The closer Mitt gets to the Oval Office, the more the heat turns up on Mormonism, to the point where even Mormons are worried about it potentially accelerating the rate of disaffection. (Some of the most unlikely people are leaving these days.) The church itself has started acting a little funny. They keep producing questionable infographics. (It was quite the week for infographics — this version is hilarious!!) On the other hand, there are still plenty of Mormons who would be more than happy to see Mitt win.
Mitt would be better off listening to the Bloggernacle. Some of the church’s dirty laundry (like the race problem) will get aired, regardless of the PR department’s efforts. And part of the disaffection is due to simply not having a place for people who are different (and the place for half of the same people isn’t that great). That and the boring meetings.
Mitt hopes his wife will help with his problems with women and likeability issues. (Note: with the war on women heating up in the US, I hope to be seeing reports of the nationwide rallies soon.) He wants to make government small enough to fit in your bedroom. Meanwhile, issues like the problems with teaching serving testing instead of vice-versa and a real look at the problems with lack of healthcare don’t seem to get enough airtime.
For Mo current events, I think some of the best commentary has been Chino’s headlines for the exmo reddit: “Why are Democrats anti-Mormon?” is the latest wrong question of this silly season. The question that deserves an answer is “Why are Mormons anti-Democrat?”, We’re building a new exmo world for wired LDS youth, but I won’t dismiss folks like JB. I missed hearing advice like hers back when I was 19. Mormon or not, when you’re young and precocious (or simply big-hearted and awkward), it’s nice to hear a grown-up preach courage to pioneer spirits., “The group noted that gay representatives have been meeting for three years with LDS public-affairs officials, but never church authorities.” Welcome to the show, Soulforce. Next time, simply park your rig overnight at BYU with gay-friendly bumper stickers and keep the cameras rolling., and Deseret News finally posts a relevant headline: If we’re so happy, why are we suicidal? (spoiler on that last one: no, Deseret News doesn’t think the church itself might be making its members suicidal). Any comments on what happened to Denise Grahm? See also Kuri’s GoodReads.
In personal stories, Miguel visited Temple Square, and Seth attended Phoenix Pride. SoSaysMe has been contemplating forgiveness, LittleMissAttitude has been time-travelling and Foxy has been sparring on Facebook. Angela has been continuing her Journey Through Mormonism series and Lynnette has been chronicling her feminist history.
In theology, there was quite the discussion on the efficacy of prayer. What does it prove about the church and about the individual person? This study might shed some light on the question. And what are prophets good for? Also this piece on LDS ideas on human origins is interesting, but contains one statement that I’d be curious to see the reference for (specifically, who in the said there were people before Adam and Eve?):
In response to DNA issues, the Mormon Church subtly announced that ancient people from the Middle East mixed with humans whose ancestors migrated to America before the creation of Adam and Eve.
In books, check out Ingrid Ricks’s new book, as well as new reviews of Heaven Up Here and a review of Why I Stay.
I had such grand plans to get so much done this weekend!!! (Many of them were undone by partying all afternoon/evening Saturday with a cool exmo friend, others by the usual culprit.) Anyway, I was hoping to watch all of the mo-related videos that showed up in my RSS reader, and pick one for the sidebar here. So, I’ll pass the task along to you — have a look and tell me which one you like best:
And there were some Mormon culture videos that I’m not sure I can embed: Daymon found and reviewed this rare treasure from 1960’s correlation, and Polygamy Chic found this video on polygamist fashion.
To all a great week!!
The fourth link (“Some of the most unlikely people are leaving these days”) is something I don’t think I’ve ever read before and as far as I can tell it’s the equivalent of uncut exmo cocaine.
lol, so true!!
A FLAK regular sent me that link as something our readers here might find interesting,
The linked post is by a FLAK regular who has posted over the years various problems trying to get along with her super-Mormon parents. Now the super-Mormon parents have themselves left the church — you can hardly ask for a happier exmo happy ending than that! 😉
It’s so interesting. Every group or organization makes mistakes. I think it’s the ability to accept responsibility for those mistakes — e.g. denying blacks priesthood — and talk openly about those mistakes that could make Mormonism more accepted by the mainstream. It’s when the PR spin happens and everyone tries to put a clamp on it that the monster grows. Definitely going to be an interesting presidential race.
BTW..thank you for highlighting my new story collection!
Ingrid @3 — I agree. Being capable of acknowledging errors and apologizing for them goes a lot farther than slick spin when it comes to inspiring trust.
One thing that makes it hard for the CoJCoL-dS to apologize for errors, though, is that it puts them in the position of having to explain how the error happened and what they’ll do to avoid the error in the future. But this is incompatible with the core belief they want to maintain, namely that the guys at the top have a direct line to God and will never lead people the wrong way. So they’re stuck doing a lot of “Hay, look over there!”-style responses to sticky issues…
Christ went to the Jews first, then all others, don’t think He was a racist = )
I am a happy convert who joined the church almost 13 years ago. I also am a very proud supporter of Ron Paul!! Mitt is a Big Government, U.N. puppet, just like all of the other prez hopefuls, except Dr. Paul of course!
People don’t understand Freedom, either it comes from God or it comes from Government, Right? God gives you all the freedom in the world, but he also warns of consequences, natural ones. If you run a stop sign what could happen….
I don’t think we should hurt anybody, but I do think people are complicated and most are so willing and ready to put on the boxing gloves to defend themselves.
The message of freedom, via. the Constitution is our only way out of the mess we have gotten ourselves into. Gov’t runs just about everything, now they will tell us what to do with our thoughts, actions and beliefs? Sounds pretty scary to me, doesn’t anyone read about the history of oppression in any form? Void of free thought.
There may be other religions who want to oppress and force their will upon a group, but it is not the LDS church = ) Defense is not the same as offense right?
Left vs. Right, Rich vs. Poor, Gay vs. Straight, Religious vs. Non, Black vs. Right, don’t you see it, it’s called Social or Class warfare, pit people against each other, Divide, then see what happens….Conquer. Divide and Conquer.
Let people be, as long as you are not forcing your will or boxing glove upon another human, let be. I believe in the Constitution, without it you have slavery and…..Communism, really, no freedom, no privacy, no land ownership, scary.
We need to unite as Americans to preserve freedom for all, not force upon another because of selfishness, or defensiveness, but freedom. Freedom does not mean freedom to hurt another, that is not what it means, we still have to have laws and protect the innocent. No candidate for office is going to preserve freedom unless they uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution.
Ron Paul is the only candidate who would keep U.S. from tanking, which it is about to do. The dollar is going to tank, why? Inflation because of printing of fiat/ or fake money, over spending, the dollar loses it’s value then it is worth nothing. It has happened in other countries! Forget the divide and conquer, come together for freedom, yes even from God. I trust God before I trust the guys in control of your money, your land, your laws and your ? At least you can leave the church, that’s freedom. Ask the Chinese about freedom……….Freedom vs. Force which do you choose…..The Constitution is freedom from force. Force is evil, period.
Ron Paul 2012 The 2 party system is controlled……..which is why Paul’s voice is being denied………Peace and Love!