The Mormon Church is having a tough time navigating politics in the Internet age. Its stumbles regarding Utah’s medical marijuana initiative—Proposition 2—would be comedy gold, were they not aimed at denying relief to really sick people.

The Mormon Church’s Plan A to fight the initiative was to deny that the Church was involved in the fight. That strategy went up in smoke when emails revealed that the Church’s public affairs director was meeting with Governor Herbert and the Church’s puppet interests behind the opposition.

The Church’s Plan B, unveiled at its August 23 press event, was to offer non-support support for medical marijuana, saying it was fine with medical marijuana, if it was “prescribed” by doctors and distributed through “pharmacies.” Those conditions are poison pills, given federal laws and the Trump Administration’s hostility to medical marijuana. It would be like saying the Church is fine with medical marijuana, if Santa brings it in on a Pegasus. Social media and mainstream media easily dismantled this bit of deception.

Plan C was to attack Proposition 2 with outright lies, saying it was “recreational” and that medical marijuana is “already available” in Utah. In videos posted to social media, Utah children seizing on the floor did not meet most Utahns’ idea of “recreational.” And, the parents seemed credible when they said they couldn’t find medical marijuana at Harmon’s, WinCo, or anywhere else they looked in the Beehive State.

Which brings us to the Church’s Plan D. Think of it as “D” for Deception. “D” for Don’t. Or “D” for “bullshit” (if bullshit started with a D).

The Mormon Church has abandoned its debunked demands for prescriptions and pharmacies, because quick Internet searches reveal those conditions are garbage. Instead, the Church now benignly says through its lobbyist Marty Stephens, “In the spirit of compromise, we urge a timely, safe and compassionate approach to providing medical marijuana for those in need without the harmful effects that will come if Proposition 2 becomes law.” “Compromise” is a very dirty word when the Mormon Church uses it in politics. I know.

For years, the Mormon Church killed LGBTQ+ non-discrimination legislation in the Utah Legislature. As the bill sponsor, when I managed to out the Church to the New York Times and Washington Post, identifying it as the culprit blocking passage, the pressure became too much. Rather than rekindle the Proposition 8 furor that fueled the mass exodus among its membership, the Church supported the legislation in 2015. Of course, in 2015 when the Mormon Church gave the nod, legislators who would have faced a firing squad before voting for it in 2014 were elbowing each other for prime position at the 2015 signing ceremony. The Church—rather than say, “We’re here. Sorry for being so late to the party.”—lauded itself for striking a grand bargain. [Cue the trumpets] “The Utah Compromise” marvelously balanced LGBTQ+ rights and religious liberty in such a way that . . . blah, blah, blah. The Utah Compromise was the ransom the Mormon Church demanded to allow Mormon legislators to support LGBTQ+ legislation. Period.

That is how the legislative process works. Interests push and pull, pressure builds, and solutions emerge. The parties smoke a peace pipe (or eat green jello), and the parties move on. But, that’s not how this one ended. The LGBTQ+ community learned the next year, 2016, that the Mormon Church had meant by “compromise” that nothing further could happen on LGBTQ+ rights in Utah, unless and until it gave its blessing, as if all parties had agreed that the last one to the table should legitimately get that veto right.

So, in 2016, when I ran hate crimes legislation, the Church shot it down with a press release, saying it would violate [cue the trumpets] The Utah Compromise. Utah, it proclaimed, would need to move forward on hate crimes in the “spirit of compromise.” Okay. What does the Mormon Church mean when it instructs legislators and members to vote against a specific bill, so that Utah can move forward in a “spirit of compromise,” as it said then and as it says now. Well, the Mormon Church’s “spirit of compromise” meant that hate crimes legislation would die in 2016. The “spirit of compromise” meant that it could not even get a committee hearing in 2017. The Mormon Church’s “spirit of compromise” meant that hate crimes legislation could not get a committee hearing in 2018 either.

When the Mormon Church says that an issue should be addressed in the “spirit of compromise,” it means the Church should have absolute control and that progress should stop. The “spirit of compromise”—Plan D—means deception. It means don’t. It means bullshit.

Having faith that the Mormon Church will kill Proposition 2 but, then, allow medical marijuana in Utah, in the “spirit of compromise,” is just a restatement of the Santa Claus/Pegasus proposal. It ain’t happening. If Utahns want medical marijuana, they must vote for Proposition 2. Let the “spirit of compromise” flourish, AFTER a workable plan is in place.

The Utah Bee seeks to share both sides of a debate. If anyone who opposes Proposition 2 wants to submit a piece with their views, we will gladly accept it.