"We hope members of the church will take this as an opportunity to find out more about the Democratic Party's principles that are closely connected with those of The Church of Jesus Christ and realize that the Democratic Party represents the same values shared by many Latter-day Saints."

GOP state chairman Joe Cannon said Tuesday he had heard about the LDS letter. But Cannon said it is general in nature and certainly isn't an endorsement of any Democratic candidate nor of any parts of the Utah Democratic Party platform.

"This is not an earth-shaking thing," Cannon said of the letter. "The church clearly says, explicitly says, that it endorses no candidates, platforms or parties. (The letter) says what it says. . . . Sure, a lot of good Latter-day Saints are Democrats. But a lot are Republicans, too."

On rare occasions, such as the recent ballot initiatives on gay marriages across the country, the church does take a stand on politically sensitive issues. Last year, church leaders several times issued statements saying any Utah state income tax reform should include the current deductions for charitable giving.

And with about 80 percent of the 104 part-time state legislators being members of the LDS Church, those rare political stands carry a lot of weight in Utah, where the 12-million-member worldwide church is headquartered.

Meanwhile, Cannon said that despite complaints by some longtime Utah GOP dissidents, the state Republican Party will conduct its Tuesday night meetings like it has in the past.

Mike Ridgway and a handful of other unhappy Republicans say the state party is ignoring national Republican Party rules by allowing residents who are not registered Republicans to attend the neighborhood mass meetings, elect and be elected county and state delegates.

National GOP rules specifically prohibit nonregistered Republicans from making any party decisions or serving in any offices, says Ridgway, who has been booted out of previous party offices he's held because of his ongoing intraparty battles with county and state GOP leaders.

"Yes, you have to be a registered Republican" before a delegate can participate in county or state conventions, Cannon said. "But we want to be as open, as welcoming, a party as we can be. And like always, we will allow anyone (registered Republican or not) into our party caucuses. If they are elected (a delegate, precinct chair or other officer), they must be registered as a Republican before the conventions" in April and May to participate, Cannon said.

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E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com