A top leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said that political donations made by his family to Democratic political candidates, including President Biden, were an “oversight,” as they go against his church’s policy on political neutrality.
“I regret such an oversight on my part,” Dieter Uchtdorf, 80, said in a Friday statement obtained by ABC News. “I fully support the church’s policy related to political donations from church leaders.”
ABC News, citing information from the Federal Elections Commission, reports that Uchtdorf’s family account contributed $1,250 to Biden’s 2020 campaign. Another $600 was donated to the Jan. 5 runoff campaigns of Democratic Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.
Uchtdorf is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a governing group that helps set up church policies and oversees its business interests.
The church implemented its political neutrality rule in 2011 when GOP Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah), a member of the church, was running for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, ABC News notes.
The network added that the donations not only violate the church’s policies, but also come as a bit of a surprise as Latter-day Saints tend to learn more conservatively on the political spectrum.
Former President Trump, however, reportedly never gained widespread popularity among members of the church due to conduct that went against the church’s teachings on manners and public diplomacy.
–Updated at 2:02 p.m.