Fast with Sam Young for LDS Child Protection

This is a rigorous log of my participation with Sam Young in a fast for LDS Child Protection.

Salt Lake City nurse roughly arrested for following Supreme Court decision - Payne and the Book of Mormon's Nephi

The story has been in the headlines for days now with amazing staying power. It's the story of Salt Lake City police detective Jeff Payne's rough arrest of nurse Alex Wubbels for refusing to let him draw blood from an unconscious crash victim. Without regard to the facts of the religious background of Payne, the parallels of the story with the beloved LDS scriptural story of Nephi and the Plates of Laban are striking.

David Whitmer Mormonism

I occasionally remark that I am a "David Whitmer" Mormon?  And what does that mean?  My reason for saying it is explained best in this passage from David Whitmer's An Address to All Believers in Christ.

D&C 132: A revelation of men, not God

I am re-posting this post in solidarity with Kirk Van Allen who is being threatened with a disciplinary council for authoring it.  This is posted with Kirk’s permission.

The Near Death Experience and Me

The Near Death Experience changed my life.  I often say now that it is my religion.

LDS Church Growth and Attrition 1977 to 2013

According to this graph I prepared for Wikipedia, LDS official membership growth rate, while the lowest it has been since the 1930's, is currently about double the world population growth rate.

Why I am a Mormon

I am a Mormon.  I'm LDS.  I've been asked why I don't leave (Umm, so soon?).  I've been asked why I don't start my own church (Umm, no, thank you).  So in this entry I'll maybe give a little insight into why after ten years of free-wheeling faith I still intend to die a Mormon.

Steve Bloor's Open Letter to LDS Europe Area Presidency

Steve Bloor blogged an "Open Letter to Europe Area Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" by Christopher Ralph.  Ralph's treatise isn't perfect, of course. But it is the kind of respectful and high call that I would love be able to compose about the arising challenge to the LDS Church of the disillusionment of many of its most dedicated members.

La Conferencia General de la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Úlitimos Días

Hoy es la conferencia general de la iglesia SUD.

Inside LDS Mormonism - What the children are learning today

I was at my local LDS church recently and happened on a wall display showing the monthly themes for the children's curriculum for this year. I thought it made an interesting snapshot of what the LDS Church religion is all about this year, or what they are teaching the rising generation at the local LDS ward.

2011

January: The Scriptures are the word of God
February: The Scriptures Teach of Heavenly Father's Plan
March: Heavenly Father Speaks to Us through His Prophets
April: Jesus Christ is My Savior and Redeemer
May: The Church of Jesus Christ has Been Restored
June: The First Principles and Ordinances of the Gospel Make it Possible for Me to Live with God Again
July: The Temple is a House of God
August: My Body is a Temple of God
September: The Gospel Will Be Preached to All the World
October: Prayer is Reverent Communication Between God and Me
November: Reverence is Love and Respect for God
December: The Scriptures Teach Me about the Savior's Birth and Second Coming

There you have it. Core Mormonism today. What the kids are learning every week about God and religion.

Permanecer SUD Después De Un Cambio Grande a Tu Fe

Este foro http://www.staylds.com/forum es un lugar donde platicamos francamente los desafíos que enfrentamos al ir navegando el permanecer Santos de Los Últimos Días después de que hayamos experimentado nuestra fe un cambio grande. El grupo aquí conoce todos los aspectos difíciles de nuestra religión y de nuestra herencia. Y aún así, estamos explorando una manera de quedarnos dentro de la iglesia a algun nivel de actividad para alguna razón positiva y personal.

http://www.staylds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2482

Hay varias razones por las cuales un miembro de la iglesia podría llegar a questionar su relación con la iglesia. Hoy en día un acontecimiento común es que surja para uno alguna pregunta o necesidad de defender o explicar el evangelio o la iglesia. Con este asunto, la persona occurre a la red mundial (internet) para buscar respuestas o apoyo. Y muchas veces, lo que aprende es una sopresa a la fe de la persona (o sea de la poligamia de José Smith y su manera de llevarlo a cabo, o el Masacre de Mountain Meadows, o de los Africanos y el sacerdocio, or otra cosa). Al enterarse de estos hechos nuevos, el mundo del miembro se pone todo tuerco. Muchas veces la persone recurre a obras apologeticas como FARMS y FAIR, pero muchas veces estos no caen muy satisfechos al nuevamente lastimado Santo. La realidad es que este miembro de la iglesia ha experimentado un cambio fundamental, y las respuestas que antes iban a ayudarle ya no van a bastar.

Sin que haya fuentes de apoyo en la familia o en el barrio local, es muy posible que el miembro sufra bastante al evaluar sus opciones. ¿Debe salir de la iglesia pronto? ¿Debe devolver su recomendación para el templo? ¿Debe quitarse el garment? ¿Debe pedir ser relevado de sus llamamientos? ¿Qué va a decir su familia? ¿Hay otra religión más adecuada? En este foro estamos abiertos para explorar con amor y paciencia todas las opciones disponibles para tal miembro, siempre con la idea de que puede haber buenas razones, no tan sólo de familia u otras situationes de la vida, sino personales y espirituales, para considerar quedarse Santo de Los Últimos Días, aún bajo tales circunstancias.

Reconocemos que permanecer SUD no es posible or deseable para todos después de un cambio grande a la fe. Pero para algunos de nostros es posible y deseable, aún con un testimonio muy diferente y un ententimiento muy especial. Y quizás para todos o para muchos vale la pena explorarlo con nosotros. Le invitamos a Ud. a que nos cuente su historia, nos haga sus preguntas, y nos echa sus cargas. Estamos aquí para oír y apoyar. Estamos caminando ese camino también.

Mormones Pacifistas

Para nostotros, los miembros de la Iglesia de Jesucristo de Los Santos de Los Últimos Días, es normal que escuchemos mucha habla de cosas tales como el patriotismo, la guerra, y la justicia. Pero algunos de nosotros en algún momento de la vida llegan a concluir que el evangelio puro del cielo--o quizás algunos de nosotros llegamos a decir más bien que la moralidad perfecta--nos llama a aferrarnos más cerca al paz y el amor. Llegamos a creer que aun cuando la violencia sea justificada, hay un camino mejor.

Puede ser difícil al llegar a tal resolución que después nos enfrentemos con tales artifactos de nuestra herencia como la decapitación de Laban, la exaltación de Moroni el Capitán , la masacre de Prados de las Montañas (Mountain Meadows Massacre), y la ausencia de una tradición del Testimonio de la Paz tal como lo tienen los Cuaqueros y nuestros hermanos de la Reorganización (Comunidad de Cristo).

Pero no estamos muy solitos, los pacifistas Mormones. Tuvimos ejemplo de algunos lideres de la iglesia tales como J. Reuben Clark quien dijo en nuestra Conferencia General Octubre 1946 en cuanto a la bomba nuclear de Hiroshima:

Algunos de nosotros opinamos que fue una vergüenza. ¿Somos Cristianos? Nos portamos como pagános.

Y lo peor de la tragedia de la bomba atomica es que no tan solo dejó el pueblo de los Estados Unidos de levantarse para protestar en contra de este salvajismo, no tan solo nos dejamos de sacudir al leer de esta destrucción total de hombres, mujeres, niños, y lisiados, sino que aún verdaderamente elicitó de la nación como un cuerpo una aprobación de esta carnicería diabólica.

Más recientemente, tenemos ejemplos como Lowell Bennion y Eugene England. Y hoy día tenemos el ejemplo de Carol Lynn Pearson, quien nós consejó a que abriesemos la boca, diciendo ella:

Así que alguien que quiere permanecerse dentro de la iglesia, yo creo que podría estar más cómodo esforzarse a ser abierto en cuanto a algunas cosas de estas en vez de estarse sentado, agitado y causando la contención, nada más absorbiendo todo y dejando que empeora al dentro como una herida. No podría yo hacer eso.

Le mogli di Joseph Smith e di altri uomini anche

Molti di noi sono stati scossi per imparare che la nostra eredità di fede non è pura quanto abbiamo creduto. Forse abbiamo imparato, per esempio, che Joseph Smith ha sposato le mogli di altri uomini. Ed abbiamo imparato che ha insistito pubblicamente che avesse soltanto una moglie. Imparando che le cose non sono le stesse come le girate di pensiero il nostro mondo upside-down. Ci non sono molte risorse della chiesa per i san dei giorni nostri in questa posizione. Ma recentemente ha presentato un buon corpo delle risorse sul Internet in inglese, compreso il Web site mormonico di http://forum.newordermormon.org/index.php (Mormoni di Nuovo Ordine) ed il lavoro di John Dehlin (Storie Mormoniche) http://www.mormonstories.org e http://www.staylds.com (Rimanere Santo degli Ultimi Giorni). Un'azione possibile per coloro che vuole esaminare le modalità salvare la loro affiliazione con la chiesa di SUG è all'amico su Facebook altre che stiano esplorando lo stesso scopo. Non esiti a commentare qui in spagnolo, in portoghese, in italiano, o l'inglese. Farò il più bene mio per reagire bene ed ascoltare.

Many of us were shocked to learn that our faith heritage is not as pure as we once believed. Maybe we learned, for example, that Joseph Smith married other men's wives while he publicly insisted he had only one wife. Learning that things are not as they once seemed turns our world upside down. There are not many church resources for Latter-day Saints in this position. But recently there has arisen a good body of resources on the internet in English, including the New Order Mormon http://forum.newordermormon.org/index.php web site and the work of John Dehlin (Mormon Stories) http://www.mormonstories.org and http://www.staylds.com (Stay LDS). One possible action for those who want to explore ways to salvage their affiliation with the LDS Church is to friend on Facebook others who are exploring the same aim. Feel free to comment here in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, or English. I will do my best to respond and listen well.

Mormons With A Peace Testimony

Yes! There are Mormons with a Peace Testimony. There are Mormons who aspire to and practice non-resistance, non-violence, and non-attachment. There are Mormons who honor conscientious objection. And they aren't all in the Community of Christ church. Many of them are in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Stick a Needle in My Eye - Context for Gory LDS Temple Covenenants

Anybody who is familiar with my online participation knows I make no beans about the sins of my LDS ecclesiastical fathers. I have no trouble calling a spade a spade, whether the subject is polygamy, polyandry, health codes, enmity, war, massacres, covetousness, turf protection, or priestcraft. But I think there's a sincere tendency to get inordinately worked up about the gory covenants formerly present in the LDS temple endowment ceremony. People call them blood oaths, though I don't think that's really an accurate description of the way I experienced them when I was 18.

Wikipedia currently says:

the blood oaths in the ceremony related to protecting the ritual's secrecy. ...[P]articipants made an oath that rather than ever revealing the secret gestures of the ceremony, they would rather have "my throat ... be cut from ear to ear, and my tongue torn out by its roots"; "our breasts ... be torn open, our hearts and vitals torn out and given to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field"; "your body ... be cut asunder and all your bowels gush out" showing an entire refusal to accept the promises made in the washing and anointing ordinances. The gory wording was removed early in the 20th century and changed to a less explicit reference to "different ways in which life may be taken." Vestigial accompanying suggestive gestures were removed by the LDS Church in 1990. However the temple ceremony still states that "under no condition, even at the peril of your life, will you ever divulge" information regarding the rituals. There are no documented instances of a person who has been killed for violating these oaths of secrecy.

My assumption at the age of 18 was that conceivably an antagonist of Mormonism might hold me up at gunpoint and threaten me bodily harm unless I divulged the temple secrets, and that it was against such an event that I was promising to be true. In no way did I conceive the covenant penalties to be penalties. I suppose that's odd. After all, they are called penalties. So I imagine that somebody intended them to be threatening. And I suppose it's fair to call them "blood oaths".

I think it's mistaken, however, to link these "blood oaths" to early LDS beliefs about "blood atonement". The reality as I understand it is that these oaths were not threats, and never were "enforced" or "carried out". They were simply barbaric elements of a colorfully bloody culture, such as the schoolyard oath that many a "modern" American child has demanded of a playmate as a token of trust and sincerity, "Swear to God? Cross your heart, hope to die? Stick a needle in your eye?"

Barbaric? Yes. Threatening? Perhaps in a cosmic way, but not in any direct or sinister or knowing way. Are we better off without such color? Heh. What do you think I'm gonna say?

LDS Church Membership Growth Unspun

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has grown every decade since its beginning in the 1830s. After its startup growth rates averaging 10% to 25% per year in the 1830s and 1840s, it grew at about 4% per year through the last four decades of the 19th century. After a steady slowing of growth in the first four decades of the 20th century to a rate of about 2% per year in the 1930s, growth boomed to an average of 6% per year for the decade around 1960, staying around 4% to 5% through 1990. After 1990, average annual growth again slowed to a rate around 2.5% for the first decade of the 21st century, still double the world population growth rate of 1.2% for the same period.