Iowa LDS Churches Will Not Comment On Caucuses From Pulpit Today

Despite, or perhaps because of, Mitt Romney's candidacy, the 22,000 Mormons attending church in Iowa this Sunday will not hear pleas to attend a caucus or support a particular candidate. Today's Salt Lake Tribune reports that historically, before elections but not before caucuses, LDS churches have read a statement from the pulpit asserting the LDS's political neutrality, but encouraging members to be active voters. In contrast, many evangelical ministers are likely to urge their congregants to vote in caucuses, a move that is likely to help Republican candidate Mike Huckabee. Quin Monson, the assistant director of Brigham Young University's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, says: "Clearly, if the church wanted to mobilize its members to get in, it could, but the backlash could be worse than the positive effect it could [have] on Romney."