. . . a letter to the Mormon Church Public Affairs Department from a concerned gay public official, asking how this person might be treated if they chose to attend the Salt Lake City Winter Games that year.

(The source of these documents also enclosed materials relating to other subjects which are factually verifiable and which therefore led me to accept the general reliability of the source).
_____


--Document A

I received from the source an interesting (and apparently in-house) document dealing with terms, conditions and strategies put in place by the Mormon Church regarding ground rules with the media for interviewing then-LDS president Gordon B. Hinckley.during the Salt Lake City-hosted 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

This document appears to be an internally-circulated LDS Church memo for use by Church PR personnel tasked to grant, oversee and guide press interviews with Hinckley. It is clear from the memo that the LDS Church was attempting to manipulate the direction and ultimate content of these interviews to its institutional advantage.

Below is the text of that document:

"Protocol for Media Interviews with President Hinckley

"1. Public Affairs personnel and Secretary should meet before the interview
"Background of writer
"Motives and interest of writer; focus of the story
"Origin of request for interview

"2. Writer should be well prepared before the interview
"Doctrinal orientation
"Explanation of the scope of the interview - limitations

"3. Questions should be pre-approved
"Focus on present and immediate past and future
"Avoid philosophical, historical and theological questions
"Focus on the President, his personal experiences, his ministry

"4. Limit interviews to 15 - 30 minutes

"5. Public Affairs and Secretary should be active in guiding the interview and assisting the President and the writer
"Deflection of inappropriate or repetitive questions
"Timely conclusions to interview"
_____


--Document B

Another document provided to me by the same source was in the form of correspondence from an elected gay public official invited to attend the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games who expressed concern as to the reception this person and their family might receive in Utah, given its anti-gay reputation. (To protect personal privacy, the identity of this individual is being kept confidential).

"January 19, 2001 . . .

"Mr. Bruce L. Olsen
Managing Director
Public Affairs Department
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
15 East South Temple Street
Salt Lake City
Utah U.S.A. 84150-6200

"Dear Mr. Olsen:

"Thank you for your letter regarding the Olympic Games and the most beautiful calendar which you enclosed as well.

"I am concerned about how my family and I would be treated given Utah's record and attitude towards Gay & Lesbian people.

"We just hosted [a prominent public event] and tried to ensure all were welcome.

"How are the rights of Gay & Lesbian people protected in your State?

"I look forward to receiving your response.

"Yours very truly. . . . "



Edited 21 time(s). Last edit at 09/10/2013 04:22PM by steve benson.

"Avoid philosophical, historical and theological questions"

Yep that sounds about right. We wouldn't want LDS prophets being put in an awkward situation where they had to a) justify some of the issues connected with previous prophets b) demonstrate their direct line of revelation from God in answering tough questions.

So here's a chance for the 'only true prophet on earth' to testify, inspire and call millions around the world to repentance.... and they water down and correlate the interview to simple pleasantries. What a joke.

God's so called mouth piece needs a Protocol for Media Interviews. Nothing strange about that.

Precisely what you would expect from a image consciouss corporation.

Can't say I'm altogether suprised that the morginisation would use aggressive tactics like this. Just what the only earthly spokesperson for the most powerful being in the universe needs; corporate PR management? And yet millions still fall for this garbage being pedalled by the morginisation - guess the PR machine is working for those deluded folk.

LDS INC MORmON antics also included a very short lived effort to have NBC Host Bob Costas fired because Bob, who has attended many Olympics through the years, refused to go along with a ditsy KSL news person's claim that the Utah 2002 games were the best ever.

Oh yeah, I remember that. It was another huge contribution to my collapsing shelf.

Someone at PR forgot to vulcan mind meld with Helmut Nemetscke from ZDF before he interviewed Gordon Hinckley. Spirit fail!

"3. Questions should be pre-approved
Focus on present and immediate past and future
Avoid philosophical, historical and theological questions..."

You would think as God's official mouthpiece on earth, the "prophet" would be able to answer ANY question presented to him with tremendous power and authority-- and would be able to silence the critics with his mighty tongue.
It seems like it's the other way around. What a joke.

I'd sure like to know what specific advice was provided regarding the following:


"Deflection of inappropriate ... questions"

I have it on firsthand authority that a certain RFM contributor I'm proud to call a close friend "gave" this German interviewer some tough questions that he asked near the end of the session, and I bear witness that Hinkley's voice cracked like a schoolboy's as he struggled to answer one of them about DNA and Native Americans.

Here's the transcript, and I couldn't find a link to the entire on-line video; I hate to holler "conspiracy," but one site no longer had it, and if anyone knows of one, I'll offer a free cab tour of Zion, redeemable at a future Exmormon Conference, if they'll post the link...

http://www.salamandersociety.com/interviews/gordonbhinckley/

Here's the one short vid clip I could find (the usual bullchip warning applies)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_KERZlwOXM