I hope you can stand at least one more post on Proposition 8 and its aftermath.
gay
California’s Prop 8 and the triumph of lunacy
Well, it’s time for the non-Mormon blogger to chime in on Prop 8. As some of you know, I live in the San Diego area. I, along with the rest of my compatriots here, have been inundated with pro- and anti-Prop 8 propaganda. We must protect traditional marriage! (What the heck is that, anyway?) We must protect the rights of gays to marry! (Where is *that* right spelled out?) There was too much dreck for anybody to possibly sort out. Here’s the irony. At its heart, Prop 8 wasn’t about gay marriage at all. It was about how we...
Homosexuality, Politics, and Looking to November 5th
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...
10 Reasons Why Gay Marriage is Wrong (for fun)
1) Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.
Jeff Nielson’s “Open Letter to California Mormons” Encouraging Oppposition to LDS Church on Gay Marriage Issue
Professor Jeffrey Nielsen, whose op-ed two years ago against the LDS Church’s stance on gay marriage led to his demise at church-owned Brigham Young University, has written an open letter to California Mormons in the wake of the church’s request for members to support a constitutional ban on gay marriage in that state (from KCPW). Open Letter to California Mormons Jeffrey S. Nielsen I am a member of the Mormon Church, a married heterosexual, and a supporter of marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples. I am asking you to pause and give sincere thought to the letter from...
Open Thread: Your experiences in church today w/ the LDS anti-gay marriage statement
Do tell….what were your experiences today w/ the LDS Church’s anti-gay marriage statement in your local ward? Feel free to share experiences of friend and family as well.
A letter from my sister…
Perhaps our feelings about tomorrow’s letter were abreacted in last week’s multifarious and sporadically acerbic discussion. My purpose here is to highlight some of the feelings and perspective of one who is connected to many aspects of the Church’s political action regarding gay marriage. My sister Emily is a lawyer in California, and gay (also kind, witty, and sagacious, but that is beside the point). Her journey through life has had a positive and profound impact on my family and I. I have learned a lot from her, but this issue specifically has inspired me to be more thoughtful and considerate...
Sin and Transgression vs. Morality
Homosexuality is a complicated topic – especially because so many people, particularly in religious discussions, over-simplify it. I want to focus narrowly today on what is “sin”, “transgression”, “moral” or “immoral” – or a combination thereof.
News Flash: LDS Church WILL Be Actively Opposing Gay Marriage in California This November
News Flash: The LDS Church WILL be actively opposing gay marriage in California this November, and is encouraging members to actively oppose gay marriage in California. They are asking all members of the church to, “do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment by donating of your means and time to assure that marriage in California is legally defined as being between a man and a woman.” Here’s the memo to the church, which will be read to all members in California next Sunday. Ouch.
Gender Roles Debunked!
What can we learn about gender roles in marriage from committed gay couples? Is equity the ideal? Is it possible? With less than 24 hours until Father’s Day, here’s some food for thought.
New Same-Sex Marriage Ruling; Same Old Polygamy Stereotypes
Unless your last name is Van Winkle, you likely already know that, yesterday afternoon, the California Supreme Court concluded that the state’s law prohibiting same-sex marriage (SSM, for short) is unconstitutional. Put more simply, in 30 days, SSM will be a reality in California. For those of us here on the Left Coast, things are about to get very interesting. Within hours of the ruling, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, without a hint of irony, told a gathering of reporters: “I plan to marry as many people as I can.” Like many others, I’m still working my way through...
A California Mormon visits the other Zion
By Joe Geisner (guest blogger) No I am not talking about Utah. I left Sam Brannan’s Zion for Joseph Smith’s Zion on April 11, 2008. I arrived at about 4 pm in Kansas City airport and almost froze to death waiting for the rental car shuttle. I had left 80 degree weather for 40 degree weather and began to wonder who really was the prophet? Obviously it was Brannan. The temperature never rose above 45 degrees, and we had snow in April!
What Do Joseph Smith and Gladys Knight Have in Common?
When I was a kid in Southern California, it was obvious to me that there were two kinds of people in the world: Mormons and the rest. As I got older, the rest became more differentiated; there were Catholics and Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Baptists, Syrian Orthodox, Church of Christers, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists and even some people who claimed to have no religion at all. I was puzzled at one family’s celebration of Christmas when they apparently didn’t really even belong to any particular religion that I could discern. As I attended high school and early-morning seminary, I began...
The Danzig Case: Does the LDS Church Influence Members to Oppose Same Sex Marriage?
Many of you may be aware of an ongoing case in Utah involving Peter and Mary Danzig. I’m not going to summarize here, as you can read about the details on various sites, but I’ll post links to the back-stories below. This post is just about opening a conversation. The core issues I feel are under debate are about how much involvement the LDS church officially has in the opposition of same sex marriage. The Danzigs resigned their membership because they felt the church was pressuring them to act against their own consciences. The church says (in a very...
Can Mormons Be Savvy Voters?
There’s a lot of talk in the media and across the ’nacle to the effect that Romney’s Mormon identity was the critical factor that torpedoed his candidacy. The argument is that a large percentage of Republican primary voters have anti-Mormon sentiments that kept them from supporting the candidate who, by the numbers, shared all the values positions that mattered to them most. The comparison has specifically been drawn with Log Cabin Republicans: Are Mormons a second group in the GOP’s big tent that find themselves despised by their fellow Republicans? If that’s where Mormons find themselves, we should ask: ...
Episode 18: Same-Sex Marriage and Mormonism
In this episode J. Nelson-Seawright, John Hamer, David King Landrith and Rosalynde Welch discuss same-sex marriage within Mormonism.
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