I've made it to the initial round for favorite progressive blogger in the Air America Cruise Contest. I have to stay in the Top 5 before the second voting round begins, so your vote is appreciated! First voting round:
The Christian Civic League of Maine's Mike Hein calls Pam's House Blend: "a leading source of radical homosexual propaganda, anti-Christian bigotry, and radical transgender advocacy."
He is "praying that Pam Spaulding will "turn away from her wicked and sinful promotion of homosexual behavior."
(CCLM's web site, 10/15/07)
Ex-gay "Christian" activist James Hartline on Pam:
"I have been mocked over and over again by ungodly and unprincipled anti-christian lesbians."
(from "Six Years In Sodom: From The Journal Of James Hartline," 9/4/2006, written from the "homosexual stronghold" of Hillcrest in San Diego).
"Pam is a 'twisted lesbian sister' and an 'embittered lesbian' of the 'self-imposed gutteral experiences of the gay ghetto.'" -- 9/5/2008
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth Against Homosexuality heartily endorses the Blend, calling Pam:
A "vicious anti-Christian lesbian activist." (Concerned Women for America's radio show [9:15], 1/25/07)
"A nutty lesbian blogger." (MassResistance radio show [16:25], 2/3/07)
Pam's House Blend always seems to find these sick f*cks. The area of the country she is in? The home state of her wife? I know, they are everywhere. Pam just does such a great job of bringing them out into the light.
--Impeach Bush
who monitors yours Bevis ?? Just thought I would drop you a line,so the rest of your life is not wasted.
Man what a pair on this guy. Autumn mentioned this story in This and That, but I had to weigh in. This is church that didn't allow blacks to be ordained into the priesthood officially until 1978, and the LDS leader Brigham Young believed:
You see some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, uncomely, disagreeable and low in their habits, wild, and seemingly deprived of nearly all the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind .... Cain slew his brother. Cain might have been killed, and that would have put a termination to that line of human beings. This was not to be, and the Lord put a mark upon him, which is the flat nose and black skin. Trace mankind down to after the flood, and then another curse is pronounced upon the same race-that they should be the 'servant of servants'; and they will be, until that curse is removed; and the Abolitionists cannot help it, nor in the least alter that decree."
Yet in the wake of the tons of money dumped into Prop 8 by the Mormons, its current head, Elder Dallin H. Oaks, says that after the initiative passed, the church was demonized for its political involvement. [Gee, I wonder why]. The choice of victim card to play is almost beyond belief:
"The extent and nature of religious devotion in this nation is changing," said Oaks, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a church governing body. "The tide of public opinion in favor of religion is receding, and this probably portends public pressures for laws that will impinge on religious freedom."
...Oaks said that while "aggressive intimidation" connected to Proposition 8 was primarily directed at religious people and symbols, "it was not anti-religious as such." He called the incidents "expressions of outrage against those who disagreed with the gay-rights position and had prevailed in a public contest."
"As such, these incidents of 'violence and intimidation' are not so much anti-religious as anti-democratic," he said. "In their effect they are like well-known and widely condemned voter-intimidation of blacks in the South that produced corrective federal civil-rights legislation."
Aside from that level of preposterous sentiment, the LDS has not been behaving in any kind of way you'd expect people of faith should act. Why are they wasting all this money to beat back gays and lesbians who want to marry when they could be filling the food banks, helping to ensure those who are destitute will have clean water, food and clothing as winter approaches...a host of more productive and meaningful ways to fulfill its mission.
Jesus' General picked up the Book of Mormon and found more than a little homoeroticism gracing its pages.
Men with huge forearms holding long, hard, rigid shafts of steel
These illustrations from the Book of Mormon serve as a testament to the Mormon Church's commitment to the heterosexual lifestyle. Imagine, what effect such images must have on young LDS boys as they grow into manhood. It is no wonder that they become such strong warriors for heterosexuality in adulthood.
Doesn't Captain Moroni [L] look very butch standing there holding the Banner of Heterosexual Supremacy upon which is written, "Give up your gold to buy murals defending love segregation in the Land of Zarahemla." The men below him seem to be extremely excited, perhaps even turgidly so, as they point 24 inches of long, hard steel at his Globes of Manly Secretions.
[R]...Two thousand "stripling warriors" march into battle wearing their Mighty Codpieces of Rigidity.
Blender Beth pointed me to this insane thread on the Mormon Apologetics Board, " Is chemical castration an option for LDS gays?, Why not reduce inappropriate sex drive?" where this is method of de-gaying is discussed -- and it's no joke.
[I]s chemical castration an option for LDS gays? I mean, if you're faithful LDS & accept that for whatever reason the Lord has put you on Earth as a "eunuch" (best case, if you can stay strong), why should you have to struggle with incessant thoughts that are not just inappropriate now, but will be inappropriate in the next life, too, only serve to pervert any desires to have children in a celestial relationship in the next life. There is zero point to having homosexual thoughts, it's not as though they're a normal part of the procreation process - they're just an annoying, perverted form of biology, entirely worthless.
And this from, heaven help us, a psychiatric social worker:
I have considered this dilema for years, but don't think much of it these days. "What is, is; what ain't ain't." Persons with sever mental illness do take medications, necessarily so! They take them with informed consent, voluntarily, and with increasingly greater success. If there are medications, which there are, that can help an alcoholic check his/her drinking should we suggest that the alcoholic not take the medications based upon the idea that it robs him of moral agency? What about the diabetic? I have seen diabetics, craving sugar, eat themselves into various stages of neuropathy. Medication can help stave off those cravings. Can we possibly suggest that because it would rob them of moral agency a diabetic should not take medications? In my view it would be immoral for those responsible not to do everything possible to get the person so sticken to take the medications that will provide the help they desperately need. If there is a chemical solution to help a chronic adulterer or a gay man acheive sexual sobriety, and worthy entrance to the temple, I AM ALL FOR IT. I don't remember questions on the temple recommend interview asking the kind of medications I take or why I have to take them. Do you?
Over at PostMormon.org, this garbage is shredded. See below the fold.
A Blender named Beth did this video, "Gay Civil Rights Movement is Our Civil Rights Movement," and wanted me to share it with you. The provocative piece is worth your time.
Making this video has left me drained, speechless and sad. I am triracial: African American, Native American and various flavors of European American. Although we're triracial, my family and I primarily identify as African American. Mormonanswerman (a YouTube user) has claimed that African Americans do not like to have comparisons drawn between the GLBTQ civil rights movement and the African-American civil rights movement. Speaking as an African American, the comparison holds true. The history of discrimination may be be different, but the effects of hatred, bigotry and bias are the same.
Human Rights Campaign is hopping mad at the latest news about the Mormons inserting themselves into Illinois public policy for the sake of hating the homos. The organization has launched an online action to its 35,000 members and supporters in Illinois as the legislature considers The Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act (HB 2234).
The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, today learned that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has sent a private e-mail to its members in Illinois urging them to contact state legislators and voice opposition to civil unions legislation currently under consideration. Mormons have notably utilized private networks to torpedo pro-LGBT policies in the past, most recently in their home state of Utah, where a package of fair-minded legislation called the Common Ground Initiative was systematically killed in the state legislature. Most notoriously, Mormons funneled millions of dollars into California last year to pass Proposition 8, a ballot initiative that stripped lesbian and gay couples of the right to marry in the state.
"It is irrefutably clear that the LDS Church is fighting an anti-gay crusade throughout the nation, targeting any form of equality for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community," said Bruce Bastian, Board of Director for the Human Rights Campaign and former member of the LDS Church. "Church leaders want nothing more than to do their hateful work in secrecy, but the time has come to shine a light on their insidious efforts. If the LDS Church won't tell the truth, we will."
The e-mail, sent to at least one LDS ward in Illinois, was authorized by Bishop Chris Church, of the Nauvoo, Illinois 3rd Ward, and was sent out by that website's ward administrator. The messaging in the e-mail carries many of the same bigoted lies that were hallmarks of the LDS Church's campaign in support of Proposition 8 in California and Proposition 102 in Arizona. The e-mail misleads citizens in Illinois by blatantly misstating that the civil unions legislation would "empower the public schools to begin teaching this lifestyle to our young children regardless of parental requests otherwise." It goes on to issue this incendiary and inaccurate warning - "it will also create grounds for rewriting all social mores." The e-mail was uncovered by BoxTurtleBulletin.com, a website that tracks and monitors anti-gay rhetoric. The contents of the e-mail are posted online at www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2009/03/03/9359.
It looks like "love thy neighbor" and "turn the other cheek" don't apply when these alleged "protectors" of marriage get stirred up by Utah Governor Jon Huntsman decided to publicly support civil unions. (Deseret News):
The day after declaring his support for civil unions, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. canceled a press conference and held other meetings at the governor's mansion rather than in his office in the Capitol.
His spokeswoman, Lisa Roskelley, declined Wednesday to comment on any threats that may have been received by the governor's office. She said the majority of the calls and e-mails made to the office, however, were to say "thank you."
Huntsman's statement that he backs civil unions "in the broadest sense" as well as the "Common Ground" legislative initiative intended to extend the benefits of marriage to gay and other couples sparked protests at the Capitol Wednesday that included lawmakers.
As you might imagine, the hilariously deranged homophobe in the state legislature, Sen. Chris Buttars (R), had to weigh in.
Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, was circulating a statement warning that civil unions in Utah "would threaten marriage and religious freedom." He was asking his fellow GOP senators to sign the statement if they agreed.
Buttars, who said he didn't want to discuss the statement written by the Marriage Law Foundation, said it would not be forwarded to the governor. "No. It's just a statement. I don't think it'll go anywhere," he said. "I just wanted people to read it. It's very well-written."
Bearing false witness is no problem for these folks. That or they have a serious deficit in math sklls. (365gay):
Six weeks into an investigation by California's Fair Political Practices Commission, the Church of Latter-Day Saints has admitted that it spent nearly $188,000 more on the campaign to approve Proposition 8 that it had initially stated.
The Mormon Church previously insisted that it spent only $2,078 to support the ban on same-sex marriage, something LGBT leaders said was implausible in light of a number of visits to California by high ranking church officials, ads allegedly produced with church funds and the large number of church staffers working on the campaign.
In November, Californians Against Hate filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission accusing the church of failing to report the value of work it did to support Prop 8.
...In a new filing with the state, the church now admits that among other expenses were $96,849 for "compensated staff time" for church employees who worked on the campaign, $20,575 for the use of facilities and equipment at its Salt Lake City headquarters, $26,000 for audio-visual production and travel expenses for church leaders to go to California.
"This is exactly what we were talking about when we filed the suit," Fred Karger of Californians Against Hate told the San Francisco Chronicle.
The commission could fine the church up to $5K per violation. Obviously the church leadership will pass the plate around to the faithful. I wonder if the economy will affect the donations to "the cause" of protecting marriage in California.
Watch all of this seven-minute video from Steven Greenstreet with the American News Project, which uncovered evidence that the LDS is bearing false witness about the cash that they flowed into Yes On 8 coffers to foment hate and discrimination.
Activists claim that money from the Mormon Church was the deciding factor in passing Proposition 8 in California - banning gay marriage. The church claims to have only spent a few thousand dollars on the campaign, but ANP has uncovered evidence that may expose a gaping hole in that claim. Also, the IRS forbids religious organizations from "substantially" lobbying for political legislation. Did the Mormon Church violate this law?
A national gay rights group says it will deliver about 27,000 letters to leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints next week, urging their public support of equality legislation in Utah.
The Washington, D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign says its members tried to lobby church leaders via e-mail earlier this week, but the messages bounced back.
HRC spokesman Trevor Thomas says copies of the e-mails will be delivered Monday.
Submitted without comment other than to say that the long-ago washed-up Mormon teen idol said in the same breath "some of my best friends are gay" and that those with "gay tendencies" are welcome in the Mormon church.
"We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets. We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society."
Aw, sh*t, I couldn't resist a comment -- WTF is he talking about? My marriage is going to be the cause of world calamities predicted in the bible? That's right out of the Pat Robertson book of batsh*ttery. Good lord, he needs to shut the F up and explain why he and his fellow Mormons believe in denying the civil rights, not religious rights of any group of citizens by mob rule.
Too bad, so sad. There's a great article in the Salt Lake Tribune about the fallout from the insidious involvement of the LDS church in passing California's Prop 8. On one level, ambassadors of the faith are having to field criticism at a level not seen in ages.
Although they live a continent away from California, LDS Church members Gregory and JaLynn Prince, of Washington, D.C., still have felt the backlash from their church's involvement in the traditional marriage initiative known as Proposition 8.
Their daughter, Lauren, a Boston University student, has lost friends over the issue, while their son, an LDS missionary in San Bernardino, Calif., has had a disproportionate number of potential converts cancel appointments.
About two weeks ago, during a first-ever class on Mormonism at Wesley Theological Seminary, where the Princes have built bridges for years, students pointedly asked them: "What was your church thinking?"
"We are not taking sides on the issue, but the way this was done has hurt our people and the church's image," JaLynn Prince said. "It reminds me of the naive public relations strategy we had regarding the Equal Rights Amendment."
On the other hand, some the politicized and powerful reps in the LDS are welcoming the attention and the acknowledgment that the church's money machine and ability to marshal foot soldiers in the new culture wars is potent.
Gary Lawrence added his own optimistic view.
"These protests will help us. It puts a spotlight on us," said Lawrence, a leader in the Proposition 8 campaign and author of How Americans View Mormonism: Seven Steps to Improve Our Image.
"Which is worse -- antagonism or apathy? I believe apathy is our bigger enemy."
Matthew Lawrence, in an e-mail interview with this diarist, said that although he is "extremely upset and frustrated" with his family and that he has "cut off communication with them," that "at the end of the day, I do love them." The elder Lawrence was also the Mormon Church's point man for the Prop 22 campaign in 2000. Matt says, "I love my family so much, but it's hard to not take this personally. We had a brief falling-out over Prop. 22, but that got mended. But two anti-gay initiatives in eight years, it's impossible not to feel attacked."
Love or hate California's Proposition 8, one fact-based thing we can take away from the campaign is that the First Presidency (the Prophet and his two counselors) of the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons) told their church membership to "do all [they] can to support the proposed constitutional amendment." There is now precedence for the LDS' prophet to tell its members how to vote on very public, controversial issues.
So, if Mitt Romney were to become the Republican Nominee for President in 2012, could the political activism by the Mormon Church hierarchy become be an issue of higher order than the John F. Kennedy/Pope issue of 1960? I tend to think so.
The key role played by the LDS Church in passing California's gay marriage ban could have long-lasting consequences - good and bad - for the future of the nation's highest-profile Mormon politician: Mitt Romney.
The LDS effort could give Romney a crucial boost among evangelicals who wield great power in choosing the Republican presidential nominee. But it might leave the former Massachusetts governor an even tougher slog among a broader electorate.
"What the LDS Church just did in California and elsewhere, should help [Romney] because it sends a signal to evangelical Protestants that while we differ religiously, politically we are first cousins," says Charles Dunn, dean of the School of Government at Regent University, founded by evangelical leader Pat Robertson...
Further into the article though, Burr quotes University of Iowa communications professor Bruce Gronbeck, who pointed out that the LDS Church's involvement in Prop 8 Politics may...
...make some independents wary of voting for a Mormon candidate, he says, and stoke more fears of how much power the church has over its faithful members.
So if one is a conservative, evangelical Christian, are you more happy that a Mormon candidate's church is on your side of the issue on same-gender marriage, or are you more worried about how the LDS Prophet may tell an elected Mormon officeholder how to speak out and vote on other issues besides same-gender marriage?
That LDS Prophet brought the politics of the Mormon Church to the forefront this last election. Since many conservative Christian voters consider Mormonism to be a cult, I tend to believe that any Mormon presidential candidate will have a leg down due to worries about what the LDS Prophet may tell a Mormon candidate what to say and do -- the Prop 8 stand by the LDS First Presidency demonstrates it's possible.
And wow, conservatives are discussing 2012 really early, aren't they? President-elect Obama hasn't even taken office yet.
Oh, the irony. I'm sure she's thinking about The Man Upstairs and the sanctity of marriage while she's grinding the pole for "fitness." Not that there's anything wrong with pole dancing; I just wonder what church elders think of this "sport"?
When we last saw the Mormons, they were attempting to murder love. Having succeeded on that, they've apparently moved on to more pressing concerns: getting pole dancing into the Olympics.
...I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the woman who tries to justify her six-inch stripper heels by saying they're great for the calf muscles.
BTW, the petition for Olympic pole dancing has a massive 300 supporters on it.
Last week it was revealed that the LDS church has been thinking about efforts to ban same-sex marriage in California for more than a decade, and was well aware of the church's PR problem if it were to lead the charge on a referendum.
What the late LDS leader Gordon Hinckley knew at the time was that he needed to hook up a church with a better rep (ha!) to front for it - the Catholic church. Here is a report on the strategy memo:
In the above report, the church doesn't question the memo's validity, in fact, the sources said there are other related documents that could surface. One snippet of the LDS memo underscores the level of hate the church has for gays (HLM refers to "homosexual legal marriage"):
Please note especially the last paragraph. "There may have to be certain legal rights recognized for unmarried people..." Take a look at what that implies. The Mormon Church, if it had its way, wouldn't even want to see gay couples have hospital visitation rights. It's not just about marriage--for them, it's about making gays into second-class citizens. Even hospital rights are a "concession" that have to be made to prevent full marriage equality.
Equality Utah has released a news release calling the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint's statements to be backed by action -- and preparing to give the church a legislative means to do so in their home state of Utah:
Throughout the recent election cycle, the LDS Church has demonstrated its willingness to participate in political issues by asking its members to do all they can do, including donating their means and their time, to support California's Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution and eliminated same-sex couples right to marry by defining marriage as between a man and a woman.
The LDS Church has articulated it is not "anti-gay" but rather pro-marriage and it "does not object to rights for same-sex couples regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights, or probate rights." On November 5th, Elder L. Whitney Clayton stated the LDS Church does not oppose "civil unions or domestic partnerships." In response to these statements, Equality Utah is drafting legislation for the 2009 General Session of the Utah Legislature to address each of the issues mentioned by the LDS Church.
The ball's been put in the LDS Church's court in LDS Church's home turf. We'll see relatively soon if the Mormons' spokes-elder -- as well as the church he spoke for -- are truth-tellers, or if they're pretty much the bald-faced liars many of us suspect they actually are on these issues.
With the shrewdness of a politician, Hinckley downplayed the more controversial aspects of LDS history. He welcomed the world to Utah for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, promising everyone they could get a drink here and accepted one of America's highest honors - the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
He highlighted Mormon commonality with other Christians, forging alliances with other faith groups while scolding LDS Church members for being too clannish, self-righteous and unfriendly to their neighbors.
He built alliances with other Christian denominations to oppose same-sex marriages and defend religious liberties. In 1998, Hinckley announced a "Proclamation on the Family," which laid out the church's support for the sanctity of marriage, the significance of family and the importance of chastity.
That became the theological foundation for the church's opposition to any effort to promote same-sex marriage. In 2000, the LDS Church defended the Boy Scouts' right to exclude gays from leadership positions, and the church and its members in Alaska and Hawaii gave time and well over $1 million to thwart same-sex marriage initiatives; in 1999, members in California helped finance the push for a Protection of Marriage Act on that state's ballot.
"What's a church for if it isn't to fight for values, to take a stand and face up to these moral issues?" Hinckley said in a February 2000 interview with The Salt Lake Tribune.
And he did. Gordon B. Hinckley appeared on Larry King Live a while back and discussed many issues about LDS, including thoughts on gays and marriage. It's below the fold.
I've been meaning to post about Mitt Romney's speech, but I've had other matters to deal with—like trying to get enough sleep to at least give the appearance of something close to human when we venture out as a family. And I still may comment on it, but something else occurred to me as I read about the little fight Romney and Huckabee seem to have picked with one another, over questions about Romney's faith.
Oddly enough, David Kuo's post was what got me thinking about it.
I'm sorry but I am really confused about all of this. Since when is asking a question about someone's religion attacking it?? This is bizarre.
There are a thousand ways to attack someone's religion - but asking questions about it is not one of them. If it were then every single person who asks questions about Christianity would be a religious bigot.
Kou didn't mean for that to be funny, I'm sure, but I laughed when I read it. Then it took me a few minutes to figure out why it was so funny to me.
The Pew Forum On Religion & Public Life recently posted the article Gay Mormons See a Subtle Shift in Church Teaching where they note that while the sin previously was found just in having same sex attractions, but now the sin is identified as engaging in "homosexual activity."
Like many gay Mormons, [Lester] Leavitt tried to ignore his sexuality and married a woman. Last year, he was excommunicated after telling church authorities he was attracted to men, even though he was faithful to his wife and wanted to stay married.
Six months later, to Leavitt's surprise, the church vacated the excommunication. Not long after, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued "God Loveth His Children," a treatise that said same-sex attractions themselves are not sinful, even though homosexual activity is.
...Traditionally, Mormons saw homosexuality as a choice -- and a changeable one. In the 1970s, the church believed that "homosexuality is a perversion and you can fight it and become straight," Petersen said.
Leavitt, who was the organist for his Florida church before his excommunication, said he kept waiting for his same-sex attractions to disappear, even after he got married.
"The church told me, and everyone like me, that this was a social construct, and that if you got married (you would be attracted to women). I was 44 years old and it hadn't gone away," he said.
To give y'all an idea of how tough it is to even have same sex attractions as a Mormon...
For Mormons, homosexuality presents a particular challenge because the church's emphasis on marriage carries eternal consequences. Mormons believe heaven is organized by families formed on earth; having a family is necessary to reach heaven's highest ranks.
"For a lot of Mormons it's unimaginable that you could be gay. You probably feel like you need to deny it because it just can't happen" said Boyd Petersen, coordinator of Mormon studies at Utah Valley State College.
Homosexuality challenges basic tenets of Mormon doctrine, said Scott Gordon, president of the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, a California-based organization that defends the church against criticism.
"The core of Mormon theology is the family unit. The Declaration on the Family (a key church document) says marriage is between a man and a woman ... and family is eternal," he said.
So, you can be a Gay Mormon now, you just can't be a sexually active Gay Mormon. Oh, and you wouldn't make it up to highest kingdom of glory -- the Celestial Kingdom -- you'll likely make it only to the lower Terrestrial Kingdom.
So, um, this is great news, right? Ummm, well, I'm not so sure. Celibacy is a hard row for anyone to hoe. And...
Kathleen Flake, a Mormon and associate professor of American religious history at Vanderbilt University, said the only thing that's changed is church leaders have taken a step back from old certainties about the origins of homosexuality.
The position on its effects, however, remains the same.
"We're going to be more careful to not cause you any additional pain," she said, in summarizing the document. "But know that a homosexual relationship is not God's plan for you. God's plan is that we come to earth to be like God. By the grace of God, that means getting married and having children with a member of the opposite sex. It means engendering life, because that's what God is all about."
I know my ex wasn't thrilled to find out I was transgender. I can't imagine that a Mormon housewife would be thrilled to find out her Mormon husband -- such as Lester Leavitt -- is attacted to men, as opposed to being attracted to her.
(Kudos to the Soulforce riders! - promoted by pam)
Last year my partner, daughter and I helped a very small tidbit on the Soulforce equality ride. They went again this year. The idea of the equality ride (and Soulforce) is to peacefully, in the spirit of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, confront religious institutions with the facts of how their actions that are causing GLBT individuals to suffer.
Nigeria is one of the places in the world were Mormonism has been growing by leaps and bounds (well from near 0 a couple decades ago to 120,000 today) . Inevitably, there are gay and lesbians among those Mormons.
Like so many things in the world, this story touches our lives, or at least there are many aspects of it that resonate with aspects of ours: Guy lived in Nigeria for a while as a health care worker, gay, Mormon. So what is the story? ...
(my first houselblend diary!! but... pleaseforgive for the cross post with my blog, I just thought it appropriate given the latest developments posted on the front page)
"The extent and nature of religious devotion in this nation is changing," said Oaks, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a church governing body. "The tide of public opinion in favor of religion is receding, and this probably portends public pressures for laws that will impinge on religious freedom."
The visuals on a delivery like that would just be fantastic. 
