Exploring “A Middle Way” Within Mormonism
I promised to pass along any LDS efforts to counter church support for Prop 8. The purpose of the site is to educate people about marriage equality and about LDS people who are lesbian or gay and to provide support to LDS people who oppose the proposition. More videos and blog posts will be added until the California election.
http://mormonsformarriage.com/
Comments are welcome, particularly if you have a related story to tell.
When it appeared on television I’d heard about the 30 Days episode featuring an LDS woman, Katie, living with gay men who’d adopted children. I hadn’t been able to see the program, however, until today, when a friend forwarded me the link. It is fascinating to watch, and it seems to me that Spurlock (the man behind the 30 Days series) has done a fine job presenting a balanced picture of the issue. It is apparent that the gay couple (and their friends) had hoped to change Katie’s mind. They believed that by opening their home and showing that they are good people trying hard to be good parents to four children, their actions would at least soften Katie’s opposition. She remains steadfastly opposed, however, and she describes well how her views are too intertwined with her identity and with her understanding of God and morality to change. The program takes about 43 minutes to watch, and it is well worth your time.
That was the title I suggested to my wife for her talk in sacrament meeting tomorrow. After reading that a graduate of BYU’s law school approved of the “torture memo”, it seems to me that we could benefit from being reminded that Jesus said to turn the other cheek.
What do you think? Should we change the words to the Primary song from “Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam” to “Jesus Loves Waterboarding”? I don’t remember… was it in the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus approved of physical pain as long as it wasn’t “equivalent in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death.”
Sigh. What a world we live in.
In today’s Salt Lake Tribune is an op-ed piece I wrote about polygamy, copied below. Some people will say I’m overstepping my bounds, and others will say I don’t go far enough. I simply hope it makes people think about the church’s connections to polygamy. The present policy - relying on the Associated Press and other news organizations to clarify who is and who is not Mormon - seems bound to fail, as the public doesn’t consult the AP Style Guide when they talk about such things.
Continue reading ‘Moving Forward: The LDS Polygamy Question’
One theme that I hear often in Mormonism concerns morality and its central place in society. Most recently I came across this idea in an op-ed piece in the Salt Lake Tribune. The writer, Lynn Wardle, described his views regarding morality in the context of Elliot Spitzer’s downfall. (I don’t think copyright law allows me cut & paste Wardle’s comments here but you can click on this link to read them at the Trib.)
Continue reading ‘Morality Beyond Sexuality’
Tom Lantos, a powerful member of the US House of Representatives for many years, died recently. In this report of his funeral I learned he had a significant connection to Mormonism: His wife and daughters, who apparently converted some time ago.
Continue reading ‘Tom Lantos and Mormonism’
Here’s an analogy for you to consider–
Fundamentalist Mormon : Mormon :: Mormon : Christian
Just as Fundamentalist Mormosn often consider themselves to be the ‘real’ Mormons, Mormons often consider themselves to be the ‘real’ Christians. And yet, both are viewed by the group to which they aspire as outdated, strange, and even oppressive.
Of course, analogies break down. Where does this one fall apart?
Reports of the sesquicentennial anniversary of the Mountain Meadows Massacre have been fascinating, haven’t they? Newspapers far beyond Utah have covered the event, as a quick search of google news will show. Some friends of mine were there, traveling from their Georgia home to join in the Lee family reunion and explore New Harmony and the surrounding area. I can hardly wait to talk with them about the trip.
Me, I have merely read from afar. I began with news articles, followed by the comments to those articles, and then visited blogs and bulletin boards to see what people had to say. Of course, you probably know what they said; comments ranged from praise for the church’s apology to questions of whether there was any apology at all. Both apologies and beauty are in the eye of the beholder, it seems.
Then today a bulletin board pointed me to this AP News story, in which the church spokesperson noted “We don’t use the word ‘apology.’ We used ‘profound regret.’” Ah, so close, and yet so far.
There’s a distinct similarity between this quasi-almost-apology and the typical political pseudo-apology. Both come at it from a perspective that “mistakes were made (but not by me…..)”. Sure, we’d all like to see a church that claims to be directed by God to display better-than-human foibles, but is that expecting too much? People are people, even when they believe they are on God’s errand.
Meanwhile, the devout and the lapsed and the inbetweeners will interpret Elder Eyring’s statement in ways that confirm their beliefs. And the world will go on spinning and orbiting, until the next powerful institution or person sees that mistakes are most easily almost apologized for in the passive voice.
Brief Background: September Dawn is a film by Christopher Cain about the most horrific event in Mormon history, The Mountain Meadows Massacre. It’s just gone into wide release today.
I don’t like violence in film. I’ve never seen even a single episode of The Sopranos. However, I always loved my buddy Randy’s great summaries of the show. In the same vein, I haven’t seen September Dawn and I’m pretty sure I won’t, but I’ve enjoyed reading the reviews. The most used adjective is “ham-fisted.”
Insert shameless plug for another John Dehlin Production
John Hamer, the Executive Director of the John Whitmer Historical Association, saw an invited preview of September Dawn in early June. A regular participant in the Mormon Matters panel, he gave the film a solid thumbs down in episode three of the Mormon Matters podcast.
I would love to read what some of you think of the film if you’ve seen it.
In the lobby of the courthouse hangs a reprint of a 16th-century Russian icon. The painting is of Jesus holding a Bible. The scripture reference is to judging righteously, written in Russian. Underneath the painting is a sign: “To know peace, obey these laws.” The ACLU wants the city to take down the sign and the painting. The presiding judge has said that they both stay.
During our patriotic testimony meeting yesterday, several speakers spoke about how grateful they are for the constitution, and our freedom to worship as we choose. One testimony addressed The Painting. The speaker was pleased with the judge’s refusal to take the painting down. I did not share with the congregation how grateful I am for the establishment clause. I did not explain my belief that without it there would be no guarantee of freedom to worship as we choose, and probably no restoration either. Instead, I will regale y’all with a story of God, Football, and Santa Fe, Texas. Continue reading ‘Fast and Political Issues Meeting’
Apparently, the Cultural Hall is the only remaining Mormon-themed blog on the face of planet earth without some kind of running commentary on Helen Whitney’s PBS documentary “The Mormons.” Sure, we could (and probably should) wear that fact like a badge of honor. But sadly, like a lemming jumping into the river without an inner tube, I just can’t resist the urge to spoil our peaceful “Whitney Free Zone” with a few of my own paltry NOMish musings on the Mother of All Mormon Documentaries.
For me, the most interesting part of “The Mormons” wasn’t all the historical detail, or the descriptions of the foundational events in Mormon history, or even that whole weird “this is why we dance” segment. I was actually much more intrigued by some of the larger themes that were explored or introduced in the first hour of the documentary. Continue reading ‘Bloggernacle Post about “The Mormons” #2,367′
A NOM/DAMU-ite who went by the handle “Colluvium” put together a spreadsheet with membership statistics as they were presented in General Conference every year since 1973. He didn’t weigh in with the numbers this year, because he’s been really busy recently. However, the data were still available in spreadsheet form, so with his permission I downloaded it and updated it with what was presented Saturday. I’m assuming that the aggregated data are correct. I’ve created a link to the spreadsheet and the charts on my personal web site.
The good news: for almost all measurements, this was an up year. The only actual declines are in percent ward growth (# of new wards divided by last year’s number of wards) and increase in children of record (fewer babies were blessed this year than last). Converts per member, overall growth per member ((converts+babies)/# of members), converts per missionary, # of missionaries, stake growth, and the raw number of stakes and wards increased more this year than they did last year. The number of members/ward is slightly (neglibly) higher than last year, as well.
I added a chart that hadn’t been done before, showing the raw change in the number of convert baptisms from one year to another. I don’t know if there’s anything meaningful about the number or not, but the change in the number of convert baptisms between 2006 and 2005 is the highest it’s been since 1993. Those particular numbers are really erratic, with changes from year to year as high as 62,000 (1989) and as low as -40,000 (2003).
The bad news: The growth rate of wards and stakes has been on a persistent downward trend since 1995. The growth rate of wards and stakes has been below 2% since 1999. The rate for the last three years has been higher than the five years before, but the growth rate of wards is just half what it was in 1974, the first year for which I have the values available. For stakes, it’s one third the 1974 rate.
The growth rate of members follows the growth rate of wards and stakes in the same period. The rate slide can arguably be shown to have begun in 1989. There were upticks in the rate in 1993 and 1996, but the rate of growth now (convert baptisms + children of record) is just over half what it was in 1989 - 2.85% vs. 5.40%.
I’m not a statistician by any stretch of the imagination. There may be a better (or worse) story in these numbers. The numbers are good this year. In another few years, we’ll be able to tell if this is the reversal of the overall trend, or just another uptick in the overall downward slope.
Since calling for a Bloggernacle Fast for Peace, I’ve seen several different LDS responses to the political realities of international conflict. I believe that we all desire peace in our world, countries, neighborhoods, and families. We have diverse opinions as to how this may be achieved, or if it is even possible. But I believe that within each individual lie the seeds of peaceful resolution to conflict. I call upon you to join me tomorrow, Sunday, March 4th, in a vigil for world peace. I ask you to pray, fast, meditate, or send out positive thoughts regarding peace. As you do so, I hope you will be able to find more peace in your heart and your own little corner of the world.
In meditating this week upon my upcoming fast for peace, I read several articles that you may find of interest as you ponder upon peace. This Dialogue article makes a case for Mormon pacifism. Here is a more moderate piece about the complexities of Mormon thought on War and Peace. And this article is a discussion of Christian pacifism. I’d love to hear your comments about how this vigil for peace unfolded in your life.
Although I love watching people, I have never been very interested in royalty. Even if Prince Charles might secretly be seeing Princess Astrid of Belgium, it really wouldn’t pique my interest much. Call me strange, but Royal Intrigue just doesn’t usually intrigue me.
So when I read a story in the Salt Lake Tribune describing a book about Joseph Smith being a distant relative of Jesus, I was left wondering, “So what?” I mean, what might it matter if Smith was a 75th-generation grandson of Jesus? Would that make his claim to prophetic power any more legitimate?
One thing that I frankly like about LDS theology is that it places some responsibility on the individual, which might displace hero worship or adulation of royalty. At least, that’s how it works in theory. I know that there’s plenty of evidence indicating that church leaders have benefited from their family connections. J Golden Kimball admitted that he was selected to be an apostle because of his Kimball name, and Quinn’s “Mormon Hierarchy” books show this pattern repeatedly.
Still, I wonder if I am I missing something here? What would be the significance of Smith (and who knows how many other people) having descended from Jesus? Some might say that it demonstrates that there is something special about having Jesus Genes, so to speak, but if that’s the case, what about the Mormon idea that we all have the potential to become like God? And what about the negative things that Jesus’ descendents did? Joseph Smith wasn’t perfect, after all, and odds are that there were a few horse thieves or worse to have the same shared lineage. Or does people’s interest in this amount to people being intrigued by celebrity?
So, tell me, should we care that Joseph Smith might have been related to Jesus? Why? Why not?
Sacred, not secret. That’s the phrase in my memory associated with the temple and garments. I was reminded of this by a conversation at BCC, where people are discussing Andrew Sullivan’s post about garments. As part of his recent interest in Mormonism and Mitt Romney’s political aspirations, Sullivan posted a photo of people wearing garments. As you might expect, many objected to the picture, and some even object to the discussion of garments.
The following is from Ira Glass’ “This American Life”….
Heretics
The story of Reverend Carlton Pearson (pictured), an evangelical pastor in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His church, Higher Dimensions, was once one of the biggest in the city, drawing crowds of 5,000 people every Sunday. But several years ago, scandal engulfed the Reverend, he was denounced by almost all his former supporters, and today his congregation is just a few hundred people. He didn’t have an affair. He didn’t embezzle lots of money. His sin was something that to a lot of people is far worse … he stopped believing in hell.
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