Prop 8 – Mormons Told How Much to Donate

December 5, 2008 in Government by Greg | 10 comments

This morning I came across a reference to a story which said Mormons were told how much to donate to support Proposition 8 by their bishops. I got a kick out of such an outlandish statement.

Proposition 8 Protest Signs on Fence of Mormon Los Angeles Temple Mormons make up only 2% of California’s population, so the fact that they played such an outsize role in the Yes on 8 campaign testifies to their rigid and efficient organization as a religious community. Because the church requests that members tithe 10% of their annual income, LDS leaders are able to gain an accurate picture of how much their congregants earn. With this information in hand, bishops in local communities went from house to house in California asking for specific amounts of money for the Yes on 8 campaign — an incredibly effective fund-raising tactic. Mormons boast high rates of involvement in church-related activities, including commitments that can be quite demanding, such as missionary work, whereby members spend up to two years proselyting, often in far-flung overseas locations.1

As Lowell C. Brown put it:

That, folks, simply did not happen. No one was forced to donate.  Bishops did not go house to house. I personally donated, after a lot of thought, but no one came to me and asked me to do so, and no one ever thanked me for donating. I could have not donated anything and no one would have ever said anything to me.

After reading the entire article, I was amazed at Mr. Kirchick’s portrayal of Mormons:

“They’re very insecure people,” says Alan Wolfe, director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College.

Church members feel “genuine alarm” at the hubbub created by their efforts, according to Damon Linker.

Mormons campaigned heavily for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney’s unsuccessful 2008 presidential bid, especially in the key first primary state of New Hampshire. And it’s Romney’s potential future presidential aspirations, as well as Mormonism’s tortured history in America, that has led some to speculate that the church wasn’t just advocating for “traditional” marriage in the Prop. 8 fight. Perhaps it was also deliberately flaunting its power as a force to be reckoned with – showing both the broader religious right and the Washington political scene what it can do.

I neither feel “insecure” nor “alarm.” And while I’m sure many members of the LDS faith supported Mr. Romney’s presidential campaign, I don’t think this support had anything to do with “deliberately flaunting its power as a force to be reckoned with” in Washington or anywhere else for that matter.

Mr. Kirchick’s unbalanced portrayal of members of the LDS faith does nothing to help his cause. If anything, his rhetoric seems to be coming direct from the New Statesman.2

Sources:

  1. Kirchick, James. “The New Religious Right“. Incorrectly dated 13 January 2009. Advocate.com. 5 December 2008. I was referred to this story by Schroeder, John. “Gays and Mormons and Evangelicals, OH MY!“. 5 December 2008. Article VI Blog. 5 December 2008. The Advocate.com is self-described “The Award-Winning LGBT News Site.” Of interest to LDS readers is the mention that “WordPerfect founder, former Mormon, and $1 million No on 8 donor Bruce Bastian” was recently mentioned as one of three people “who made 2008 a year to remember.” See “Wanda Sykes, Thomas Beatie Kick Off Advocate’s People of the Year“. Advocate.com. 5 December 2008.↩
  2. See Proposition 8, Mormons, and the New Statesman.↩

Tags: Marriage

  1. DavidHNo Gravatar on December 5, 2008 at 4:27 pm

    Lowell Brown may not have been asked personally for a contribution, but in some cases stake presidents personally visited members to ask for contributions of specific amounts. Here is a blog post by one such member (who made a generous contribution). http://www.nine-moons.com/2008/08/07/the-my-girl-bill/

    My understanding is that in many cases bishops and stake presidents requested help or donations personally from members, although some made sure that the requests were not done on Church time or property. http://www.newstatesman.com/north-america/2008/10/gay-rights-church-bennion

  2. kodosNo Gravatar on December 5, 2008 at 5:40 pm

    Have you seen this blog post?

    http://www.nine-moons.com/2008/08/07/the-my-girl-bill/#more-830

    It is a report of a stake president who came to a member family’s house and asked for a specific amount (which they gave). Exactly what you said didn’t happen.

    I don’t know David, but nine-moons is a reputable blog of active Mormons that has been around for a while, so I trust that the story is true.

    How common was this practice? I don’t know. Do you?

  3. GregNo Gravatar on December 5, 2008 at 6:25 pm

    Thanks to DavidH and kodos for correcting me on this issue. I have to eat crow on this one.

    I had a sneaking suspicion when I wrote this post that there was a real possibility that some members may have been asked to donate specific amounts to support Prop 8. (Certainly, we are all subject to having our faith “tested by the priesthood.”) However, I was unaware of any instances where members were asked to donate specific amounts.

    Thanks for pointing me and my readers to Nine Moons. Having read the posts and comments from one of the bloggers there (whom I admire), I am unable to ascertain the story’s veracity. I just don’t know David.

    As far as how common this practice was (e.g. asking for donations with an amount in mind), I simply don’t know but would be interested in hearing of anyone’s experience.

    Thanks again for the correction.

  4. sister blah 2No Gravatar on December 6, 2008 at 2:10 am

    From what I understand, members of my ward and stake were approached by their Bishops, on the phone or in their homes. (My Bishop mentioned such calls and visits in talks at church about prop 8–in the context of thanking people for their cooperation–however I was not involved in such a visit. Probably because I don’t have much cash for donating.) I have friends and relatives throughout the state who report similar things. I can tell you from direct experience that each ward and stake had a fundraising target. We were informed of our ward’s quota a few times on Sundays in the context of some chiding about not having reached it yet. I don’t recall being told not to disclose the amount publicly, but I still don’t feel I should. Sorry. I will say that we exceeded it by quite a bit. (For another data point, here is a another person commenting about the quota in their stake: http://mormoninquiry.typepad.com/mormon_inquiry/2008/10/doubling-down-o.html#comment-134110353 “the narrator” blogs by his real name–click on his handle–so I trust he’s telling the truth. I’ll note that our amount was different–actually, more–so it appears the amounts were tailored to the economic level of the ward/stake.)

    The Wall Street Journal quotes a member who says he was approached by the brethren with a specific dollar amount (which he gladly donated). He was part of a conference call with other members throughout the state who were believed to be in a position to make such a large donation:

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122186063716658279.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

    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.

    That last sentence about using tithing records is speculative, it sounds like. I certainly have never seen any tithing records, but I have a pretty good idea who some of the wealthy families in our ward are (houses, cars, etc). Anyway, it wouldn’t surprise me if the article you quote above used this WSJ article as a source for the tithing bit, and then went on to further embellish the information. (That being said, I think we have to concede that it is true that if they wanted to look at them, the brethren do have access to tithing records.)

  5. sister blah 2No Gravatar on December 6, 2008 at 2:27 am

    PS: (off-topic) thanks for that video link the sidebar. I’ve had a youtube of MoTab singing Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing bookmarked for a long time and watch it frequently, but that’s the first time I’ve seen that version by the BYU choir. I think I like it better, although they’re both excellent.

  6. DHNo Gravatar on December 6, 2008 at 8:53 am

    On your other point, or the author’s point, that maybe the Church was “deliberately flaunting its power as a force to be reckoned with – showing both the broader religious right and the Washington political scene what it can do,” this is one of the most laughable comments I have seen yet.

    The LDS church goes to great lengths to avoid entering into partsian politics but encourages its members to act as good citizens and participate (as their own conscience dictates) in the democratic process.

    Thanks for a good Saturday morning chuckle! Gotta love those “Mormon Conspiracy” ideas that float around. haha.

    DH
    http://www.fromthedust.org

  7. GregNo Gravatar on December 6, 2008 at 6:59 pm

    Thanks sister blah 2 – especially for providing first-hand information about donating money to support Prop 8 and the links to these other articles. After reading the comment on Dave’s Mormon Inquiry, this issue has real consequences for families and m heart goes out to people on both sides of this issue.

    P.S. Glad you like the videos in the sidebar. I’m always looking for good content to add over time.

  8. GregNo Gravatar on December 6, 2008 at 7:00 pm

    Hi DH – I couldn’t agree more. His comment that the Church is somehow trying to “flaunt its power” is ludicrous. Glad you got a good laugh out of it.

  9. Bob LoblawNo Gravatar on December 15, 2008 at 9:48 pm

    While some leaders of the Church may have undertaken more than encouragement to donate to the cause is based on that specific leader’s belief. The official Church’s position was not to request donations of a specific amount rather to encourage the general membership support Prop 8.

    One thing I want to point out is that the LDS Church is not opposed to gay couples enjoying rights, or living as a couple especially those not of their faith. Rather the focus of the Church’s involvement was specifically same-sex marriage and its consequences. THE CHURCH DOES NOT OBJECT TO RIGHTS (ALREADY ESTABLISHED IN CA.) REGARDING HOSPITALIZATION AND MEDICAL CARE, FAIR HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OR PROBATE RIGHTs so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the family or the constitutional rights of churches and their adherents to administer and practice their religion free from government interference.

    The Church’s place in prop 8 was to protect our right to practice our religion as we believe God has commanded. When one considers what was at stake in the passage of prop. 8 it is no wonder to me why the LDS Church was so heavily involved.

    If anyone desires to read more see:

    http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-divine-institution-of-marriage

  10. GregNo Gravatar on December 15, 2008 at 10:59 pm

    Bob – Thanks for the important clarification about the “official” position of the Church in regards to Proposition 8. And although I linked to the same page on the Church web site on another post, thank you for providing it on this page.