Mormon church should lose tax exempt status?

Absolutely!

…your quote says “mormon SUPPORTERS”.

I think ALL churches and religious organizations should pay taxes. There’s a great deal of corruption in ‘organized religion’ …besides… ‘organized religion’ is NOT what religion is supposed to be about.

first of all, I have yet to say whether or not I am denying anything. all I’ve been doing is gathering information, so I don’t know where you got that one.

anyways, the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints is politically neutral. meaning it doesn’t spend church funds on political issues, nor does it ask it’s members to vote certain ways. however, the issue of gay marriage is a moral issue. as you have already said, the church came out with a proclamation to the world. in it they named their stance on this MORAL issue. they encouraged members to support them.

it’s not wrong to encourage voting and/or participation in campaigns. it’s not wrong to stand up for what you think is right.

thanks for the article utopia.

Okay listen up. My parents are mormon, but I am bisexual. They supported me in everyway possible. Not every mormon is the same. some of them are even gay, like my aunt. I do not think that they should do this to my family or the ones who care about other peoples rights.

No they should not besides that one thing they do a lot of good too. Such as helping clean up after hurricanes and helping familys’ in need. So I think they deserve tax excemptions

where did you get your information, “thedude” ?

I don’t think they should lose the tax exempt status, according to the posts I’ve read here, they’ve been opposed to gay marriage for years, and as long as they are in the good ole you S of Socialist America, they can contribute to whoever they want to. For now anyway. If Filet o spam is right, then how did it happen in the first place? Bigger fish to fry these days. Well, ok, if FReddie and Fannie execs, and wall street execs contributed millions to the democrat campaign, does it surprise us that the spendulous bill is going to get passed? Nope. Doesn’t surprise me one bit. Remember, he who pays the piper is bound to call the tune!

captain, if organized religion is not what religion is supposed to be about, then why did Jesus ORGANIZE his church? what was the point? maybe I just don’t understand your definition of organized religion.

A ‘church’ from Jesus’s standpoint, isn’t a building, or an organization. And he didn’t intend for his ‘church’ to manipulate voting, in an federal arena where it is CLEARLY not allowed. For that matter, he didn’t have 30,000+ DIFFERENT buildings or organizations in mind either.

The whole purpose of religious tax exemption, was so the small churches, with small congregations, and small revenues (donations) could stay afloat. That exemption is now being abused to the FULLEST, in this case.

Actually BOTH the Catholic Church and the Mormon Church should have their tax exempt status revoked:

San Francisco’s Roman Catholic archbishop says he invited leaders of the Mormon Church to get involved in the campaign to pass a gay marriage ban in California this year at the request of his fellow bishops. Archbishop George Niederauer wrote in a column to be published in a diocesan newspaper Friday that he wanted to address the “many misunderstandings and hard feelings” resulting from Proposition 8’s adoption. It’s the first time the archbishop has commented on how churches organized to help push through the initiative, which overturned the California Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex nuptials. Mormon leaders had given a similar account of how its members, who represent about 2 percent of the California residents with a religious affiliation, came to play such a prominent role in promoting Proposition 8.

Niederauer said that after the state’s Catholic bishops endorsed the measure, staff from the California Catholic Conference told him the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had actively supported a similar ballot initiative eight years ago.

Niederauer, who previously served as bishop of Salt Lake City, said he sent a letter to Mormon leaders.

“I did write to them and they urged the members of their Church, especially those in California, to become involved,” he said.

By some estimates, contributions from Mormon supporters accounted for 45 percent of the $38 million raised by the Yes on 8 campaign.

I believe that NO church should receive tax exemption.

I didn’t say EVERY organization has been corrupted.

Simply put, channelling UNTAXED funds into a POLITICAL arena is against the rules… they should either lose their tax-exempt status (if they’re planning on doing it again) …OR… they should be taxed for the funds they provided…

Currently the law is that tax-exempt churches are not supposed to get involved in politics. This seems like a clear violation to me.

exactly. you don’t need a building to be a church. but there was organization…an order to his church. there were apostles, prophets, priesthoods, and an order to how things happened.

EXACTLY… ‘organized’ religion today is NOT what it was THEN. Today… its been repeatedly skewed into corruption by numerous denominations and/or individuals within the ‘organization’

okay, sillygirl006 (and at this point you do seem silly about your denial of this stance by the Mormon Church)- an article from The Mormon TImes, a newsmagazine for and about members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Sources involved in the fight over a measure banning same-sex marriage in California offered several explanations as to why the Mormon church was so committed to passing the state constitutional amendment, known as Proposition 8.

Dave Campbell, a straight political science professor at the University of Notre Dame who specializes in religion and politics, said, “it’s not a new thing” for the church to be involved in ballot measures on same-sex marriage. He noted that Mormons had expressed “fairly consistent opposition” to gay marriage even when the matter came up in Alaska and Hawaii during the 1990s.

However, the church was noticeably absent from the issue in 2004, when 13 state marriage amendments were on the ballot, he said.

California was particularly important for the Mormon church, Campbell said, because it recognized that “California is very much a leader in terms of what happens in the rest of the country” and there is “a fairly large” presence of Mormons in the state.

About 2 percent of California residents with a religious affiliation identify as Mormon, according to the church.

Campbell said the issue of same-sex marriage also speaks directly to Mormon theology. He noted that in 1995, the church issued “A Proclamation to the World” regarding the family, wherein church leaders “solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God.”

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the “Mormons”) supported efforts to pass the measure; in June, Mormon church leaders made an appeal to members of the church by letter–asking them to support it with their time and money. In October, through a private sattelite broadcast to church buildings, members were encouraged, on their own time, to man phone banks, distribute campaign materials, blog, sent text messages, and intensifie voter registration efforts.

You people seem to forget that they have also heavily invloved themselves in the humanitarian aid of every major disaster to strike the planet in the last couple of decades. More recent of note are Hurricane Katrina(and the others since then), the Tsunami in the pacific, the disaster zone that Kentucky is right now, and probably plenty of other, smaller events that I couldn’t name.

And look at it from their point of view. For them,homosexuality is an issue of morals, not politics, and they apparently feel that the definition of the word ‘marriage’ should remain to tradition.

Though I am a mormon, I do not support a lot of the stuff the church as an organization is for. What a person does in his/her own bedroom is his/her business, and I don’t want to know about it. Period. I say, if gays want marriage rights, call it something else, and I’m sure things will go a lot smoother.

sillygirl, I was raised in the LDS religion my whole life. it was only last year when I stopped going to church because I found a nondenomanational church close to home. I do believe in god. I just dont believe some of the things that the LDS religion does believe in.

“organized religion’ is NOT what religion is supposed to be about.”

captain, if organized religion is not what religion is supposed to be about, then why did Jesus ORGANIZE his church? what was the point?

maybe I just don’t understand your definition of organized religion.

metalgirl…so are you mormon or not? you can be mormon and gay, but you can’t be a practicing member…if that makes sense. I’m just curious as to what you consider yourself.

It IS wrong if you are tax exempt. It is COMPLETELY AGAINST the rules for tax exemption under the IRS.

and you might think you didn’t take a stand, but you certainly seemed to.

Oh and they DID use Church funds. From the LA Times: Top officials with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints filed reports Friday indicating that they donated more than $180,000 in in-kind contributions to Proposition 8, the November ballot initiative that banned same-sex marriage in California.

The church contributions included tens of thousands of dollars for expenses such as airline tickets, hotel and restaurant bills and car-rental bills for top church officials such as L. Whitney Clayton, along with $96,849.31 worth of “compensated staff time” for church employees.

The above church funds were disclosed after the fact. They do not include the millions donated by individual Mormons.