If the Mormon church were any other church, I'd agree with you. But the Mormon church doesn't act like any other church when it comes to politics. They dangle t

If the Mormon church were any other church, I'd agree with you. But the Mormon church doesn't act like any other church when it comes to politics. They dangle temple recommends over politicians heads, the possession of which is required for salvation in their theology. And they do it mostly without officially registered lobbyists...all they have to do is make a few phone calls to bishops and stake presidents and all of a sudden political positions change. They tend to stay out of most political decisions, but when they decide to take a position on an issue the entire devout mormon political spectrum falls in line immediately. They've done it countless times in Utah, most recently with the medical marijuana vote (where an overwhelming majority turned into a minority in less than 48 hours after the church made their position official), and have done it so much that Utah is as close as we could come to a theocracy in the US. There are plenty of cultural mormons (New Order Mormons in our special lingo) in US politics (Harry Reid, for example), for whom the threats of the church do not hold sway. But devout mormons actually believe that their prophets talk directly with god, and actually believe they will never see their family again if they don't heed the counsel of their prophet. Anybody who believes in the virtue of a separation between church and state should be terrified of the prospect. I'm at the very least grateful that mormon values would not tolerate Trump, our generation's Andrew Jackson, but while McMullin holds a much better image and temperament, he still has shown that he is as married to the mormon church as he is his wife. When mormon politicians like Gordon Smith state they are willing to trade in their professional ethics in exchange for their temple recommend, you should take that as a threat. http://www.anamericandreamrevealed.com/2015/03/the-role-of-lds-church-in-utahs-politics.html http://www.anamericandreamrevealed.com/2015/03/the-role-of-l...