Rebecca Walsh's column "GOP is the LDS addiction" (Tribune, Aug. 31) makes no sense. Of course Mormons (and Utahns) believe in virtues such as service, charity and sacrifice. But Walsh mistakenly thinks that unless the government does it, it isn't charity. She has it exactly backward. Mormons are taught to not wait for the government to tax and act in our place. In fact, we are not performing our charitable duty unless we give of our own time and talents.

So where's the disconnect? It is with Walsh.

Conservative Mormons are similar to other religious conservatives who are suspicious of government's inefficiency and ineffectiveness. According to Ben Gose in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, studies show that "religious conservatives are far more charitable than secular liberals, and that those who support the idea that government should redistribute income are among the least likely to dig into their own wallets to help others."

So putting aside social issues and other sundry reasons why Mormons vote Republican, there's no inconsistency that a people who believe in service and charity support a party that doesn't want to outsource those virtues to bureaucrats.

David H. Sundwall

Holladay