Nobody Should Leave the LDS Church. But if Conservatives Need an Excuse . . . .

My Bishop is a really great guy. In one recent visit, I was expressing my exasperation over so many who leave the church because their liberal-leaning souls are hurt. I exclaimed, "Why don't more conservatives who don't follow church teachings leave!"

His response that we didn't want anyone to leave calmed me somewhat. And then he went on so tactfully to encourage my responsibility to offer service and Christian love because that's what the Gospel of Christ is really all about. I was sufficiently humbled and chastened. And in spite of my weaknesses, I will carry on.

Sometimes, though, I just can't help poking the hornets nest. (I should stick to the beehive.)

The recent turmoil I felt over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and the serious criminal charges including some relating back to the armed confrontation with public officials at the Bundy Ranch got me thinking. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a strong condemnation of the armed take-over at the refuge expressing concern about the attempt to justify the illegal and dangerous action by an unfounded appeal to LDS Scripture. It didn't help much. The perpetrators were arrested and one tragically shot while resisting arrest (he ran not one but two police stops, and it didn't look to me that he was attempting to surrender peacefully.)

I do find it odd that extreme, right-wing Conservatives can find a more comfortable home staying in the Church than leaving. In my opinion, a lot on the left leave because they feel so uncomfortable around so much conservatism. Frequently, those on the conservative right use LDS scripture and teachings to justify their extremely conservative views. So I just thought I would remind one and all of some fairly progressive and official positions taken by the LDS Church that seem at odds with this extreme conservatism.

My sources generally come from Mormon Newsroom at LDS.org where it states,"The official resource for news media, opinion makers, and the public." I guess as a blogger, I could be considered an "opinion maker" even if I don't have that much influence as a voice crying in the wilderness.

On Immigration and Refugees, the LDS Church takes a compassionate and welcoming approach in support of  the principles of the Utah Compact in support of families and with charity toward refugees. This is a far cry from the current scramble in one major US political party's primary to see who is the meanest and crudest towards immigrants and refugees. But the Utah Compact is not so different from the Immigration Reform proposed by President George W. Bush and Senator John McCain back before their base balked.

Then there's the Environment:

You may recognize Mt. Moran and Jackson Lake of Teton National Park. And the statement is by President Nelson,
current President of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles

Live-Blogging LDS General Conference - Saturday A.M. - April 2015

Getting set up here. These are my personal notes on General Conference shared (potentially) with the world! For direct broadcast, do not rely on me, but see LDS.org and watch live or recorded sessions.

It will be interesting if there will be any mention at all of President Obama's recent visit to Utah. I'm bettin' on President Uchtdorf.

President Monson is there looking rather rather thin and drawn.

Please note that they started with the Mormon version of "Cwm Rhondda," the great Welsh Hymn.

The President of the United States Comes to Utah and the World Doesn't End

The past couple of days have been kind of exciting for us local LDS supporters of the President.

left to right around the table: the back of President Henry B. Eyring's head, the President of the United States,
Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf (DIETER!),
Elder L. Tom Perry, also of the Twelve.

The President sat down with leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and exchanged compliments. He complemented the Church for its service around the world and promotion of Religions Freedom (!). Church leaders complimented the President on his support for family values and the good example he sets with his own family (!) They discussed Immigration Policy, most likely on the moderate principles of the Utah Compact (!) (I'm not making this stuff up. You can read the Church's news release here.)

Then, somehow, the President picked up some University of Utah sports memorabilia. I guess BYU was just a valley too far.

Boehner Presents Foolproof Plan to Get Wicked Obama

Speaker Boehner explains his brilliant plan to a confused Dorothy (representing America, of course)

Yes! The Brilliant Munchkins of the 113th Congress finally have the opportunity to do in the evil President Obama once and for all! Speaker Boehner just announced his plan to sue the President over his delay in implementing the Obamacare mandate!

Everything Is AWESOME!!

There is a no-conspiracy-theory policy on this blog which I am now going to break. It has long been a crack-pot idea of mine that it wasn't the arrival of the Beatles in 1964 that forever changed America, it was later that year with the subversive, counter-culture individualism of Rudolph.

Yes, those misfits and outcasts ennobled rebellion, especially Hermey with his ideas about being a dentist. I've only known two people in my life who really wanted to be dentists for the sheer fascination of teeth instead of the money and regular hours. One of them was a friend attending dental school when I was down the street in law school, His wife taught high school with my wife. The other was Hermey.

We saw The Lego Movie with two of our grandsons today. The biggest spoiler you all know from its mere existence: It's a two-hour Lego commercial! And that's Awesome!

Black History Month

One example of 19th Century African-American Christianity

Before you start, I've heard the whine before, "When are we going to have White History Month?" It is true we don't have White History Month, the principal reason being that we already have twelve.

Case in point: I'm reading a great book, Hearken, O Ye People: The Historical Setting of Joseph Smith's Ohio Revelations, by Mark Lyman Staker. The author is not some radical, black-panther type, just a historian working for the LDS Church.

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.

Mormon Conspiracy Theorists

Well, leaving the infamous Bro. Beck to the side for a moment, Anonymous D and I have been highly entertained this week by the LDS Church debunking anti-government conspiracies about modifications to the Church's welfare canning operations. The Church put out this statement:

Over the past several weeks, misinformation and unnecessary concern has been circulating on blogs, over social media channels and by email regarding changes in operations at the Church’s home storage centers, which are located in the U.S. and Canada. No home storage centers are being closed, but the Church is making welcomed modifications in its operations at most of these centers that will help to better serve the needs of members of the Church, as well as significantly improve efficiency.

There's a bit more to the statement you can find at the link above or by going to Newsroom at LDS.org.

Anonymous D and I went to some of the websites spreading "misinformation" which I decline to link here. But you can find them. One has a special 3-DVD course you can buy on home storage for only $150!! It also has gun training for women, etc. Another is by a Cleon Skousen wannabe who I just don't think is brazen enough to get as far as Bro. Skousen (SLC Police Chief, Teaching at BYU, etc.) But you can buy this new guy's books on his site too!! (Seems to be a common theme here I'll leave for now.)

Anyway, D had some great insights I wanted to share, so take it away D!

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.

David Frum & David Brooks: Honorary Passionate Moderates

The election is over for me as I have already voted. And it's too late to persuade anyone else except that I urge you to go vote for whomever. There are still bigger principles at stake than this current presidential contest.

My freshman college son sent me a link to a video from his American Heritage class. He asked me for advice on an essay he was required to write about the video. I was pleasantly surprised to see the video myself as it is a wonderful presentation of many of the themes I have tried to express in this blog. The video was by David Frum, a conservative columnist branded as a heretic by the far-right for criticizing Sarah Palin, among other things. The video follows the jump:

"Don't Believe Everything You Read on the Internet" -Abraham Lincoln

Yes! I get a chance to use my new favorite Lincoln quote!

Robin Williams as Mork speaking to the Universe (actually, Orson)

A Facebook friend (who shall go nameless) posted a crazy thing about Robin Williams spouting some rather reactionary conservative screed. I didn't think it sounded right (except for Robin being crazy - but even that's mostly in a good way). I had the same reaction that I had with George Washington supposedly promoting the NRA the other day. So I googled the first part of the quote and "Robin Williams" and came up with several sites debunking the scam. I went with Snopes.

Government Is Good

I'm not making this up, people. And it's not just promoting my self interest. As a federal employee, I'm tired of being a whipping boy for everybody's self-interested complaints about what they don't like. I went to work for the federal government as a patriotic duty to try and do a little good in the world. It's about time more of us promoted that good with some participatory democracy with hope for the future and our divinely inspired Constitution.

We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and that he holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making laws and administering them, for the good and safety of society. D&C 134:1

One of the most pernicious false doctrines today is the idea that "Government Is the Problem." Government is not an inherent evil as anarchists and extreme conservatives promote -- not even in the sense of another misguided theme that the less there is of it, the better.

Not Following Goldwater

My first historical memory is the Kennedy assassination as I referenced here.  My first political memories come from the summer of 1964. That was an interesting year in politics. And my little memories helped lead me to my passionate moderate philosophy.

The first is rather vague but we were at the Washington Coast with some friends from Idaho. It must have been Kalaloch or Ocean Shores because the beach wasn't rocky. We found a series of arrows marked in the sand.

Happy Bloggerversary!

One year of the blog! 27,300+ page views! And steady growth on an upward trajectory.

Many thanks again to any and all out there who read this. I'm having great fun. I've had hits from all over the world -- the farthest north from Lapland and the farthest south from Tasmania. Country rankings are first US (of course), then on down through the English speaking world, the UK, Canada, Australia, then Brazil (que bom!) and on down through dozens of countries to the bottom of my hits from the Republic of Moldava and St. Kitts & Nevis.

The Liberal Mormon and the Irony of Romney & Huntsman

I'm not saying that Romney and Huntsman are liberal. That would just be silly. But I am struck by the odd situation that in spite of the very strong political conservatism that runs through cultural Mormonism, when I see Huntsman and Romney in the midst of the Republican field for the presidential nomination, they are the sanest members of crazy-town. And I don't think I''m the only one that has noticed.

Now, both of them certainly have their problems and are unlikely to get my support in a general election. Huntsman just pegged Romney accurately as a "well-oiled weather vane" which also does in Huntsman's promise to run a "positive" campaign. But there is a basis for rational, progressive politics in Mormonism, even if you set aside Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, as most Mormons and conservatives tend to do anyway.

And a Big Passionately Moderate Welcome to AnonymousD!

Or is it maybe it's "moderately passionate?" I've been agonizing about going off the grid next week to fulfill one of those volunteer obligations I'm not sure I really volunteered for. My wife has a concern as to whether I can make it without any internet. I have already survived worse, including 12 days hiking the mountains of New Mexico with eight 14-18-year-old Scouts, TEN-straight days without showers and no lakes to jump into. P.U!

Anyway, I mainly wanted to be able to have somebody approve comments to not leave people hanging for a week. So I invited my good buddy to join me as a co-administrator of this blog. This buddy is passionately moderate and Mormon (and faithful and Utahn and certainly unique) in maybe slightly different ways, but we really understand each other. And I would be really happy if AnonymousD would share some thoughts with y'all.

Best Mormon History Blog - Keepapitchinin

Well, I haven't found many others to compare. But this one's great! Besides the fact that I had a guest posting published there, I've found the Blog to be highly entertaining. And while the Blog author tends to avoid political issues (heats the blood), she has indicated by some comments posted on other blogs, and links she made to this one, that she shares some "moderate" and even "passionate" views about politics and society. So I link to it on my blog list as it is at least in the moderate middle of the political spectrum if not as slightly left as I am. (Or maybe it is?)

Really Bad Art - In More Ways Than One

Well, I really lost my moderation on this one. The passion just overcame me this time. I got caught up in some ongoing Bloggernacle postings on the latest controversy at the BYU.  The Bookstore recently removed this print of a painting by  Utahn Jon McNaughton from display and sales. The artist was offended and removed all his works with some scathing criticisms of the "liberals" taking over at the Y (of all places!) with their evil political correctness. For a taste of that, you really should read McNaughton's protest and especially the comments. This controversy was also reported in the local press, the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News.

Possible Political Changes

Anything can happen. It is April First, after all.

I've decided that I will become a Republican (again) the day they nominate Jon Huntsman to be their Presidential Candidate. Vice President isn't good enough because sometimes you just need a moderate for supposed balance, like Nixon needed Agnew. It's still amazing to me that Huntsman was ever Governor of Utah. But then he didn't let his moderation slip until he was safely into his second term and then Obama whisked him off to China.

And, I’ll become a Libertarian the day I actually see them using their hoarded gold to “help the poor come out of poverty” and join the “unfettered market.”

And now, for something completely different (and even half serious):

Jon Huntsman - Republican for President?

Wow!  He really appears to be serious about running.  I have thought all along that he and the President were playing the Chinese to enhance the stature of our Ambassador to get whatever, and I'm not quite sure what, out of the Chinese leaders.  Maybe there is no sophisticated bluff with the Chinese and Huntsman is upset with the Prez for joking around about his presidential ambitions or perhaps there is a more substantial policy rift.  And I sure don't see how he would think he has a chance in the Republican Primaries of 2012 unless the Tea Party movement completely collapses in abject embarrassment (and as much as one might like to see that, political winds don't usually change that way).  He may simply be positioning himself for a stronger run in 2016.  Or maybe he just has it out for Romney.  I dunno.  This will require more thought and attention.

I can tell you that he would certainly be my pick out of the Republican field.  But as the view of a "passionate moderate" I'm not sure that would carry much weight unless the Republican Party suddenly allows moderates back into favor and the Tea Party, well, see above.  More to follow . . . .