Last Call for Nominations (X-MooTY & Brodies)!

chanson, December 30, 2021December 30, 2021

We’ve got some great nominations so far — keep ’em coming! I’ll be posting the polls here at Main Street Plaza shortly. The polls for X-Mormon of the Year will be posted on January 2, 2022, and the polls for the Brodie Awards will be posted on January 9, 2022.

You can continue posting nominations here until those dates. Here’s what we’ve got so far:

X-Mormon of the Year 2020:

Jacinda Ardern, ExMo and Prime Minister of New Zealand for her country’s handling of the Covid 19 pandemic.
Any other contenders…?

X-Mormon of the Year 2021:

James Huntsman: In 2021, he filed a lawsuit against the CoJC-L-dS for fraud (using tithing funds for commercial interests rather than charity). Although the lawsuit was thrown out, it shed light on how a for-profit corporation can benefit financially by dressing itself up as a church.
ExMo Lex who explained “soaking” to the world outside of the BYU bubble in a viral TikTok. (Until this year, I didn’t think it was a real thing myself…)
Jeff T. Green, the tech billionaire who publicly resigned from the CoJCoL-dS while donating $600K to an LGTBQ group.
Matt Easton who came out as gay during his BYU valedictorian speech. The speech was actually during 2019, but the impact was felt in 2021 when it inspired LDS Apostle Jeffrey Holland to give a hugely problematic speech about homosexuality.
Russ/Rusty: I’m not sure exactly who this is, but the person who accepted the nomination is here. Clarifications on what he did in 2021 would be very welcome. 😀
Michael Quinn, who is probably more a candidate for a lifetime achievement award than for X-MoOTY 2021. He died in 2021.

There were a few nominations that either were not clear or did not meet the guidelines:

Bill Reel for his podcasts — I would like to move this one to the Brodie Awards, below. X-MoOTY is intended for actions/activism that make news, whereas the Brodies are for creative works. Same story for Johnny Harris.
Posthumous award for Robert Ritner — it would probably make sense to also offer lifetime-achievement awards, but this award is specifically for actions during the year in question.
Wesley Snipes — Does he have any connection with Mormonism? This one could potentially be a valid nomination if we could get some clarification.
Kristen Sinema — I had initially nominated her, but nobody liked that choice, so I withdraw my nomination. I can put her back in again if someone else wants to nominate her.

Brodie Awards 2020/2021:

Best LDS-Interest Podcast or Video Channel:

Best LDS-interest Book:

Racism by Proxy, by Johnny Townsend
Sealed: An Unexpected Journey into the Heart of Grace, by Katie Langston
Queer Mormon Theology, by Blair Ostler
Tabernacles of Clay, by Taylor G. Petrey
I would like to divide this into three categories as requested (memoir, analysis and fiction), but each category needs at least three nominations.

Most Insightful Analysis Piece:

Blue States, You’re the Problem, by Johnny Harris
The Rise of the Celebrated Celibate and Single Sexual Minority in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by Nathan Kitchen
One more nomination needed here.

Best Exit Story:

Why I left the Mormon Church, by Johnny Harris
Two more nominations needed here.

Funniest Humor Piece:

Pioneer Day: The World’s Greatest Holiday, by Eli McCann
Two more nominations needed here.

Most Entertaining Review:

The Long Road Back: A 1965 Mormon Film About Chastity. I Think, by Eli McCann
Zelph on the Shelf reads “Charly”
One more nomination needed here.

Remember, you have until January 9, 2022 to get in your Brodies nominations! Please include links (and write me at chanson dot exmormon at gmail dot com if your nomination gets caught in the spam filter).

I look forward to seeing more of the best of the Ex-Mormon world of 2020/2021!