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The Mormon Church is bleeding members over gay marriage. Fred Karger explains why that is important.
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In one of my very first columns for The Huffington Post on November 20, 2008, I wrote about how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) had caused a gigantic fission among its members because of all it did to support and pass California’s Proposition 8. Prop 8’s victory two weeks earlier had instantly ended gay marriage in the nation’s largest state. My column, “Mormon Power Grab: It’s Tearing Families Apart” caused quite a stir.
The Mormon Church’s own pollster, Gary Lawrence told the Washington Post after Prop 8 passed, “We’re upside down on our image.” That was true for outsiders, but we’ve heard that it was far worse within the Church itself.
Insiders have indicated that over the last seven years the Mormon Church may have lost up to 1 million members because of all it did to end gay marriage. These formerly loyal Church members decided to side with their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) family members and friends instead of their Church. Because of the way the Mormon Church works, you’re either with them 100 percent on everything or you’re out. If you are LGB or T and act on it, then you will be excommunicated, your name will be removed from Church records and you’re no longer a member.
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A Proclamation to the World
The Mormon Church just “celebrated” the 20th anniversary of its hateful “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” The proclamation was read by then Church President Gordon B. Hinckley at the General Relief Society Meeting on September 23, 1995 in Salt Lake City, Utah. That marks the day that the Mormon Church declared its war on gay marriage. The Church told its members to frame their parchment copy of the Proclamation and hang in a prominent place in their home. Most Mormon families did just that.
It’s no coincidence, that also in 1995, the Mormon Church began its fight against gay marriage in Hawaii. They made elaborate plans to stop it in the very first state where it was being considered. When the freedom to marry finally came to a vote in Hawaii three years later, it passed handily. After its 1998 victory, the Mormon Church continued its stealth campaign to stop gay marriage from happening all over the United States.
The Mormon Church had single-handedly taken away gay marriage from millions of lesbian and gay Californians.
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In Hawaii, the Mormon Church directly contributed $400,000 and raised far more from its members and friends. The Church then moved on to the next 30 state battles. It employed lobbyist, political consultants, and lawyers. It even created front groups to hide its involvement. The Church spent millions of dollars and mobilized its members for the next 13 years until Proposition 8 passed, its final political victory in 2008. That’s when it got caught as the powerhouse that ran and funded nearly all the successful anti-gay marriage campaigns across the county.
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Church President Announces Fight to Pass Prop 8
On June 20, 2008, just three days after same-sex marriage became legal in California, the new President of the Mormon Church, Thomas S. Monson, had a letter from him read to all Mormons during their Sunday Church service. In it he said to do all you can to pass Proposition 8, “Give of your time and your means.” The Wall Street Journalreported on September 20, 2008 that Church members were told, “Their souls would be in jeopardy” if they did not donate money.
Over the next 4 1/2 months Church leaders went on to ding their members for over $30 million, 77 percent of the total money raised to pass Prop 8. With a narrow victory, it was clear that Prop 8 would not have passed in California had the Mormon Church not pulled out all the stops. The Mormon Church had single-handedly taken away gay marriage from millions of lesbian and gay Californians.
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Mormon Church Lied About All it did to Pass Prop 8
The FPPC prosecuted the Church, and after an 18 month investigation, found the Mormon Church guilty on 13 counts of election fraud.
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Besides running and funding the Yes on 8 campaign, our research showed that the Mormon Church had; conducted massive phone banks from Utah and Idaho, bused in thousands of Church members, sent campaign mailers to millions of voters, had 25,000 Church members walking door-to-door over nine weekends throughout the state, ran a speakers bureau, distributed hundreds of thousands of lawn signs along with campaign literature, had 100,000 Church members working on election day, created several slick “Yes on Prop 8” web sites, produced at least nine commercials, created four video broadcasts and conducted at two satellite simulcasts over five Western states. It claimed it did all this for only $2078 which it reported as an “in-kind” contribution to the Yes on 8 committee. This of course was an impossibility.
I filed a 72 page sworn complaint against the Mormon Church with the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) which launched an unprecedented investigation of the Church. The FPPC prosecuted the Church, and after an 18 month investigation, found the Mormon Church guilty on 13 counts of election fraud. The Church plead guilty and paid a fine.
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Secret Mormon Documents
The Mormon Church may have won some battles as it ran roughshod all across the country, but it sure lost the war along with so many members.
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In February 2009 I went to Salt Lake City to meet with a man who had contacted me a few weeks earlier and said that he had some Mormon documents he wanted me to have. We met and he turned over hundreds of secret Mormon documents that detailed exactly how the Mormon Church carried on its assault against gay marriage all across the county for the past 13 years. With these papers it was easy to put the pieces of the puzzle together. We published the first batch of these official Mormon Church documents on our website Mormongate.com The Mormon Church said it could neither confirm nor deny the authenticity of the documents. In other words, they were authentic. Others revealing documents were posted with Mother Jones andFrontiers Magazine.
These documents proved that the Mormon Church’s 1995 declaration of war against gay marriage and the LGBT community was a deliberate and well executed plan over a long period of time. It was also crystal clear that it had partnered with the Catholic Church in its fight. It also showed the extremes that the Mormon Church went through to avoid getting caught including setting up its last front group, the crooked National Organization for Marriage (NOM) in 2007 to help qualify and pass Prop 8.
The Mormon Church may have won some battles as it ran roughshod all across the country, but it sure lost the war along with so many members. So while it celebrates the 20th anniversary of its hateful “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” let’s hope it learned from its mistakes and finally opens up the Mormon Church to everyone.
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This article was originally published on Huffington Post.
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Wow, what does this have to do with The Good Men Project? You’re clearly so biased you couldn’t be objective if you had to. You’re so well-researched on the LDS Church that you don’t know it’s not called the Mormon Church? Or is that a passive-aggressive sting at the Church? Although I have never had any ill will towards any LGBT people, I think I might have some towards this author. This is one of the mistakes many critics make; they are so blinded by their obsession that they fail to realize that they themselves are guilty of the same… Read more »
Joseph, I think this is the only LDS article they’ve had in some time. In so far as targets … Conservative Christian faith have been GMP’s target for some time. They tend to shy away from the Jews abut completely stay away from Muslims.
Another territory they will no address which I mentioned earlier is “Black Church Group of 34,000 Churches From 15 Denominations Splits With PCUSA Over Gay Marriage?”
The LDS church is first on the ground after any natural disaster- often already there before Govt. relief efforts begin. Catholic Charities is one of the largest and most efficient charitable organizations in the world. Even at the local level churches like mine are housing, clothing and supporting multiple poor families trying to get stable and build lives for themselves and their children. 17 families at the moment and that is only one ministry in one single church. I’ll put the “goodness” of the people doing that work up against the members of the “call out culture” any day of… Read more »
Hasn’t the LDS church also done things to help the LGBT community? This seems like old news with newer developments that have gone on, and I’m a little concerned those things weren’t covered in the article. Seems biased.
I think you have a lot of great information and real truth about how religion can and does bisect families. But you also have a lot of obvious bias and flat out false statements that lost me. I am an LDS member. I have both a brother and sister that are gay. Neither of my siblings have been excommunicated, and neither have I for supporting and loving them. I know of absoloutly no one who was pressured or even asked to give money to support prop 8. To be honest, some of your accusations sound to be based on anicdotal… Read more »
Buttercup, you bring up a good point about LDS. “Convening a rare press conference on Tuesday at church headquarters in Salt Lake City, Mormon leaders pledged to support anti-discrimination laws for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people, as long the laws also protect the rights of religious groups.”
These formerly “loyal” Church members decided to side with their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) family members and friends instead of their Church. ” If they lost these “loyal” members, I guess they weren’t really “loyal.” Since we’re on the topic, let’s address “Black Church Group of 34,000 Churches From 15 Denominations Splits With PCUSA Over Gay Marriage?
Organized religion is hemorrhaging millennials who see many of these institutions as bulwarks of bigoted anti-gay ideology… among other nasty things. You simply can make no factually based argument otherwise. Marginalizing the spiritual commitment of any church member who challenges their institutional leadership’s bigotry is typical of the classic conservative religious position. “Do as we say or you are not a true (enter religious affiliation here).” Good luck with that as the pews continue to empty out.
Actually both the LDS church and the Roman Catholic Church continue to grow in the US. So the pews might be emptying in some places but not in Tom’s church or Buttercup’s.
They’ll be losing plenty more very soon. Mormons are the most silly religion next to scientology when you read its historical roots. As religion die sin the west (Thanks God!), the silliest ones will go first!!
Good thing this wasn’t posted in one of the major Utah papers, otherwise the hardcore Mormons would be blaming everything except the church or saying things like, “But we converted three million over that same period!”
Their numbers are cooked and they refuse to admit that the church has, at most, 40% activity.
i think the LDS church need to read the gospels a bit more closely. they seem to forget that jesus told us NOT to judge others, yet that is all they do. i was once going through the missionary discussion and found each and every member to be very closed and narrow minded. it is either their way, or the highway. top it off, the book of mormon says they are to forgive EVERYONE and that judgement is left to god. not anyone else. my prayer is that they will fully live the gospel, and not follow it only when… Read more »