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Sunday in Outer Blogness: Community and Connection Edition!

Posted: January 29th, 2012, 2:35am EST by chanson

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Who says leaving the church means losing your community? The Mormon Stories Conference has been getting fantastic reviews (it’s better than church!):

The cool thing is that it’s a mixed group of believing mormons, questioning mormons, and exmormons, but the focus is on accepting everyone where they are at, not judging each other for beliefs, ending the exclusion and hostility and rejection, appreciating everyone who has the courage to say what is true even when it gets you rejected or cast out, etc.

On a less positive note, we have ex-Mormons who give ex-Mormons a bad name including folks who don’t get that one person’s experiences don’t have to negate another’s (see empathy). Tangentially related: there was a bit of discussion about orientation and choice. Personally, I think my life would have been simpler if I could choose whom to fall in love with and whom not to fall in love with and make it happen by simple force of will. Simpler, definitely, and a whole lot less interesting. But that’s just me — your mileage may vary.

For those who couldn’t make it to that conference (cause you’re stuck in Europe or something), we can all get together across the Internet. For example, participate in the Brodies — my goal is to have the polls ready by Wednesday, so hurry with those last few nominations! Maybe someday we can all get together IRL at the atheist temple.

Outer Blogness was full of fascinating discussions this week!! Let’s challenge some gender-role expectations: Should a man feel guilty about being a stay-at-home-dad? (Part of me says “of course not!” yet OTOH, if we want men to get the full experience, we shouldn’t deny them magic of feeling guilty. ) SashimiX wrote some good advice (with a little help from Mórrígan) for virgin straight males entering the world of sex. (BTW: everything culture teaches us about the hymen is wrong.)

This (seemingly unrelated) batch actually fits together as an interesting discussion: Oxymormon girl discusses how the church fails to cultivate an environment for independent thought, and Amy has a relevant object lesson. Tarbet contemplates freedom, and Steve Wells discusses nit-picky (bathroom) rules that help keep you from thinking about anything else.

In life journeys: Simon Southerton has an amazing tale of what happened when he did some DNA research. Foxy Pink Cheetah is developing some pregnancy quirks. J-Dog is reflecting on what he’s learned since losing the faith, and Eric is reflecting on how he’s changed as well. Kuri just boxed up a part of his life, and Doing it Wrong and Becky are seeing their children off onto new life paths.

In books: So Says Me loved “Dancing with Crazy”, and ProgExMo gives Grant Palmer’s book 5 stars! OTOH, President Paternoster warns us away from “Raptor Jesus”. Similarly, Ardis Parshall rates this post “unworthy of FPR” — which means there’s got to be something interesting in there! (Is it really in the same league with other FPR posts like If the Book of Mormon is dull, the New Testament is duller? — undoubtedly true, but perhaps too obvious for a blog post…?)

And now for our weekly visit to the circus. Good thing the politicians are focusing on important issues. BCC provides an interesting discussion of what’s up.

Happy reading, and have a great week!!
Views: 341
Exodus ejects NARTH’s reparative therapy books from their bookstore

Posted: January 28th, 2012, 4:29am EST by Alan

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A breakup between NARTH and Exodus International has been years in the making. But before I get to it, I think it’s interesting how it’s coming up at the same time that actress Cynthia Nixon is being lambasted by gay rights activists for saying she’s gay by “choice” (and rejecting a bisexual label):

I understand that for many people it’s not, but for me it’s a choice, and you don’t get to define my gayness for me. A certain section of our community is very concerned that it not be seen as a choice, because if it’s a choice, then we could opt out. I say it doesn’t matter if we flew here or we swam here, it matters that we are here and we are one group and let us stop trying to make a litmus test for who is considered gay and who is not.

Indeed.

I think that a politics of choice is stronger than a politics of “essentialism” or “biologism,” no matter how you spin it. More and more Americans agree with Nixon: whether particular gay people are “innately” gay or if it’s a consequence of “choices” and “culture,” gay rights are still important to fight for. When people see gay couples, they don’t think, “Hmm…I wonder if they were both born gay, or if one or both of them took the queer route by choice.” It’s more like, “They exist.”

Even for those who would say they are born gay, a politics of choice would be helpful in the current climate. The fact is, even conservative evangelicals who gay rights activists say Nixon is inadvertently empowering have come to reject the notion that sexual orientation can be changed through choice-making. What the far-right has been saying for almost two decades now is that even if one argues homosexuality is innate, the “behavior” is still a choice: the choice to be intimate with another person. Thus, a politics of choice (Nixon-style) that respects gay people’s choices to be with those of the same-gender would be wise.

Apparently one of NARTH’s leaders has said that Exodus has been clueless in how to “deal with the actual root causes of homosexuality and what leads to authentic change” for the last “20 years.” NARTH has released a statement qualifying what what they mean by “change”:

NARTH believes that much of the expressed pessimism regarding sexual orientation change is a consequence of individuals intentionally or inadvertently adopting a categorical conceptualization of change. When change is viewed in absolute terms, then any future experience of same-sex attraction (or any other challenge), however fleeting or diminished, is considered a refutation of change. Such assertions likely reflect an underlying categorical view of change, probably grounded in an essentialist view of homosexual sexual orientation that assumes same-sex attractions are the natural and immutable essence of a person. What needs to be remembered is that the de-legitimizing of change solely on the basis of a categorical view of change is virtually unparalleled for any challenge in the psychiatric literature.

Okay… but this statement does not address Exodus’s concern with NARTH whatsoever. Here’s why Exodus’s leader Alan Chambers decided to remove the reparative therapy books:

The reason I removed RT books from Exodus Books is because I don’t agree with using this research as a means to say that “this” is how homosexuality always develops, “this” is the primary means in which to deal with it and this is “the” outcome you can expect. Too, Exodus, as a whole, is not a scientific or psychological organization…we are a discipleship ministry and that is where I think our strength is and energy should be focused.

The way I read Chamber’s statement is the following:

F*** off, NARTH. We’re the ones who are gay. Let us deal with our own lives. We don’t need to be straight. All that needs to change is homosexual behavior (…and the occasional obsessive thought pattern). Leave our gayness alone.

It’s a step in the right direction, and this has been in the works for I’d say…at least since the year 2000. Many Exodus members have developed enough self-knowledge that they can now read NARTH’s literature and recognize it as crap.

I’m sure psychological therapy (as opposed to NARTH’s focus on psychiatric therapy) will still find its way into Exodus, because Americans love their therapy. For example, evangelical therapists like Warren Throckmorten have developed Sexual Identity Therapy, in which causal factors for homosexuality are deemed less important than the client’s choices and values framework. The American Psychological Association a few years back determined that Sexual Identity Therapy is perhaps good for those having trouble resolving their sexuality and religious beliefs. I too think this therapy can be useful, so long as the therapist has no manipulative goal to ensure the client never chooses to be intimate with the same-sex.
Views: 228
Casting Call for “Mothers and Daughters Expecting”

Posted: January 27th, 2012, 5:34pm EST by profxm

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Readers of MSP, I was recently contacted by the casting producer for a future Vh1 reality show about mothers and daughters who are pregnant at the same time. Since there are slightly higher odds of this occurring among Mormons, the casting producer asked me if I would post the casting call on any websites where Mormons (or perhaps those who know Mormons) could see it and consider if they know anyone who might fit the criteria. Here is the casting call:

Casting Call: Vh1 & Ellen Rakieten Entertainment are casting for a new docu-series and looking for mothers and daughters who are pregnant at the same time. Vh1 is interested in documenting your lives if you find yourself and your daughter in this unique situation. If both you and your daughter are outgoing and interested in sharing your stories, please contact the casting team immediately at: mothersanddaughtersExpecting@gmail.com. Please include a brief description of why you should be part of this docu-series and what has happened in your lives since you both found out you are pregnant. Include your phone number, email address and the city/state where you live. Applicants must be 18 years or older.
Views: 163
Last Call for 2011 Brodies Nominations!!

Posted: January 26th, 2012, 11:22am EST by chanson

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Don’t worry, you still have time — it will take me until Wednesday at the very earliest (and probably longer than that) to prepare the polls. And you can keep adding nominations until then.

Here’s the current list, including my nominations. I have made a very serious effort not to swamp it this year with my own nominations, but Brodies time is, like, better than Christmas for me. As I review the past year’s posts, I keep thinking: OMG, I remember this one — it’s fantastic!!! I had eight times as many posts that I wanted to nominate than I actually nominated. So I’d like everyone to take a moment to appreciate my awesome restraint (not to mention my awesome speed-reading skillz). Then have a look at the nominations as they stand, and get ready to add all your faves that I somehow missed…

Year-long awards for people and websites:

Best New Blog
- LDS (Mormon) Stake Presidents Blog
- White and Delightsome
- This category needs more nominations!! — if you or someone you know started an LDS-interest blog in 2011, comment below!
Best Discussion Forum
Best Humor/Satire Site or Blog
Best faithful-perspective Mormon Blog
Best LDS-Interest Audio/Video Channel/Series
Best LDS-Interest Photo Blog
Awards for Individual Works:

Best Book-Length Memoirs
- Hippie Boy – Ingrid Ricks
- A Lost Argument – Therese Doucet
- Dancing with Crazy – Emily Pearson
- Heaven Up Here – John K. Williams
Funniest Humor Piece
- Relief Society Sisters Want THE DORK! – Donna
- Holiday Talking Points For Mormons – Donna
- Discussing potato chips with your future son-in-law* – Kuri
- Book of Mormon Zombies: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – Kuri
- Helping Mormon Women Overcome Their Porn Addiction – Cognitive Dissenter
- My Rejected Ensign Article – The Gay Dot
Most Amusing Vignette or Personal Anecdote
- “What is THIS?” – Sarah
- My Son Loves To See The Temple – Kullervo
- This category needs more nominations to continue to the voting and awards round!
Best LDS-Interest Comic or Image
- Fun With Skinny Jeans, or Lack Thereof – fMh various contributors
- The New Utah State Flag – ProfXM
- All the Mo’s… Its about perspective… – Sulli
Best Poem
- Letters to My Polygamist Ancestors
- Not a Good Little Girl – Mórrígan
- These Are a Few of My Favorite “Sins” – Amy
- This category could use some more nominations, perhaps someone could pick a favorite from The ExMormon Hymnbook or from Kuri’s Haiku.
Most Poignant Personal Story
- The Gray Areas of Agency – Winterbuzz
- Mormons and Beauty Pageants – Leah Elliott
- Faith Walk – BlissfulHeretic
- Body Appreciation Saturday: More period talk – Diana
- A Tale of Two Humanists – MoHoHawaii
- Juliane’s series on the aftermath of her talk in May – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
- An agnostic’s letter to a lost god – Sulli
- A Farewell from Tom – Heather C
- Reflections on Turning 30 – J. Seth (I go by Seth) Anderson
Best Deconversion/Exit Story
- I never imagined I would leave the Mormon church – Measure76
- I’m a happier, more rounded person now. – Tovarishch
- By small and simple things… – johnybackback
- Exodus: A Gay Man’s Journey Out of Marriage and Mormonism – Invictus Pilgrim
- Our Exit Story – Norm and Gabi Thompson
Best “Life Beyond Mormonism” Post
- Place and Grace – Mel
- Friends – so says Me
- The Fractures and Factions of Mormon Blogging, Part I and Part II – Andrew S
- Matrix and Inception Exmormons – NoCoolName_Tom
- Building on a Religious Background – Chanson
- Why are Ex-Mormons So Angry (and other questions)? Part I and part II – Andrew S
- If it’s not available at Michaels, does it really count? – Eliza R. Snitch
- Leaving the Mormon Church – AintNoMoNoMo
- A Life in Sepia Tones – Dad’s Primal Scream
- Top 10 Reasons Why I Left the Church and Top 10 Reasons Why I Came Back to the Church – Happy
- I’ve grouped Mo/Exmo community posts with “Life Beyond Mormonism” — should it be split into a separate category? Or just call it Best “Mormon Life Journey” Post? Opinions?
Most Interesting Interfaith Interaction
- Cool interaction with an angry TBM mom and her son – Zuggy
- The Mormon Wall – Invictus Pilgrim
- You Know Were You Can Put Your Passive-aggressive Flag!!! – Kevin Dudley
- My dad’s request – That Guy with the Hair
- This category could use some more nominations!
Best Chat with the Bishop, Mishies, or Other Church Leaders
- Ashleigh attempts to get spiri-chle – Undis-clothed
- Chowing with the Elders – Ren
- Mormon Encounters – Smorg
- Transcription of interview with the bishop. – Mithryn
- This category could use some more nominations!
Best News Reporting
- The Strange Tale of the Invisible Beer Nazi – Cognitive Dissenter
- Mormon Church Fires Man For Having Gay Friends – Eric Ethington
- New Directive: No More Independent Sacraments – Molly
- God saves Mormon missionaries in Japan while allowing thousands to die or suffer unimaginable loss – the narrator
- LDS Church hires two PR Firms for a Missionary Media Initiative beginning in October – Mike Utah
Best LDS Church Watch
- A Modest Bit of Data – Ziff
- Reclaiming the “M” word, mormon(.org) – Apostate
- How those at conference “Feel the spirit” in a patented technology known as “Heartsell” – Mithryn
- The WORST Talks Ever – Brent
- Deseret News is at it again – Runtu
- Yes, the Church still officially discourages interracial marriage. – the narrator
- Elder Oaks and Dr. John C. Eastman – J Seth Anderson
- Heaven Ain’t Close in a Place Like This: Mormon.org and Maxwell Institute – Chino Blanco
- Mormon Church’s Perception Problem – Dad’s Primal Scream
Best LDS-Related Political Commentary
- The Windows of Heaven Shut: A Historic Moment Denied By A Publication Called LDS Newsroom Blog – Atticus F. McConkie
- An Unfortunate Attack – Kaimi
- Mormon Scripture Predicts Bolton Nomination – Gen. JC Christian
- The Little Spermy Who Couldn’t – Cognitive Dissenter
Best Post Title
- “According to the survey, 3.2 million Americans identified themselves as members of the LDS Church in 2008. Official LDS Church statistics indicate that number was actually about 5.9 million.” To the writer who misused the word “actually” in that second sentence: please stop. – Chino_Blanco
- This category needs more nominations to continue to the voting and awards phase!
Best Philosophical/Theological Discussion
- Understanding biblical parables: The Sower – Kuri
- The Holy Ghost is a pussy – Lloyd Dobler
- Thoughts on the “milk before the meat” and “boiling frog” metaphors. – curious_mormon
- I Don’t Need Reasons To Believe in God: I’ve Experienced God – Skeptic Mormon
- What is Faith? – Chanson
- Do we owe gratitude to the universe? – Jonathan Blake
- The Book of Mormon as Inspired Fiction – Bruce Nielson
- Understanding Biblical parables: The Wheat and the Tares – Kuri
- Am I a Raging Religion-oholic? – Leah
- One Way Or Another: The Bacchae – Kullervo
Most Insightful Discussion of Mormon Beliefs, Practices, and Culture
- Tests of Faithfulness – Lynnette
- Animal Farm, Dictatorships and Mormonism – Jake
- The power of the penis – Kuri
- Abraham’s Children – Julian the Apostate
- The Book of Abraham – A Powerful Missionary Tool – President Paternoster
- Sacred vs. Profane – Holly
- Go Ahead And Skip That Temple Wedding – Alan Rock Waterman
- Reinventing Your Sundays – Alan Rock Waterman
- If World’s Doomed, I’m Grateful to Have a Mormon Mother – Ingrid Ricks
- Patriarchy, redux – MoHoHawaii
- unfortunately, not endangered. – Stephanie
- Bigoted or Just Religious – Eliza R. Snitch
- A Mormon Vatican II – Mórrígan
Best Response to Apologetics
- My Testimony: A Response to Bruce D. Porter. – Isaac H
- Orson Scott Card: The Book of Mormon as Historical Artifact – Mórrígan
- This category needs more nominations to continue to the voting and awards phase!
Best Religion-and-Gender Discussion
- Forgotten Sacrifices – the Peacewriter
- No, Women Do Not Have Access to all of the Blessings of the Priesthood – Ms. Jack
- Spiritual Home Ownership – Beatrice
- Housecleaning and Guilt – Aerin
- Methinks the Non-Women Protest Too Much: On Non-Equality in the Mormon Church – Amelia
- A Short Post About Equality – Kristine
- “The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it.” ~Roseanne Barr – Juliane
Best Religion-and-Homosexuality Discussion
- I will NOT be someone else’s “sin” – Sulli
- A new focus in the gay rights debate – Jon Adams
- We’ve Already Won – Rob
- An Open Letter To Single Gay Men – Good to be Free
- Observations on MOMs from a Rambling Lesbian – Leslie
- Is Everyone Who Opposes Gay Marriage Homophobic? – Dad’s Primal Scream
- Guest Post from Dialogue – Taylor Petrey
- Toward a Mormon Lesbian Theology – Alan
- For Bishopric, Gay is the New Black – Bropromo
Best Religion-and-Race Discussion
- On Owning It – Brent
- Jane Manning James: Latter-day Saint and servant – Jon Adams
- Oh how racism haunts Mormonism – ProfXM
- Mormon young adult fiction: Preserving Racial Purity edition! – Daniel
- Saving the Seed of Cain from the Flood of Noah – Steve Wells
Best Religion-and-Parenting Discussion
- To Parents of Apostate Children – President Paternoster
- I know the scriptures are true – lifelongguy
- Sophia!….. You’re Blowing It! – Kevin Dudley
- The danger is they might think for themselves. – Daniel
- READ, READ! READ-READ! – Atheist Dad
Best Erotic or Sexual Piece
- Eliza Goes Black – Jennifer
- Molly’s saga – Just Zena
- Yes Ma’am: An Exploration into Mormon Sexuality – Maureen
- Emily vs. The Elders: MILF & Cookies – Emily Pearson
Best History Piece
- Mormon Women Giving Blessings – Mormon Heretic
- Agnes Coolbrith: Remembering the Forgotten Women of Joseph Smith – Winterbuzz
- Are Mormons Christian Mormon? — Part I and Part II – Ms. Jack
- The Garment Wars of 1913: Temple Brand, or “Approved By the Presidency”? – day2mon
- How Gay Marriage Became Thinkable for a Generation of Young Americans – Chris C. Smith
- Donnie, Marie and Elijah Abel – J. Seth (I go by Seth) Anderson
Best Science Piece
- Proctor & Gamble study proves gender-based discrimination, fails to notice – Sabayon
- Anti-Science Beliefs and Religion – Roger Hansen
- ‘Moroni’s promise’ still not evidence – Daniel
- Belief in God is Natural? – Paul Sunstone
- This category could use some more nominations!
Best Review
- Hateful Homophobe Orson Scott Card Thinks Hamlet Should Be More Homophobic – Paul Constant
- My Amazon Review of Bill O’Reilly’s History of Lincoln – Gen. JC Christian
- FSM Help Me, But I Liked Grant Hardy’s Book… A Lot. – NoCoolName_Tom
- BOM: The Most Correct of Any Musical? – Holly
- The Ishbane Conspiracy – Tachyon Feathertail
Let’s see what you have to add!
Views: 517
Those BYU Volunteers

Posted: January 23rd, 2012, 2:22am EST by Hellmut

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Since McKay Coppins reported about the Romney campaign’s efforts to energize the South Carolina primaries with volunteers from out of state Mormon colleges, which has been linked by Profxm, I thought that a quick note to put the event into context might be in order.

Every campaign is trying to swell its volunteer force by bringing in people from out of state. When I was the co-director of the Obama campaign in Prince George’s Coutny, MD, for example, we depoyed over 3,000 volunteers to Virginia for the general election campaign in 2008 after helping out in various states during the primaries.

BYU and Bob Jones University are notorious for supplying volunteers to Republican campaigns across the nation. In part, their prominence may reflect Democratic paranoia but the real reason is obvious:

There aren’t that many places with a high concentration of conservative young people with disposable time to volunteer.

In this case, it’s an easy story to tell because the Mormon Mitt Romney receives help from Mormon college students. In reality, however, BYU volunteers routinely come in support of conservative gentile candidates in states like Virginia and California. Likewise, you can be sure that somewhere in Florida, there will be busloads of student volunteers from Bob Jones University supporting this or that candidate.

Since they won’t be Mormons campaigning for a Mormon, the media will be less sensitive to their appearance.
Views: 272
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Protest Edition

Posted: January 22nd, 2012, 9:43am EST by aerin64

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Chanson asked me to do the round up of posts this week. For the record, I think this process is more difficult than it looks (please bear with me stumbling through it). And I’ll give out a shout out to the work she does each week – an important part of the community, tying threads together. Yet she definitively deserves a break every once in awhile (just like all of us!).
It has been a interesting week of protests, with the reddit and Wikipedia blackout(s) to protest SOPA and PIPA. Other blogs went dark as well in support. As a response, it sounds like the legislation is on hold for the near future.
Here in the states, it was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day. Mormon Heretic wrote about an early black mormon, one whom I hadn’t heard of before. And it looks like another same-sex marriage debacle is brewing in Minnesota.
In other news, some bloggers attended the mormon stories conference in Houston. There was more discussion of the milk before meat policy and who needs to teach church history. Maybe it’s time to stop making excuses for the church and the more unpalatable parts of its history.
Some posters are enjoying their Sundays and living in the present.
There were also posts about sexuality and parenting a daughter. A famous blogger and her husband have separated but still appear to be putting their kids first. It seems many former mormons are parenting through divorce. Others are thrilled about pending grandparenthood and musing about life and faith.
As it’s January, there’s also snow.
Being the January before the U.S. presidential election, there’s lots of political wrangling and drama going on, particularly with the Iowa recount and South Carolina. Perhaps Romney doesn’t have the nomination wrapped up after all!
Eta: fixed links (like I said, much harder than it looks).
Views: 284
MSP post stolen and Mormons stumping

Posted: January 22nd, 2012, 6:10am EST by profxm

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I caught two interesting news stories in my news feed this morning. First is this article in the Tampa Bay Tribune about the LDS Church being one of the largest land owners in the state of Florida: Mormon church is large landowner in Florida. The information provided in the article is EERILY FAMILIAR, as in, it’s basically a duplicate of my post here on MSP from 2009: LDS Inc owns .7% of Florida. I guess it wouldn’t look so good for the reporter, Kevin Wiatrowski, if he cited a website critical of the LDS Church as his source for the article, but plagiarizing a blog post for a news article probably wouldn’t look so good on a resume either. Do me a favor, if you would, and go comment on that article asking Mr. Wiatrowski where he came up with the idea for his article. My guess is that he did a Google search using the words “Mormon” and “Florida” and saw my post as the #1 link, then stole my idea. I could be wrong though.

The second news article that caught my attention didn’t get as much play in the big press as did the fact that Mitt was “Newt-ed” in South Carolina: young Mormons arrived by the busload to stump for Mitt. Since they were young, loud, and energetic, it gave the impression that Mitt had momentum in South Carolina. Um, yeah, not so much. When a reporter questioned their enthusiasm, they admitted they weren’t from South Carolina but rather from D.C. and Utah. It didn’t help Mitt in the end, but I call shenanigans nonetheless.
Views: 301
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Mormon Portraits Edition!

Posted: January 15th, 2012, 6:23am EST by chanson

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First and foremost, start thinking about your favorite blogs, bloggers, and posts, etc., from 2011 and nominate them for the Brodie Awards!! Then check out Bill Hess’s great photo essay on Mormon missionaries in New York City:

In addition to taking photos of the mishies, Bill tells the story of his own difficulties and the prejudice he faced in his own Mormon interracial marriage. Interestingly, the priesthood ban (preventing men of African ancestry from holding the priesthood) also prevented women of African ancestry from being sealed to their families in the LDS temple — yet the revelation that changed that policy was only about men — the women affected by it weren’t even mentioned. (Of course, being sealed in the temple does have certain drawbacks…)

Mormons may not like being in the same boat with Muslims, but the racism in the Book of Mormon is a belief that Romney may have to answer for (see here for a counterpoint). At least some Mormons are willing to root for Mitt because he’s Mormon. Of course, Mormonism isn’t necessarily Romney’s biggest problem — being a plutocrat maladroitly dismissing the not-rich isn’t as popular as it used to be.

(Also, as fun as it is to talk about the entertaining bits of US politics, let’s not forget that imprisoning people (and torturing them) without trial, without even charging them is no joke, and not a minor issue.)

On the other hand, the Mormons aren’t the only ones with discrimination to answer for. There’s now some question about how legally binding Canadian same-sex marriages really are. (See Benny’s touching description of what it feels like to fall in love without being permitted to have a relationship: “But then, what am I supposed to do with the overwhelming need I have to be loved and cherished and appreciated, etc.”) And be sure to get out there and buy Girl Scout Cookies — mmmmm, I could totally go for a thin mint right now! On the other other hand, the US Supreme Court affirms religions’ right to discriminate at will for ministerial positions, and the CoJCoL-dS is first in line to abuse the privilege. Mormon patriarchy can be so… interesting.

Let’s get back to portraits!! Leia would like to show you what an atheist looks like:

And check out Bowie’s new tattoo!!

Unfortunately, these cool people aren’t represented by the new Pew Forum survey on Mormons that everyone’s talking about. As soon as I read the demographics (in a post that was perhaps deleted), I had about the same reaction as Daymon:

Who is a Mormon? The board simply drew from their own stereotypes of what a True Mormon was, and then formulated questions that targeted these people, asking initially if they were Mormon, and then, if they were a member of the LDS Church.

Fortunately, the less-TBM face of Mormon culture finally got some recognition in the press!!

Now for this week’s personal stories!! Oxymormon Girl tried alcohol for the first time! Erin is enjoying… well, experiencing… the perks of pregnancy. Sulli is a little hesitant about moving on. MoHoHawaii recommends the Mormon Stories podcast about the exit story of a CES instructor and his wife (I agree — it’s worth the listen). Kuri’s life is remarkably pithy. Heidi recounts her feminist upbringing. And Chandelle’s blog is now solar powered!

And discussion topics: How does the “age of accountability” really work? How is sex like a twinkie? How do you get members to appreciate the blessings of cleaning the chapel? Is Lehi the father of the Polynesians? Are Mormons Henotheists? How can you see the moon during the day? Can we be good without sun gods? How do airplanes fly anyway?

Wow, this is a long one, isn’t it? I finally had some free time, and there were so many great posts this past week!! When you’re done reading them, get out there and nominate your favorite posts from last year!
Views: 305
2011 Brodie Award Nominations!!

Posted: January 15th, 2012, 1:24am EST by chanson

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It’s that time of year again — time for you to look back on the past year of posts and choose the ones that were the most excellent!! This is the third year of the Brodie Awards. Just have a look at the winners from the last two years to get an idea of what these awards are all about. I’ll start with this year’s proposed categories, then finish with the nomination guidelines.

Year-long awards for people and websites:
- Best New Blog
- Best Discussion Forum
- Best Humor Site/Blog
- Best Static LDS-Interest Site
- Best LDS Church Watch or News Reporting
- Best Bridge-Building
- Best faithful-perspective Mormon Blog
- Best LDS-Interest Video Channel/Series
Awards for Individual Works:
- Best Book-Length Memoirs (This one is new — we have some really strong contenders this year!!)
- Funniest Humor Piece
- Most Amusing Vignette or Personal Anecdote
- Best LDS-Interest Comic or Image
- Best Poem
- Most Poignant Personal Story
- Best Deconversion/Exit Story
- Best “Life Beyond Mormonism” Post
- Best Interfaith Interaction
- Best Chat with the Bishop, Mishies, or Other Church Leaders
- Best News Reporting
- Best LDS Church Watch
- Best LDS-Related Political Commentary
- Best Post Title
- Best Philosophical/Religious Discussion
- Most Insightful Commentary on Mormonism
- Best Response to Apologetics
- Best Religion-and-Gender Discussion
- Best Religion-and-Homosexuality Discussion
- Best History Piece
- Best Science Piece
- Best Book Review
- Best LDS-Interest Video
- Best LDS-Interest Podcast
Suggested guidelines:

As you know, the idea behind the Brodies is to highlight excellent work from all over the LDS-interest Internet, and introduce as many people as possible to great blogs they may not be aware of. So here are my nomination guideline ideas:
- Please nominate as many people, sites, and articles as you want. However, please do not nominate more than two individual works by any one author.
- You are allowed (even encouraged!) to nominate your own works. No more than two, though.
- Please nominate works that first appeared during 2011
- Please try to nominate people and works that have some connection with Mormonism or with Outer Blogness (eg. either the work touches on Mormonism, or the author is a current or former Mormon and/or is an active participant in our community).
- A category must have at least three nominations in order to be included in the voting and awards phase.
- You may suggest your own categories — however please do it as early as possible in the nominations process, to give others plenty of time to add nominations in your proposed categories.
- Any other proposed changes to the categories or to the guidelines are welcome — feel free to discuss it in the comments.
- The nominations will be open for two weeks. (And I’ll add my own nominations when I make the polls.)
Let’s have some fun with this!!
Views: 582
Would Romney dare choose a Female VP?

Posted: January 13th, 2012, 1:50am EST by Alan

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I assume Romney’s gonna win the GOP nomination. Currently, some of the other candidates are playing populist cards to try to paint Romney as a “vulture capitalist,” and the rest of the GOP is folding in on itself, wondering whatever happened to the party that supported laissez-faire capitalism.

Meanwhile, evangelicals are coming to terms with what seems an inevitable nomination. As Texas pastor Robert Jeffress (who a few months ago called Mormonism a “cult”) has put it:

It’s probably better to embrace a non-Christian like Romney, who embraces biblical values like the sanctity of life and the sanctity of marriage, rather than a professing Christian like President Obama, who embraces unbiblical positions.

Meanwhile, I took some interest in this Vanity Fair article detailing Romney’s relations with women in the Church (starting at the bottom of page 2). It’s mixed. On the one hand, as stake president, Romney was open to a meeting where suggestions were made to better include women in the life of the Church. But on the other hand, as bishop, he threatened excommunication on a pregnant single woman who refused to give her child up for adoption when it was born. Another pregnant woman had a serious blood clot in her pelvis, and the child had a 50% chance of survival. Romney simply couldn’t fathom how the stake president (who was a doctor) had recommended an abortion. The woman writes:

Here I—a baptized, endowed, dedicated worker, and tithe-payer in the church—lay helpless, hurt, and frightened, trying to maintain my psychological equilibrium, and his concern was for the eight-week possibility in my uterus—not for me!

To get to the title of this post, I don’t think Romney will choose a female VP. Even if he has to pick an evangelical in hopes of securing the conservative base just like McCain did in 2008, I don’t think he’ll pick a female evangelical (who would he pick?). It just wouldn’t be the Mormon way of doing things. (A Mormon man inviting a woman into a position of power? *gasp of unthinkability*)

Unlike evangelicals, Mormons blend the secular and the religious more when it comes to gender roles. While most evangelical churches still refuse to ordain women, it’s my understanding that there’s not so much of an emphasis on women necessarily becoming stay-at-home moms.

If indeed part of the reasoning behind McCain choosing Palin was to close a gender gap among swing voters, Romney’s religious background insisting women are “made” to become stay-at-home moms is going to be an issue even among evangelicals. With role models like Palin and Bachmann, when Romney picks a male running mate later this year, women evangelicals are sure to feel some disappointment. How deep that disappointment will run is unclear.

(Edit: here’s an article on female voters supporting Romney more this time around and why)

Views: 267
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Here We Go Again Edition!

Posted: January 8th, 2012, 10:05am EST by chanson

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Are you like me? Can’t stop rubbernecking that train wreck known as the Republican primary? The Mormons rooting for Romney are a little miffed that Romney’s lead isn’t more solid. (He has his disadvantages, but he stands out from the pack for not being certifiably insane — just stop asking about Mormonism!) It seems the new Christian sweetheart is Rick Santorum. Yes, that Santorum. While careful Santorum watchers actually caught him saying something reasonable, his main contributions seem to center around an unhealthy obsession with other peoples’ bedrooms, spiced with a dash of general stupidity. Like the Drudge Report, I won’t ignore Ron Paul, but he has some serious drawbacks as well. (As does Obama…)

Note that Romney is apparently related to Parley P. Pratt and to Jon Huntsman, bolstering the claim that the term ethnic Mormon makes sense (and don’t forget we’re related to these guys). At least there’s a cool one running for office!

There were some great discussion topics this past week! Joanna Brooks asked her Twitter audience how to sell the value of “a religious / faith / spiritual life” to 23 year olds, but failed to connect with her target audience:

I can’t even get on board with the premises implied in these statements.

Stevebloor takes a stab at the oldest question in Mormonism: If you can leave the church, why can’t you leave it alone?!!? Take Sulli — she’s not merely attending again, but is giving “correlation” a thumbs-up! Others are less thrilled by the correlated milk (Not to mention the Church Educational System itself). Fortunately, President Paternoster is redirecting apostates to faith-promoting correlated materials.

There was a whole sub-theme on the connection between religion and morality (leading people to ask if holy cloth is OK as a security blanket). Thomas Riskas wrote a book on Deconstructing Mormonism — listen to his deconstruction on the radio here. And check out this study on LGBT Mormons!

The skeptical community seems to be working through a bit of a sexism problem. Here’s hoping it gets cleared up. Maybe the Pink & Blue project will help. (Tangential: captured at my last post-mo gathering girls play with Legos.) Also, a singer’s nonsensical line pushed Daniel over the edge.

Now for personal stories, one lost a house, another a heart. So let’s talk about undies, treats, personal youtube videos, and road rage poetry instead!!

Sorry I didn’t get around to my Brodies’ nominations post this past week as promised — like many of you, I’m still recovering from my relaxing Christmas vacation! But the Brodies and the X-Mormon of the year really are coming up — just bear with us.
Views: 381
“Religious Exemption” in Sexual Orientation Nondiscrimination Law

Posted: January 2nd, 2012, 2:00am EST by Alan

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I’ve been thinking about how a couple leaders of the LDS Church have vocalized how they wouldn’t mind the 2009 nondiscrimination laws in Salt Lake City (in housing and employment, on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity) be expanded across the state of Utah. Specifically, what they’re interested in is duplicating how those laws include “religious exemptions” that let Mormon and other religiously-owned institutions be exempt from the nondiscrimination laws altogether. The leaders don’t bring attention to this, of course — rather they just voice their support for the “balance” in the laws — but you can bet your breeches that if the exemptions were removed, the Church would not support the nondiscrimination laws whatsoever.

Not all Mormons are convinced these laws are good, regardless of the exemptions. Many Mormons continue to believe that such laws are a sign of “death by a thousand cuts” to traditional family culture. This is because it’s possible to imagine the phrase “religious exemption” as a temporary placeholder for when everyone will eventually have to follow the same law, rather than the language setting in stone a divide between “civil society” and “religious institutions.” When it comes down to it, no Utahn is a member of a religious institution and not also subject to civil society. I can understand why the dialogue hasn’t moved much in the Utah State Legislature, even as a few more individual cities have followed Salt Lake City’s lead since 2009.

There’s an angle of why the Church feels its exemptions are necessary that I think is worth examining in order to move the dialogue forward. Let’s take, for example, a teacher at BYU in a same-sex relationship. Currently, if the school finds out about the relationship, the teacher will be fired on the basis of breaking the honor code: namely, the rule that students and faculty are not supposed to have sexual relations with anyone other than a married spouse (“married” as defined by the Church must be an opposite-sex spouse). If that teacher were able to sue BYU for “discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation,” then that would open up BYU’s honor code to legal scrutiny (as it is applied to everyone, gay, straight or otherwise). Is it possible to protect people from being fired on the basis of sexual orientation/gender identity at BYU, but also not affect BYUs honor code? I can’t think of how. Still, does an individual citizen’s “right” to privacy trump a religious institution’s “right” to have knowledge of private affairs and discipline accordingly for the sake of religious assembly? Perhaps this isn’t the way the legal world would frame the issue exactly, but hopefully I’ve made the contention clear.

Recently, I asked an orthodox gay Mormon who supported the SLC nondiscrimination ordinances (to include the exemptions) what is more important to him: protection in housing/employment, or preventing same-sex couples from being allowed in Mormon spaces. He told me that he would rather deal with Mormon homophobia, which he believes to be dissipating anyway, than bring “sexual orientation law” into Mormondom. He feels such law would limit the Church’s right to discriminate on the basis having sex with someone you’re not married to. He casually added that same-sex couples are allowed at church, “everyone is allowed,” which, well…I’m slightly curious about the current cultural dynamics (that is, how my local ward would respond to a same-sex couple…though my partner isn’t interested in carrying out such an experiment with me, understandably).

Anyhow, I’m not sure how to resolve this protection and/or privacy vs assembly issue other than the exemptions that are in place. On the other hand, I’m not a fan of the exemptions because I see them as wiggle room for the Church and individuals in the Church to continue to be as homophobic as they want, and not have to be subject to the same law everyone else is.
Views: 447
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Happy 2012 Edition!

Posted: January 1st, 2012, 10:59am EST by chanson

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Warren Jeffs has decided to start off the new year for his followers on an interesting note. And, by interesting, I mean that — if you doubted that the FLDS are a danger to themselves and others — Jeffs has decided to remove all doubt. At first, it looked like he was threatening to command his followers into mass suicide. Then it turned out that he merely declared their marriages null and void, and told them they can’t have sex again until he re-seals them. As a result, he may have lost some communication privileges.

On that note, even if you’re not thrilled about the holidays, your year wasn’t so bad, was it? Some things have changed for the better! Here are some examples of holiday traditions, presents, holiday celebrations, holiday memories, reviews of last year, and plans for the upcoming year. Personally, I’m grateful for Kuri’s good reads, for people who contribute interesting content to MSP, and that I didn’t grow up homeschooled in Rexburg. Also, people have had positive and negative experiences with family and friends. The faithful had to attend church on holidays this year (somewhat grudgingly), and some less-believing got sucked in as well!

Anyway, at church I seemed to catch a fairly surprising amount of hostility. I slipped out to the bathroom in the middle of services between musical numbers and was given a couple of full body scans and scowls from the women standing in the back with irritated children. My sister goes to a Mormon church, but I was raised Mormon and am fully able to dress myself appropriately for church (and I had the shawl fully covering my shoulder actually in church). I don’t know if standards have changed or if hopeless spinsters like myself are expected to be more mild and, I don’t know, pastel. Perhaps the rumors we always heard about Utah mormons being more cliquish and judgy than the rest of the world, but that seems a little unfair of me to conclude with so little data. Oh well, I think I was fabulous.

Now, to be clear on what we’re celebrating, remember Jesus’ birth calculations don’t quite add up, and the Christmas story isn’t as rosy as you may think. Astronomers can explain the orbit of the Earth, but simply predicting the end-times based on the Mayan Calendar may be simpler.

Here are this week’s discussion topics: First, does the CoJCoL-dS encourage mediocrity, and is that why so many of us square pegs have trouble fitting in? Also why is female sexuality so threatening? To the point where it’s the first thing some parents worry about and we end up with these awful object lessons? And while things are getting a little better, it seems that from day one women have to put up with a lot of shit. Bonus topic: is “I’ve Experienced God in My Life” a good reason for belief?

Happy New Year!!!

Views: 447