Sunday in Outer Blogness: Personal Narratives Edition!

It all started when I read this story from the bizarre-yet-eerily-familiar parallel universe of growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness. Then HH had a nostalgic-weird-coincidence moment. Is it something in the air? Or is it “Talk Thursday” that has folks reminiscing about life-altering memories? And about finding your personal history’s place in history? And in images…?

In celebrity narratives, I thought it was a joke or parody when I read that Sarah Palin wrote a memoir called “Going Rogue.” I’m still not entirely sure. Fortunately, there was a bunch of discussion of it that may clear this up: here, here, here, and here. But can Palin’s book compete Elna Baker’s Mormon comedy memoir (which has the Swearing Elders swooning)?

On an unrelated note, Outer Blogness is ringing with follow-up commentary about the SLC anti-discrimination law: Holly Noelle says “Well, Duh” and goes back to debating gay marriage. Daniel Midgely gives us the latest from Australia, and reports on a strange offering sold at Deseret Book called “Encouraging Heterosexuality“. Kerfuffler brings news from Portugal and argues that “it is a grotesque violation of the separation of church and state for the State to prefer the definitions of marriage of some denominations over others. Many religions already accept a definition of marriage that includes gay unions, so all these faiths are being discriminated against by our government’s policy.” And T&S has an interesting discussion about the Mormon leadership supporting a law from which the CoJCoL-dS is, itself, exempt.

chanson

C. L. Hanson is the friendly Swiss-French-American ExMormon atheist mom living in Switzerland! Follow me on mastadon at @chanson@social.linux.pizza or see "letters from a broad" for further adventures!!

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10 Responses

  1. LdChino says:

    The author of that T&S post:

    While at church this morning it occurred to me that the church may have misunderstood the legal meaning of sexual orientation … I suspect this means that the SLC ordinance requires employers and landlords to accept gay sex in a way the law does not require them to accept unmarried heterosexual sex or adultery.

    Matt “my sympathies are libertarian” Evans was brave to post on a topic that he obviously knows nothing about (anti-discrimination law). But when it comes to his admission that he spends sacrament meeting pondering gay sex, perhaps discretion truly is the better part of valor.

  2. chanson says:

    lol, you can hardly blame him. It’s surely a more interesting topic than whatever was being discussed in Sac. Mtg.

    It’s interesting, though, that he claims landlords in SLC have the right to discriminate against unmarried cohabiting couples. Is that true?

  3. chanson says:

    Ah, now that I read the debate a little further, it looks like he’s wrong on that one. It’s actually kind of an amusing discussion…

  4. LdChino says:

    I just hope it doesn’t meet the same fate as Matt’s Marriott Porn post (which disappeared down the ol’ memory hole, as T&S discussions that become too amusing tend to do).

    If I thought there was a decent chance of Matt’s post staying up, it might be fun to ask Bill Marriott to take a break from blogging over at his personal blog and weigh in at T&S 😉

    E.g., from Bill’s blog:

    The Facts About Marriott and California’s Proposition 8 –

    http://www.blogs.marriott.com/default.asp?item=2284808

    … Neither I, nor the company, contributed to the campaign to pass Proposition 8.

    … I am very careful about separating my personal faith and beliefs from how we run our business.

    … We embrace all people as our customers, associates, owners and franchisees regardless of race, sex, gender identity or sexual orientation.

    … I’m Bill Marriott, and thanks for helping me keep Marriott on the Move.

  5. chanson says:

    I hear ya. This is the most interesting discussion they’ve had in a while. 😉

  6. LdChino says:

    Apparently, Sutherland Institute President Paul Mero has announced that hell be delivering a special address tomorrow night: Why I am a Conservative: The Relationship Between Mormonism and Conservative Intellectual Thought.

    Hopefully, Paul will expand on this comment that he made last year:

    My point is that I have witnessed apostasy over these sorts of issues. And I pray that LDS members hung up on this particular issue of gay marriage can recover their reason and faith to, at least, keep their struggle of faith to themselves so that the pressures of apostasy dont overwhelm them.

    For those of you who consider yourselves faithful Latter-day Saints, take a step back, above the trees of contentious debate, and look introspectively at which way you are facing. For those of you supporting gay marriage, you will look around and see your Brethren across the chasm of faith.

    Legal arguments, political contentions, and speculations will come and go. Anybody can be right or wrong at any given time. But for faithful Latter-day Saints, this is a no-brainer. Face the right way or you might find yourselves out of the Church of your own doing.

    Not preachingI just care about you all.

    Air kisses back at you, Paul. By the way, your Jeff Reynolds is saying this is now no more than a public policy debate. If thats the tack you intend to take in your special address, I trust youll spend a moment to explain your comment quoted above.

    (x-posted from T&S in anticipation of that thread’s imminent removal)

  7. chanson says:

    OMG, that thread is too funny!

    It looks like they’ve closed it but won’t delete it. 😀

  8. LdChino says:

    It looks like theyve closed it but wont delete it.

    Mormon progress on so many fronts this week!

    Of course, BCC quickly responded by producing their own homo-themed closed thread.

    Watching how things went down this time around at T&S, and reading that last comment #112 on the BCC thread, the Bloggernacle A-listers have apparently decided to allow their digs to devolve into pro-compassion echo chambers.

    Thank goodness for that NothingWavering.org aggregator. My favorite post that’s currently up on the front page over at NW is this one:

    Blog: Richman Ramblings
    Slogan: It ain’t affiliated with nothing.
    Current post begins:

    “I wholeheartedly endorse the work that Evergreen International does. If you’re considering a charitable contribution this year, please consider donating to Evergreen …”

    Tomorrow on Richman Ramblings: An unaffiliated tribute to Cialis.

  9. Chino Blanco says:

    Me again. Just wanted to drop links to three video clips that I uploaded today:

    1) Utah Senator Chris Buttars Doesn’t Want The Gays Stuffing It Down His Throat All The Time (his words, at the 1:15 mark)

    2) Gayle Ruzicka: Mormon church is wrong to oppose discrimination against LGBT Utahns

    3) Sutherland Institute: Mormon support for fair housing and employment = “giving a mouse a cookie”

  10. Chino Blanco says:

    Dammit, here’s that second link:

    2) Gayle Ruzicka: Mormon church is wrong to oppose discrimination against LGBT Utahns

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