White powder sent to Mormon temples

updated 9:06 p.m. ET Nov. 13, 2008

LOS ANGELES - Authorities are investigating after letters containing white powder were sent to Mormon temples in Utah and California.

A temple that was the site of a recent gay rights protest in Los Angeles was closed Thursday after receiving the envelope. The package was being inspected.

Powder spilled from an envelope onto a clerk's hand Thursday at the temple in downtown Salt Lake City. The room was decontaminated and the envelope taken by the FBI for testing.

The clerk showed no signs of illness, but the scare shut down a building at Temple Square for more than an hour.

Protests in recent days have targeted the Mormon church, which encouraged its members to fight the recently passed amendment banning gay marriage in California.

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