Across America, but especially in the West, the tone of immigration debates has, at times, turned harshfully critical of immigrants and of the politicians arguing for what they term reasonable immigration laws.

Especially in the Republican presidential contest, immigration hard-liners have been pushing for tough new laws and policies.

While LDS Church leaders did not support or oppose any specific piece of legislation that may come up in the 2008 Legislature, which convenes Monday for its 45-day general session, Litvack said they did say: "Take a step back, remember that human beings are involved here. As faith leaders in our community they have a concern for all human beings.

"And I certainly appreciated that. I was glad they spoke out on this topic," Litvack said.

Litvack said church leaders and Democrats also talked about how presidential candidate Mitt Romney, a Mormon, was being treated in the press and by various groups and individuals as he runs for the Republican Party's nomination. Romney won the Michigan GOP primary last week and hopes to win the Nevada caucuses today.

"We said we understand some of what Romney is seeing, and how his religion is being treated," Litvack said. "And we told (church leaders) this also applies to us — as some Democratic members of the LDS Church are told they can't be good Democrats and good Mormons at the same time." Religious intolerance works both ways, he said.

"As Mitt has been treated unfair, targeted" for being Mormon, so too have some LDS Democratic candidates been targeted in Utah as somehow unworthy of election, he added. "And it is not fair to bring religion into our own campaigns here. I hope people remember this" in Utah local elections later this year.

The church leaders also said they would come out in favor of taking soda-colored, 3.2-percent alcoholic beverages out of grocery stores and putting them into state-operated liquor stores. The church released a statement on that Thursday. Litvack laughed when asked if he thought such alcohol regulations would pass the Legislature, where 80 percent of lawmakers are members of the LDS Church. "Yeah, we'll see on that one."

Clark said church leaders reasoned that any beverage made through distilling liquor should be sold in state liquor stores, distributed by the state to licensed restaurants and private clubs. This new soda-looking 3.2 beverage is distilled, he said. "It is actually a continuation of how we've handled liquor in Utah for some time" — brewed 3.2 percent beverages, such as beer, are sold in grocery stores; wines and distilled liquors, no matter what their alcohol content, are sold in state liquor stores.