Sunday in Outer Blogness: Community Membership Edition!

So, how many of you here joined in this year’s mass resignation from the CoJCoL-dS? It made quite a stir in the press!!

In that other touchy Mormon statistic (money), Mike S came up with an intriguing strategy:

NOTE: If you use Church accounting practices, you could NOT pay tithing each year, but just invest it so that someday when you DO pay tithing, you can pay even MORE. Kind of like they do with humanitarian aid where they invest money in billion dollar malls NOW so someday they can do something useful with even more money.

Meanwhile, the Bloggernacle is abuzz with analysis of Daniel Peterson’s recent fall from grace. Was the shake-up a good thing or a bad thing? What does it mean for the future (and history) of Mormon apologetics?

Are Mormons Christian or not? It can be upsetting to be excluded, whether for heretical doctrines or for being a stranger in a stranger land or for being an oxymoron (gay and Mormon):

Once, years ago, one of my stories published in a Mormon magazine was nominated for a Whitney award sponsored by the Association for Mormon Letters. But none of my work since then even gets so much as a review. Why? Because theyve discovered Im no longer Mormon.

One of the eligibility requirements for AML is that only Mormon literature written by Mormons is worth considering. The Book of Mormon musical might win a Tony, but it will never win a Whitney. It doesnt count.

Of course some are making it work — just check out the photos of Mormons marching in Pride parades!!

(Plus see these other allies — and see Thmazing’s solution to the Mormons vs. marriage problem.)

Our own community is growing, though! First, please visit this new blog from one of our authors here! And Kuri’s back in action!

A lot of people seem to be struggling this week, though: remembering an abusive relationship, disturbing childhood memories (and some perhaps relevant parenting analysis), dealing with being shunned, learning that talk is cheap…unless you’re talking to a therapist, family health problems, dropping out of school, drowning in phlegm, feeling frustrated with the CoJCoL-dS, and generally having a less-than-satisfying day. Folks, I have never seen so many struggling posts in a single week in all my years of doing SiOB — so please visit each others’ blogs and spread the virtual hugs around!!

And check out this great counter-move to the people who insist that motherhood is a full-time job — if and only if your husband is paying for it.

In books, here’s a review of the 19th wife, plus Natalie Collins has some new books out.

Some of the discussions were church related, like this whole new site on Mormons and masturbation. Mindy is applying the “Fake it till you make it” strategy. Dan contemplates the futility of indexing work for the dead, and the other Daniel remembers his first failed rapture. Mormon411 has some ideas for getting the Mormons off your porch. Lifelongguy is remembering Helen Mar Kimball. And don’t miss these terrors of Testimony Meeting!

Happy reading!! 😀