The Mormon Church engages in overt political activism, and as such it deserves the same muckraking scrutiny as any other advocacy organization (HCN, 10/27/08). Its claim to foster moral leadership shouldn't exempt it from critique.

Ray Ring's revelations about the "underbelly" of Rexburg are relevant to the investigation of a politico-religious institution that clearly aims to extend its moral example beyond a voluntary congregation. The rest of the world might like to know more about the aspirations of the church, especially when it's our choices they aim to curtail.

Those who claim that the Mormon Church deserves to be left alone -- or, in the words of BYU-Idaho, that its opponents are motivated by anti-religious fervor -- should consider the example of a certain Salt Lake City-owned block that the church managed to appropriate a few years ago, thanks to some intense (and intensely questionable) leveraging by the church. Actions like these affect all of us, not just the faithful.

Michael Kirkpatrick