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.
I’m sure by now our readers know about the First Presidency letter to be read in church this coming Sunday. I don’t want to get into any debates on this post about the letter itself, or gay marriage. My question is– what do you plan to do when the letter is read this Sunday? Do you plan to be in church? If you support the stance of the letter, I’m guessing that you won’t do much in the meeting itself, but will you actually take action based on it? And if you don’t support the letter, will you walk out? Wear a rainbow ribbon pin to church? Any other ideas? And if you’re in a ward where there is any protest or discussion on Sunday, could you report back here? As for me, I’m still undecided whether to attend, and if so, whether to walk out or not.
An incident at a recent Stake Conference upset me, probably more than it should have. I was upset enough that I left the meeting midway. The episode brought to the forefront something I have known for a long time, even since before I lost my faith: my thinking is not aligned with mainstream Mormon thought. Continue reading ‘Out of Step’
I thought others might be interested in checking out local support for Mitt Romney in your own area. You just enter the zipcode, choose his name, and you’ll see a list of everyone in that zipcode who’s donated more than $200 to him (or any other presidential candidate for that matter.) I can’t come up a with a good way to tie this into the middle way, except to say that the political conservatism is one of the things that make it hard for me to feel a real part of my own ward. (We’ve had several campaigns that spilled over into church meetings in the last few years.) My ward covers my entire zipcode and all his contributors are members of my ward. (This leads me to another question– if his only supporters are LDS, how long can he keep tapping them for money?)
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’
This is from yesterday’s Salt Lake Tribune:
Cheney to address BYU grads
The heartland of Utah’s conservatism likely will welcome the vice president
By Thomas Burr
The Salt Lake Tribune
WASHINGTON - With the Bush administration under fire from seemingly all sides, where can a vice president find a loving crowd?
In the conservative heart of the most conservative state.
Vice President Dick Cheney will speak at Brigham Young University’s commencement in late April, The Salt Lake Tribune has learned.
The vice president is looking forward to returning to Utah to participate in the commencement at Brigham Young University, said Cheney spokesman Jamie Hennigan.
The vice president is tentatively scheduled to speak on April 26 at the Provo university’s graduation ceremony. Cheney last visited the state in 2003 to raise money for his and President Bush’s 2004 election bid.
BYU has about 30,000 students and is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“I think he’ll find the audience to be very accommodating and very receptive and very hospitable,” says Kelly Patterson, director of BYU’s Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, when told of the vice president’s scheduled visit. “It’s an honor when a vice president or the president comes to speak at a university. There are only a limited number of these engagements they can do.”
Cheney’s popularity has hovered in the lower 30s of late with a Gallup Poll on March 14 showing Americans’ job approval rating of Cheney at 34 percent, just a point under Bush’s.
But his approval in Utah, the reddest state in the nation, and especially in Utah County, one of the most conservative areas in the state, is undoubtedly higher.
A Tribune poll in January still showed Bush with a 56 percent job approval rating among Utahns.
BYU plans a universitywide commencement ceremony at the Marriott Center on April 26 and the next day will hold individual college events to award degrees.
Cheney, who is from Wyoming, has ties to Mormons, including a longtime staffer, David Gribben, who converted to the LDS Church and was Cheney’s chief of staff during his time in Congress, as Defense secretary and at his former company, Halliburton. Lynne Cheney, his wife, also has said she has ancestors who were Mormon and migrated from Wales to Utah.
Bush has made two stops in Utah during the past two years, at conventions for the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. He came once during his first term to open the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
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