But in an earlier interview Monday, Otterson said Holland held the meeting to "make sure that they were doing this properly and to inform them of the church's political neutrality." Elder Holland expressed the view at the meeting, Otterson said, that the BYU Management Society would be a "perfectly reasonable" vehicle to help Romney.

BYU, though run by the church, is incorporated as a separate nonprofit entity. The BYU Management Society is officially part of the business school, according to Rixa Oman, the group's executive director. That means the society is subject to the same prohibition against advocacy for a particular candidate. (Some local chapters have registered separately as tax-exempt nonprofits and have the same restrictions.)

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 LDS Church had "absolutely no connection whatsoever" with the MVP program. But when asked about the Sept. 19 meeting with Elder 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.