A recent law passed in Indiana has put the state in an unusual spotlight. Proponents claim that their law uses essentially the same language as the 1993 federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) that passed with near unanimous support. However, one thing Indiana has done that the federal statute did not is expand the reach of the religious protections to include private companies and cases where the government is not involved. This has led some to claim that people can use religion to discriminate against gays and lesbians. Continue Reading »
Missionary work in Mongolia
I had an interesting conversation this weekend. A met a man who had served as mission president in Mongolia. I didn’t know much about Mongolia, and thought it was part of China. At one time it was, I guess, but the Soviets took over after World War 2, and forced the country to use the Cyrillic alphabet when writing Chinese, which was quite a difficult transition. Following the fall of the Berlin Wall, Mongolia declared independence from the Soviet Union, and is still an independent country today.
LDS Church politics in Utah
Representative Carl Wimmer with LDS Apostle L. Tom Perry
There are some people who think that the LDS Church should not be allowed to lobby with regards to political issues. I am not one of those people. However, I think there are tactics the church should avoid, or they cross over boundaries with regards to the separation of church and state.
Carl Wimmer served in the Utah legislature from 2007-2012. Continue Reading »
Council of 50 – Q&A with Jedidiah Rogers
Jedidiah Rogers has recently published a book on the Council of Fifty. For those of you who have never heard of the Council of Fifty, it was a “quorum” set up by Joseph Smith in preparation for his U.S. Presidential campaign in 1844. One of the most unusual aspect of this council was the fact that it contained 3 non-Mormon members. Some people have wondered if the Council of Fifty had done some nefarious deeds. I asked author Jedidiah Rogers some questions, so I thought it would be interesting to post a little Q&A. He will stop by and answer any other question you have, so feel free to participate in this online discussion! Continue Reading »
Unhealthy Baby Abortion
A few years ago, I home taught an older gentleman. His daughter was recently married, and discovered that the baby she was carrying had serious medical issues. The baby was missing the right side of her body, and the doctor told the couple that the baby would be born alive, but live just hours due to so many medical issues. The mother still had months to go in her pregnancy. The doctor was correct. The baby was born with serious problems, the father gave her a name and a blessing in the labor and delivery room, and the baby died after just an hour or so. The couple has gone on to have another healthy baby. Continue Reading »
D&C 132 and Other Men’s Wives
One of the things I love about blogging is that it helps me learn, and better articulate my positions. I’m not sure why polygamy is such a hot topic lately, but it is. I enjoyed Kristine A’s post at Wheat and Tares this week: Joseph Smith’s Multiple Wives and Why I Care A Lot. It reminded me of one of my old posts, My Perspective on Polygamy. I’ve learned a lot about polygamy in the 6 years since I wrote that post, and I’m still learning things. (Back then I sounded much like Kristine does today.) I’m beginning to question whether the revelation in D&C 132 is a true revelation. Continue Reading »
Remembering Black Protests of the 1960s-70s
In my previous post on how to agitate faithfully, I noted that the only revelations we have received in the past 125 years came about as a result of agitation. With regards to polygamy, the US government agitated in such a coercive manner that we got the Manifesto in Official Declaration 1 in which Wilford Woodruff declared “I now publicly declare that my advice to the Latter-day Saints is to refrain from contracting any marriage forbidden by the law of the land.”
With February being Black History Month, as well as a few comments declaring that we should never agitate, and that the 1978 revelation was in spite of the protests, I thought it might be a good idea to re-visit some of these protests that have been largely forgotten by many of us because they occurred 50 years ago. From the book Saints, Slaves, and Blacks by Newell Bringhurst, page 180, Continue Reading »
Congo Q&A with Margaret Young
February is Black History Month. Margaret Young, who teaches writing at BYU, has been heavily involved in writing LDS black history. She has helped write the play, I Am Jane, a story about early black Mormon Jane Manning James, and has produced 2 films about black Mormons. Her first film came out in 2008 and was called Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons. It is an awesome film that I highly recommend. I’ve already referenced it in several previous posts: Continue Reading »
How do we Agitate Faithfully?
In the previous post on my blog Dehlin and Bennett Put on Notice, I was surprised that the discussion of April Young Bennett’s resignation of the board of Ordain Women, instead of John Dehlin’s pending excommunication. (Incidentally, Dr. Nancy Ross of Dixie State University in St. George, Utah and Jessica Finnigan at King’s College London are conducting a poll asking about opinions about Mormon feminist activism and some of the recent changes in the LDS Church.)
The discussion turned to the question of (1) proper terminology in talking about Ordain Women, and (2) how to appropriately agitate for change. For example, some commenters felt that April’s comment that the LDS church was guilty of “censor[ing] ideas” by forcing her to resign her position in Ordain Women. There is a sentiment that the term “censoring” is an inflammatory term that conjures images of book burning, which the LDS Church clearly doesn’t do. However, the dictionary definition includes the ideas of
1) an official who monitors books, plays, news reports, etc. For the purpose of suppressing parts deemed objectionable on moral, political or objectionable grounds. 2) any person who supervises the manners or morality of others.
Up for Awards
Wheat and Tares is hosting their annual awards. I am up for the following awards:
- Best Personal Post – Facing Your Parents Mortality
- Best Post on the Temple – Temple Prep Suggestions
So, go over there and vote for me! (Yes, I am campaigning.)
Mormon Heretic 