Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Secret Documents Reveal Mormon Campaign to fight Same-Sex Marriage Since 1995
Documents published on http://www.Mormongate.com reveal a major effort by LDS senior church leaders to battle same-sex marriage in a number of states, including Hawaii. The documents are leaked internal Latter-day Saints memos and reveal details of the insidious and in many ways illegal campaign.
Photo by Justin Miel. Raging Grannies protest the passage of Prop 8 that narrowly passed in November.
Photo copyright by Justin Miel http://www.gotmiel.com
Photo by Justin Miel. Raging Grannies protest the passage of Prop 8 that narrowly passed in November.
Photo copyright by Justin Miel http://www.gotmiel.com
The LDS Church failed to report the full extent of its financial involvement last year in supporting a successful ban on same-sex marriage, but that's not all.
New Charges have been filed with the California Fair Political Practices Commission. Los Angeles-based *Californians Against Hate* says the church created the National Organization for Marriage in California in 2007 as a front group for its anti-gay agenda and failed to report the costs as required by state law.
It is widely held that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints delayed disclosure or vastly under-reported other nonmonetary contributions to the campaign.
As many as 1,025 individuals and businesses in Utah donated $3.8 million to Proposition 8 efforts. Meanwhile only 2 per cent of the California population is of the Mormon faith. The proposition banning same-sex marriage passed narrowly in November.
LGBQT activists are not sitting back and waiting while the proposition is being challenged before the California Supreme Court. Rallies and civil disobedience are being planned for the day of the Supreme Court's announcement across the nation. A decision to uphold marriages that took place before the passage of Prop 8, but deny future gay marriages in California, will NOT be considered a victory. A demonstration of historic measure is planned for Fresno, California on the Saturday following the decision no matter which way the decision goes.
Recently a member of the Raging Grannies of the San Francisco Bay Area said, "In the future we may actually have the LDS church to thank for bringing the issue of gay rights to the forefront as the civil rights issue of this generation. Their intervention in the politics of California, with vasts amount of money coming from the state of Utah, is reprehensible, and it may be their ultimate undoing. The struggle for equal rights for our LGBT selves, friends and loved ones will gather young and old in Fresno, a middle city between Los Angeles and San Francisco that has seen huge support for gay rights, despite what some call that city's middle-America values. We will be there on the Saturday after the Supreme Court decision, win or lose, to say our time has come to treat all people with fairness, respect, and full equality."
See also: http://www.RagingGrannies.com and http://www.meetinthemiddle.com for details of upcoming rallies, civil disobedience planned, and more.
New Charges have been filed with the California Fair Political Practices Commission. Los Angeles-based *Californians Against Hate* says the church created the National Organization for Marriage in California in 2007 as a front group for its anti-gay agenda and failed to report the costs as required by state law.
It is widely held that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints delayed disclosure or vastly under-reported other nonmonetary contributions to the campaign.
As many as 1,025 individuals and businesses in Utah donated $3.8 million to Proposition 8 efforts. Meanwhile only 2 per cent of the California population is of the Mormon faith. The proposition banning same-sex marriage passed narrowly in November.
LGBQT activists are not sitting back and waiting while the proposition is being challenged before the California Supreme Court. Rallies and civil disobedience are being planned for the day of the Supreme Court's announcement across the nation. A decision to uphold marriages that took place before the passage of Prop 8, but deny future gay marriages in California, will NOT be considered a victory. A demonstration of historic measure is planned for Fresno, California on the Saturday following the decision no matter which way the decision goes.
Recently a member of the Raging Grannies of the San Francisco Bay Area said, "In the future we may actually have the LDS church to thank for bringing the issue of gay rights to the forefront as the civil rights issue of this generation. Their intervention in the politics of California, with vasts amount of money coming from the state of Utah, is reprehensible, and it may be their ultimate undoing. The struggle for equal rights for our LGBT selves, friends and loved ones will gather young and old in Fresno, a middle city between Los Angeles and San Francisco that has seen huge support for gay rights, despite what some call that city's middle-America values. We will be there on the Saturday after the Supreme Court decision, win or lose, to say our time has come to treat all people with fairness, respect, and full equality."
See also: http://www.RagingGrannies.com and http://www.meetinthemiddle.com for details of upcoming rallies, civil disobedience planned, and more.
For more information:
http://www.mormongate.com
Add Your Comments
Comments
(Hide Comments)
It's interesting that NOM (National Organization for Marriage) is now active in the Northeast (e.g. Maine) on this issue. And Matthew S. Holland still sits on the board.
Rank-and-file members of the LDS church need to realize that institutional LDS efforts didn't end with Prop 8's passage. The battles continue all across the country, and for all of us who follow them, when we see Brother Holland's name listed on the NOM board, it shouldn't be unexpected that we assume the LDS church is continuing in its efforts to block equality.
Rank-and-file members of the LDS church need to realize that institutional LDS efforts didn't end with Prop 8's passage. The battles continue all across the country, and for all of us who follow them, when we see Brother Holland's name listed on the NOM board, it shouldn't be unexpected that we assume the LDS church is continuing in its efforts to block equality.
For more information:
http://www.chinoblanco.com
The Mormon (LDS) leadership may soon regret their choice to endorse the Prop 8 campaign, as it appears they violated their not-for-profit status agreement by interfering with state matters in preventing same sex marriage..
Others have begun a campaign to exert pressure on the IRS to revoke the LDS 501 non profit status as a result of these illegal activities;
"As the founder of several 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organizations, like the Mormon church, I am well aware of the laws which dictate the limitations of what a 501(c) organization is allowed to do. One of the big ones states that an organization may not be involved in a political campaign or engage in excessive lobbying activities. By telling their members to go out and vote in favor of Proposition 8, they broke the law, and should be penalized. The IRS should revoke their tax-exempt status for this.
Please go to this link and print out the PDF, then fill out your information and mail it in! Show your support for the gay community, and stand up against the hate being promoted by the Mormon Church and others."
http://kaganville.com/complaint.pdf
http://kaganville.blogspot.com/2008/11/ask-irs-to-revoke-mormons-churchs-tax.html
other petitions to revoke LDS 501 status;
Section 501(c)(3) of US Code Title 26, which governs tax-exempt organizations, reads (emphasis added):
(3) Corporations, and any community chest, fund, or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes, or to foster national or international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its activities involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment), or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, no substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting, to influence legislation (except as otherwise provided in subsection (h)), and which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.
(The “otherwise provided” clause does not apply, as the LDS Church, being a church, is a disqualified entity as described in subsection (h).)
The LDS church, through inciting its members to donate time and means to support Proposition 8 (resulting in millions of dollars of cash contributions from its members and countless volunteer hours), and in-kind campaign contributions to a group that supports Proposition 8, has now made a substantial part of its activities attempting to influence legislation.
You can help! Send the IRS an official complaint about the LDS Church’s activities, either by email, fax or US Mail.
Prepare a copy of the Official LDS Prop. 8 Letter read in all LDS churches in California on 29 June 2008.
Prepare one or more other articles of your choice (you can use these links, or do your own research) showing the LDS Church’s substantial activities attempting to influence this legislation.
Prepare this Pre-Filled IRS Form 13909 and add your personal information, or fill out a Blank IRS Form 13909 from scratch with the information in the pre-filled form (these links and an alternative filled form are copied below in RESOURCES.)
Don’t forget to date your referral at the top and include your submitter information. If you are a member of the Church, you may wish to check the box marked “I am concerned that I might face retaliation or retribution if my identity is disclosed.”
Send it to the IRS, either by:
* Email: Prepare your documents as PDF’s or web links, and send your complaint form with supporting documentation to; eoclass [at] irs.gov.
* Fax: fax your documents to (214) 413-5415
* Mail: mail your documents to;
IRS EO Classification
Mail Code 4910DAL
1100 Commerce Street
Dallas TX 75242-1198
petition found @;
http://lds501c3.wordpress.com/
Of all religions, the LDS community should know better than to practice discrimination against alternative marriage contracts, how soon they forget their own struggles;
"If this is the way Mormons treat gays and lesbians of California, let us ask:
How has America treated Mormons?
The Mormon church began in 1830 in New York. The first Mormons were persecuted by the American majority, and were compelled to emigrate to Utah where they could live unmolested, much like gays and lesbians who lived in the urban ghettos last century. Mormons had alternative views of what family meant, and were excluded and marginalized from the political process. In their arguments against the majority, Mormon Prophet Brigham Young wrote:
Marriage is a civil contract. You might as well make a law to say how many children a man shall have, as to make a law to say how many wives he shall have. (Journal of Discourses, 11:268-9)
Much has improved for the Mormon people since then. Today, Mormons have powerful representation in the Senate, and ran a nationally viable candidate for the United States Presidency in 2008.
The Mormon story is possible because our country is a tolerant and forgiving place. America believes in the rights of its citizens to determine their own fates, and grants rights to individual communities to determine their own norms and values. The Mormon people have been able to flourish because of this country's generous spirit.
But now, history has reversed, and it is the Mormons who have become the oppressor."
read on @;
http://www.mormonsstoleourrights.com/
Not only are LDS leadership who promoted Prop 8 guilty of violating their 501 agreement, there is a good chance that they are seriously misleading their congregation in the opposite direction of the teachings of Jesus Christ, the man whom they claim to follow. Jesus never preached hatred or bigotry against same sex couples, though they were quite common during his time on Earth under occupation of the Roman Empire..
Since the GLBT community interested in marriage are following a spiritual/religious and mostly Christian invented contract (most pagan 'marriages' were informal), they may benefit from other resources of Christians who understand that same sex relationships are also valued by God, and that so-called Christians who promote bigotry, hatred and revoking civil rights of same sex couples are in fact being led straight to the fiery pits of Hell (Hey, heckfire and brimstone threats can go both ways!!) by following their leadership..
Review of Dr. Samuel Behrens book "Anti-Gay Equals Anti-God";
"Fully conversant with Bible Religion, Behrens turns its arguments and rhetoric back on itself. “One thing I know is this,” Behrens insists, “the good Lord wanted me to write this book” (p. 45). “The ignorant heterosexists and homophobes who have ‘sat in darkness’ about God’s gay and lesbian children, but who will be forced into the light of day, will sit in disbelief, bewilderment and wonder at all the hateful and harmful things they have said and done, all because of a lie….they are not true Christians” (p. 31). “If you are Christian and you are anti-gay, according to the Bible, you are also anti-God….if you do not repent and pray to Jesus Christ for forgiveness, you will find yourself in the fiery, burning pit of hell” (p. 9).
After three chapters that treat those personal struggles and religious conflicts, the book’s long fourth chapter discusses “eight fallacies” about the Bible and homosexuality. Here, sometimes relying on scholarly historical-critical interpretation and often applying his own creative analyses—the exact style of the biblical literalists—Behrens shows why none of the standardly cited texts is actually condemning.
Regarding “Adam and Steve,” for example, Behrens recalls how Genesis 2 actually reads. Since “it is not good for the man to be alone,” God formed the beasts and fowl for Adam and, only later, the woman. Behrens taunts: Wasn’t God proposing bestiality as the answer to Adam’s loneliness? Doesn’t woman actually rank below the animals? Is this the scheme of life that the literalists want to support?!"
read on @;
http://whitecrane.typepad.com/journal/2006/07/white_crane_69__1.html
There are plenty of good arguements against the LDS, Evangelical and Right-Wing Catholic (Opus Dei) position of Prop 8 that condemns same sex relationships, marriage, etc..., both spiritual and legal. With enough resources and information, not only will Prop 8 be overturned, but possibly the entire leadership of LDS and others who promoted this hatred can be challenged and removed from their positions of power for misleading their congregations away from the teachings of Christ, whom they claim to follow..
Nobody in recent history since the Inquisition, Crusades and Burning Times has driven good hearted people away from following Christ's communal lifestyle as have these church leaders with their endless promotion of bigotry and hatred. The Bible itself (Book of Revelations) warns of "wolves in sheeps clothing" (no offense to real wolves!!), meaning the hypocrisy of many powerful church leaders claiming to be Christian yet acting in very un-Christlike manners are in fact agents of none other than Satan. Or from a logical agnostic perspective, promoting and acting in very antisocial, anti-human and anti-life mannerisms that are anything but kind, forgiving and loving..
Not without some irony is the other promotion of these same leaders; militarism, nuclear weapons and endless war with the "enemy" (currently Islam, though others are also mentioned), any coincidence that UTAH, home base of the LDS is also the latest dumping ground of NUCLEAR WASTE!?
Guess that shows how much the LDS leadership loves their congregation!!
Others have begun a campaign to exert pressure on the IRS to revoke the LDS 501 non profit status as a result of these illegal activities;
"As the founder of several 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organizations, like the Mormon church, I am well aware of the laws which dictate the limitations of what a 501(c) organization is allowed to do. One of the big ones states that an organization may not be involved in a political campaign or engage in excessive lobbying activities. By telling their members to go out and vote in favor of Proposition 8, they broke the law, and should be penalized. The IRS should revoke their tax-exempt status for this.
Please go to this link and print out the PDF, then fill out your information and mail it in! Show your support for the gay community, and stand up against the hate being promoted by the Mormon Church and others."
http://kaganville.com/complaint.pdf
http://kaganville.blogspot.com/2008/11/ask-irs-to-revoke-mormons-churchs-tax.html
other petitions to revoke LDS 501 status;
Section 501(c)(3) of US Code Title 26, which governs tax-exempt organizations, reads (emphasis added):
(3) Corporations, and any community chest, fund, or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes, or to foster national or international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its activities involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment), or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, no substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting, to influence legislation (except as otherwise provided in subsection (h)), and which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.
(The “otherwise provided” clause does not apply, as the LDS Church, being a church, is a disqualified entity as described in subsection (h).)
The LDS church, through inciting its members to donate time and means to support Proposition 8 (resulting in millions of dollars of cash contributions from its members and countless volunteer hours), and in-kind campaign contributions to a group that supports Proposition 8, has now made a substantial part of its activities attempting to influence legislation.
You can help! Send the IRS an official complaint about the LDS Church’s activities, either by email, fax or US Mail.
Prepare a copy of the Official LDS Prop. 8 Letter read in all LDS churches in California on 29 June 2008.
Prepare one or more other articles of your choice (you can use these links, or do your own research) showing the LDS Church’s substantial activities attempting to influence this legislation.
Prepare this Pre-Filled IRS Form 13909 and add your personal information, or fill out a Blank IRS Form 13909 from scratch with the information in the pre-filled form (these links and an alternative filled form are copied below in RESOURCES.)
Don’t forget to date your referral at the top and include your submitter information. If you are a member of the Church, you may wish to check the box marked “I am concerned that I might face retaliation or retribution if my identity is disclosed.”
Send it to the IRS, either by:
* Email: Prepare your documents as PDF’s or web links, and send your complaint form with supporting documentation to; eoclass [at] irs.gov.
* Fax: fax your documents to (214) 413-5415
* Mail: mail your documents to;
IRS EO Classification
Mail Code 4910DAL
1100 Commerce Street
Dallas TX 75242-1198
petition found @;
http://lds501c3.wordpress.com/
Of all religions, the LDS community should know better than to practice discrimination against alternative marriage contracts, how soon they forget their own struggles;
"If this is the way Mormons treat gays and lesbians of California, let us ask:
How has America treated Mormons?
The Mormon church began in 1830 in New York. The first Mormons were persecuted by the American majority, and were compelled to emigrate to Utah where they could live unmolested, much like gays and lesbians who lived in the urban ghettos last century. Mormons had alternative views of what family meant, and were excluded and marginalized from the political process. In their arguments against the majority, Mormon Prophet Brigham Young wrote:
Marriage is a civil contract. You might as well make a law to say how many children a man shall have, as to make a law to say how many wives he shall have. (Journal of Discourses, 11:268-9)
Much has improved for the Mormon people since then. Today, Mormons have powerful representation in the Senate, and ran a nationally viable candidate for the United States Presidency in 2008.
The Mormon story is possible because our country is a tolerant and forgiving place. America believes in the rights of its citizens to determine their own fates, and grants rights to individual communities to determine their own norms and values. The Mormon people have been able to flourish because of this country's generous spirit.
But now, history has reversed, and it is the Mormons who have become the oppressor."
read on @;
http://www.mormonsstoleourrights.com/
Not only are LDS leadership who promoted Prop 8 guilty of violating their 501 agreement, there is a good chance that they are seriously misleading their congregation in the opposite direction of the teachings of Jesus Christ, the man whom they claim to follow. Jesus never preached hatred or bigotry against same sex couples, though they were quite common during his time on Earth under occupation of the Roman Empire..
Since the GLBT community interested in marriage are following a spiritual/religious and mostly Christian invented contract (most pagan 'marriages' were informal), they may benefit from other resources of Christians who understand that same sex relationships are also valued by God, and that so-called Christians who promote bigotry, hatred and revoking civil rights of same sex couples are in fact being led straight to the fiery pits of Hell (Hey, heckfire and brimstone threats can go both ways!!) by following their leadership..
Review of Dr. Samuel Behrens book "Anti-Gay Equals Anti-God";
"Fully conversant with Bible Religion, Behrens turns its arguments and rhetoric back on itself. “One thing I know is this,” Behrens insists, “the good Lord wanted me to write this book” (p. 45). “The ignorant heterosexists and homophobes who have ‘sat in darkness’ about God’s gay and lesbian children, but who will be forced into the light of day, will sit in disbelief, bewilderment and wonder at all the hateful and harmful things they have said and done, all because of a lie….they are not true Christians” (p. 31). “If you are Christian and you are anti-gay, according to the Bible, you are also anti-God….if you do not repent and pray to Jesus Christ for forgiveness, you will find yourself in the fiery, burning pit of hell” (p. 9).
After three chapters that treat those personal struggles and religious conflicts, the book’s long fourth chapter discusses “eight fallacies” about the Bible and homosexuality. Here, sometimes relying on scholarly historical-critical interpretation and often applying his own creative analyses—the exact style of the biblical literalists—Behrens shows why none of the standardly cited texts is actually condemning.
Regarding “Adam and Steve,” for example, Behrens recalls how Genesis 2 actually reads. Since “it is not good for the man to be alone,” God formed the beasts and fowl for Adam and, only later, the woman. Behrens taunts: Wasn’t God proposing bestiality as the answer to Adam’s loneliness? Doesn’t woman actually rank below the animals? Is this the scheme of life that the literalists want to support?!"
read on @;
http://whitecrane.typepad.com/journal/2006/07/white_crane_69__1.html
There are plenty of good arguements against the LDS, Evangelical and Right-Wing Catholic (Opus Dei) position of Prop 8 that condemns same sex relationships, marriage, etc..., both spiritual and legal. With enough resources and information, not only will Prop 8 be overturned, but possibly the entire leadership of LDS and others who promoted this hatred can be challenged and removed from their positions of power for misleading their congregations away from the teachings of Christ, whom they claim to follow..
Nobody in recent history since the Inquisition, Crusades and Burning Times has driven good hearted people away from following Christ's communal lifestyle as have these church leaders with their endless promotion of bigotry and hatred. The Bible itself (Book of Revelations) warns of "wolves in sheeps clothing" (no offense to real wolves!!), meaning the hypocrisy of many powerful church leaders claiming to be Christian yet acting in very un-Christlike manners are in fact agents of none other than Satan. Or from a logical agnostic perspective, promoting and acting in very antisocial, anti-human and anti-life mannerisms that are anything but kind, forgiving and loving..
Not without some irony is the other promotion of these same leaders; militarism, nuclear weapons and endless war with the "enemy" (currently Islam, though others are also mentioned), any coincidence that UTAH, home base of the LDS is also the latest dumping ground of NUCLEAR WASTE!?
Guess that shows how much the LDS leadership loves their congregation!!
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$260.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network