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8: The Mormon Proposition

…is a film entry in the 2010 Sundance Film Festival with the acronym 8:TMP. Created by several disaffected members of the Mormon Church who are gay, it lays blame for the passage of California’s Proposition 8 squarely upon the Mormon Church. According to the makers of the film, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has spent the last three decades engaged in a vendetta against gays, employing evil “secret combinations” among its members in LDS temples to effect the trashing of gay rights. This venomous film production employs every possible lie to portray the Mormon Church as an oppressive and evil money machine.

The content of this site will not concentrate only on the falsehoods regarding the Mormon Church, but on sociology, psychology, politics and cultural background, as well as the free choice of California citizens and people of all walks of faith who are like-minded in upholding traditional marriage as the core unit of successful and healthy society.

Up front, however, since the movie was created by ex-Mormons to disgrace the Mormon Church, here is a brief summary of the movie’s affronts with short responses:

Claim:

The Mormon Church funneled tens of millions of dollars into the Proposition 8 campaign. Without the support of the Church, the Proposition would not have passed.

Response:

Mormons make up less than 2 percent of the population of California. They comprised less than 5 percent of the yes vote. The “No on 8” campaign out-spent the “Yes on 8” supporters $43.3 million to $39.9 million. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported contributions to to ProtectMarriage.com coaltion totalling $189,903.58, none of which was in cash. All official Church contributions were in-kind. The Church encouraged its members to contribute whatever they could personally, whether in time or money, to the measure, but whatever was contributed in this manner was personal. Not all personal Mormon contributions went to support a yes vote. Some Mormons contributed to the No on 8 campaign.

The “Yes on 8” coalition had a broad base of supporters, including many religious groups. Other religious groups actually spent more than both the Mormon Church and personal Mormon sponsors. Voters had the freedom of choice to cast their ballots as they saw fit, and they chose to pass Proposition 8. Mormons have been singled out for reprisals in what was a broadly supported initiative. Mormon support for similar actions in other states has failed to sway voters or the courts. Those states have chosen not to uphold traditional marriage and to allow marriage for gays.

Claim:

The Church worked behind the scenes to unseat political leaders who support gay marriage rights.

Response:

Though the membership of the Mormon Church in the United States is mostly Republican and conservative, Mormon Church members are of every political persuasion. A good indicator of this is the fact that both Senator Harry Reid, a liberal Democrat, and Mitt Romney, a moderate Republican, are prominent political figures and members of the Mormon Church in good standing. Mitt Romney was the governor of Massachusetts, when the state ratified the right of gays to marry.

Claim:

BYU police have arrested young men and caused electric shock therapy and frontal lobotomies to be performed on them.

Response:

This kind of accusation is too wildly fanciful to address. The Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage neither constitutes nor condones any kind of hostility toward gays and lesbians. The Church has always urged compassion, understanding, and courtesy towards gays and sponsors help programs based on kindness and fellowship (LDS Newsroom).

Claim:

That there have been hundreds of gay Mormon suicides.

Response:

The purpose of the gospel of Jesus Christ is to provide healing, security, and safety. The commandments of God are gifts to His children and honoring those commandments eventually leads to eternal happiness. Breaking the laws of God, no matter what one’s sexual orientation is, guarantees unhappiness. Mormons who suffer from same-sex attraction have a tough road to tread during their mortal existence. Rare indeed, however, is the Mormon family that casts out a troubled child. The Mormon way is exactly the opposite.

The suicide rate among the inter-mountain west states is a bit higher than the national average. Utah is about 60% Mormon, and its suicide rate is one of the lowest in the inter-mountain belt.

White U.S. Males aged 20-34 have a suicide rate 2.5 to 7 times greater than active LDS males in the same age group. Utah’s suicide rate in 2004 was 15.6 per 100,000 people. Read more

Claim:

That most of Utah’s homeless are gays who have been cast out of their homes after “coming out.”

Response:

There are about 4,000 homeless people in Utah on any given night. 57% are single men. Most are temporarily homeless. The chronically homeless often have serious disabilities. National data indicate that of the homeless population 32% have an alcohol problem, 13% have a drug problem, 25% suffer from mental illness, and 12% have both mental illness and a substance abuse problem. The Utah homeless mostly fall into these categories, and many are not Utah natives.

Claim:

That Mormons hate gays and are “out to get them.”

Response:

LDS Newsroom carries the statement of the Church: “Allegations of bigotry or persecution made against the Church were and are simply wrong. The Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage neither constitutes nor condones any kind of hostility toward gays and lesbians. Even more, the Church does not object to rights for same-sex couples 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 traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches.”

Mormons do not hate gays. Perhaps the following quote will help clarify the reasons behind the Mormon stance in the defense of traditional marriage. It is from the The Family: A Proclamation to the World issued by the Mormon Church:

“Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.”

Regarding the disintegration of the family, the prophet and apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do not single out gay marriage or homosexual behaviors. There are myriad ways in which the traditional family is under attack. Because the prophet and apostles receive guidance directly from God, they cannot condone what God forbids. Obeying the commandments of God brings safety and peace.

Claim:

That religion has no place in politics.

Response:

Again, from LDS Newsroom: “Some have mistakenly asserted that churches should not be involved in politics when moral issues are involved. In fact, churches and religious organizations are well within their constitutional rights to speak out and be engaged in the many moral and ethical problems facing society. While the Church does not endorse candidates or platforms, it does reserve the right to speak out on important issues.”

Also, individuals who exercise their rights to vote, gather, and support political candidates and parties, do so according to the dictates of their conscience. Conscience is informed by one’s religious beliefs and cannot be abandoned when moral choices need to be made.

Claims:

The movie raises the issue of Utah State Senator Buttars’ bigoted comments on the senate floor; quotes a Mormon bishop; and shows gays carrying signs claiming that Jesus was not against them.

Response:

a. Utah State Senator Buttars’ comments in the state senate were immediately decried by others in the room, most of whom were Mormon. It led to an outcry among Utah State Government officials and citizens at large long before it hit the national press and aroused the interest of outside groups.

b. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a lay clergy made up of ordinary members called temporarily to positions within their wards, stakes, and larger area delineations. Bishops usually serve for about 5 years and have no special talents or training. They have their own political and cultural ideas, and the ideas they express are not necessarily those of the Church. After a man is released from his temporary position as a bishop, he is just a member of the Church with no special authority.

c. Homosexual activities are condemned in both the Old and the New Testament, as well as heterosexual activity outside of marriage, which is biblically defined as the sacred union between a man and a woman. Jesus associated with “sinners” in order to bring them to repentance, not to leave them in their sins. He forgave, but He also told the transgressor to “sin no more.” The laws of the Old and New Testament stand today and are validated by current commandments from God to His children.

Claim:

The movie claims that the Church employs secret combinations in its temples to communicate its designs.

Response:

The temple is the house of God. All covenants made there are to profess the desire to become as Christ is—charitable, and full of love. Those who enter the temple of God must purify their lives so as to reach towards the holy attributes of God. There are no “secret combinations.”

Claim:

It’s hypocritical for the Mormon Church to condemn gay marriage when its members practiced polygamy, itself an abherrant form of the marriage covenant.

Response:

Polygamy was practiced by the ancient prophets with no disapproval from the Lord. The Lord has declared that polygamy is acceptable at those times when the people are righteous enough to practice it, but only when He commands it through His prophets. Otherwise, men are to have only one wife, as the Lord has currently commanded through modern prophets. Polygamy still follows the “natural use” of the intimate relationship between man and woman, and still shapes the family for the natural arrival of children into the home. It is erroneous to assume that polygamy and homosexual marriage are somehow comparable.

Who is being persecuted?

Study shows money spent on Prop 8 campaign had no effect on voters.

Click here for a review of the movie.