The Mormon Church is a major player in organizing and funding Prop 8, a proposition to eliminate same-sex marriage in California. As of October 28, Mormons accounted for 46 percent of the total support for Prop 8, according to MormonsFor8.com.
Much of the Mormon money has been funneled into ad campaigns that are narrowing the gap between Prop 8's passage and failure. Two months ago, it looked almost certain that Californians would reject the measure, feeling it stripped citizens of an important civil right.
But a series of commercials now in heavy rotation claim that if Prop 8 is defeated, the pleasures of same-sex marriage will be taught in public schools, although education experts reject this claim. And the checks continue to flow in from the church.
The Mormon Church also funded Alaska's constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage in 1998.
But divisions have emerged in the Mormon community about the church's role in the fight over Prop 8. Laura Compton, a married mother of two boys, started MormonsForMarriage.com to give Mormons who support same-sex marriage a way to know that "You are not alone. We especially want people who may be feeling estranged from the fellowship of their local congregations to know that they are not alone."
Mormons disagree with the Church's involvement in Prop 8 for different reasons — some believe in marriage equality, some think the money on the campaign should have been spent on social welfare projects, and others believe in the separation of church and state.
Meanwhile, the NO on 8 campaign created a video on Mormons taking away civil rights that are granted by the California Supreme Court:
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