Do you wonder what Mormons really believe and what a new Mormon political administration will be like?

Take a look at Utah. Find out what it’s like not to be a Mormon in Utah. Look at how oppressive and omnipresent the Mormon church is. Look at how narrow and vanilla Utah is. See what the customs are and what the discrimination is like right here. Speak to non-Mormons. Speak to anti-Mormons.

Are you aware that real, everyday Mormons look forward to the highest level of heaven, where only temple-going Mormons will be allowed? Are you aware that everyday Mormon men are taught they will inherit planets and be gods? Modern-day Mormons will scoff about how they “gave up polygamy a century ago,” yet they still consider polygamy a holy sacrament that will be reinstated in heaven? Yes, it is nice that they give away toothbrushes during earthquakes. But what will a Mormon political administration look like when it comes to choosing a cabinet? A Supreme Court justice? What rights and freedoms are you willing to give up to blend in, “be sweet” and become vanilla? The state of Utah is beautiful, the people are so “sweet,” but there is a darker side that no one is talking about.

The Mormon church says it is firmly apolitical except for what it calls “moral issues.” Like all churches, it can’t use church buildings for political purposes or it would lose its tax-free status. But I remember sitting in church and being told from the pulpit why I needed to vote against the Equal Rights Amendment. I remember the anti-African-American rhetoric that was Mormon doctrine. I have read apostles’ experiences where dark-skinned people become lighter when they received the “gospel.” And who could forget the most recent teachings concerning Proposition 8, augmented by millions of Mormon dollars and the phone-call trees in every ward?

Think hard about your rights, your freedoms and your diversity before you vote for a Mormon administration.

SUNDAY SUMMER
Ogden