Returning to Church - or not....

An email drafted for my Bishop and EQ President that I'm not sure if I should send. Comments?

I just got my second Covid shot and I'm feeling pretty good about that.

I posted on Facebook that I'm looking forward to meeting with friends again in a couple of weeks as long as they were also vaccinated and still wear a mask in public places (-pretty much the standard of my mission to be in the Church History Library). But if I were to apply that standard to meeting with the ward how long would it be? Am I wrong to assume that it's probably never?

I Guess I'm the Oddball

The New Standard of Patriotism
President Obama never hugged the flag enough

I get it. I understand.

I know why you like trump so much. Whatever he accomplishes or doesn't, it's just the way he says things. He uses that bigly edgy voice to bash Democrats, Illegal Aliens, the Liberal Elite, Government Workers, Godless Scientists, Abortionist Proponents, Muslims, Secular Humanists, Mexicans, it goes on and on.

I get that you are not racist because if only "those" people behaved like you, like real Americans, then they would be OK. That would be like Congresswoman Mia Love living in Saratoga Springs, Utah and acting just like all her neighbors regardless of her darker shade of skin. It's like Raul Labrador, Congressman of Idaho who may have come from a Puerto-Ricana family but went to BYU and goes to church and acts just like all the other Mormons and has conservative credentials for the non-Mormon Idahoans. You love the guy! You're not racist!

Why Liberals Leave the LDS Church (and This One Isn't)

Well, obviously because they're evil. duh.

It's a bit more complex than that.

IMHO, a lot of people leave the church because they don't feel comfortable there. They hurt in the very place where they want to feel healing. And the hurt overpowers the opportunity for healing.

It's hard not to judge. We do it constantly. And we often judge unrighteous judgments.

And when there is a cultural and political conservatism imposed where it need not be, it can create insurmountable conflict.

Yes, I'm speaking of the "wink, with, nudge, nudge" crowd who are so anxious for the world to be evil as they point it out so that they can rejoice when the wicked are punished and they are proven right.

Anonymous D gave me some insight recently that this kind of prideful thinking is very much the "Nephite Disease" of the Book of Mormon. It is in classifying people with whom we disagree as the "other" and relegating them to a level of righteousness and eternal judgment much lower than our own. If they're not with us, they must be against us and likely Lamanites to boot!

Why I Rise

Resolfen [Resolven] 1900

From Song of the Earth by Alexander Cordell. It's about 1850 on Lyon Street in Resolven, Vale of Neath, Wales. The father, Mostyn, comes home from the coal mine to find Redcoats in his house looking for his son:

The Redcoat smiled and shifted his feet. There was about him a quiet authority more usually found in their officers, and he was not without charm. He could have handled this in a much more brutal way for he held the power of life and death over the Welsh workers. In the Top Towns, where the owners called in the military to break a strike, I have seen the Welsh flung out of their homes, their women man-handled. Time was, In Crawshay's Merthyr, when a troop had only to cut a dog in half to get obedience, or hang an innocent Dic Penderyn, but he Bread or Blood riots of '31, and the rise of the Welsh Chartists in '39 had changed the face of their authority. Yet they still demanded instant loyalty to their puppet Queen, and this, usually, was the test of Welsh fidelity. The sergeant said now, 'You are aware that your son is a member of illegal organisations?' [unions]

'if he is, then he is responsible.'

Miracles Great and Small

The back entrance to Mueller Park Jr. High that my wife uses the morning after the shotgun blast.
My wife heard that the neighboring LDS Stake President initiated this effort.

There have been a series of bruises to this liberal heart since returning from the Land of my Fathers (Cymru) last summer. First, the Malheur Armed Occupiers were found not guilty. Then, somehow, America elected the most despicable woman-abusing, self-aggrandizing, klepto-capitalist to be President. And finally, a troubled kid with a shotgun blasted a hole in the ceiling of a classroom in the school where my wife teaches.

The first miracle is that in spite of significant emotional trauma to that school community (yours truly included), no blood was shed. The Washington Post noted this is in a fairly accurate article revealing some of the difficult details of he incident that I wasn't going to share, but that 's the press for you. Locally, KSL also had good coverage of the aftermath. Those details do, however, reveal how close this was to becoming a horrific tragedy. Thank Heavens and all involved who acted with good training, smarts, and compassion. No one had to shoot the poor kid down and he was unsuccessful in whatever he was attempting except that first blast.

Difficult Family Disputes

I won't reveal any confidences here or name names. I just thought it might be interesting to share some of what I get from extended family with regard to who I am and what I believe. It does make my life a bit of a challenge. But I try hard not to make it any worse. This individual claims not to read my blog so they will likely never see it. If they do, we'll see how that goes down. Following are the text messages about our events yesterday in the Federal Building where I work:

Me: 

Just FYI I'm OK. Federal building evacuated yesterday and bomb squad took suspected explosive device.

Family Member: 

Good news. Glad you're all ok. It's not right that it's not safe to go to work. Restaurants, stadiums, airliners, malls, hotels, vacations, concerts and office towers are not safe either.

Me:

Federal buildings (like Oklahoma City) seem to be a particular target for some.

Progressive Scouting

Feminism lives at Philmont Scout Ranch, Cimarron, New Mexico

No one would ever say "Liberal" Scouting. The Boy Scouts of America is a solidly conservative organization based on middle-class values transported from Victorian England (Lord Baden Powell, ¿no?) I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. In fact, most of it is quite good. My purpose here is to point out some important, if sometimes glacially slow, movement that Scouting has made in a good, progressive direction, IMHO.

Bullies and Heroes

Scout-posted flag for Presidents Day, 2013
Washington's Birthday (and Lincoln's) on a Monday

Something is happening here. And with apologies to Buffalo Springfield, what it is ain't exactly clear.

I already committed to fight bullying in Scouting. There's not much I've done directly, but I try to influence boys for the good when I can. I'm now Troop Committee Chair so I do get involved in Boards of Review, Courts of Honor, and I help out when I can like with the flags on holidays.

My wife is working on BSA National Council committees to rewrite some handbooks and adult training curricula. She also teaches Science in Jr. High. We often talk about kids and bullying and maybe my influence is through her as she has so much more clout in these things. Although she hardly needs me to do the right thing to address bullying.

And then this seems to tie right back to the whole Scouting and Gay policy thing and the current review of the recent review that is now going on. I've stated my position that the BSA ought to at least accept the current official LDS Church position that same-sex attraction is not  wrong and to be concerned only with the behavioral aspects. There have always been Gays in Scouting, there are now, and always will be. I see no problem in acknowledging it and keeping proper behavioral standards. I mean, Scouting isn't supposed to be about any kind of sexual activity. And it shouldn't be about denying reality either. But I won't speculate further as to what the LDS Church or Scouting may do with this. I've made my views known to the local council leadership.

Book of Mormon Pride Cycle (Liberal View)

Every active member of the LDS Church can draw the Book of Mormon Price Cycle with their eyes closed. I would make an attempt, but it is easier explained with a clear graphic:

My son wrote a very popular Guest Post on Humility and Pride on this blog. Anonymous D has hit the Pride Cycle theme in rather direct terms here, here, and here. And keep reading the blog. I don't think he's through yet.

The "Righteousness" of Conservatives and Liberals

Yesterday, I heard a fascinating discussion on KUER Radio West with Doug Fabrizio discussing the moral basis of politics with Social Psychologist, Jonathan Haidt. It was not in any sense a discussion of Right vs. Wrong but a social scientist's approach to understanding the differences. His thesis is that different groups have different value systems and speak different languages that mean different things to each other. While he conceded that much of it was in broad generalities, he concluded it was very important for a society to include both conservative and liberal groups and mindsets. The important thing is we have to learn to understand each other better. It was amazing - and right up my passionate moderate alleyway.

On the KUER webpage, there is a link to the program and additional information including a survey test to see where you come out on the values of morality tending to indicate a general political worldview, some of which we may not recognize on the surface. So here are my test results:

A Moderate Response to Mitt Romney (and me)

In response to my hyperventilation about Governor Romney being taped discussing the 47%, Anonymous/D provides the following:

Well, keep your head about you.  It is just politics after all.  The thing is, I hate to make anybody, in Isaiah’s terminology, an "offender for a word" - even Romney in his 47% comment. I think I know what he meant when he said it. I hate to hold it against him, or make myself feel better about voting for Obama.  It’s just not intellectually honest although you can score easy political points with something like that.  Maybe there are people out there who will change their vote because of it.  It wouldn’t change my mind were I on the fence.  He’s probably right, there are a group of people out there who will never change their minds.  It’s the thing I hate about politics, this constant point-scoring, the intellectual dishonesty of campaigning.   It’s all a show.

Teddy Roosevelt - "for Men and not for Property"

The ugliness of the current presidential election distresses me. I decline to argue or comment on the specifics of the charges and counter-charges between the President and the Governor. People have generally already chosen their champion based on politics and personal preference. Factual debate seems rather elusive as each side marshals their own political offenses to charge against the other side.

I guess I am still doing that to some degree, but it seems a little less contentious to go back into history. Thinking a lot about the modern conservative movement, I was trying to find a good quote from Republican President Teddy Roosevelt on the progressive income tax. I have also pondered on the apparent connection between conservatives and anti- civil rights sentiment (anti- immigration reform, anti- social programs for the poor - generally minorities, etc.)