facebook-pixel

‘Mormon Land’: Church ‘specialists’ will be preaching political involvement, but will they be neutral and how might they change Utah’s partisan landscape?

Morgan Lyon Cotti

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has asked its lay leaders in Utah to assign grassroots “specialists” to help members get more involved in civic affairs — from seeing that they are registered to vote to informing them of party caucuses and telling them about community meetings.

Why might the church be doing this? Will it be carried out in a “politically neutral” way — as the faith’s leaders have instructed? And what are the pros and cons of such an effort by the state’s predominant institution?

Morgan Lyon Cotti, associate director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics, discusses those question and more on this week’s “Mormon Land.”

Listen here:


Support free news for Utah

sltrib.com is now free to access — no subscription required. We made this decision because we believe access to trustworthy, independent news shouldn’t depend on what you can afford — especially as misinformation and AI-generated content continue to rise.

Free to read doesn’t mean free to produce. Our reporters show up every day to ask hard questions and hold powerful institutions to account. That work takes resources. As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on support from people who believe it matters. Make a donation today to fund local news that serves Utah communities.

You can help us bring more local news to more communities today.