http://www.sltrib.com/ci_12048631

He complains Mr. Karger is a hater of the Mormons and therefore a bit “oxymoronic” (his word).

As for any protests at this last weekend’s LDS General Conference: None by the gays. Gays are going to do service projects instead of chanting and demonstrating at Temple Square.

From the Priesthood Conference: Apostle Boyd K. Packard said that men should be men and act accordingly.

I appreciate what you are saying. It does seem underhanded. Not the way I would think a Church should act or be associated with people who do such actions.

That is why I have a hard time in understanding…how can a Church with a bevy of highly intelligent (read: top-notch) lawyers and the best PR money can buy would align themselves with such unscrupulous antics. They had to know there were lies told in the campaign. Even a BYU adjunct law professor said so in an open letter to his fellow Saints. It was a warning to the LDS Church to be aware of the untruths and the consequences. Apparently, his warnings and clear dissertation of the flaws in logic went unheeded by LDS members.

I guess the admonishments by the Mormon Prophet T. S. Monson to “do all they can to win” trumps what a lowly BYU professor writes in a blog.

I’m thinking the LDS Church might say they didn’t sanction those lies propagandized during the campaign. Maybe they weren’t directly involved in the misleading ad campaign. Of course, I was not in California (or Arizona) and I did not witness the misleading ads. So, I can’t say how the LDS Church was involved officially.

I do know that a few LDS Wards had read the “scare tactics” about gay marriage in their meetings and had discussions in their Relief Society and Priesthood meetings. However, I want to classify this as rouge actions by some Bishops and over-zealous Saints. I know I have Mormon friends and close family who understand the lies and misrepresentations of facts during the campaign. They are truly embarrassed by the some actions by rouge members of the Church.

I think a BTB commenter: Seth R (a Mormon) has said he was not happy with the lies and misinformation promulgated in the campaign.

Yes, John, the danger now for the LDS Church: “Mormon” will be forever linked to a negative connotation about politics. When they boasted about their political might they never counted on the negativity associated with such power…whether done in secret or not.

Whenever something nasty in politics happens…we can say: “That’s so Mormon….”

I did not say that being secretive is illegal. Lying on campaign forms is though illegal.

The real point that I want to make is that non-mormons have no reason to trust mormons based on their previous behavior, and would be wise to be suspicious of any mormon political involvement.

The morons have consistently lied thoughout the Prop 8 campaign (as they did in Hawaii, Alaska, and everywhere else they have been active). They lie constantly about political issues and their involvement. Why are they so secretive? What don’t they want the rest of us to know? What are their real goals? And are these goals compatible with what is good for the rest of America?

I have come to the very strong conclusion that mormon goals cannot be of benefit to the rest of America if they have to be peddled in such underhanded ways.

Accountants and legal advisors make errors and have to re-submit correct financial statements all the time. A lot of accounting rules are subjective and open to various interpretations. It’s human to make mistakes especially on complex political and tax issues. I give some latitude to the LDS Church to make good on revising their monetary contributions to NOM.

Being secretive is not illegal in all cases. The LDS Church knows how to work the system to its advantage. Getting their “Saints” to individually get politically active is not against the law.

We have to admit the LDS Church has cleverly exploited the avenues for getting their political motives enacted but have they done it illegally?

Again, I’m not defending their ethics nor their cause.

I have collected a number of articles from a range of publications that analyzes the impacts of this involvement. It is at http://www.prop8-lds.4t.com.

It is good that the spotlight is shining on the Mormon (LDS) Church to ensure that they fully complied with all of the applicable campaign finance and election laws in California.