The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - whose members are often called "Mormons" - placed a series of video interviews on its web site to illustrate the differences between its own members in Texas and members of the isolated polygamous group.
The Texas Mormons featured on the video interviews include a director of community theater, an orthopedic surgeon, a vice president of a medical manufacturer, a former Houston Oilers quarterback, a news anchor and a young woman with aspirations for medical school.
In addition, the Church made a written appeal this week to the news media to make the important distinctions between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Texas group.
The effort to more clearly distinguish Mormons from the Texas polygamist group follows a survey commissioned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that found a high level of public awareness of stories about the polygamous compound near San Angelo, Texas. Allegations of child abuse led to a raid by the state's Child Protective Services earlier this year. Some 91 percent of respondents had heard or read stories surrounding the religious compound.
However, the survey also found that:
- More than a third of those surveyed (36 percent) erroneously thought that the Texas compound was part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or "Mormon Church" based in Salt Lake City
- 6 percent said the two groups were partly related.
- 29 percent correctly said the two groups were not connected at all
- 29 percent were not sure.
In addition, when asked specifically which religious organization members of the polygamous group belonged to:
- 30 percent said "Mormon," "LDS" or "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"
- 14 percent said "FLDS"
- 6 percent said "Mormon fundamentalists"
- Nearly half (44 percent) were unsure
Elder Quentin L. Cook, a Church apostle, said the national survey results confirm what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has found in the experience of its members and missionaries in Texas and elsewhere.
"We'd much rather be talking about who we are than who we aren't," Elder Cook said. "While many news reporters have been careful to distinguish between our Church and this small Texas group, it is clear that confusion still remains."
Elder Cook said the issue is an important one for the worldwide Mormon faith.
“Mormons have nothing whatsoever to do with this polygamous sect in Texas,” he said. "The fact is that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially discontinued the practice of polygamy in 1890: 118 years ago. It’s a significant part of our distant past, not of our present.”
"People have the right to worship as they choose, and we aren't interested in attacking someone else's beliefs," Elder Cook said. "At the same time, we have an obligation to define ourselves rather than be defined by events and incidents that have nothing to do with us. It's obvious we need to do more to help people understand the enormous differences that exist between our Church which is a global faith and these small polygamous groups."
Elder Cook said the Church is looking at other ways to better inform the public of the distinctions between the two groups, beginning this week with the Internet video profiles of some of its more than 260,000 members in Texas.
"These members and thousands like them are part of the fabric of Texas and contribute to the warmth and southern hospitality of their communities," Elder Cook said.
On Tuesday, the Church sent letters to the publishers of major national newspapers and magazines, and to the heads of broadcast and cable news networks, asking for their cooperation in making proper distinctions between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the FLDS group.
Polygamy was a part of the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some Church members followed the practice for about a 50-year period until 1890, when it was officially stopped. Any member of the Church practicing polygamy today would lose their Church membership.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints contracted with APCO Insight® to conduct the national public opinion survey. The study was completed by telephone among 1,000 adults 18 years of age and older in the continental United States on May 29-31, 2008. The survey was conducted using a random digit sampling method, ensuring that all households in the continental United States had an equal probability of being selected to participate in the survey. The margin of sampling error for a sample of 1,000 adults is ± 3.1 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.
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Media Letter
Recent events have focused the media spotlight on a polygamous sect near San Angelo, Texas, calling itself the “Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.” As you probably know, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has absolutely no affiliation with this polygamous sect. Decades ago, the founders of that sect rejected the doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, were excommunicated, and then started their own religion. To the best of our knowledge, no one at the Texas compound has ever been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Unfortunately, however, some of the media coverage of the recent events in Texas has caused members of the public to confuse the doctrines and members of that group and our church. We have received numerous inquiries from confused members of the public who, by listening to less than careful media reports, have come to a grave misunderstanding about our respective doctrines and faith. Based on these media reports many have erroneously concluded that there is some affiliation between the two – or even worse, that they are one and the same.
Over the years, in a careful effort to distinguish itself, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has gone to significant lengths to protect its rights in the name of the church and related matters. Specifically, we have obtained registrations for the name “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” “Mormon,” “Book of Mormon” and related trade and service marks from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and corresponding agencies in a significant number of foreign countries.
We are confident that you are committed to avoiding misleading statements that cause unwarranted confusion and that may disparage or infringe the intellectual property rights discussed above. Accordingly, we respectfully request the following:
- As reflected in the AP Style Guide, we ask that you and your organization refrain from referring to members of that polygamous sect as “fundamentalist Mormons” or “fundamentalist” members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- We ask that, when reporting about this Texas-based polygamous sect or any other polygamous group, you avoid either explicitly or implicitly any inference that these groups are affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- On those occasions when it may be necessary in your reporting to refer to the historical practice of plural marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that you make very clear that the Church does not condone the practice of polygamy and that it has been forbidden in the Church for over one hundred years. Moreover, we absolutely condemn arranged or forced “marriages” of underage girls to anyone under any circumstances.
Stated simply, we would like to be known and recognized for whom we are and what we believe, and not be inaccurately associated with beliefs and practices that we condemn in the strongest terms. We would be grateful if you could circulate or copy this letter to your editorial staff and to your legal counsel.
We thank you for your consideration of these important matters.
Sincerely,
Lance B. Wickman
General Counsel
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