Letter: LDS Church trying to silence dissenting opinions

Growing up in Salt Lake City a non-Mormon, I saw first-hand the mockery that Utah made of the separation of church and state — with seminary buildings next to every school and the church controlling the majority of Utah's politicians.

The church and its members behave as though theirs is the only religion and the only opinion worth considering. Interestingly, the U.S. Department of Justice is finally inquiring into the actions of the LDS Church's attempt to further control public opinion by buying up shares of the Salt Lake Tribune ("Feds scrutinize Salt Lake newspapers deal," Tribune, April 9).

The LDS Church already owns the Deseret News and KSL television and radio stations. As a non-Mormon, I am particularly troubled by the attempt of the LDS Church to create a theocratic dictatorship. The idealistic purpose of news is to provide non-biased facts, and the Tribune has made a valiant attempt to do just that.

If the investigations of the DOJ come to nothing, it is likely that the Tribune will be completely taken over by the church, and non-Mormons will be left to wade through a sea of heavily biased news pushing a specific agenda. Facts and dissenting opinion will finally be silenced.

Taylor Rigby

Holladay