SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – In the wake of a sometimes bitter, and ultimately successful, campaign to ban same-sex marriage in California, leaders of the Mormon church called for civility and kindness from those on both sides of the issue the day after the election.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints played a vigorous role in the campaign to pass Proposition 8, which voters approved Nov.4. At the behest of church leaders, thousands of Mormons worked as grass roots volunteers and gave tens of millions of dollars to the campaign.

Salt Lake City-based church elder L. Whitney Clayton said Nov. 5 that the church is genuinely concerned about the emotional divide created by the gay marriage issue and says he hopes people will treat each other with “love, civility and respect.”

“This is a divisive issue for some people, not all people. We recognize that,” said Clayton, who has served as a liaison between the church and Proposition 8 campaign managers. “If they’ve had different opinions or different feelings, we have no feelings of ill-will toward them and we hope their feelings toward us will soften over time.”

Like many other religious groups, Mormons consider traditional marriage a sacred institution ordained by God. Gays are welcome in church and can maintain church callings if they remain celibate. In the past, some who acted on what church leaders have called “same-gender attraction” have been excommunicated by the faith.

Since early summer, the church has been part of a coalition of faiths and conservative groups that worked to pass Proposition 8. But the high-profile effort of Mormons in both time and money made the church a target for criticism and some unflattering ads.

Several petitions – including one signed by hundreds of members who support marriage equality – sought to pressure the church to back out of the coalition. A church temple in Oakland, Calif., was picketed and Clayton said he was aware of vandalism committed against some members of the church.

Some critics objected to the church’s stance against gay marriage, while others said the Utah-based faith should not be meddling in California politics.

“We don’t consider this to be a political issue,” Clayton said. “We consider it to be a moral issue. We’re not anti-gay. We are pro-marriage between a man and a woman.”

In a statement posted on its Web site, the church also stated that it supports civil unions or domestic partnership legislation if “these do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches.”