Survey: Mormons tell their church what it wants to hear

From the We Never Saw That Coming Department

Results of research conducted by
the Mormon Church ​reflect
favorably on the Mormon Church

The mainstream Mormon Church recently polled its leaders and actively participating members about the church’s involvement in Utah politics.

Surprise, surprise. Most Mormons think their church should be involved in politics. And most Mormons don’t think the church holds all that much sway compared with other groups.

There are rules for designing surveys in order to arrive at the most reliable information possible. For instance, you don’t let respondents know who the researcher is; you don’t assume respondents are honest with themselves and, therefore, with you; and you don’t assume that what respondents think has anything to do with the facts.

In conducting its “research,” the church managed to bungle all of the above-referenced rules.

If we didn’t know better, we might wonder if the Mormon Church didn’t really want brutal honesty at all.

From The Salt Lake Tribune:

​The internal polling data suggest local Mormon leaders and members don't believe the church holds a lot of sway on Utah's Capitol Hill.

In fact, majorities of both stake presidents and bishops ranked the church fourth on the list of six interest groups that influence lawmakers, behind Utah's hospitality and tourism industry, constituents and teachers. Members ranked the faith dead last — behind minorities and news media — in political clout.