Conservative Mormonism

This is the third in a series of posts answering questions by a non-member who is curious about Mormonism. The actual question has been restated to help with a more intelligible answer.
 
I'm trying to figure out how the political conservatism and the theological liberalism of Mormonism doesn't clash. It seems open to a wide source of religious information, but adhere to social and economic conservatism. How does a non-authoritarian religious culture mesh with an authoritarian political culture?

This has been the hardest question to answer based on my own conservative beliefs. It just seems natural that Mormonism and conservative ideals go together. Obviously there are liberal members of the LDS Church, with Sen. Reid as an example. Even the current Mormon U.S. Presidential hopefuls are considered by many conservatives as liberal, where others have noted they are pragmatic rather than ideological. I think the pragmatic assessment is closer to Mormon politics more than a conservative or liberal label, but it does lean conservative for definitional purposes.