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Archive for May, 2009

In the name of religion – George Tiller, RIP

05.31.2009 · Posted in Fundamentalism, Violence, abortion

One of the staunchest defenders of abortion rights was killed Sunday, May 31st, as he walked into his Lutheran Church. George Tiller, long villified by anti-abortionists for performing late term abortions (one of very few doctors who would do so in the US), was shot and killed. This was the second time someone shot him. ...

Sunday in Outer Blogness: Back again edition!

05.31.2009 · Posted in Sunday in Outer Blogness

This has been an exciting week! Loads of fascinating discussion on religion! Three of our regular readers have told the stories of how leaving Mormonism meant being true to themselves: Kullervo has always been a Pagan, Jonathan’s inner infidel overcame his Mormon side, and Mormon Andrew had an atheist hiding inside. In a similar vein, ...

Sunday in Outer Blogness: History and Research Edition!

05.17.2009 · Posted in LDS History, Sunstone, Utah

Chris Smith reminds us that the due date is fast approaching for presenter proposals at this year’s SLC Sunstone Symposium! The theme this year is Zion’s Sisterhood: Celebrating Mormon Women’s Contributions to Church and Culture. I’m dying to go myself — since for once I’ll actually be in the U.S. at the right time of ...

And now for some real family history!

05.14.2009 · Posted in Genealogy, LDS History, Mission Field

That’s right, you no longer have to settle for silly second and third-hand stories about the Aurora Branch. Now it’s time to hear about it from the horse’s mouth! What do you remember about those days? Climbing the stairs to the second floor of the Odd Fellows Hall where the branch met for about 20 ...

The LDS Church, Proposition 8, and the Federal Law of Charities

05.08.2009 · Posted in Law, Politics

Brian Galle*: In the days before and after the passage of California’s “Proposition 8,” a ballot initiative barring legal recognition of same-sex marriages in the state, it was widely reported that the LDS Church, together with other religious organizations, played a significant role in supporting the initiative. National attention peaked with a New York Times ...

It’s Time to Play: Anti-Mormon… Or Not?

05.07.2009 · Posted in Arts, Literature, anti-Mormon

Here’s my crazy theory about the problem with Mormon Literature: It’s not that most Mormons want to read something “clean” and uplifting. It’s that the folks who want only clean and uplifting reading are so worried about the possibility of reading or supporting something potentially “anti-Mormon” that they’ll avoid LDS-interest publishers or retailers that sell ...

Why do we act?

05.07.2009 · Posted in Freedom, Obedience

When we were members of the church, we knew very acutely how many rules and laws and words of wisdom and commandments we had to follow. Why did we keep up with it then…and why do we do what we do now? What motivates us to act? For the past few weeks, I have been ...

Sunday in Outre Blogness: Lazy Edition!

05.03.2009 · Posted in Sunday in Outer Blogness

You may recall from last week’s episode that some commenter mercilessly sucked me into reading The Authoritarians, which has cut into the Sunday morning free-time that I normally spend finding intricate and obscure connections among the posts of Outer Blogness from the past week. And, sadly, it wasn’t one of those easy weeks with a ...

Dreams in a Garden

05.01.2009 · Posted in Moving On

I had a strange dream last night. I see your eyes glazing over already. Listening to other people’s dreams bores you. I get that. I want to share anyway. I dreamt that I was in the middle of a garden where I enjoyed every earthly delight. Then a man dressed in white approached me. He ...

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