SALT LAKE CITY -- Transcripts of meetings involving then-Gov. Mike Leavitt discussing government and Mormon principles in 1996 will remain available to the public.

Leavitt, now a member of President Bush's Cabinet, was informed in a letter sent Dec. 26, the head of the Utah State Archives said Monday.

The documents are transcripts of "Early Morning Seminary" meetings in 1996 involving Leavitt, staff members and others at the Governor's Mansion.

Meetings opened with a prayer, followed by stories from the Book of Mormon and discussion about how the lessons could apply to government.

Leavitt, head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, was Utah governor from 1993 to November 2003.

The transcripts were sent to the state archives as records of his chief of staff. In a Dec. 21 e-mail, Leavitt asked the agency to review the classification of the transcripts after they were obtained online by The Salt Lake Tribune and the subject of a story Sunday.

He said some people at the meetings expressed beliefs that were personal or "even sacred."

In response, however, archivist Patricia Smith-Mansfield said the records appear to involve state business and will remain accessible to the public.

"These do not appear to be personal records of former Governor Leavitt since they reside in the Chief of Staff series," wrote Smith-Mansfield, who noted that the meetings were recorded and transcribed.

"These are records that were prepared, owned, received or retained by the Governor's office and do not appear to contain information that merits classification as private, protected, controlled or exempt," she said.

Anyone can appeal the decision to the State Records Committee.

"He considers the matter closed. He's not going to appeal it," said Natalie Gochnour, a former Leavitt aide.

She said the meetings were part of planning for Leavitt's second inaugural address in January 1997.

"These were discussions about his personal philosophy about the role of government in peoples' lives," Gochnour said. "It was not about state programs, the state budget. He would reserve those for a State of the State address."

During one session, Leavitt and others talked about King Benjamin, who in the Book of Mormon encourages people to serve each another.

"It struck me that his administration was precisely the kind of administration that we've been discussing here," said Matthew Durrant, who was appointed to the Utah Supreme Court by Leavitt in 2000.

Leavitt said the king's era would be a "prime one to look at" when studying civilizations that succeeded and failed.