Draws from public records, private documents and interview transcripts to capture the past half-century of the Mormon Church's attitudes on homosexuality. Initially that principally involved only its own members, but with its entry into the Hawaiian political arena, the church signaled an intent to shape the outcome of the marriage equality battle.

"The Mormon Church entered the public square on LGBT issues by proponents in Hawaii in 1993. Since then, the church has been a significant player in the ongoing saga of LGBT rights within the United States and at times has carried decisive political clout. Gregory Prince draws from over 50,000 pages of public records, private documents, and interview transcripts to capture, in detail hitherto unavailable, the past half-century of the Mormon Church's focus on homosexuality. Initially that principally involved only its own members, but with its entry into the Hawaiian political arena, the church signaled an intent to shape the outcome of the marriage equality battle. That involvement reached a peak in 2008 during California's fight over Proposition 8, which many came to call the "Mormon Proposition." The church's activism against gay rights has continually resulted in outcomes that it likely did not intend, including not only public backlash but also reactive court decisions and mass resignations of church members"--Provided by publisher.