In interviews this week, Romney advisers acknowledged there have been discussions with church officials, but said they were informal and not part of a coordinated effort. The Commonwealth PAC, they said, respected the limits, set by the Internal Revenue Service and the church itself, on what the church is allowed to do politically.

Stirling, in an interview, initially said the Mormon Church had "absolutely no connection whatsoever" with the MVP program. But when asked about the Sept. 19 meeting with Holland and pressed about church leaders' involvement with the initiative, Stirling acknowledged the discussions but downplayed their significance.

Like Otterson, Stirling said that discussions with church leaders have focused on making sure the MVP effort did not run afoul of rules against political activism. He acknowledged, however, that the e-mail from the BYU deans was part of the MVP initiative.

Albrecht, in an interview this week, said he and Hill sent the e-mail after Gardner asked him to reach out to friends on Romney's behalf. Albrecht said that he should not have sent it in his capacity as a BYU dean.

"It wasn't something BYU did, it wasn't something I probably should have done, and it was bad judgment," Albrecht said.

Carri Jenkins, a spokeswoman for BYU, said Albrecht and Hill's e-mail "did not have the university approval." She said BYU's general counsel told Albrecht to halt his activities last week after learning about the e-mail from a recipient.

As a result, Albrecht said none of the responses he and Hill have received back has been forwarded to Romney's political team. "Any response I get I am just printing them out and putting them in a pile," he said.

The MVP effort, Stirling insisted, is designed to target more than just Mormons, and he suggested the PAC would hold similar discussions with other religious organizations interested in supporting Romney.

"Is it really something that the Latter-day Saints or the Catholic community or the Jewish community or the evangelical community could say, yeah, let's get involved? Absolutely," he said.

But when asked if Romney's team had met with the leadership of any other denomination about the MVP program, Stirling, who said he is leading the effort, said he didn't know of any.

Focus on Mormons

In fact, Romney operatives, in their campaign to identify people in each state to serve as MVP leaders, appear to be focusing solely on members of the church. Documents show that at least two Latter-day Saints have already been tapped to help lead efforts in Utah and in California.