Nevada email prompts Church to reaffirm neutrality stand

[_The Mormon Report]

For your consideration:

Nevada email prompts Mormon church to reaffirm neutrality stand | The Salt Lake Tribune

[_Rollo Tomasi]

For your consideration:

Nevada email prompts Mormon church to reaffirm neutrality stand | The Salt Lake Tribune

I've always known that the LDS Church's so-called "neutrality stand" is BS, and this proves it. What a joke.

[_Drifting]

From the article

"LDS public affairs specialist" Mark Severts last month emailed dozens of southern Nevada stake presidents, each of whom oversees several LDS congregations, encouraging a get-out-the-vote drive for members and saying that those interested should contact Ron and Judy Tobler, according to Jon Ralston, an independent Nevada journalist who formerly worked for the Las Vegas Sun.

That’s why it sparked concern among some when the email to local church leaders in Mormon-rich southern Nevada from Severts included a PowerPoint presentation suggested for use in Sunday worship sessions or a special event. Nevada is seen as swing state in the race between Republican Romney and Democratic President Barack Obama.

"You will note that this PowerPoint touches on both encouraging members to vote, as well as helping prepare them for difficult questions posed by their friends, work associates, neighbors, etc.," Severts wrote, according to Ralston, who first reported the message.

"Enclosed is a possible voting registration announcement that can be used or modified to meet your needs," Severts wrote. "You will note that it is formatted to be duplicated as a standard ward bulletin insert [front and back] that can be used to remind members of their responsibility and process to register to vote AND as a teaser for the type of responses to tough questions they can get answered from Mormonism 101."

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/mark-severts/11/182/683

Mark Severts's Overview

Current
Director, Project Communications at NV Energy
Past
President, Public Relations at Thomas Taber & Drazen
Corporate Communications Manager at Xcel Energy
Education
Brigham Young University
Recommendations
3 people have recommended Mark
Connections
112 connections
Mark Severts' Summary

A highly successful, multi-experienced communications professional who has excelled in both Fortune 500 corporate communications departments and the public relations agency world. Has a passion for developing and implementing external and internal communications strategies to achieve specific business and marketing successes.

Specialties
Crisis Communications; Media Relations; Issues Management; Project Siting; Environmental Issue Communications

Mark Severts' Experience

Director, Project Communications
NV Energy
Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; NVE; Utilities industry
April 2007 – Present (5 years 6 months)

(From his PUBLIC profile on linkedin freely available online)

I forsee an interesting conversation with a General Authority in Brother Severts close to immediate future...

[_TrashcanMan79]

Has the Church ever sponsored a voter registration drive like this before? You know, in an election where a Mormon wasn't running for president? If not, choosing to debut this new level of civic engagement in a swing state with a sizable Mormon population (and naming the voter drive "Speaking With One Voice") when one of the candidates is Mormon looks pretty damn sketchy to me.

[_TrashcanMan79]

Looks like this story is growing legs:

Church Official Pushes Mormon Voter Registration in Key Swing State - abc.news

[_gramps]

Packer is one of the authors.

That's funny.

[_angsty]

This smells very funny. How could they think this was going like anything except an attempt to influence the vote in Romney's favor? The church is about as good at faking political neutrality as Mitt Romney is at relating to people who aren't rich and self-absorbed. They know so little about it, they don't even know what it looks like superficially.