Mormons are human, and as such, they make mistakes. Some deliberate, some innocent, but judging one Mormon by another’s behavior is like casting aspersions on all the Catholics because a priest is a pedophile.
Judge them on their own merits, and don’t allow yourself to be taken in by opinions of people who understand less than you do.
My question here is: does the LDS Church have anything to say, in the Ensign or other, about claims of one member against another of perhaps a criminal action, especially when that member isn't merely some Sister or Brother sitting besides you on Sunday or even serving alongside you, but is very high profile member of national recognition.
I know that politics being what it is, claims are tossed about during campaigns even between "friends" in elected positions. These men and women seem to be able to say or claim all sorts of things in a public venue.
However, for the highest ranking U.S. Senator (who also happens to be LDS) stands before the Senate and makes a very damning claim against another, especially another LDS brethern of high regard, does the LDS church take issue with this or even members of the Presidency, Council of 12, etc?
I would hope that some with a higher position in the LDS church than Harry Reid, would take him aside and ask that he kindly "tone it down," for it does raise the issue, especially those of the LDS faith, is this the public message that you want to present to non-LDS?
The Catholic church has taken lots of lumps for presenting one image, pro-life, pro-biblical marriage, pro-morality, only to invite elected officials to be keynote speakers at Catholic institutions, when those same Catholic elected officials stand firmly against Catholic teachings, or worse yet, when high ranking Catholic Bishops and Cardinals turn their eyes or in other instances actually cover up for those few pedophile priests. Bad as that is, I think that when Catholic institutions present as a public face, people like Nancy Pelosi/Teddy Kennedy/Claire McCaskill and Kathleen Sebelius with the clear intent that those Catholic institutions are standing up for what those politicians stand against every moral teaching of the church or in the Bible especially!