The US Supreme Court just announced it will not hear arguments regarding the US military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
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The link to the article summarizing the CA Supreme Court decision is in the sidebar to the left. In summary, the court allowed Prop 8 to stand (keeping marriage in CA defined as being between a woman and a man) but also allowed all homosexual couples married prior to its passage to retain their married status. Continue reading…
The following must not be interpreted as petition to the Church. It’s simply a summary of some thoughts I have had that I would like to hear other perspectives on. Criticisms are welcome, but let’s keep it respectful, compassionate, and understanding.
This post isn’t about marriage. It isn’t about sex.
OK Paul technically isn’t exactly an international DJ, not unless you consider that you can listen to his interviews on line.
Often people have a hard time with intimacy (intimacy = “into me see”) because they feel vulnerable. They would rather deal with ideas than people, and they don’t want others to see who they are. They might feel insecure or care what others think of them. People who feel this way wear what we call social masks to hide who they are and present a facade instead of their true self to others. And sometimes, the mask people wear is the church. Continue reading…
My home teacher (who is very cool) came by yesterday to drop off some starter cables for my car and as one does in that short interlude we discussed the celestial kingdom and being Gods after this life. He believed that those who don’t make it to the highest kingdom in the Celestial Kingdom won’t have any sexual relationships and if you don’t have sexual relationships their will be no need for sexual organs.
“Faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other.” Continue reading…
When I served a mission in eastern Canada in the early 90s, there were many things I was grateful for (warm boots, wool suits, fairly normal food). But above all, I was grateful that I was sent to a region with very few black people, as I was not looking forward to having to defend something in the Church’s past that had deeply troubled even a relatively immature teenager with a limited knowledge of Church history and doctrine.
Continue reading…
A whistleblower is someone internal to an organization who alleges misconduct. So, what if the organization is the church? Does the church handle whistleblowers effectively or not? If so, how? If not, why not? Continue reading…
Tom Hanks is a beloved actor to many Mormons for his family-friendly roles and everyman quality. Yet, his recent negative remarks (and hasty retraction) calling Mormons who supported Prop 8 “unAmerican,” and his role as executive producer on Big Love which is about to air the most sacred Mormon ritual on television begs the question: Does Tom Hanks hate Mormons? Continue reading…
David Blankenhorn and Jonathan Rauch co-wrote an article recently in the New York Times called, “A Reconciliation on Gay Marriage”. I have linked the full article above and excerpted the first three paragraphs word-for-word below:
IN politics, as in marriage, moments come along when sensitive compromise can avert a major conflict down the road. The two of us believe that the issue of same-sex marriage has reached such a point now. Continue reading…
Thought I’d catch your attention with that line from “Saturday’s Warrior,” the bane (or bastion, if you don’t know what you’re talking about) of Mormon doctrine.* There was an interesting article in NYT about how children can negatively impact marriages. So, what’s the real scoop on these tiny little homewreckers? Read on . . . Continue reading…
I believe we need to take responsibility for understanding and choosing what we say and do – not allowing others to make those decisions for us. With that in mind, I am addressing the “what”, “why” and “so what” of “swearing and cursing”.
The best Biblical statements regarding swearing and cursing include the following:
“Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.” (Deut. 6:13)
“But I say unto you, Swear not at all;” (Matthew 5:34)
“And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.” (Exodus 21:17)
“His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.” (Psalms 10:7)
“Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.” (James 3:9) Continue reading…
“The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health” (Add Health),
- Found that conservative and evangelical Christian teenagers are more sexually active than mainline Protestants, Jews, and even Mormons. On average, white evangelical Protestants begin having sex shortly after turning sixteen, which is sooner than most other groups. Continue reading…
Peter Brimelow, a British journalist, is credited with coining the term “War on Christmas” in 1999 to describe the politically correct movement in English-speaking countries to neutralize public references to Christmas out of deference to non-Christians. This term has been popularized, especially by right-winger Bill O’Reilly and folks over 65 who like to forward outraged spam emails about how the world is going to hell in a handbasket. So, who’s winning the War on Christmas? Continue reading…
How do we create and maintain unity at church while valuing diversity and avoiding conformity? Do we have to embrace the diversity of those who value conformity? Do we have to unify with those whose diversity gives us the heebie jeebies? Continue reading…
Today’s guest post is from The Captain. The urban dictionary defines the term persecution complex as follows:
One of the top fifteen factors that can transform a reasonable, amiable, friendly person with reasonable, friendly beliefs and ideas into a ranting, screaming, judgmental zealot with poisonous, nauseating, self-righteous dreck for beliefs. Continue reading…
THE NEW MORMON BRAND
In my view the Prop 8 campaign in California that just ended has turned out to be a fiasco for the Church. I had assumed and hoped it would fail but we have all lost by winning. This post is not about the issue of same sex marriage but expresses my view that the Church leaders have shot themselves and all of us in the foot. Quite apart from the astoundingly divisive nature of the effort it has created a new toxic image of the Church that is going to stick around for an awfully long time. This is my view of how the Church will be viewed and portrayed by those not of our faith.
On the eve of another election in the United States of America, many historic events are looming, both encouraging and daunting; Whatever happens, we will either elect our first person of color as President, or our first female as Vice President. We may see a 60-vote majority in the Senate for the Democratic party. But offsetting these historic events is great uncertainty and fear about an ongoing economic crisis unseen since the Great Depression, alarm due to serious conflicts with various nations overseas, even apprehension about possible irreversible changes in our environment. Yet, here we are again looking at a fundamental divide on issues of morality, equality, and civil rights. Continue reading…
Believers and non-believers. The faithful and the doubters. Religious conservatives and religious liberals. TBMs and NOMs. These are ways we describe the differences in our faith and activity in our religious tradition. These variations are not unique to Mormonism. The patterns of faith development have been documented across all religions and cultures. How does an institutional church serve and support both groups? How does it care for the ninety and nine, without neglecting the one? Can it go after the one without neglecting the ninety and nine?
The term “apologist” is often used derisively like the terms “lawyer,” “statistician,” or “telemarketer.” Why are apologists so derided? Is it warranted or just a bum rap? Continue reading…
I was scanning through the news stories over at cnn.com when I came across this article, “Why many Americans prefer their Sundays segregated”. It started me thinking about my own ward. I live in a state where about 30% of the population is Hispanic, but you wouldn’t know it by going to a Sacrament Meeting Sunday morning. We have a mostly white congregation with a minority member here and there. For a while we had an Asian contingent in our ward. It was so nice to have some diversity. They added a different view point in lessons and 
helped us to learn more about different cultures. Continue reading…
We’ve established that there are conservative Mormons (obviously) and there are liberal or “new order” Mormons. Taking the politico-religious rhetoric to its next logical conclusion, I’d like to make a case for moderate (or independent) Mormonism. Continue reading…
