Skip to content
Main Street Plaza

A Community for Anyone Interested in Mormonism.

Main Street Plaza

A Community for Anyone Interested in Mormonism.

Sunday in Outer Blogness: Mormon Community Edition!

chanson, August 19, 2012

Spencer Bagley wrote an interesting piece on his feelings of connection with Mormonism:

I reached under the bench in front of me for a Book of Mormon, so I could think about a scripture that had recently been on my mind. I held the spine in my hand and was about to open the book when I suddenly noticed the yellowing of the edges of the pages, where thousands of thumbs had touched. I ran my thumb across the spot, and I was suddenly struck with a great sense of community, of continuity, of multiplicity. Look at how all these people before me have turned these pages, just like I am doing right now and I was suddenly sure that they had found the comfort, the light, and the knowledge that they had sought, just like I had on so many occasions before. Those people are my people, their ways are my ways, and their book is my book.

It reminded me of Seth’s remark about preferring Mormon history because Mormons are family. I’m sure a lot of others here feel a connectedness with Mormonism, despite being at different places with respect to belief and practice:

The peacewriter is at peace in the middle way whereas postmormon girl has been having a less positive experience with the believing Mormons in her life. Dan’s ideas about homosexuals have evolved. AintNoMoNoMo is looking forward to sex — whereas her husband can’t get over church-related anxiety, and Dave is wondering what to live for. Alone and Unobserved has stopped having Mormon nightmares though.

Speaking of Mormon community, City Weekly ran a positive article about Troy Williams and Mormons Building Bridges:

His religion left an indelible mark on him: The most beautiful thing about Mormonism is that it cultivates a deep sense of belonging and community, he says. I was lost for years without that.

And J G-W also has some reports from the gay Mormon community, and Dad’s Primal Scream recommends resources for Latter-day Saint families with LGBT children.

It kind of makes one wonder how Ayn Rand became the philosophical leader of conservative Christians. (And how about that well regulated militia?)

We also got a little taste this week of what Mormons are like! Ziff did some current research on the “Why are Mormons so…?” question that Chino tackled a few years ago. Also, we learn that Mormonism remains decidedly American and wealthy adherents like Mitt Romney are its dominant revenue stream. (Turns out it’s not the Polynesian Culture Center.) And check out the offerings at BYU Campus Education week!

Tracy M. shared her experiences with divorce, and Monica and Serge told the tale of how they almost got divorced. And, speaking of Mormon families, My SiL posted her take on our big family reunion (where you can see our rainbow of T-shirts!)

Be sure to congratulate Mel for her short story getting named as a finalist for the 2012 Salamander Fiction Prize!

There were some interesting philosophical discussions, on the problems with avoiding the appearance of evil and with the atonement narrative. Plus don’t miss Bible study!

Hope you’re having a great Summer!

Sunday in Outer Blogness

Post navigation

Previous post
Next post

Related Posts

Sunday in Outer Blogness: What do Mormons believe? edition!

March 27, 2011November 9, 2011

First and foremost — Outer Blogness has gotten a major technical upgrade!!! This is such a huge and vibrant community that it deserves its own page where you can get a clear view of what’s up. It also means faster loading of our main page and more space in our…

Read More

Sunday in Outer Blogness: Ketchup edition!

January 27, 2013

I hope you’ve all taken the time to look over the list of nominees for the Brodie Awards! If not, you still have until February 6 to vote. Over the last two weeks, Mormon Feminism was in the news — specifically the same folks who brought you pants in church…

Read More

Sunday in Outer Blogness: no rest until we’re done edition!

November 23, 2008November 9, 2011

So the visceral anger over Proposition 8 has mostly passed, and Outer Blogness has moved on to processing, analysis, and planning the next steps. On resigning from the CoJCoLDS: Kullervo’s doing it, and I’m still working on my letter. I’d have mine done already, but I’m not sure I can…

Read More

Comments (2)

  1. Ren says:
    August 20, 2012 at 6:16 am

    Love, LOVE, the reunion tshirts! Being from a verysmallfamily big ol’ reunions are fascinating.

    Spencer Bagley’s story… totally relatable for me. Joining the church was in part me looking for the comfort and safety that was elusive in my family.

  2. chanson says:
    August 21, 2012 at 2:17 am

    Thanks, I’m glad you like the t-shirts!!

    It’s true that big family reunions are interesting. We basically have to have the equivalent of a convention every ten years in order to stay in touch — and so that the new people (kids and S.O.s) can meet their relatives.

    The t-shirt concept was to help everyone feel connected with the family — to help everyone see how they fit in and how they’re connected to everyone else. Each color (except purple) represents one of Grandma’s ten kids. You can see that only five of her ten kids made it to the reunion (though the black-shirt team sent one representative).

    I also gave everyone a little star sticker to stick on their dot on the family-tree diagram on their t-shirt. The kids loved that!

    I liked Spencer Bagley’s story too. It’s natural to feel this sort of connection — even if you have various objections to the way the institutional church is run. That’s why I think it’s unfortunate that the CoJCoL-dS encourages such an attitude of “you’re with us 100% or you’re against us.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Mormon Alumni Association Books

Latest Comments:

  1. Cara B. Klein on My conspiracy theory #2April 26, 2025

    Wow, I had never thought about it in that way before You have really opened my eyes to a new…

  2. chanson on LDS vs LGBTQ:  Nathan Kitchen sheds false binariesApril 16, 2025

    The haiku at the end is lovely. Sounds like a great book!

  3. Donna Banta on LDS vs LGBTQ:  Nathan Kitchen sheds false binariesApril 14, 2025

    I imagine anyone who has tried to change the church from within will identify with Kitchen's story. I especially like…

  4. Johnny Townsend on LDS vs LGBTQ:  Nathan Kitchen sheds false binariesApril 14, 2025

    This was a painful review to read. For many years, I held the same hope, that the LDS church would…

  5. LDS vs LGBTQ:  Nathan Kitchen sheds false binaries – Main Street Plaza on It’s Time to Vote for the 2024 Brodie Awards!!!April 14, 2025

    […] sincere acceptance is not a priority. Fortunately, this is what he exemplifies in his memoir, the Brodie-nominated Boughs of…

8: The Mormon Proposition Acceptance of Gays Add new tag Affirmation angry exmormon awards Book Reviews BYU comments Conformity Dallin H. Oaks DAMU disaffected mormon underground Dustin Lance Black Ex-Mormon Exclusion policy Excommunicated exmormon faith Family feminism Gay Gay Love Gay Marriage Gay Relationships General Conference Happiness Homosexual Homosexuality LDS LGBT LGBTQ Link Bomb missionaries Modesty Mormon Mormon Alumni Association Mormonism motherhood peace politics Polygamy priesthood ban Sunstone temple

Awards

William Law X-Mormon of the Year:

  • 2023: Adam Steed
  • 2022: David Archuleta
  • 2021: Jeff T. Green
  • 2020: Jacinda Ardern
  • 2019: David Nielsen
  • 2018: Sam Young
  • 2017: Savannah
  • 2016: Jeremy Runnells
  • 2015: John Dehlin
  • 2014: Kate Kelly
  • 2013: J. Seth Anderson and Michael Ferguson
  • 2012: David Tweede
  • 2011: Joanna Brooks
  • 2010: Monica Bielanko
  • 2009: Walter Kirn

Other Cool Sites!

WasMormon.org
©2025 Main Street Plaza | WordPress Theme by SuperbThemes