This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The rant posted this week against the LDS Church's support of the guest-worker bill passed by the Utah Legislature comes from a conservative group of mostly Mormons who seem incensed by any notion the church lobbied for immigration bills.
That group, however, hasn't seemed too concerned about other instances of alleged church involvement in secular affairs.
Ron Mortensen, co-founder of the Utah Coalition on Illegal Immigration, wrote on the Center for Immigration Studies website and repeated in an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, that the LDS Church was involved in lobbying for the package of immigration bills that included the guest-worker bill. The guest-worker program, which would allow those in the U.S. illegally to apply for a legal work permit after paying a fine and meeting other conditions, would take effect in 2013.
Mortensen's point is that LDS Church lobbying on the issue is a bad thing.
There wasn't the same angst from that group or the vocal Republican delegates at the Salt Lake County convention when the church expressed its support for a bill taking flavored malt beverages out of grocery stores and put exclusively in state-controlled liquor stores — a statement that insured the change would happen.
Where was the angst from that group when the church was accused of meddling in California's Proposition 8 election, which banned gay marriage?
Somehow, though, the church isn't allowed to have an opinion on what to do with illegal immigration.
Mortensen also claimed that the LDS Church "specifically asked Sen. Curt Bramble to put together an omnibus immigration bill that reflected the church's interests."
A Perry Mason moment? Should Bramble be forced to wear a scarlet letter "M"?
A Tribune story last December, a month before the legislative session began, indicated that Bramble was the choice of other senators looking to integrate all the competing immigration bills into one. That somewhat refutes the idea that Bramble was just a flunky for the church.
Senate President Michael Waddoups said in that story that the Senate wanted to have a single bill that combined guest-worker status with an enforcement element, adding that to get that done, Bramble would be a "logical choice."
Democratic Sen. Luz Robles also signaled Bramble as a good Senate choice, adding, "he gets it."
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Selective enforcement? • One of the oft-spoken arguments against the church expressing compassion for immigrants in the country illegally is a tenet that tells Mormons to obey the laws of their government. Being in the country illegally is an automatic violation of that tenet, they say.
Defrauding people through con games doesn't seem to bother them so much, though.
When William Hammons was convicted of participating in a securities fraud that bilked investors out of more than $180 million, the St. George court received letters of support for Hammons getting leniency in light of, among other things, his LDS Church service.
When Jamis Johnson was convicted in 2009 of swindling a Delta family out of their home and dairy farm, his co-defendant, Paul Schwenke, was sentenced to up to 15 years in prison. But 4th District Judge Donald Eyre suspended the sentence for Johnson, stating he was impressed with Johnson's church work and letters of support from Johnson's friends, family and church members.
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Kindred spirits? • Jim McCall tells a story about his son driving from Montana to visit him in Salt Lake City.
As a gift, McCall's son filled up his truck with several cases of beer. On the way, he was stopped at a checkpoint near Yellowstone. The police asked if he had been drinking. "No." Did he have an open container in his vehicle? "No."
But he answered yes when asked if he was transporting liquor. The son explained that he had a truckful of beer that he was taking to his father. An officer asked where he was going. He answered: "Utah."
At that, the police waved him through the barrier, saying, "Go ahead, Bro."
Seems like Utah's crazy liquor laws are known beyond our own borders.