LDS Church public affairs representatives plan to receive a petition and more than 300 letters to be delivered today by several people who oppose the church's involvement with Proposition 8 in California.
A group gathering signatures for the petition say they represent "(h)undreds of Mormons and friends ... (who) oppose the church's inappropriate political posturing in California."
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a press release Thursday saying it is "pleased with the overwhelming support of traditional marriage shown by hundreds of thousands of church members in California."
"Of course, we understand that others have differing views. However, the church has an obligation to speak out on vital moral issues affecting society," the statement said.
Proposition 8 is a California ballot measure that would outlaw gay marriage there after the state supreme court legalized it earlier this year.
Andrew Callahan, a Latter-day Saint from Nebraska who opposes the church's stand, and has said his church membership is in jeopardy as a result, is scheduled to be among those who plan to deliver the materials at 2 p.m. today.
The church's statement also refers reporters to the church's newsroom online at www.newsroom.lds.org, where officials have posted several links with information about the church's stance, including videos of top church leaders discussing the faith's support for Proposition 8 and the reasoning behind it. Those links are available to the public.
In May, the California Supreme Court overruled an earlier voter referendum that made gay marriage illegal, saying the prohibition violated an equal protection clause in the state's constitution. The Connecticut Supreme Court used much the same reasoning to legalize gay marriage there last week, making it the third state nationally to do so. Massachusetts law also allows gay marriage.
In June, the church's First Presidency issued a letter to Latter-day Saints in California, asking them to "do all you can" to support Proposition 8 in concert with a wider interfaith effort to approve the measure. Fundraising for the effort has garnered millions from opponents of gay marriage, much of it from Latter-day Saints, according to a recent report in The Wall Street Journal.
Last week, top church leaders also held a fireside to mobilize young adult members from California who are willing to participate in phoning their fellow residents, asking that they support Proposition 8 on Election Day.