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[Dalek]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/07/us/mormon-videos-leaked.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0

Ryan McKnight, a former Mormon outside of a Mormon Church temple in Las Vegas, said he published the videos after someone contacted him through Reddit.

In this era of leaks and hacks, secrets have been stolen from organizations as varied as the Democratic Party, the Vatican, Sony Pictures and Yahoo. Now comes “Mormon Leaks,” a breach of the inner sanctum of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that has provided a rare glimpse into the workings of the church’s leadership and its cozy relationship with Mormons in politics.

Fifteen videos were posted online this week showing senior leaders of the Mormon Church in private meetings discussing issues including same-sex marriage, marijuana, Somali pirates and even whether the church could be vulnerable to WikiLeaks. The church has acknowledged that the videotapes are authentic.

Unlike other hacks in which WikiLeaks was the culprit, this leak of videos from church headquarters in Salt Lake City is the work of disaffected Mormons who found one another online, in a Reddit forum for ex-Mormons. It comes not long after another leak of internal church documents.

The videos reveal clubby exchanges between the leaders, most of whom belong to the church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (the church’s second-highest leadership body after the First Presidency), and Mormon politicians and other experts invited in to brief the apostles. In a presentation that has provoked some criticism, former Senator Gordon H. Smith, a Republican of Oregon, shared with the apostles that he voted in favor of the Iraq War partly because he believed it could open the region for Mormon missionaries.

“If that succeeds, there will be an opportunity to begin building the church in the Middle East, which is a deeply troubled place,” said Mr. Smith, who at the time had recently lost a re-election campaign after two terms in the Senate.

He also told the apostles that Iran was close to having enough fissile material to create a nuclear bomb, information he said “may be classified.” He volunteered that he had persuaded the Indian ambassador to give visas to 200 Mormon missionaries and had pushed government officials in Spain, Italy, Belgium and Russia to give missionaries greater access.

Mr. Smith, now president and chief executive of the National Association of Broadcasters, declined to comment, but said through a spokesman that nothing he told the apostles was classified information.

The videos are of briefings held from 2007 to 2012, and were recorded so those who missed the meetings could watch the proceedings later, said Eric Hawkins, the church’s director of media relations.

“Presentations are routinely received from various religious, political and subject matter experts on a variety of topics. The purpose is to understand issues that may face the church,” Mr. Hawkins said in a statement. “This is an informational forum, not a decision-making body.”

The videos have raised questions about whether Mormon legislators inappropriately used their influence to advance the interests of their church, long a sensitive issue. Suspicion that Mormons have dual loyalties flared up early in the last century over whether to seat Senator Reed Smoot of Utah, who was also a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. After years of investigations and hearings, Mr. Smoot was seated.

Scholars and political advisers said in interviews this week that Mormon politicians advocated in ways no different from many Protestant, Catholic and Jewish politicians.

“Nothing in this videotape is any different from what I’ve heard in the past from other senators who were Irish Catholic, Protestant or other religions,” said Jim Manley who was an aide to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a Catholic who died in 2009, and Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, a Mormon.

“Mormonism has a reputation for secrecy and political power. I think these tapes probably fit that story, and explains the delight that people are taking in their leakage,” said Kathleen Flake, a professor of American religious history, who holds a chair in Mormon studies at the University of Virginia and wrote a book about the battle over Mr. Smoot.

Here's a link to the YouTube channel that published the leaked videos:
MormonLeaks
some of the videos:
“In Which They Express Confidence That Kurds Will One Day Become Mormon;” “In Which They Fret Over the Growing Popularity of Marijuana;” “In Which They Watch a Clip of Pirates of the Caribbean.”

 

[RoKKeR]

Yeah, saw this earlier. None of this is surprising. Those comments about the war being a good thing because it would open it up new missions is...sheesh.

 

[saunderez]

Am I supposed to consider this a big deal because it's Mormons? Catholics do the same thing all the time and it's never made out to be scandalous.

 

[Furyous]

A lot of this is fear mongering. People fear what they don't understand or have yet to experience first hand.

The weed situation is a very bad look given the way history played out. Hemp is used in proteins, clothing, and meals. CBD is useful for athletes. Marijuana is great for people that suffer from Glaucoma. Supporting legislation that hinders Marijuana adoption out of fear is a bad look.

 

[Ducarmel]

Am I supposed to consider this a big deal because it's Mormons? Catholics do the same thing all the time and it's never made out to be scandalous.

I think the lives lost in the Iraq war for missionary opportunities is a big deal.

 

[Aurongel]

Yeah, saw this earlier. None of this is surprising. Those comments about the war being a good thing because it would open it up new missions is...sheesh.

This stuck out to me the most. Not shocking but still pretty disgusting.

 

[saunderez]

I think the lives lost in the Iraq war for missionary opportunities is a big deal.

Sure, no arguments there. I guess the consistent attempts at legislating what women can do with their own bodies and the right to discriminate against gay and transgender people in the name of religion has just desensitised me to the point where I expect religious interference in politics.

 

[makingmusic476]

Huh. Didn't know Harry Reid was a Mormon.

 

[numble]

Am I supposed to consider this a big deal because it's Mormons? Catholics do the same thing all the time and it's never made out to be scandalous.

There are Catholic politicians that are also serving on the equivalent of the Twelve Apostles?

 

[Purple Cheeto]

The Mormon Church is awful for anyone who isn't a CIS heteronormative, rich, white male, living in Utah.

Am I supposed to consider this a big deal because it's Mormons? Catholics do the same thing all the time and it's never made out to be scandalous.

It's not really scandalous. Just confirmation I guess.

 

[Wafflecakes]

There are Catholic politicians that are also serving on the equivalent of the Twelve Apostles?

There are not any Mormon politicians who are on the Quorum of the 12 either.