Ever since the FLDS raid in 2006, and the media calling the FLDS “fundamentalist Mormons” (a term the Church itself came up with in the 1940s to describe the offshoot), the Church has been eager to monopolize the term “Mormon.” It has asserted that, in the interests of resolving public…
Author: Alan
About those International Conversion Rates
Church spokesman Michael Otterson wrote recently about just how white the Church is not. Although, naturally, Utah will always be associated with the church … today there are more Mormons outside the U.S. than in it. Today, Mormons are Bolivians, Ghanaians, Koreans and Russians, all an integral part of the…
Romney signs NOM pledge for anti-gay marriage Constitutional Amendment
*sigh* Is it just me, or does it seem like the more the pendulum swings in the direction of equality, the more forces connive to swing it back in the other direction greater than before? The pledge Romney (along with two other GOP hopefuls) signed recently is a commitment to…
Is Warren Jeffs really that different from Joseph Smith?
Jeffs, after staying quiet during his trial, opened up to the courtroom yesterday on the matter of his having raped a 12-year-old and impregnating a 15-year old. He blathered for almost an hour, like he was sermonizing. He said, You are now touching that which is sacred. This must cease….
Mormon Beards redux
There was a heated discussion here a few months ago about mixed-orientation marriages. What doesn’t feel resolved for me is how to assess the patriarchy gay Mormon men engage in when they marry women. A couple aspects that seem obvious are the fact that the power of the priesthood runs…
Would the Holy Spirit be offended if He were trademarked?
The Church is a corporation. This is not meant to be a mean-spirited statement. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is literally a trademark of Intellectual Reserve, Inc. The for-profit ventures of the Church are here. One might wonder why the Church doesn’t just call itself The Corporation…
What is Respectful Proselytizing?
In some countries, proselytizing a religion other than the religion of that land is illegal. Many countries in the Arab world prohibit the proselytizing of any religion but Islam (and whether being an Iranian Christian is really all that difficult, I wouldn’t know). Nepal is considering adding proselytizing to its…
How Much Space Should we Leave for Homophobia?
I came across this article in the Advocate that lays out the following argument: since the majority of Americans don’t think think gay/lesbian intimacy is morally wrong or sinful (based on a 2010 poll), we now to need to allow for some discrimination and relinquish the ‘zero tolerance’ mind-set. In…
Be Fruitful and Multiply…or how about Not?
The United Nations released a report this week that the world’s population could top 10 billion by the year 2100, raising shortages in food and water in many areas. The NYT gives a good summary. A major concern is Africa, as the population on that continent may triple by 2100…
Orientation, Selfishness and Female Ordination
Many Mormons understand their orientation to be to their spouse. This is commendable, because it demonstrates dedication and fidelity. However, a spouse for Latter-day Saints means someone of the opposite gender. Homosexuality gets compartmentalized as an affliction that can lead to selfishness if not kept in check. This selfishness is…