful and most influential art form in the history
of mankind. We must treat it with the reverence and the respect it
demands. Very few in its entire history have cared to use it for any
purpose other than to pass a few hours in harmless entertainment and
to make a few bucks. Frankly, that's what many of you have tried to
do. Who can blame you? Perhaps you didn't understand its potential.

Wouldn't it be amazing if the Mormon community did what nobody else in
the world seems interested in doing: exploring human spirituality,
human truth in film? Expand the vocabulary of film, learn to do things
on the broad white canvas of a movie screen that no one has yet
imagined.

The church would never allow shoddy, inexperienced architects and
builders to create one of its temples. In its sacred commitment to
excellence, the church searches for and employs those with the
necessary talents, non-Mormons and Mormons alike. Some day, church
leaders also will understand the power and potential of film. The
cinema of a movement as great as Mormonism must be directed by great
artists, not by inexperienced committees. Imagine the potential of
images to convey the deepest, most sacred doctrines of Mormonism.

Look at the movies that play on the screen of the theater in the
Joseph Smith Memorial Building. These films are the introduction of
Mormonism to hundreds of thousands of people from across the globe.
Shouldn't these be the most powerful films on the face of the earth?
For whatever reason -- nepotism, ignorance ... who knows? -- this
opportunity is squandered. Why not share with visitors the beauty and
power of Mormonism, rather than treating them to polite, remedial and
not-so-factual recitations of Mormon History and scripture? Viewers
should leave those films weak in the knees, their minds reeling, their
spirits soaring. Film has the power to do that.

Mormonism desperately needs excellent filmmakers who understand the
language of cinema, the eloquence of images.

As for commercial Mormon cinema, LDS artists sometimes complain that
more church members should support their efforts. Nonsense! Mormon
film should not be supported. It must not and cannot exist on the
charity of the audience. And certainly not on the charity of
investors.

No art should have to be supported. If it is high quality, if it is
compelling, if it is something that people want, they will buy it.
They will seek it out. If Mormon cinema has to be supported in order
to survive, it shouldn't survive.

A few parting words: I urge you to put the moronic comedies behind
you. If you're going to make comedies, at least make them funny.
Perhaps you should leave the mockery of Mormons to the anti-Mormons.
They've had a lot more experience and, frankly, they do a better job.

Reach higher. Don't just "make a movie." Make the movie. If you knew
you only had two years to live, and that you could only make one more
movie, what movie would it be? What do you want your children to
understand? What do you want to understand before you die?

Family films? Forget that nonsense. There are so many well-behaved
people of every religion on the planet who are eager and capable of
producing such films. Mormons have something different, unique,
vitally important to offer. Dedicate yourselves to making substantial
films of elevated craft, undeniable artistry and potent themes.

In my experience, those who wave the flag of "family films" are
usually those who have discovered that they lack anything valuable to
say, the talent to say it, and the ability to compete in the
marketplace. They are looking for a popular cause to compensate for
(and to excuse) their lack of ability.

Concentrate on the presence of positives in your films, not merely the
absence of negatives. Focus more on the presence of good acting,
writing and cinematography and less on the absence of profanity,
women's breasts and gunfights. Passionately adhere to the guideline
that it is better to tell an R-rated truth than a G-rated lie.

Stop trying to make movies that you think the General Authorities
would like. General Authorities buy very few movie tickets. Make films
that the rest of the human family will enjoy. Stop being afraid that
if you put something "edgy" in your films then maybe you won't get any
important callings. Who cares? Someone else can be in the bishopric or
the Relief Society presidency, but no one else can make those films,
those very personal films, that only you can make.

Communities don't create great artists. Great artists, like great
businessmen, are self-made. Recognize this. It will strengthen you
against your community's occasional lack of understanding.

Grasp your potential. Begin the exploratory marriage of Mormonism and
film. Combine the unknown depths of Mormonism with the untapped
potential of film. The result will be the films the world needs.

I cannot tell you how much I have cared, and still care, about this
movement. My love for the future of Mormon cinema has driven me to a
passion that has expressed itself not only in my films, but (as you
know) in bouts of public anger at filmmakers who, I believed, were
killing a beautiful, unprecedented opportunity and a limitless
potential. Miraculously, that opportunity and that potential still
exist. It's just a little harder to see right now.

If this sounds like a farewell address ... well, it is.

Mormon doctrines are powerful and beautiful and have given great
meaning to my life for more than 30 years. I'm sure they will always
continue to inform not only my future work as a filmmaker, but also my
private spiritual journey. But it does not appear that it will be my
honor to make some of these films that the LDS community so
desperately needs.

As many of you know, I am no longer a practicing member of the church.
The private answers to the questions I have asked in my prayers, and
in my films, have led me on an unexpected journey, a spiritual path
which may ultimately prove incompatible with Mormon orthodoxy. This
understanding has brought me some of the most profound surprises and
also the deepest sadness of my life. It is very hard for me to say
goodbye to something that I love.

Who knows? Maybe, like Oliver Cowdery (to whom I've always felt an
uncommon kinship), my travels will someday lead back to Mormonism and
to this effort. Such an end would be beautiful and, in a strange way,
an answer to my prayers. But I don't know. One fundamental thing I
have learned over the past few years is a genuine humility regarding
my spiritual beliefs.

I know that some of you will not understand my decisions. Please know
that I will always be not only a great friend to the Mormon community,
but also one of its strongest defenders.

My brothers and sisters, I respectfully leave Mormon cinema in your
capable -- and now seasoned -- hands. I hope that someday I will hear
a few of your names mentioned in the company of the handful of
filmmakers who have dared to explore human spirituality in film:
Bergman, Bresson, Tarkovsky, Dreyer, Ozu, etc. One of my greatest
hopes, of course (in true competitive spirit), is that one day my name
will be at the very top of that list.

May God bless you in your individual and collective efforts. And may
Mormon cinema one day achieve its powerful and beautiful potential.
May it be "the praise and glory of the whole earth."

Richard Dutcher is the writer/director of "God's Army," "Brigham
City," States of Grace" and the upcoming films "Falling" and "Evil
Angel."
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A6.

Chronology of Pre-1999 LDS Involvement in Same-Sex Marriage politics

Chronology of Mormon / LDS Involvement in Same-Sex Marriage Politics

http://www.mormonsocialscience.org/?q=node/59

by Richley H. Crapo, Utah State University

• 1988 - The Church contracts the Hawaii marketing agency, Hill and Knowlton, to monitor and promote the Church's stance on gay issues in state legislatures and the U.S. Congress. One function of working through a nonmainland marketing agency was that the name of the Church was separated from the legislative efforts that the firm undertook.

• Dec 1990 - Three same-sex couples apply for marriage licenses at the Hawaii State Department of Health and are refused. They file suit in a case now known as Baehr v. Miike (originally Baehr v. Lewin).. The Hawaii marriage law does not specify anything about the sex of the parties, because the Hawaii constitution forbids any laws that discriminate by sex. They argue that since the refusal to issue a license was because they are not couples of two sexes, this refusal is sex discrimination under the law. Nota bene: their suit does NOT raise any issue concerning discrimination based on their sexual orientation. Indeed, their sexual orientation is NOT indicated in their suit. So sexual orientation is not technically an issue in the case.

• Sep 1991 - Circuit court Judge Kevin Klein dismisses the case, and the couples appeal to the Hawaii Supreme Court.

• Oct 1992 - The Baehr case is heard before the Hawaii Supreme Court.

• 5 May 1993 - The Hawaii Supreme Court rules that the state's refusal to issue marriage licenses constitutes sex discrimination under Hawaii law. As such, the discrimination may only be practiced if the state can demonstrate a "compelling public interest" in denying marriage to same-sex couples. The Supreme Court returns the case to the circuit court to issue a new decision based on whether such a compelling interest exists.

• 5 May 1993 - Apostle Boyd K. Packer gives an address at a meeting of the All-Church Coordinating Council and refers to homosexuality as one of the three major social problems that represent a danger to members.

• 1993 - present - Following this court decision, the Hawaii legislature becomes embroiled in competing measures, including a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex unions. Generally, none of the proposed actions is successful because the Senate and House are unable to agree on whose version should be accepted. Typically, the House versions are the more conservative.

• 14 Feb 1994 - The First Presidency issues a statement that reads, in part, "We encourage members to appeal to legislators, judges, and other government officials to preserve the purposes and sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, and to reject all efforts to give legal authorization or other official approval or support to marriages between persons of the same gender."

• ca Feb 1995 - Brigham Young University President and later Regional Representative Rex E. Lee allowed by LDS headquarters to serve as a legal counsel to aid the state of Colorado in it's defense of its recently passed constitutional amendment forbidding laws which grant civil rights protections based on sexual orientation.

• 23 Feb 1995 - The Hawaii Public Affairs Council issues a news release under LDS Church letterhead. In it church spokesperson Ms. Napua Baker announced that the Church had decided to petition the court to be admitted as "codefendants" with the state in the Baehr v. Lewin case in order to "protect freedom of religion to solemnize marriages between a man and a woman under Hawaiian law." LDS Regional Representative Donald Hallstrom reinforced the importance of this move by the church, saying "There are times when certain moral issues become so compelling that the churches have a duty to make their feelings known."

• Feb/Mar 1995 - In the petition which was filed soon after the announcement by the Hawaii Public Affairs Council, the church argued that if same-sex marriage were legalized, (1) it feared that the state would revoke its ministers' licenses to perform marriages, (2) the church would become subject to lawsuits charging discrimination when its ministers refused to perform same-sex marriages, and (3) because the church could help the Attorney General's office to present a more complete case than would otherwise be done, given the limited time and resources available to the AG.

• Mar 1995 - The Circuit Court of Hawaii rejects the church's petition to become a party to the Baehr case. The judge ruled that the request was without merit, since nothing in the licensing law REQUIRES a minister to perform ANY marriage in behalf of the state, rather it merely PERMITS them to do so when it is in harmony with their religious practice and belief. Any requirement of the kind feared by the LDS church would be a violation of freedom of religion. The judge further pointed out that although the LDS church, like any individual or organization, might be the subject of a frivolous law suit, the grounds stated in the church's petition would be without legal merit and thus, this fear, did not constitute grounds for being considered a party to the case. The church had, in other words, failed to demonstrate that it had any "property" in the issues under consideration. Finally, the church, according to the judge, failed in its petition to demonstrate that its arguments against same-sex merit were ones that had not already been raised by the state. The Church appealed this decision to the Hawaii Supreme Court.

• Mar 1995 - Apostle Dallin Oaks begins work on an article on same-sex attraction (personal communication) that will be published in October.

• 17 Mar 1995 - Utah's LDS governor, Michael Leavitt, signs the country's first DOMA legislation which indicated that the state of Utah recognizes only marriages between persons of different sex, including those that might be performed in other states.

• early in 1995 - Hawaii Governor John Waihe`e organizes an eleven-member Governor's Commission on Sexual Orientation and the Law and specifically includes two LDS and two Roman Catholic members to represent their religions' views.

• Apr 1995 - Hawaii legislature rewords Revised Statue 572-1 to define marriage in terms of one man and one woman.

• Sep 1995 - Original Governor's Commission disbanded after the appointment of Mormon and Catholic members was successfully challenged as a violation of the separation of church and state, and a new seven-member commission is set up, using a different procedure.

• 23 Sep 1995 - The First Presidency and the Quorum of Twelve Apostles issue a joint "Proclamation on the Family" in which they "solemnly proclaim that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children" and further declare "that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife."

• Oct 1995 - "Same-Gender Attraction" by Apostle Dallin Oaks published in the Ensign. The article makes the point that the concept of "homosexual" or "lesbian" as a kind of person is incompatible with LDS theology. Rather the terms should be reserved for use as adjectives that refer to kinds of behavior.

• Nov 1995 - General Authority Loren C. Dunn, member of the First Quorum of Seventy and president of the North America West Area, formally appoints a Salt Lake City advertising executive and his wife to do several months of volunteer work for Hawaii's Future Today. This is part of a process in which other families with expertise of use to political action campaigns are being "called" on short-term missions to support the work of Hawaii's Future Today. The date for the first of these "calls" is not clear.

• 8 Dec 1995 - Report of the Governor's Commission on Sexual Orientation and the Law is issued. The 400+ page report concludes that the state of Hawaii has no compelling interest in refusing to recognize same-sex marriages.

• late Dec 1995 - An announcement is made that Jack Hoag (the Church's lawyer in Hawaii, CEO of First Hawaiian Bank, the President and Chairman of Hawaii Reserves, Inc., and member of the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii, Manoa) is working on something important, possibly the creation of Hawaii's Future Today (personal communication from Bill Woods, organizer of GLEA (Gay and Lesbian Education and Advocacy) FOUNDATION and the HAWAII MARRIAGE PROJECT that brought together the three couples that initiated the court case in behalf of same-sex marriage.)

• January 1996 - First press release from Jack Hoag and Debbie Hartmann (chair of Hawaii's Future Today and a staff member of BYU-Hawaii campus and prior member of the Board of Education, currently finishing her PhD in psychology with a focus on gay parenting)concerning legislative issues (personal communication from Bill Woods)

• 23 Jan 1996 - The Hawaii Supreme Court rejects the church's appeal of the circuit court's denial of the church's petition to become a party to the Baehr case, and the court reiterates the reasons given by the circuit court as valid.

• 28 Jan 1996 - North America West Area Presidency (Loren C. Dunn, President) sends a letter to be read in all California wards, urging members to express their support for legislation against recognition of same-sex marriages being considered in the state.

• Feb 1996 - President Hinckley travels to Hawaii and confers with Catholic bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo on plans for a common campaign against same-sex marriage. The meeting takes place on LDS property in Laie on the north shore of Oahu.

• ca. Feb 1996 - The LDS church instructs its contracted marketing agency in Hawaii, Hill and Knowlton, to develop a plan for setting up a group, now known as Hawaii's Future Today, to serve as the formal lobbying group which will approach the legislature, the courts, and the public on issues regarding same-sex marriage. Hill and Knowlton had been contracted several years earlier by the Church to monitor and promote its efforts in state legislatures and the U.S. Congress. It's top heads are now offered "unlimited funds" to develop and conduct the marriage campaign in Hawaii. The marketing agency completes the initial planning and then bows out of further work, fearing potential repercussions from its other clients, who include gay-rights interests. Linda Rosehill, a professional lobbyist and employee of another marketing agency was contracted to carry out the implementation of the original plan. Later, the agency itself disavowed any company connection, although the staff member had worked on the project using company office facilities. The staff person was also the National Committeewoman of the Hawaii Democratic Party. When her role in creating the Church lobbying organization came to light there was a move to find a replacement for her Democratic position. She lost the next election in about a 70-30 split of votes by the convention body. The sole issue in the race was her covert work in creating the lobbying organization, Hawaii's Future Today, an activity which was held to be unethical by her opponents.

• The costs for setting up Hawaii's Future Today and facilities for its use were provided by the church and by Hawaii Reserves, a property management company that is solely church-owned, and which took over the properties previously managed by Zion's Securities. Hawaii Reserves paid the initial bills from the first marketing agency and the consultant's fees from the Democratic party's National Committeewoman. One of the largest contributors to Hawaii's Future Today is the political action committee Hana Pono (named for the LDS hymn "Do What is Right!") which had been organized by the LDS church on 21 August 1977 to spearhead its anti-ERA political efforts in Hawaii. Hana Pono contributes $1,869.95 during first year's efforts.

• Once organized, Hawaii's Future Today, under the direction of Jack Hoag and Debbie Hartman, began its public advocacy of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and of a constitutional convention to write this same ban into the Hawaii state constitution. (Currently the Hawaii constitution bans ANY law that uses sex as a distinction. This is why the marriage law does not specify anything about the sex of applicants for marriage licenses.) It also files amicus curiae briefs along side the LDS church in the court cases that follow, a bit odd, since both groups make the same points in their briefs.

• After Jack Hoag's LDS connection is highlighted in the media, he is replaced as President of Church-owned Hawaii Reserves. The new President is Dan Ditto, the Church's lawyer who supervised the marketing agency's work in planning the establishment of Hawaii's Future Today. Reports about the activities of Hawaii's Future Today in LDS affiliated newspapers, such as Garden Island, avoid mentioning the organization's LDS origins and affiliation, so this change was perhaps to help perpetuate the image of Hawaii's Future Today as a grass-roots movement.

• HFT reports receiving $31,000 in donations prior to 11 May 1996. Of this, one donation is in the amount of $29,000. There is a $1,000 donation cap on moneys received by political-action groups in Hawaii, so this donation would be problematic if HFT is defined as a political-action organization.

• 16 Feb 1996 - Rex E. Lee, issues a position paper arguing for the limitation of marriage to opposite-sex partners.

• 9 May 1996 - Hawaii's Future Today places political ads in Hawaii's two daily newspapers at a cost of over $1,000. Representative Terrance Thom, supported in these ads, wins his reelection by 54 votes. The Senate Judiciary Chair who opposed this group's political position and was opposed by the ad lost his re-election bid.

• 21 May 1996 - Hawaii's Campaign Spending Commission mails a complaint to Hawaii's Future Today that indicates that the ads are in violations of Hawaii's regulations governing spending in political campaigns, indicates the fines for such a violation and explains that Hawaii's Future Today must file the required papers to register as a political-action committee. Follow-up letters dated 20 Jun repeats the information about the complaint. Hawaii's Future Today does not respond by registering as a political-action organization, but asserts that it does not plan to involve itself in lobbying or campaigning for candidates.

• Jun 1966 - LDS headquarters acknowledges that it has been "calling" married couples with political action and advertising expertise on short-term missions to aid the work of Hawaii's Future Today.

• 9 May thru 11 Jul period - Jack Hoag, co-Chair of HFT, made several public statements stating that HFT would be endorsing and backing political candidates.

• 11 Jul 1996 - The Campaign Spending Commission sends another follow-up letter to Hawaii's Future Today about the complaint concerning its 9 May ads. It indicates that because it understands that it believed that Hawaii's Future Today "did not intend, nor plan to engage in any activity as" such a political organization it would not require their registration as a political organization.

• Aug/Sep 1996 - The church and Hawaii's Future Today submit amicus curiae briefs to Judge Chang of the Circuit Court of Hawaii in the Baehr case making the same appeals against same-sex marriage. Both argue that "traditional marriage" is in itself a compelling state interest that justifies sex discrimination in marriage, an argument that had been explicitly rejected by the Hawaii Supreme Court earlier.

• About this time, Jack Hoag and Mike Gabbard, LDS chair of Alliance for Traditional Marriage, cooperate to form a PAC called Save Traditional Marriage-'98 to lobby against same-sex marriage. Hawaii's Future Today donates $1,000 to Save Traditional Marriage-'98. Several principals of HFT also make personal donations. STM-'98 also receives a $200 donation from the Australian Consulate, a violation of Hawaii law that forbids accepting contributions from foreign countries. Linda Rosehill, the lawyer who set up HFT, becomes the coordinator of contribution efforts for STM-'98.

• Sep 1996 - Baehr trial begins in Circuit Court of Hawaii, Judge Kevin Chang presiding. The trial lasts two weeks.

• Dr. Richard Williams, a Professor of Psychology from Brigham Young University testifies as an expert witness for the state. Having examined 20-30 research studies of children reared by gay and lesbian parents, he critiques nine of them for having methodological flaws. He also testifies that he is generally skeptical of the social and behavioral sciences as valid sources of information about human families, that social science (including psychology) is so flawed that no fix, reconciliation or overhaul can correct it, that he doubts the ultimate value of psychology and other social sciences, and that he believes that there is no scientific proof that evolution occurred. He also admits that his own critique of studies regarding gay and lesbian parenting is a minority position.

• 24 Oct 1996 - Hawaii's Future Today sends out a letter soliciting its members to participate in Save Traditional Marriage-'98's Steve Covey seminar dinners.

• 5 Nov 1996 - Hawaiians vote on a measure to call a constitutional convention for the state. The vote is 163,869 in favor of the convention, and 160,153 opposed, with 45,295 ballots being blank and 90 marked both as in favor and as opposed. On advise of the Attorney General, election controller Duayne Yoshina declares the convention mandated, but the count is challenged by the AFL-CIO in a lawsuit filed on 25 November.

• 03 Dec 1996 - Judge Chang of the Circuit Court of Hawaii finds in favor of the same-sex plaintiffs. Judge Chang explicitly rejects the "expert" testimony of Dr. Williams, saying that his testimony "is not persuasive or believable because of his expressed bias against the social sciences" and that his own testimony therefore impeached his credibility as an expert witness concerning social science. Judge Chang concludes that since the state has failed to demonstrate a compelling interest in denying marriage to same-sex couples, the plaintiffs prevail. The case is immediately appealed to the Hawaii Supreme Court.

• Jan 1997 - North America Northwest Area Presidency (Glenn L. Pace, William Kerr, and C. Scott Grow) send a letter to be read in all Washington state wards, urging members to express their support to government leaders for legislation against the recognition of same-sex marriages being considered in the state. The letter uses the same boilerplate as the 28 Jan 1996 letter mailed in California, indicating coordination of the action from a higher level than the Area Presidencies.

• 21 Jan 1997 - Debbie Hartmann, chair of Hawaii's Future Today testifies before the House committee in support of a constitutional amendment permitting the legislature to limit marriage to "one man and one woman". Her testimony includes the following remarks concerning HB 118 (which would establish domestic partnerships for non-heterosexually married partners): "With respect to HB118, which would provide certain benefits to unmarried couples, as also noted in our testimony, while we do not support any type of legislation that would undermine the special relationship of marriage between one man and one woman, certain elements of the bill are acceptable. We support the type of humanitarian benefits the bill addresses and the fact that it applies to all people."

• 3 Feb 1997 - Debbie Hartmann testifies before the Senate committee in support of the constitutional amendment and repeats HFT's qualified support for the Reciprocal Beneficiaries bill (HB 118). The Reciprocal Beneficiaries bill and the constitutional amendment are both passed by the legislature on the same day. It's final wording is, "The legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples". This amendment must be ratified by a majority vote of the citizens in the next general election in November of 1997.

• 7 Mar 1997 - President Gordon B. Hinckley formally discloses in a newspaper interview published in the LA Times that the church had made a commitment at the top levels to play an active role in the same-sex marriage issue: "`We're engaged right now in the same-sex marriage problem in legislation in Hawaii,' Hinckley said. `We just made a decision today concerning the filing of a brief in that case. That's spreading around the country now pretty largely and we've become rather actively involved in that kind of thing,' he said" (LA Times, 7 March 1997, Page B-1).

• 24 Mar 1997 - In a decision written by Judge C.J. Moon, the Hawaii Supreme Court decides that a vote held during the preceding general election on whether to hold a constitutional convention failed to secure enough yes votes, since the Hawaii constitution requires the majority on any constitutional question to be the majority of all ballots cast, not just of all marked ballots. This decision is challenged by convention supporters in the federal courts.

• 3 Apr 1997 - It is reported by the media that Jack Hoag and Debbie Hartmann have been telling legislators that they will implicitly accept domestic partnership legislation in order to prevent same-sex marriage from becoming legal.

• 16 Apr 1997 - Debbie Hartmann states HFT's support for Gay family health insurance to legislators and reporters.

• 16 Apr 1997 - Hawaii legislature passes an amendment to the Hawaii constitution that reads "The legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples". This amendment requires ratification by a vote of the people. The vote is scheduled for the following general election, in November of 1998.

• 28 Apr 1997 - Reciprocal Beneficiaries bill passed and will take effect 1 July 1997. The revised version of the bill which was passed has been expanded to include all domestic partners who may not legally marry (eg., a widowed woman and her co-resident son, a brother and sister, or two persons of the same sex).

• Jun 1997 - Consistent with their prior qualified acceptance of HB 118, Hawaii's Future Today does NOT lobby for a veto of the Reciprocal Beneficiaries Bill.

• ca 1 Jun 1997 - Duane D. Feekin, President and CEO of Bank of Hawaii, writes to Governor Cayetano requesting a veto of HB 118 because of its "flawed language that will create much confusion and mistrust within our communities", its early effective date (1 July 1997) "which does not allow for adequate research to fully understand the impact on the many sectors which make up the Hawaii community", and "the full [economic] impact of this Bill has yet to be determined." The financial impact concern is due to the fact that the bill has been expanded to cover more than the small number of same-sex couples that the bill was originally aimed at. Feekin's letter is written in his role as chair of the Hawaii Business Health Council and the letterhead lists thirty prominent businesses (mostly tourist-related) as members. The council is not listed in the telephone directory or registered with the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii or Small Business Hawaii, raising the suspicion that the council was formed to create the appearance of business opposition to the Reciprocal Beneficiaries legislation by an organization other than First Hawaiian Bank, the actual initiator of the letter (a charge made by an unidentified bank officer to Bill Woods.). Jack Hoag, cochair of HFT, is a member of the Board of the First Hawaiian Bank and its previous CEO.

• 10 Jun 1997 - ITT Sheraton's Hawaii Region announces that it is terminating its membership in the Hawaii Business Health Council because it (1) was unaware of the letter to the Governor of Hawaii or the organization's position regarding reciprocal benefits and the same-sex marriage legislation, (2) was not advised or consulted on the matter addressed in the letter, and (3) had not seen the letter.

• 23 June 1997 - Deadline for veto of Reciprocal Beneficiaries. Governor Cayetano allows the bill to become law without his signature in protest over its expansion to include couples other than committed gays and lesbians.

• 1 July 1997 - Reciprocal Beneficiaries law goes into effect. Application forms are distributed by Governor's office.

• 10 Jul 1997 - U.S. District Court Judge David Ezra orders Hawaii to hold a new vote on holding a constitutional convention. He finds that the U.S. constitutional guarantee that citizens have the right to know the effect of their vote has been violated because election judges had informed voters that unmarked ballots would not be counted in determining whether the majority of votes favored a convention. Judge Ezra orders the new vote to be held by 6 December 1997, which would result in a convention being held in June of 1998 if the measure passes.

• 20 Jul 1997 - Hawaii's Future Today's chair, Debbie Hartmann, asserts that "The organization has always supported rights for homosexuals in areas traditionally covered by civil rights--equal access to employment, housing, and public services such as transportation. The issue of marriage, however, is something completely different." (Letters to the Editor, Honolulu Advertiser, Honolulu, Hawaii).

• Unknown at this time Hawaii Supreme Court is expected to take up the state's appeal of the Circuit Court decision in the Baehr case. If this occurs and the Court upholds Judge Chang's decision, same-sex marriages will become legal in Hawaii.

• by 6 Dec 1997 - Date set by Judge Ezra for vote on the holding of a constitutional convention. If passed, this convention would be held in June of 1998 and would likely alter the state constitution to limit marriage to opposite-sex couples.

• 14 May 1998 - W.E. Woods reports that Save Traditional Marriage-'98's report to the Hawaii Ethics Commission indicated donations from the following LDS sources: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ($4,225), POLYNESIAN CULTURAL CENTER ($1,025), BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY - HAWAII ($1,200); HAWAII'S RESERVE, INC. [the LDS Church-owned land management corporation] ($1,000); and LAIE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION [an appointed unit of HAWAII RESERVES, INC] ($1,000)). This does not include officers of said organizations which are also to be calculated in aggregate amounts - JACK HOAG, Chair of HAWAII RESERVES, INC. contributor of $400 and DEBI HARTMANN, BYU-HAWAII $400; GEORGE SHEA $200 (all known to be directly linked to these organizations). Total of $5,225 does not include others who may also be connected such as family members, staff and other personnel of Mormon owned or controlled entities.

• abt Jun 1998 - Debi Hartman, co-chair of HFT becomes a candidate for the Hawaii Senate. Her campaign manager is Linda Rosehill.

• 5 Nov 1998 - Voters will cast ballots on the constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to limit marriage to "opposite-sex marriage". If ratified, same-sex marriages may still be performed until the legislature imposes such a limitation, a limitation that the Senate is not likely to support.

Timeline: LDS involvement in Prop 8

A timeline of Church efforts towards passing Proposition 8, posted on Pam's House Blend.

---

March 1997: Leaked memo provides insight into the late LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley's strategy for opposing same-sex marriage. It describes a meeting in which Hinckley gives the go ahead, but urged caution. According to the memo, "he (President Hinckley) also said the (LDS) Church should be in a coalition and not out front by itself." Also names Dick Wirthlin, who is related to Massachusetts couple in Prop 8 ads, as strategist.

October 1998: Of the $600,000 used to try to ban gay marriage in Alaska, $500,000 came from one big lump sum donation from the Mormon Church. It seems that they learned that they should have their members give the money in the future to avoid criticism.

September 2007: Mitt Romney, in an interview with Christianity Today, describes an earlier 2007 Salt Lake City meeting between Jerry Falwell and Gordon B. Hinckley to discuss their cooperation on a campaign against same-sex marriage in California.

February 2008: Mormon-supported National Organization for Marriage (NOM) makes their first reported payment to Bader & Associates, the signature-gathering firm hired to help get Prop 8 on the ballot. Due to its sizable early financial support of ProtectMarriage, NOM is chiefly responsible for the qualification of Proposition 8. Matthew Holland, son of LDS Apostle and former BYU president Jeffrey R. Holland, is on the board of directors. There are many Mormon donors to NOM that have not been identified because the focus has been on the ProtectMarriage committee.

May/June: The New York Times reports about this time in retrospect: "First approached by the Roman Catholic archbishop of San Francisco a few weeks after the California Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in May, the Mormons were the last major religious group to join the campaign, and the final spice in an unusual stew that included Catholics, evangelical Christians, conservative black and Latino pastors, and myriad smaller ethnic groups with strong religious ties."

June 29: A highly unusual letter from Mormon leadership was read from the pulpits in California (although it was leaked and posted on websites several days prior). It stated in part: "We ask that you do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment by donating of your means and time to assure that marriage in California is legally defined as being between a man and a woman." To most Mormons, a call such as this from their Prophet is the same as being called of God.

July 1: A letter later reports some of Mormon efforts during the coming month. "Congregations of LDS all having been taught the doctrine in July so that they may see the importance of fundraising and grassroots participation. Some Stakes have called all Stake Council and wives as well as several folks who may be able to contribute not on the Council. The Stake President, in that Cottage Meeting, has asked for their support. A great part of a fund raising effort, accomplished in one night."

July 7: Mormon Gary Lawrence, the California "LDS Grassroots Director" for Prop 8 and father of a gay son, writes in the online LDS oriented Meridian Magazine and compares opponents of Proposition 8 to those who sided with Lucifer against Jesus in a pre-mortal battle that is part of Mormon doctrine. His son later resigns from the church.

July 27: Top Mormon leaders participate in a meeting with "eight Area Directors in Northern California. These are amazingly powerful people. The Area folks represent the grassroots effort for the passage of the Proposition and their responsibility overlays each Coordinating Council. This was a great and powerful meeting. I assure you that the LDS folks who work closely with or who are on the Board directly of the coalition are very impressive and politically experienced folks." (ref)

July 28: Letter sent out to Mormon Stake (regional) Presidents to explain the structure they would be operating under along with other information that arose out of the previous day leadership meeting. "The Brethren have felt that the best way to organize and pass the Proposition is to have an Ecclesiastical arm and a Grassroots arm to organization." (See the letter here)

July 30: Member of LDS church states on blog, "I simply can't bear another Sunday of political announcements, talks, and constant references to the proposition in Relief Society lessons."

July 31: A few Mormon church members around the Internet have been wondering how "worthy" they would be if they don't fall into line.

August 1: "All Regional Directors have been called and contacted by Area Directors for training." (ref)

August 3: "Training of Regional Directors commences by the Area Directors." (ref)

August 6: whatisprop8.com is registered and a site is launched by Mormon Kenny McNett where he teaches young Mormons how to spam blogs. He later is featured in videos produced by the Mormon church and the church is later accused of not reporting contributions such as these production and video distribution efforts.

August 7: Local Mormon leaders continue soliciting donations. A Mormon blogger on nine-moons.com reports that the previous night he had a call from his Stake President, a high level regional Mormon leader over multiple local congregations. "We knew it was going to be about California's Proposition 8 - that's all the stake's been talking about for the past month." The leader asked "about making a contribution- a rather sizable contribution. He already had a figure in mind." The blogger made the donation the next morning, and an hour later their realtor called to say that they got the dream house they had made an offer on. The blogger called this "an amazing testimony of obedience" in his post.

August 8: Sophia comments on nine-moons.com (see Aug 7): "My father in law is a bishop in Southern CA. For those of you who want to know how much a family is expected to give to Prop 8 in his stake, it's $1000. A rich ward is expected to be able to come up with about $150,000 for Prop 8."

August 8: Tim says on nine-moons: "I think the majority are in line with the prophets and apostles on this one. Those who hold temple recommends have acknowledged that they support the general and local authorities of the church. Like me, they will be walking neighborhoods asking others what they think and sharing information."

August 9: An article written by Glen Greener, a Mormon with a controversial past ("citygate") in Salt Lake City government, and posted to the Mormon oriented Meridian Magazine website, claimed nine consequences if proposition 8 fails. The questionable claims in the writing are soon edited and distributed by Mormons in the campaign.

August 10: "Zip Code Supervisors are in place and are to be trained by Regional Directors." (ref)

August 16: If there is one thing that Mormons are known for, it's knocking on doors. "The First of three Saturday precinct walks are to be held under the direction of the Regional Directors." (ref) Jeff Flint, a strategist with Protect Marriage, spoke about this period after the campaign, estimating that Mormons made up 80 percent to 90 percent of the early volunteers who walked door-to-door in election precincts.

August 17: A somewhat mysterious and hard to decipher group called the Eagle Foundation joins the Prop 8 forces. It apparently is the evolution of the Eagle PAC which was formed to get Mormons financially involved in politics. One of the main players in Eagle, Bart Marcois, founded and chaired the RNC Advisory Council on LDS Outreach, and was responsible for massive volunteer surge team deployments nationwide in the 2004 and 2006 campaign cycles. He apparently used his talent for grass-root Mormon organizing for the Prop 8 campaign. The Prop 8 campaign reportedly paid Eagle $130,000 in October.

August 19: The controversial authors name is stripped from "nine consequences" and an anonymous document, called "Six Consequences if Prop. 8 Fails" begins circulating the internet, mostly on Mormon-related blogs. The document was filled with dishonest claims that are later rebutted for the few who would listen. Some blogs reference that it was provided by Mormon Gary Lawrence, the California "LDS Grassroots Director" for Prop 8 (see July 7). "Six Consequences" also starts to become widely available within Mormon congregations and as handouts during canvassing.

August 23: The second Saturday of walking and canvassing occurs in precincts. The 'six consequences' are mentioned in the news reports that followed - the LDS canvassers were carrying copies of the questionable "Six Consequences" with them door-to-door.

August 27: MormonsFor8.com is registered by a private individual and launches as a clearinghouse for information about tracking the exploding Mormon contributions for Prop 8.

September 1: Sometime in September, Sonja Eddings Brown, a Mormon, is hired by ProtectMarriage and becomes the chief spokesperson for the campaign. According to a bio provided on her husbands website, "Sonja has served as a news media specialist for the Church in Southern California, but is now on leave from that assignment." On a side note, a student who came to know her some time ago found her to be rather unpleasant.

September 4: Fundraising calls by top church officials to high profile Mormons were already underway, according to the former president of Clorox in a Wall Street Journal story. He was invited to participate in a conference call of 40 to 60 potential donors, led by a high church official, known as a member of the Quorum of Seventy, where he was asked to make a $25,000 donation. The donation was recorded on September 4. The call likely occurred between this date and August 21, when his unsolicited donation of $3,000 was recorded.

September 7: Continued reports of much Prop 8 activity in Mormon churches. A blog reports that members were getting up to speak about it in testimony meeting, which is the type of church service held the first Sunday of the month. Someone comments on the blog, "It is mentioned in every meeting, donation sheets are passed around in RS and there are pleas for donations and volunteers in the announcements as well as impromptu testimonies during classes. It is EVERYWHERE!!!!"

September 11: Mormon leadership issues letter to be read in all congregations in the U.S. stating the church "affirms its constitutional right of expression on political and social issues."

September 11: Mormon Bishop, at the direction of higher authorities, visits home of a church member who set up a website opposing the church position on Prop 8, and asks for resignation before threatening excommunication.

September 15: MormonsFor8.com reports: "As of 5:00 PM PST, Sept 15, 35% of all donors to protectmarriage.com are identified as Mormons, and their total contributions make up 29% of the total money donated. The percentages are growing everyday. Please help out by checking the list to see if you can identify any other Mormon donors."

September 20: The Wall Street Journal reports in an article: "The Mormon Church encouraged its members to send their donations to a separate post-office box set up by a church member, said Messrs. Schubert and L. Whitney Clayton, a senior Mormon Church official involved in the campaign. Mr. Clayton said the church didn't keep track of how much individual Mormons donated, just the cumulative total. He said members bundled the donations and forwarded them to the campaign."

September 20: Wall Street Journal also reported, "The tally of Mormon contributions was provided by Frank Schubert, campaign manager for ProtectMarriage.com - Yes on 8, the initiative's primary backer. A finance-tracking group corroborated Mormon fund-raising dominance, saying it could exceed 40%."

September 22: Plans for "One million signs will be put up in yards around the state at 7:00am" (ref) did not come through. Apparently the Yes on 8 folks didn't buy American. An email from Gina Downey, the producer of a cult hit Mormon film GODS ARMY said: "The YES on Prop 8 yard signs have been delayed in route from China."

September 23: LDS Church Prop 8 campaign strategy "update" memo surfaces at WikiLeaks.

September 28: MormonsFor8.com reports that Mormon donations make up the largest group of donors to Prop 8 at 40.4% of contributions.

September 29: ProtectMarriage runs first television ad with Mormon professor from Pepperdine University making false claims that teaching gay marriage in schools was a certainty, causing problems for the school in the process. The campaign later continues using the Pepperdine name despite objections from the school.

September 30: According to data filed with the secretary of state's office, ProtectMarriage.com, the main group backing Prop 8, had raised about $25.4 million. No on 8, Equality for All - the main group opposing the measure - had raised almost $15.8 million. Yes on 8 was flush with a cash balance of about $12.8 million, due by large measure to Mormon contributions, while No on 8 had approximately $1.8 million.

October 1: Mormon church registers the domain preservingmarriage.org and launches a site with material to support the campaign. Questions are later raised questioning if the church reported non-monetary contributions such as this to the State of California, leading to an official investigation.

October 6: Mormon blogs about "zealousness" about Prop 8 within Mormon congregations and says "many bishops and other Mormons have circulated the document 'Six Consequences if Proposition 8 fails'" and expresses distress about the honesty of the claims.

October 7: "Ryan" who lives in Utah posts comment to blog and states he was in a propaganda video shot by the Mormon church with LDS leader Elder Bednar. He also says, "I live in Utah (though I'm from California) and the church has asked my stake to have 250 member ready to man a call center on the subject."

October 8: Top Mormon leaders made a televised satellite broadcast appeal to church members (view the transcript) to step up their already considerable efforts. They asked for 30 members from each California congregation to donate four hours per week to the campaign. They also called on young married couples and single Mormons to use the Internet, text messaging, blogging and other forms of computer technology to help pass the initiative, saying the church has created a new Web site with materials they can download and post on their own social networking sites.

October 8: The Associated Press reported that "Mormons Recruit Out-of-State for Gay Marriage Ban. Mormons living outside California have been asked to volunteer for a telephone campaign to help pass a ballot initiative banning same-sex marriage in the state."

October 8: No on 8 makes plea for $10 million in donations saying "our lead is gone" in an attempt to recover ground due in no small part to massive giving by Mormons.

October 12: Mormons distributing Yes on 8 signs from at least one church parking lot to cars leaving Sunday church services.

October 12: Mormon Jyl Holiday makes comment on blog that in her congregation "they have us knocking doors to warn people about it. Calling like telemarketers, and EVERY talk is about Prop 8, every RS, priesthood class is based around the proposition, it is starting to deter members from even going to church. I TOTALLY see why the general presidency is asking for us to fight here in CA, but some of the members feel that it is just too much of shoving down the throught for them to handle."

October 13: Sacramento Bee reports "[Mormon] Church members have donated about 40 percent of the $22.8 million raised to pass the initiative since July, according to Frank Schubert, campaign manager for ProtectMarriage.com, the primary backer of the "yes" campaign." Some have said that this article, and the Mormon couple interviewed, was a "wake up call" to the No on 8 campaign about the depth of individual Mormon participation.

October 13: Idaho television reports about organizing by the Mormon church in their area to operate phone banks to reach California voters.

October 14: ProtectMarriage.com had raised just over $26 million, according to new data filed with the secretary of state's office.

October 17: ProtectMarriage started running new ads starring a Mormon power couple, the Wirthlins, with a famous name and high ranking relatives in the Mormon church (which is not discovered by the public until later, including that one was a church strategist in their battle against same sex marriage). Their story, one of the most powerful scare tactics used in the Prop 8 campaign, is later reported on with their credibility called into question by some neighbors who suspect they went looking for this battle.

October 21: Lowell Brown, husband of the "yes" side's public spokesperson Sonja Eddings Brown, and himself an "Area Director" for the campaign, says on his blog that MormonsFor8.com numbers for Mormon contributions are LOW. "I see lots of individuals on the list whom I know to be members of the Church, but who haven't been identified yet."

October 22: Around this time, ProtectMarriage sends blacklist threat letters to No on 8 supporters, which is defended by Mormon Sonja Eddings Brown, spokesperson for Protect Marriage, and is later talked about on Dr. Phil.

October 22: A Mormon blogger reports, "the Church has added even more resources to its new PreservingMarriage.org website, which has a sleek resign that's a little less conspicuously LDS, though still with the Church logo emblazoned at the bottom."

October 24: Sonja Eddings Brown on Bill O'Reilly. Says, "Since the dawn of time and through many current studies, we know that children do best when they come from a low-conflict home with a mother and a father." Such claims, uttered over and over during the campaign, outrage many authors of the studies because they do not apply to families with same sex parents.

October 24: Salt Lake Tribune: "LDS leaders have tapped every resource, including the church's built-in phone trees, e-mail lists and members' willingness to volunteer and donate money. Many California members consider it a directive from God and have pressured others to participate. Some leaders and members see it as a test of faith and loyalty. Those who disagree with the campaign say they feel unwelcome in wards that have divided along political lines. Some are avoiding services until after the election; others have reluctantly resigned. Even some who favor the ballot measure are troubled by their church's zeal in the matter."

October 24: Salt Lake Tribune states "literature written by Proposition 8 proponents is freely distributed in Mormon wards, giving the impression the church approves it, but much of it is "misinformation," said Morris Thurston, an LDS attorney in Orange County. Thurston has circulated a point-by-point refutation to an anonymously authored document that has been widely disseminated by Mormons, "Six Consequences . . . If Proposition 8 Fails." Thurston argues that most of its arguments are either untrue or misleading."

October 24: A blogger states, "There seems to be a disconnect between that straightforward counsel being given by senior LDS leaders and the reality of what is happening on the ground in California."

October 25: Media reporting that due to criticism, the LDS church pulls the plug on out of state phone banks.

October 28: Prop 8 announces $1 million matching donation by Mormon Alan Ashton, grandson of David O. McKay, President of the Mormon Church from 1951-1970.

November 2: Mormons end services with "keys of the priesthood" prayer for the passage of Prop 8, an extremely unusual act that causes some controversy in congregations.

FINAL TALLY: Mormons are believed to have contributed anywhere from 40% to 77% of the money for Prop 8.