Discrimination

The Moral Panic Causes Trouble in Zion

July 27, 2010
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The Moral Panic Causes Trouble in Zion

Kenny Ballantine is in the process of producing a documentary called Trouble in Zion.  The documentary discusses the events leading up to the 1838 Mormon War in Missouri.  It highlights the Extermination Order and Haun’s Mill Massacre, as well as events leading up to these terrible events.  Kenny showed a pre-release version of the film at the Mormon History Association in Independence, Missouri in May, and he is also showing the film at Sunstone here in Salt Lake City in August.  I really enjoyed the film, and highly recommend it.  I thought Kenny was pretty even-handed, and had experts discuss reactions...

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The Mormon Therapist on Interracial Marriage

July 7, 2010
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Recently I’ve been in contact with a girl by means of the internet. We haven’t met but plan to soon. I like her a lot. She has told me she loves me and wants to start a family with me. She isn’t a member of the church but said she is willing to join it if it means being with me.  I find her attractive, yes -but there are other factors as well. She is from a mixed race (half African, half White American). I know love can put aside all differences but at the same time this would...

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The Mormon Therapist on the Color Gray

June 13, 2010
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Natasha Helfer Parker is a Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist and a member of the Church with 13 years of experience working with LDS members. Here she shares with us representative cases from her practice and insights she has gained from her work as a therapist.  She blogs at mormontherapist.blogspot.com. I think so many people want a clear “black and white” answer on many issues. Instead our leaders and the Lord give us great freedom (leeway so to speak) to live our religion. A lot of people seem to be on a quest to “decide” what our Heavenly...

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White and Delightsome or Pure and Delightsome? (Cognitive dissonance 2)

April 20, 2010
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White and Delightsome or Pure and Delightsome? (Cognitive dissonance 2)

I’m 1/16 th Chippewa and don’t even look a little Indian! I figure from my knee down is pure Chippewa and  for whatever reason  I am pretty proud of that. In the afterlife if possible I would like that section preserved if God sees fit.  Below is my Great Grandmother and Grandmother — you can see even from one generation to the next how things change.

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In the Shadow of the Temple by Guest

December 22, 2009
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In the Shadow of the Temple by Guest

A close friend of mine who wishes to remain anonymous recently saw in the shadow of the temple his story follows In October, I was fortunate to attend the Portland, Oregon, screening of the movie, In the Shadow of the Temple. http://www.intheshadowofthetemple.com The screening was hosted by the producers, Karen Di Millia and Dennis Lavery. Prior to the screening Dennis and Karen spoke for 10 minutes and explained how they started this project. After the screening they took questions and answers for roughly 30 minutes. Lavery and DeMillia, who are not–and never have been–LDS, originally planned to make a...

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‘Christmas’ or ‘Winter Festival’: I’m not sure I care!

December 14, 2009
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‘Christmas’ or ‘Winter Festival’: I’m not sure I care!

This must be the the third year that I have heard people bemoan government plans to change the name of Christmas to ‘Winter Festival’ or some such other variant.  A little research shows that this is unfounded, in most cases, and seems linked to a gentleman named Bill O’Reilly, but there has been some rumours bubbling in the UK.  But is this really a big deal?

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Brother Brigham Brother Young

December 6, 2009
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Brother Brigham Brother Young

Recently I drove up Little Cottonwood Canyon with my brother and nephew.  This is the canyon in which many of your ancestors pulled out  the granite for the construction of the salt lake temple. As soon as we passed the granite facings on the side of the canyon my nephew played a song on his iPod by Corb Lund Brother Brigham Brother Young and it brought mental flashes into my mind of men working on the side of the mountain blasting granite out of it.    It made me think of the struggles that men and women had even back...

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Egon Friedell and the Christian ‘Bad Conscience’

October 18, 2009
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Egon Friedell and the Christian ‘Bad Conscience’

This photograph was taken by Sebastiao Salgado at a gold mine in Brazil.  I first saw it in a room at the University I attend.  As an idealistic and aspiring academic I felt moved by the raw power of the worker as he resisted the guard.  Ever since then I have had a copy of this picture in my study areas.  It reminds me that my life is not just about doing good, but that I have a moral duty to alleviate as much suffering in this world as I can.  It reminds me that sometimes I need to resist those...

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What if the Brethren decided to allow gay marriage? by Justin Perry

August 16, 2009
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What if the Brethren decided to allow gay marriage? by Justin Perry

What if the Brethren decided to allow gay marriage? They’d have to do a lot of back-peddling to explain why they were suddenly in favor of something they stood against for so long. But over time, the church’s previous “official” opposition to gay marriage would be downplayed, the Apostles who spoke publicly against gay marriage would be criticized for giving their own personal, uninspired opinion, and new generations of LDS children would grow up in a church that accepted gays openly.

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An Outsider’s Look at the United Effort Plan

July 29, 2009
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An Outsider’s Look at the United Effort Plan

If you were in downtown Salt Lake City today, you may have noticed a large rally of over a thousand peacefully protesting polygamists. What is happening to the financial affairs of the FLDS right now seems completely inexplicable, but I need to try to understand what is going on.  And it seems to me to behoove every citizen of the United States to do the same.

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The Institutionally Unforgivable?

July 29, 2009
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The message of the Gospel of Christ could be encapsulated in a few adjectives, such as: love (Charity), repentance, forgiveness and service.  But how should we forgive?  Should we follow the example of God, who promises his saints that when they repent he will remember those sins no more (D&C 58:42).  The Church as an institution does not seem to think so as it seems to have a pretty good memory when it comes to the sins of its members.  Is this consistent with the Gospel message?

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The Fruits of Guru Nanak

July 27, 2009
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The Fruits of Guru Nanak

I’m not even sure how I got it, surprisingly, but in the short time I lived in Idaho, I received an interesting gem.  It’s a book called Religions of the World: A Latter-day Saint Perspective, by Spencer J. Palmer. I’ve always enjoyed books about world religions, especially the obscure and forgotten, but I was expecting something rather bland, or apologetic, or dismissive.  I was pleasantly surprised.  This one was actually very unbiased, concise, and interesting.  It didn’t break any new ground, necessarily, except that it offered interesting comparisons and contrasts with other major world religions. I found that book...

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Obama and Elvis are cousins

July 23, 2009
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Obama and Elvis are cousins

President Barack Obama met with President Monson on Monday in the Oval Office, thanking  President Monson for a thorough history of the first family.

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“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Supreme Court Decision Poll

June 8, 2009
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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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CA Supreme Court Upholds Prop 8; Gay Couples Remain Married

May 26, 2009
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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.

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Can Love Be A Bad Thing?

May 26, 2009
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Can Love Be A Bad Thing?

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.

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Interfaith International British DJ

May 13, 2009
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Interfaith International British DJ

OK Paul technically isn’t exactly an international DJ, not unless you consider that you can listen to his interviews on line.

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Mormon Masks

May 11, 2009
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Mormon Masks

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.

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Are we going to be Eunuchs after this life?

April 27, 2009
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Are we going to be Eunuchs after this life?

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.

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Faith vs. Doubt

April 9, 2009
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Faith vs. Doubt

“Faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other.”

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