Polygamy: What Love Is This?

Polygamy: What Love Is This? is the only broadcast television program dedicated to exploring the subject of polygamy from a biblical perspective. Since June of 2008, this call-in program has been broadcast live from Salt Lake City on KTMW TV-20 on Thursday nights at 8:00 PM. (The show is re-broadcast on Boise's KCLP TV-18 on Sunday nights at 5:00 PM). In addition, all episodes of the program are also available for online viewing from this website, and are also available as a free video Podcast through iTunes™. (Click here to subscribe to the Podcast!)

Polygamy: What Love Is This? is production of A Shield and Refuge Ministry a weekly talk show hosted by Doris Hanson, a former Mormon Fundamentalist.

Episodes from 2009:

	Episode	Date	Description	Link
	2.01	08 Jan 09	Doris interviews a former polygamist husband.	watch online
	2.02	15 Jan 09	Doris interviews Sandra Tanner.	watch online
	2.03	22 Jan 09	Doris interviews former polygamist Mary Mackert & Christian wife Dorothy Catlin.	watch online
	2.04	29 Jan 09	Doris interviews Brian Mackert, author of the book, Illegitimate on the special needs of those exiting polygamy	watch online
	2.05	5 Feb 09	Doris addresses recent and new questions and comments from viewers	watch online
	2.06	12 Feb 09	Doris interviews Bill McKeever	watch online
	2.07	19 Feb 09	Doris addresses early Mormon polygamy myth #5, and answers viewer questions.	watch online
	2.08	26 Feb 09	Doris addresses another polygamy myth #6, and discusses David's polygamy--is it from God or man?	watch online
	2.09	5 Mar 09	Doris interviews guest Russ East concerning his family's polygamist heritage.	watch online
	2.10	12 Mar 09	Doris interviews Shawn McCraney, host of TV20's "Heart of the Matter"	watch online
	2.11	19 Mar 09	Doris addresses polygamy myth #7, and discuss "faith without works".	watch online
	2.12	26 Mar 09	Doris interviews Kathy Jo Nicholson, formerly of the FLDS group.	watch online
	2.13	2 Apr 09	Doris "interviews" two of Joseph Smith's wives! (Part 1)	watch online
	2.14	9 Apr 09	Doris addresses viewer calls and emails.	watch online
	2.15	16 Apr 09	Doris "interviews" two more of Joseph Smith's wives! (Part 2)	watch online
	2.16	23 Apr 09	Doris interviews Susan Ray Schmidt, formerly of the notorious LeBaron group, about the powerful testimony of Rena Chenowyth, who had participated in this group's "blood atonement" killings.	watch online
	2.17	30 Apr 09	Doris "interviews" two more of Joseph Smith's wives! (Part 3)	watch online
	2.18	07 May 09	Polygamy Myths: Myth #9	watch online
	2.19	14 May 09	Doris interviews pastor Ross Anderson concerning the reliability of the Bible.	watch online
	2.20	21 May 09	Doris addresses polygamy myth #10; also, do we really "bash" Mormons?	watch online
	2.21	28 May 09	Myths of Polygamy, part 11; Doris adddresses viewer letters, emails, and calls; Polygamy in the Old Testament.	watch online
	2.22	04 June 09	Doris interviews pastor Ross Anderson on the reliability of the Bible (part 2)	watch online
	2.23	11 June 09	Anatomy of an escape: told by one assisting a successful rescue.	watch online
	2.24	18 June 09	Doris interviews Danielle Pimentel, a former polygamist	watch online
	2.25	25 June 09	Doris interviews Pastor Hartog about the religious culture of Utah	watch online
	2.26	02 July 09	Doris talks about polygamy in the news, and addresses viewer calls and emails.	watch online
	2.27	09 July 09	Doris interviews Kay Brown, on how the subject of polygamy contributed toward her exit from Mormonism.	watch online
	2.28	16 July 09	Doris interviews former polygamist Mary Mackert, about her ministry to those trapped in polygamy.	watch online
	2.29	23 July 09	Doris interviews Bill McKeever of Mormon Research Ministry, on "contending for the faith".	watch online
	2.30	30 July 09	Interview with Joseph Smith's 2nd plural wife, Lucinda Pendleton (dramatization by Dorothy Catlin).	watch online
	2.31	06 Aug 09	Doris addresses polygamy myth #12; The United Order	watch online
	2.32	13 Aug 09	Doris reviews the LDS film, Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration together with guests Tracy and Quentin Ferguson	watch online
	2.33	20 Aug 09	Doris interviews Bill McKeever, who continues his discussion on "contending for the faith."	watch online
	2.34	27 Aug 09	Doris interviews Beckie Whittaker, who explains the reasons behind her leaving the LDS Church.	watch online
	2.35	03 Sept 09	Doris interviews Kay Brown, who shares more of her story and testimony.	watch online
	2.36	10 Sept 09	Doris interviews Sandra Tanner, on the re-defined terminology that tends to confuse mainline and Fundamentalist Mormonism.	watch online
	2.37	17 Sept 09	Doris interviews Rauni Higley, to discuss the question of whether Joseph Smith believed the Book of Mormon.	watch online
	2.38	24 Sept 09	Doris discusses Polygamy Myth #13, as well as so-called "Christian" polygamy, and addresses viewer calls and questions.	watch online
	2.39	01 Oct 09	Doris interviews Susan Schmidt and Kathie Jo Nicholson (prerecorded episode).	watch online
	2.40	08 Oct 09	Doris dedicates this show to the memory of the late Charlie Kingston, whose moving testimony of leaving fundamentalism and finding freedom in Christ will be an encouragement!	watch online
	2.41	15 Oct 09	Doris discusses polygamy myth #14, and "Is Jesus the Christ?"	watch online
	2.42	22 Oct 09	Doris interviews childcare specialist Karen Holder on how abuses within the polygamist lifestyle affects children.	watch online
	2.43	29 Oct 09	Doris interviews Rauni Higley a second time, and examines the contradictions between the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine & Covenants.	watch online
	2.44	05 Nov 09	Doris interviews Kay Brown, who looks at the journals of early polygamists.	watch online

Utah tops list as happiest state

Excerpts of Happiest States are Wealthy and Tolerant By Jeanna Bryner, Senior Writer, LiveScience.com

Though you might not be able to run away from your problems, moving to another state could be good for the soul. New research suggests U.S. states with wealthier, better educated and more tolerant residents are also happier on average.

The reasoning is that wealthy states can provide infrastructure and so it's easier for residents to get their needs met. In addition, states with a greater proportion of artists and gays would also be places where residents can freely express themselves.

On average, well-being was highest in the Mountain states and West Coast states, followed by the Eastern Seaboard and then the Midwest and Southern states.

"We can only make generalizations about groups of people," said study researcher Jason Rentfrow of the University of Cambridge in England. "These results don't say wealthy people are happier than unwealthy people, [or that] people who live in areas where people are wealthy are happier."

Happy states

Rentfrow and his colleagues came to their conclusions by analyzing data collected from more than 350,000 individuals who were interviewed between Jan. 2 and Dec. 30, 2008 as part of the Gallup Organization's Well-Being Index. The index includes six types of well-being: overall evaluation of their lives, emotional health, physical health, healthy behaviors (such as whether a person smokes or exercises), and job satisfaction.

Here are the top 10 states and their average well-being scores (out of a possible 100 points):

• Utah: 69.2
• Hawaii: 68.2
• Wyoming: 68
• Colorado: 67.3
• Minnesota: 67.3
• Maryland: 67.1
• Washington: 67.1
• Massachusetts: 67
• California: 67
• Arizona: 66.8

Church backs SLC protections for gays after series of secret meetings

Excerpts of LDS Church supports SLC anti-bias ordinance by Matt Canham, Derek P. Jensen And Rosemary Winters, The Salt Lake Tribune
________________________________

In a rare move, the LDS Church announced Tuesday night its support of Salt Lake City's proposed ordinances protecting gay and transgender people from discrimination in housing and employment.

"The church supports these ordinances," said spokesman Michael Otterson, "because they are fair and reasonable and do not do violence to the institution of marriage."

"I believe in a church that believes in human dignity and treating people with respect when we disagree ... especially when we disagree."

The move was hailed by leaders of Utah's gay community -- some of them stunned -- who called it groundbreaking policy that they hope will set the stage for statewide legislation.

"We're really excited. This is a great step," said Will Carlson, director of public policy for the gay-rights advocacy group Equality Utah. But, he noted, four out of five gay Utahns live outside of the capital and should be afforded protection as well.

Tuesday's announcement follows more than two months of secret meetings between midlevel LDS officials and five of Utah's most prominent gay leaders. And those meetings have their roots in the "kiss-in" protests that took place after LDS security detained two gay men on the church's Main Street Plaza after they were seen hugging and kissing.

Former City Council member Deeda Seed organized the first kiss-in protest and called current Council Chairman Carlton Christensen to talk it over. Christensen then suggested to LDS leaders that a dialogue with Utah's gay community may ease hostilities.

The officials thought it was worth a shot. They reached out to the leaders of Equality Utah and the Utah Pride Center, suggesting they huddle at the Church Office Building. The gay leaders suggested a coffee shop at the Utah Pride Center. They both settled on a neutral location -- the Avenues home of Sam and Diane Stewart. The Stewarts are active Mormons and close friends of Jim Dabakis, who helped found Equality Utah and the Pride Center.

"These were two communities living in the same town that just had no understanding of each other whatsoever," Dabakis said. "It was quite uncomfortable in the beginning."

The LDS Church sees the announcement as an olive branch to the gay community after months of growing tension over the church-backed Proposition 8 vote -- barring gay marriage in California -- and the kiss-in protests. Dabakis hopes it isn't the end of the discussion, but the beginning.

Indeed, Seed says, the meetings were emotional. Gay leaders recounted "horrible" anecdotes about being shut out of decisions regarding a partner's will, hospice decision or general medical care near the time of death.

"It's the power of stories," she added. "We had tears in our eyes."

Nationally, more than 100 cities have enacted such protections for gay and transgender people.

The Sutherland Institute, a conservative Salt Lake City think tank, opposes the anti-discrimination laws.

Becker's legislative liaison, Ben McAdams, says he is optimistic the church endorsement will provide cover for state lawmakers who otherwise may propose legislation to kill the city's anti-discrimination proposal. And it may deflate the fiery rhetoric expressed by conservatives, including Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan.

Read the entire article here.

LDS Church reportedly set to reach out to gay community

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top%20stories/story/LDS-Church-reportedly-set-to-reach-out-to-gay/aakaBPvawUubWPBHkcoOhg.cspx

Numerous sources are now telling ABC 4 that the LDS Church is poised to extend an olive branch of sorts to the gay community.

These sources say the Church is expected to - both through spoken and written statements - to offer its support for proposed Salt Lake City ordinances extending protection to gays in the areas of employment and housing.

Reportedly, the Church has been in quiet discussion with members of Utah's gay community.

This announcement from the Church is expected sooner rather then later.

It is being described to ABC 4 as being very significant.

We will bring you further details in this major story as it develops. 

Copyright 2009 Newport Television LLC All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Mormon Studies Student Association

Announcing the Salt Lake Mormon Studies Student Association

By: Jared T of the Juvenile Instructor

Announcing the Salt Lake Mormon Studies Student Association.

Mission Statement:

The Salt Lake Mormon Studies Student Association was established to foster the academic study of Mormonism among graduate and undergraduate students in the Salt Lake City area. SLMSSA activities and events will help students network, keep abreast of developments in the academic study of Mormonism, facilitate interaction between students and established scholars of Mormonism, and generally promote academic development.

To achieve this, the Association hopes to sponsor socials, public lectures, and other events.

Any student enrolled in a college or university located in Salt Lake County is eligible for membership though we welcome participation from friends who are students in other areas or other non-students.

1) Our opening social will be Thursday, November 12 at 6 pm in the Common Room (2nd floor) of the A. Ray Olpin University Union building at the University of Utah (#53 on this map). If you are a student enrolled in a school in Salt Lake County, please come to our opening social.

2) Details will be forthcoming on the following lectures which will be open to the public:

November 19-Paul Reeve

December 3-Kristine Haglund

January 28-Steve Harper

February 25-Brian Cannon

March-TBA

April 29-Brittany Chapman

3) And finally, I am in the fund raising stages of organizing a conference on Latin American Mormon Studies in Salt Lake slated for Fall 2010.

Whether future years are as busy as this one is to be determined, but we hope to continue to offer a robust set of activities and many opportunities for interaction.  If you're in the Salt Lake area, I hope you'll attend our lectures and if you are a graduate or undergraduate student at a Salt Lake County school, I hope you'll come to our social and join the Association.

Please direct any questions to saltlakemormonstudies@gmail.com. Thank you!

Jan Shipps lecture in Salt Lake: What Does Religious Studies Bring to the Study of Mormonism?

Jan Shipps on What Does Religious Studies Bring to the Study of
Mormonism? November 17, SLC

Please join us on Tuesday, November 17th for a special lecture by Jan
Shipps, long-time scholar of Mormonism and frequent participant at
Sunstone.

Her lecture will consist of reflections on field of religious studies,
and how the advances and techniques of this larger field equips
scholars of Mormonism.

Tuesday, November 17
Level 4 Meeting Room, Salt Lake City Main Library
210 East 400 South, Salt Lake.

Mingling at 6:30 pm, lecture starts at 7:00 pm.

Notification posted by MormonConferences.org

Polygamist Sect Leader Convicted of Sexual Assault

Excerpts of  Polygamist Sect Leader Convicted of Sexual Assault by JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr., New York Times

ELDORADO, Tex. — One of the leaders of a polygamist sect was convicted Thursday night of sexually assaulting an under-age girl whom the church elders had assigned to him as one of his nine wives.

A jury of seven men and five women deliberated 2 hours 20 minutes before returning a verdict of guilty in the first trial of a dozen members of the Yearning for Zion Ranch just outside this rural hamlet in West Texas.

Mr. Jessop will be sentenced after a second hearing before the jury on Monday. He faces penalties ranging from 2 years' probation to 20 years in prison.

Mr. Jessop is one of the most prominent members of a breakaway sect that has at least four other communities in Arizona and Utah. He is close to Warren S. Jeffs, the self-styled prophet and leader of the sect.

The trial of Mr. Jessop offered a rare glimpse of the inner workings of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a group that split from the Mormon Church. Followers believe polygamy brings heavenly rewards and treat Mr. Jeffs as a modern-day prophet.

Since the woman said to be the victim, who is now 21, did not testify, Mr. Nichols used the documents, along with her photo album, to prove she lived with Mr. Jessop as one of his wives and was impregnated by him when she was 16.

One of the most damning pieces of evidence presented in court was a written record of Mr. Jeffs's instructions in August 2005 not to take the girl to a hospital even though she had been struggling in labor for three days at a clinic on the ranch.

"I knew the girl, being 16 years old, if she went to the hospital, they could put Raymond Jessop in jeopardy of prosecution as the government is looking for any reason to come against us there," Mr. Jeffs was quoted as saying.

Ms. Musser testified that Mr. Jeffs had controlled every aspect of the women's lives, including how they dressed and what they ate. He also controlled whom they married and when.

"Age was not a factor," she said. "It was when the prophet deemed she was worthy."

Gay-Marriage Fight Heads to New Jersey

Gay-Marriage Fight Heads to New Jersey
Wall Street Journal

By KEITH J. WINSTEIN

The battle over gay rights will move to New Jersey and the federal government, advocates said, after Tuesday's narrow rejection of same-sex marriage by Maine voters in a hard-fought contest.

The Democrat-controlled legislature in New Jersey, which currently recognizes same-sex couples in civil unions, is under pressure to pass a bill authorizing gay marriage before Gov. Jon Corzine ends his term in mid-January.

Mr. Corzine, a Democrat unseated in Tuesday's election, said he would sign such a bill. His successor, Republican Chris Christie, opposes same-sex marriages.

"New Jersey is at the very top of our list, and it's going to happen in the next few weeks if it happens at all," said Maggie Gallagher, the president of the National Organization for Marriage, which opposes same-sex marriages. "They're doing it in a lame duck, because it's as far away from an election as possible."

continue the article here

Scientific look at prayer

Excerpts of For Prayer Skeptics: Studies that Show the Health Benefits of Prayer

Monday October 26, 2009

There is overwhelming evidence - enough to say without hesitation: Prayer is healthy for those who practice it.

Dale Matthew's book "The Faith Factor" and William Backus' "The Healing Power of a Healthy Mind" offer reviews of some of these studies.

Here are a few of best known studies linking prayer with health:

Poloma. M. M., Pendleton, B. F. (1991). The effects of prayer and prayer experiences on measures of general well-being. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 1, 71-83. This study demonstrated that prayer and prayer experiences have a positive effect on the general health of those who practice it. 

Laird, S. P., (1991). A preliminary investigation into the role of prayer as a coping technique for adult patients with arthritis (arthritis patients). (Doctoral dissertation, University of Kansas, 1991). Laird found that in arthritis patients 1) having faith in prayer was positively related to better emotional adjustment, 2) praying more days per week was positively related to fewer health concerns, 3) engaging in confessional prayer was positively related to having more health concerns, 4) engaging in receptive prayer was positively related to greater social involvement with friends and relatives. 

Highfield, M. (1992).  Spiritual health of oncology patients: Nurse and patient perspectives.  Cancer Nursing, 10, 1-8. Highfield demonstrates that faith is a significant aid for patients dealing with chronic pain. 

Levin, J. (1994). Religion and health: Is there an association?  Is it valid?  Is it causal?  Social Science and Medicine, v.38, n.11, 1475-82. This study documents how religious practice lessens the effects of sickle-cell anemia. 

Backus, W. (1997). The healing power of a healthy mind. Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers.  Backus recounts studies showing how faith strengthens the immune system and gives bolstering weapons for patients battling AIDS.

Gardner, J., & Lyon, J. (1982).  Cancer in Utah Mormon men by lay priesthood level. American Journal of Epidermiology, 116, 243-57.  These researchers identified a correlation between regular public worship and lower cancer rates. 

Enstrom, J. E. (1989). Health practices and cancer mortality among active California Mormons.  Journal of National Cancer Institute, 81, 1807-14. This study discovered that for those who do contract cancer, faith is a significant factor in recovery.

Graham, T, B., Kaplan, J., Cornoni-Huntley, S., James, C., Becker, C., Hames, S., & Heydon, S. (1978).  Frequency of church attendance and blood pressure elevation.  Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 1, 37-43. They found that participation in some form of public worship is an effective deterrent against high blood pressure. 

Comstock, G. & Partridge, K. (1972).  Church attendance and health. Journal of Chronic Diseases, 25, 665-72. This study of 91,909 individuals in Maryland found that those who attended church once or more per week had significantly lower death rate from heart disease (50% reduction), emphysema (56% reduction), and cirrhosis of the liver (74% reduction). 

Cerrato, Paul L. (1998). Spirituality and healing. RN, 2, 49. Cerrato found that faith elevated the general health of patients.

Berkel, J. & de Waard, F.(1983). Mortality pattern and life expectancy of Seventh-Day Adventists in the Netherlands.   International Journal of Epidermiology 4, 455-59.  This study showed that church attendance, meditation, religious study, and worship quite literally invigorate the body.

BYU terminates it's Women's Research Institute

Excerpts of BYU to fold its Women's Research Institute by Brian Maffly, Salt Lake Tribune

--
Some faculty members at Brigham Young University are mourning the apparent demise of the school's Women's Research Institute, an interdisciplinary center that has sponsored research across the academic spectrum for three decades.

Administration officials announced the move last week, calling it a reorganization that "will result in significantly expanded resources and creative activities pertaining to women," according to BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins.

But in an Internet posting, unnamed WRI-affiliated faculty noted that the reorganization removes an institution with a record of coordinating research across disciplines, from ancient scripture to health science. The center, with 83 affiliated faculty from nearly every department on campus, has published dozens of papers, notably in the areas of peace and violence.

"This is really significant research that has been recognized at the highest levels in social science and it's disappearing as a university priority. It's utterly lamentable because there's still a need for that," said political science professor Valerie Hudson in an interview.

An outside scholar called WRI's elimination "unfortunate," particularly in light of BYU's troubled history with women's studies. In the mid 1990s, a popular women's conference was launched and folded amid much controversy, noted Christine Talbot, a scholar of Mormon history who coordinates University of Northern Colorado's women's studies program.

"A lot of people saw the institute as an effort to revamp women's studies on that campus," said Talbot, who completed her doctoral work at the University of Utah three years ago. "It's the only place in the United States that is a focal point for Mormon women's history."

Read the entire article here.

Gay rights petition delivered to Mormon church

Gay rights petition delivered to Mormon church
Caspar Star-Tribune
November 4, 2009

A foundation that supports gay rights delivered a petition Wednesday to Mormon church leaders asking them to reconsider their policies and political activism against gay marriage.

About 50 members of the Foundation for Reconciliation delivered the petition to mark the one-year anniversary of a ballot initiative that banned gay marriage in California, spokesman Peter Danzig said. The foundation had collected about 2,000 signatures on the petition, which has circulated online since June.

A church security staffer accepted the delivery, which was brought to the downtown Salt Lake City headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by a group pulling a replica of a Mormon pioneer handcart. About half the group had pulled the handcart about five miles from This is the Place state park, which memorializes the entrance of Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake valley in 1847...

http://www.trib.com/news/state-and-local/article_99dcf06a-8997-52ef-a205-de12ee5afdec.html

Creationism and Intelligent Design: Scientific and Theological Difficulties

Creationism and Intelligent Design: Scientific and Theological Difficulties

David H.  Bailey
4 Nov 2009

Introduction

Many religious believers today are comfortable with the notion of an evolutionary process over many millions of years as Gods means for achieving the creation.  In other words, they believe that while God governed the creation in some sense, it proceeded largely by natural laws and processes that can be uncovered by diligent research.  An open-ended philosophy of this sort is entirely consistent with modern scientific knowledge, and for many (the present author included), the war between science and religion ends here.

A recent report by the National Academy of Science observed, Science and religion are based on different aspects of human experience ...  Attempts to pit science and religion against each other create controversy where none needs to exist.  The report adds, Scientists and theologians have written eloquently about their awe and wonder at the history of the universe and of life on this planet, explaining that they see no conflict between their faith in God and the evidence for evolution.[1] Among the notable and openly God-fearing scientists cited in this report are Francis Collins (Director of the U.S.  National Institutes of Health and former Director of the Human Genome Project), Kenneth Miller (a well-known biologist and co-author of the most widely used biology textbook), and George Coyne (former Director of the Vatican Observatory).

Others in modern society (often but not always associated with conservative religious movements) insist on a more traditional view of the creation.  Many of these persons further believe that there is scientific evidence to support such a view.  In a 2004 poll, 45 percent of Americans agreed that God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so.[2] In a 2005 poll, 42 percent of Americans agreed that humans and other living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time.[3] Such persons have been drawn to the creationist movement and still are, although today the intelligent design (ID) movement has been growing in popularity.

Typical of recent creationist literature is the declaration that millions of years of evolution not only contradicts the clear teaching of Genesis and the rest of Scripture but also impugns the character of God.[4] ID literature is more accepting of modern science, but still holds that Darwinian evolution is scientifically faulty, and cannot be reconciled with Judeo-Christian theism.[5]

This paper will examine the creationist and intelligent design movements from both a scientific and a theological perspective.  This discussion is framed for adherents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), although much of this analysis is independent of any particular religious denomination.

1 National Academy of Science, Institute of Medicine, Science, Evolution and Creationism, The National Academies Press, Washington, 2008, pg.  12.

2 Gallup Poll, 2004, available at (this and all other URLS in this paper were verified on 4 Oct 2009): http://www.gallup.com/poll/14107/third-americans-say-evidence-has-supported-darwins-evolution-theory.aspx.

3 Pew Forum survey, 2005, available at http://pewforum.org/publications/surveys/religion-politics-05.pdf.

4 Ken Ham, Couldnt God Have Used Genesis?, 1 May 2009, available at http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/couldnt-god-have-used-evolution.

5 John G.  West, Is Darwinian Evolution Compatible with Religion?, 22 Aug 2007, available at http://www.discovery.org/a/9721.

Continue the article here

Diaries of Mormon apostle John Henry Smith made available

Diaries of Mormon apostle made available

The content of the diaries of Mormon Apostle John Henry Smith have been made available on-line.

John Henry Smith served as an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the presidencies of John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow and Joseph F. Smith (1880-1910).  The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is the second highest governing body of the LDS church.

He also served in the church's highest quorum, The First Presidency, as a counselor to Joseph F. Smith (1910-1911).

Continue reading

Gay Marriage law rejected in Maine

Maine election results: Gay marriage law rejected
http://www.examiner.com/x-19632-Salt-Lake-City-Headlines-Examiner~y2009m11d4-Maine-election-results-2009-gay-marriage-law-rejected#

Voters in Maine rejected a law on Tuesday that would have allowed same
sex couples to marry, and would have become the 6th state in the
country to allow same-sex marriages. In May, Maine legalized same sex
marriage and yesterday that law was repealed.

With perhaps one of the most anticipated results from the 2009
November election, many people waited to hear what would be decided.
At 2 am, with 87% reporting votes, opponents of same-sex marriage had
53% of the votes and supporters had 47%.

Maine voters are known for their independent minded views, and gay
rights activists were hoping for a positive outcome. Five states
currently support and perform gay marriages, Iowa, Connecticut,
Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. New York and Washington DC
recognize same-sex marriages, but do not grant them.

California was one of the first states to support gay marriages and
perform same-sex marriages, but then Proposition 8 was overturned,
which resulted in a national debate over the issue.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (also known as the
Mormon Church) has been one of the largest financial supporters
against same-sex marriage. They have been outspoken about their views,
and as a result many gay-rights activists have conducted protests in
Salt Lake City against the Mormon Church since Prop 8 was overturned.

Mormon "zeal of the convert" runs counter to other religions

Excerpts of The "Zeal of the Convert": Is It the Real Deal?" Pew Forum on religion and public life
--

A common perception about individuals who switch religions is that they are very fervent about their new faith. A new analysis by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life provides quantitative support for this piece of conventional wisdom often referred to as the "zeal of the convert." The analysis finds that people who have switched faiths (or joined a faith after being raised unaffiliated with a religion) are indeed slightly more religious than those who have remained in their childhood faith, as measured by the importance of religion in their lives, frequency with which they attend religious services and other measures of religious commitment. However, the analysis also finds that the differences in religious commitment between converts and nonconverts are generally very small and are more apparent among some religious groups than others.

One of the most striking findings of the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Forum in 2007, was the large number of people who have left their childhood faith. According to the survey, roughly half of all Americans say they have left the faith in which they were raised to adopt another faith or no faith at all, or if they were not raised in a religion, they have since joined one.

The new analysis finds that, overall, people who have switched religions consistently exhibit higher levels of religious commitment than those who still belong to their childhood faith, but the differences are relatively modest. For example, among people currently affiliated with a religion:

• Slightly more than two-thirds of converts (69%) say religion is very important to them, compared with 62% of nonconverts.

• Half of converts (51%) attend worship services at least once a week, compared with 44% of nonconverts.

• More than eight-in-ten converts (82%) believe in God with absolute certainty, compared with 77% of nonconverts.

• Seven-in-ten converts (70%) pray every day, compared with 62% of nonconverts.

• About three-in-ten converts (29%) say they share their views on God with others at least once a week, compared with two-in-ten nonconverts (20%).

• And slightly more than one-quarter of converts (27%) say theirs is the one true faith, compared with 22% of nonconverts.

The analysis reveals only one striking exception to this pattern: Lifelong Mormons are significantly more religious than converts to the faith on two measures. Nonconverts are, for instance, more likely to attend church regularly and to believe that theirs is the one true faith than are converts to the Mormon faith. Outside of Mormonism, however, the analysis finds no instances where lifelong members of a particular faith exhibit significantly higher levels of religious commitment than converts on any of the six measures.

Spong: A Manifesto! "The Time Has Come"

John Shelby Spong  is the retired American bishop of the Episcopal Church Diocese of Newark.  He is a theologian, Biblical scholar and author.
 
http://secure.agoramedia.com/spong/34674.asp

October 15, 2009

A Manifesto! The Time Has Come!

I have made a decision. I will no longer debate the issue of homosexuality in the church with anyone. I will no longer engage the biblical ignorance that emanates from so many right-wing Christians about how the Bible condemns homosexuality, as if that point of view still has any credibility. I will no longer discuss with them or listen to them tell me how homosexuality is "an abomination to God," about how homosexuality is a "chosen lifestyle," or about how through prayer and "spiritual counseling" homosexual persons can be "cured." Those arguments are no longer worthy of my time or energy. I will no longer dignify by listening to the thoughts of those who advocate "reparative therapy," as if homosexual persons are somehow broken and need to be repaired. I will no longer talk to those who believe that the unity of the church can or should be achieved by rejecting the presence of, or at least at the expense of, gay and lesbian people. I will no longer take the time to refute the unlearned and undocumentable claims of certain world religious leaders who call homosexuality "deviant." I will no longer listen to that pious sentimentality that certain Christian leaders continue to employ, which suggests some version of that strange and overtly dishonest phrase that "we love the sinner but hate the sin." That statement is, I have concluded, nothing more than a self-serving lie designed to cover the fact that these people hate homosexual persons and fear homosexuality itself, but somehow know that hatred is incompatible with the Christ they claim to profess, so they adopt this face-saving and absolutely false statement. I will no longer temper my understanding of truth in order to pretend that I have even a tiny smidgen of respect for the appalling negativity that continues to emanate from religious circles where the church has for centuries conveniently perfumed its ongoing prejudices against blacks, Jews, women and homosexual persons with what it assumes is "high-sounding, pious rhetoric." The day for that mentality has quite simply come to an end for me. I will personally neither tolerate it nor listen to it any longer. The world has moved on, leaving these elements of the Christian Church that cannot adjust to new knowledge or a new consciousness lost in a sea of their own irrelevance. They no longer talk to anyone but themselves. I will no longer seek to slow down the witness to inclusiveness by pretending that there is some middle ground between prejudice and oppression. There isn't. Justice postponed is justice denied. That can be a resting place no longer for anyone. An old civil rights song proclaimed that the only choice awaiting those who cannot adjust to a new understanding was to "Roll on over or we'll roll on over you!" Time waits for no one.

I will particularly ignore those members of my own Episcopal Church who seek to break away from this body to form a "new church," claiming that this new and bigoted instrument alone now represents the Anglican Communion. Such a new ecclesiastical body is designed to allow these pathetic human beings, who are so deeply locked into a world that no longer exists, to form a community in which they can continue to hate gay people, distort gay people with their hopeless rhetoric and to be part of a religious fellowship in which they can continue to feel justified in their homophobic prejudices for the rest of their tortured lives. Church unity can never be a virtue that is preserved by allowing injustice, oppression and psychological tyranny to go unchallenged.

In my personal life, I will no longer listen to televised debates conducted by "fair-minded" channels that seek to give "both sides" of this issue "equal time." I am aware that these stations no longer give equal time to the advocates of treating women as if they are the property of men or to the advocates of reinstating either segregation or slavery, despite the fact that when these evil institutions were coming to an end the Bible was still being quoted frequently on each of these subjects. It is time for the media to announce that there are no longer two sides to the issue of full humanity for gay and lesbian people. There is no way that justice for homosexual people can be compromised any longer.

I will no longer act as if the Papal office is to be respected if the present occupant of that office is either not willing or not able to inform and educate himself on public issues on which he dares to speak with embarrassing ineptitude. I will no longer be respectful of the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who seems to believe that rude behavior, intolerance and even killing prejudice is somehow acceptable, so long as it comes from third-world religious leaders, who more than anything else reveal in themselves the price that colonial oppression has required of the minds and hearts of so many of our world's population. I see no way that ignorance and truth can be placed side by side, nor do I believe that evil is somehow less evil if the Bible is quoted to justify it. I will dismiss as unworthy of any more of my attention the wild, false and uninformed opinions of such would-be religious leaders as Pat Robertson, James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, Jimmy Swaggart, Albert Mohler, and Robert Duncan. My country and my church have both already spent too much time, energy and money trying to accommodate these backward points of view when they are no longer even tolerable.

I make these statements because it is time to move on. The battle is over. The victory has been won. There is no reasonable doubt as to what the final outcome of this struggle will be. Homosexual people will be accepted as equal, full human beings, who have a legitimate claim on every right that both church and society have to offer any of us. Homosexual marriages will become legal, recognized by the state and pronounced holy by the church. "Don't ask, don't tell" will be dismantled as the policy of our armed forces. We will and we must learn that equality of citizenship is not something that should ever be submitted to a referendum. Equality under and before the law is a solemn promise conveyed to all our citizens in the Constitution itself. Can any of us imagine having a public referendum on whether slavery should continue, whether segregation should be dismantled, whether voting privileges should be offered to women? The time has come for politicians to stop hiding behind unjust laws that they themselves helped to enact, and to abandon that convenient shield of demanding a vote on the rights of full citizenship because they do not understand the difference between a constitutional democracy, which this nation has, and a "mobocracy," which this nation rejected when it adopted its constitution. We do not put the civil rights of a minority to the vote of a plebiscite.

I will also no longer act as if I need a majority vote of some ecclesiastical body in order to bless, ordain, recognize and celebrate the lives and gifts of gay and lesbian people in the life of the church. No one should ever again be forced to submit the privilege of citizenship in this nation or membership in the Christian Church to the will of a majority vote.

The battle in both our culture and our church to rid our souls of this dying prejudice is finished. A new consciousness has arisen. A decision has quite clearly been made. Inequality for gay and lesbian people is no longer a debatable issue in either church or state. Therefore, I will from this moment on refuse to dignify the continued public expression of ignorant prejudice by engaging it. I do not tolerate racism or sexism any longer. From this moment on, I will no longer tolerate our culture's various forms of homophobia. I do not care who it is who articulates these attitudes or who tries to make them sound holy with religious jargon.

I have been part of this debate for years, but things do get settled and this issue is now settled for me. I do not debate any longer with members of the "Flat Earth Society" either. I do not debate with people who think we should treat epilepsy by casting demons out of the epileptic person; I do not waste time engaging those medical opinions that suggest that bleeding the patient might release the infection. I do not converse with people who think that Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans as punishment for the sin of being the birthplace of Ellen DeGeneres or that the terrorists hit the United Sates on 9/11 because we tolerated homosexual people, abortions, feminism or the American Civil Liberties Union. I am tired of being embarrassed by so much of my church's participation in causes that are quite unworthy of the Christ I serve or the God whose mystery and wonder I appreciate more each day. Indeed I feel the Christian Church should not only apologize, but do public penance for the way we have treated people of color, women, adherents of other religions and those we designated heretics, as well as gay and lesbian people.

Life moves on. As the poet James Russell Lowell once put it more than a century ago: "New occasions teach new duties, Time makes ancient good uncouth." I am ready now to claim the victory. I will from now on assume it and live into it. I am unwilling to argue about it or to discuss it as if there are two equally valid, competing positions any longer. The day for that mentality has simply gone forever.

This is my manifesto and my creed. I proclaim it today. I invite others to join me in this public declaration. I believe that such a public outpouring will help cleanse both the church and this nation of its own distorting past. It will restore integrity and honor to both church and state. It will signal that a new day has dawned and we are ready not just to embrace it, but also to rejoice in it and to celebrate it.
– John Shelby Spong

Claremont School of Religion on ITunes U

CGU now live on iTunesU. University-wide research, news, and major events available in podcast form

Claremont Graduate University announced that it is now active and live on iTunes University. We are part of a group of 175 colleges and universities vetted by Apple, Inc., to be included in this site.

Advancement Vice-President Gregory Pierre Cox underscored the value to CGU as a result of the persistence and efforts of University Communications. "CGU's presence on iTunes University expands our connection to hundreds of millions of iTunes users," said Cox. "It will help us promote the work of our faculty, the quality of their research and publishing, showcase our students, and reaffirm the importance of CGU to society."

This additional communications platform adds another level to the university's leading-edge communications plans featuring our YouTube channel, website, Twitter, and Facebook platforms. University Communications will be working with each of the schools to build their presences as we move forward to share our vision with friends, alumni and alumnae, donors and prospective donors, and the general public.

CGU's iTunesU center is located at the following link: http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/cgu.edu