If you happen to live outside of Deseret and the colonies, a certain degree of social isolation is unavoidable for Mormons. Our Mormon experience sets us apart from our peers and our families. Mormons all over the world are members of a tiny minority that has to rely on the self-constraint of the majority to practice our religion.
Deseret Mormons do not appreciate that enough. To many of them, the ACLU is an anti-Mormon, liberal, and elitist organization. Federal courts consist of activist judges who are forcing us to treat our Jewish school mates and students with respect. To Mormon families in Texas, federal courts and the ACLU are the last resort to protect themselves against the religious imposition of the Christian right.
It is unfortunate, that our organization has once more become the driving force behind denying human rights to another vulnerable minority. As a teenager in 1978, I was hoping that those days were over.
Today, it turns out that Mormons have raised 77% of the funds in support of Proposition 8, which aims to deny marriage equality to our gay children and neighbors.
Minority Mormons are paying the price for that behavior every day. Taking the rights of others undermines our efforts to defend our own rights.
Thanks to our anti-gay agenda, our neighbors will regard us with trepidation and suspicion for decades to come. Thank heavens, there are a few Mormons who are willing to recover our community’s honor by speaking out.
They are the salt of the earth and Mormons everywhere in the world are in their debt.
Wow. The thing is, it will only forestall the inevitable, and will bring yet another thing that the leaders have to explain later on. Oh well. With a little luck, I’ll live long enough to see it try to wriggle out another pseudorevelation to go alongside the 1978 race/priesthood revelation. It will be fun to see what the future holds.
Wow, 77%!!
I think this is a bad move for the church, not just morally but also politically and strategically, as a fellow minority…
I’m hoping that Packer becomes supreme dictator and leads Mormonism into even greater obscurity and scorn (because I’m sure he’ll never give in to pressure to be more accepting). I think only then will people be able to start thinking for themselves instead of letting a bunch of old white men dictate their lives and turn them into bigots for all to scorn.
Actions have consequences. Actions determine reputation. The LDS Church has seriously damaged its reputation with its recent focus on fighting gay marriage. I’m very sorry to see this. It’s divisive and helps no one. This is a serious misstep.
Fred Karger thinks that the brethren feel a need to get street cred with Evangelicals. I would not be surprised though if there is resentment among Evangelical leaders because the Mormon effort highlights their embarrassing failure to get anything done.
On FLAK, there is one report of a stake president who has canceled the street campaigning to stop alienating his Evangelical partners.
May be, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.