Voting OPPOSED in a Mormon Meeting - Sara & Mitja Lakner Bevc

When Dissent Goes Public: The Lakner Bevc Case and Voting Opposed in Mormon Sacrament Meeting

What happens when a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands during the sustaining of church officers and votes opposed, a rare, documented act of formal dissent? For most Latter-day Saints, this ecclesiastical procedure exists in theory but rarely in practice. Yet one Utah family's decision to do precisely this, described in detail on the Mormon Stories Podcast, offers a compelling case study in faith deconstruction, institutional loyalty, and the social costs of public disagreement within tightly knit religious communities.

The episode featuring Sara and Mitja Lakner Bevc, a couple navigating a faith transition in a conservative Utah County ward, reveals what dissent actually feels like when conducted in front of dozens of neighbors, fellow parents, and church leaders. Their experience raises uncomfortable questions about enforcement mechanisms, social pressure, and the gap between official church doctrine on sustaining leaders and the lived reality of members who cannot in good conscience do so.

Background: The Mechanics of Sustaining and Opposing

The Church's sustaining procedure occurs twice yearly during general conference and regularly in local ward and stake meetings. Members are asked to raise their hands in support of church leaders, from the Prophet down through local bishops and teachers. Theoretically, members may also raise their hands to vote opposed, signaling formal disagreement with a particular leader or decision.

The official LDS Church handbook acknowledges this right. Yet in practice, voting opposed is extraordinarily rare. Most members either sustain unanimously or silently abstain. The public nature of the gesture, a raised hand in a room of 200 to 300 people, creates an inherent social cost that deters many from exercising this formal prerogative.