As California's anti-gay marriage Proposition 8 struggled in the polls, Mormon Prophet Thomas S. Monson issued a provocative call from Salt Lake City, commanding millions of Mormons worldwide to take action. This urgent order, infused with the secret code language from the highly confidential Mormon temple ceremony, incited Mormons both inside and outside California to do everything within their power to ensure the passage of Proposition 8. Within a matter of days, hundreds of thousands of Mormons across the United States funneled a staggering thirty million dollars into California, all aimed at securing the passage of this anti-gay marriage measure.
Before the Mormons joined the fray, evangelicals were struggling and failing in their fight against marriage equality. However, once the Mormons came on board, the movement gained significant momentum. The extensive media campaign orchestrated by the Mormon Church, supported by high-priced public relations firms and political consultants, bombarded Californians with a torrent of misleading television and radio ads, as well as a vigorous door-to-door campaign organized by the Mormon National Organization for Marriage.
When Proposition 8 passed by a narrow margin, the Mormons were quick to claim credit for this victory. Ironically, they soon found themselves facing backlash as LGBT activists directed their anger towards Mormon temples across the nation. In what seemed to be a classic case of irony, the Mormon Church quickly complained about being persecuted.
Amid this turbulence, documentary producer Reed Cowan began gathering secret audio recordings, documents, and previously unseen footage that revealed the Church's efforts to suppress any rights for LGBT citizens globally. As a former Mormon missionary, Cowan expressed his disbelief, stating, "I am appalled in knowing that a church which itself worships the practice of alternative marriage (polygamy) would become so vehemently involved in the marriage debate."
The film, 8: The Mormon Proposition, chronicles the plight of many LGBT individuals advocating for marriage equality. Among the couples featured are Tyler Barrick and Spencer Jones, whose lineage connects to the Mormon Church’s founders; Barrick is a direct descendant of Fredrick G. Williams, who was a close associate of Joseph Smith. The historical narratives of the Barrick-Jones family reveal a legacy of their ancestors being persecuted for their practice of polygamy. Now, generations later, they find themselves facing similar cultural and governmental discrimination, but this time perpetrated by their own faith, with the very institution that seduced them into voting against their union.
Reflecting on their experience, Barrick-Jones lamented, "When 8 passed, I called my mother crying--why did the Mormons do this to us? Why would our own people do this to us? They have turned their backs on us."
8: The Mormon Proposition uncovers decades-long campaigns to undermine LGBT rights, showcasing not only the strategic moves to unseat politicians supporting marriage equality but also the human rights abuses inflicted upon members of their own community, such as electric shock therapy and frontal lobotomies enforced on men at BYU by Mormon security. The documentary makes headline-grabbing revelations about alleged covert meetings between Mormon Prophet Spencer W. Kimball and a clandestine group of gay BYU students, known as "Spencer's boys." It also recounts the tragic stories of gay-Mormon suicides, including that of Stuart Matis, who tragically took his life on the steps of a California Mormon Church during the Church's active campaign against marriage equality.
Even before its official release, 8 drew significant attention from international media. During the filming, Cowan captured an outrageous interview with Mormon Bishop and Senator D. Chris Buttars, who infamously compared gay individuals to radical terrorists, claiming “gays represent the greatest threat to America going down today.” His derogatory remarks about gay people engaged in “pig sex” triggered a substantial backlash, including coordinated responses from the HRC and GLAAD, ultimately resulting in Buttars being ousted from his role as chair of Utah's Senate Judiciary Committee.
The fallout from Buttars's statements dominated the public discourse, sparking coverage from major media outlets like Forbes, Washington Post, and The Rachel Maddow Show, which collectively resulted in thirty thousand emails sent to the Utah Senate President and a three-day crash of the Utah Senate computer server.
Moreover, the documentary sheds light on the dire circumstances of Utah's homeless LGBT youth, revealing that a significant portion of the hundreds of homeless teens in the state are LGBT individuals who have been disowned by their families after coming out.
Involving itself in broader issues of human rights, 8: The Mormon Proposition stands as a poignant reminder of the potential risk for the Mormon Church to lose its tax-exempt status. Cowan emphasizes the urgent need for not just LGBT individuals, but all citizens to become vigilant and aware of the funding and influence behind ballot measures, especially when they gain unexpected momentum.
In the words of Reed Cowan, "8: The Mormon Proposition puts on record one of the greatest election shams in the history of the United States. If the Mormon church gets a pass on this one, we're in grave danger as a society of letting other groups purchase votes and we're putting power behind their so-called 'secret combinations' to do it again. This can never happen again. Never."
