I’ve just been listening to President Boyd K. Packer, who gave three separate examples of starving and/or poverty-stricken children he has encountered during his worldly travels.

In all cases, he noted the poverty and hunger he saw in specific children at the time, but didn’t seem to be able to actually do anything about it, other than to note it for this (then) future conference talk.

In the first case, He saw a child in Japan holding a can and spoon (he knew this meant the child was an orphan) as his train sat in the station, but “unfortunately”, the train pulled away before he could give the child any money.

In the next case he bragged about being in Cuzco, Peru, and seeing a young boy attempting to sneak in and steal bread from the sacrament table. The boy was chased out of the chapel by one woman, but soon returned. Packer said that he (alone) called the boy over and then held the boy on his lap. He was very proud to have been so Christ-like and seemingly couldn’t wait to get home to tell then leader of the church – Spencer W. Kimball – what he had done.

Strangely enough, no mention about giving the kid any actual food, but he assured us that President Kimball said more than once that he had “touched a nation”.

In another example, he saw a group of young boys running around Salt Lake City, one of whom had no coat and who was “jumping up and down” to stay warm. He imagined this boy returning to a small apartment and sleeping in a bed with a lack of covers. His response to this situation? He still “prays every night” for people like this.

My notes:

From 2006-2012, they LDS church’s “investment arm” spent a minimum of $2 billion on the new City Creek Center (some estimates range upwards of $5-6 billion)

“From 1985-2009, $327.6 million in cash and $884.6 million in commodities of aid was given throughout 178 countries.” LINK

That comes to an average of $50.5 million per year for 24 years (or less than $4 per member) — and the majority if that in “commodities” (blankets, used clothing, etc.).

A new friend-of-a-friend on Facebook has posted a couple of photos of himself dressed in female temple clothes: white robe, veil and green fig leaf-embroidered apron.

He did this in protest to his recent excommunication from the Mormon church. In June of this year, he wrote a letter to his local authorities requesting to have his name removed from the church rolls. They responded by inviting him to a church court, wherein he was excommunicated in absentia within days for “apostasy”.

And yet, the 2010 edition of Church Handbook of Instructions specifically states:

6.14.1 Name Removal and Suspected Transgression

A request for name removal should be acted upon whether or not priesthood leaders suspect or have evidence of transgression. Any allegations or evidence of unresolved transgressions are noted on the Report of Administrative Action form so priesthood leaders may resolve such matters in the future if the individual applies for readmission into the Church.

So here we have a young man and returned missionary, who clearly stated that he wanted to resign his membership and they disregarded church policy and said effectively, “You can’t quit; you’re fired”.

Não mexe com o ex-Élder Dias

The Salt Lake Tribune published an interesting article by Peggy Fletcher Stack that compares LDS founder (and polygamist) Joseph Smith with FLDS leader (and polygamist) Warren Jeffs and questions why the LDS population generally reveres the one and is horrified by the other.

So what are the differences between the two that make one a religious “genius,” as literary critic Harold Bloom described Smith, and the other a sexual predator and felon?

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A married LDS couple with whom we work invited us to the wedding reception of their son the other night.

Now, I want to note here that I am not a big fan of being asked to celebrate (e.g. contribute financially or gift wise or in most cases, even attend) something in which I can not legally partake. Also note that we had never actually met the couple, but I acquiesced to attending because I like and respect the parents.

Like any social being, I can show up and smile and make witticisms and be my normal charming self, but I personally begin to bristle when asked to swallow my pride and ignore the fact that my 23-year relationship would not only be unacknowledged by this particular group, it is essentially considered immoral, if not illegal by many of them.

We arrived at the evening gathering to the sight of what appeared to be an entire LDS ward plopped into the backyard: Small children, babies, older people, young couples, singles. A multi-million-dollar building overhead and industrial carpeting underfoot and we could have been in any LDS chapel in the world (except for the exceedingly “white and delightsome”-ness of the prevalent skin tones).

My honey always makes me do the writing whenever faced with a joint task, so I signed the guestbook, “At least yours is legal. Best wishes….”

I felt much better.

Interesting story in today’s Salt Lake Tribune about a “gay BYU filmmaker”.

A lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the 41-year-old Wilcox has been the epitome of a good Mormon. He served a two-year mission to Barcelona, Spain, earned a degree from BYU, worked and taught Spanish at the church’s Missionary Training Center in Provo for five years, then joined the staff at BYUtv, where he has produced documentaries, talk shows and reality-based series.

He did it all secretly knowing he was gay.

I suspect that he will quickly find incompatibility.

LINK

A new year begins. What will this one hold that is any different from any other year? There may be some significant happenings, but in the overall scheme of things (if there actually is a scheme), perhaps not much. Human progress seems to march rather slowly.

Here are some questions I would like to see answered in 2011:

• Will the spate of teen suicides relent as the “it gets better” seed takes root?
• Will the LDS church continue to soften its rhetoric on homosexuality and its non-inspired speculation on its cause(s)?
• Will the LDS church stop using the term “same sex attraction” as if homosexuality is a clinical diagnosis, with a cure?
• Will the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” become an actuality in the US armed forces without a huge rightwing backlash?
• Will Sarah Palin’s prayers (and ours) to know if she should run for president be answered?
• Will California’s “Prop 8″ be reversed in federal court? Will it move to the US Supreme Court?
• Will the LDS church finally get its noses and finances out of politics and actually focus on helping heal the world?
• Will the US really, finally withdraw from Afghanistan?
• Will the world economy improve?
• Will world peace be within our grasp?

Meanwhile, I’m still waiting for flying cars.

Had dinner last night with family-in-law and Maxine Hanks (one of the infamous “September 6″ who were excommunicated as ‘heretics’ in the early 1990s).

Fascinating discussion around religion, belief (or lack thereof) and LDS church history. It’s a good thing my honey was in Milan; he would have been bored to tears.

It made for a pleasant evening to have like-minded souls conversing about the great mysteries. The food was outstanding as well, which didn’t hurt the overall sense of well-being and feelings of kinship.

I guess Elder Packer wasn’t involved in the revisions to the ‘handbook’.

Updated LDS handbook softens language on gays

The Salt Lake Tribune

A newly published compilation of LDS guidelines — used by all church leaders worldwide when dealing with their members — has softened the language about gay Mormons.

The book, known as the Church Handbook of Instructions, lays out the Utah-based faith’s policies on everything from baptism to running a worship service to counseling troubled marriage partners.

The updated reference book is scheduled to be presented to thousands of LDS lay leaders in a giant, televised training session Saturday. Any language changes, then, will set the tone for church interactions for years to come.

Like most recent LDS Church statements, this new handbook makes a clear distinction between same-sex orientation and behavior. It eliminates the suggestion, mentioned in the previous 2006 edition, that same-sex relationships “distort loving relationships” and that gays should repent of their “homosexual thoughts or feelings.”

It also says that celibate gay Mormons who are “worthy and qualified in every other way” should be allowed to have “callings,” or church assignments, and to participate fully in temple rituals.
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First Presidency trumps Quorum of the Twelve President.

High-ranking LDS leader weighs in on same-sex attraction

The Salt Lake Tribune

Mormons may not know until the hereafter what causes same-sex attraction, but “God loves all his children” and expects everyone to do the same, an LDS Church leader said Sunday.

While the message — delivered to more than 200,000 Utah Mormons — may not seem significant, the messenger was.

As second counselor in the governing First Presidency, Dieter F. Uchtdorf is one of the highest-ranking leaders in the hierarchy of the nearly 14 million member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to address the thorny topic of whether same-sex attraction is inborn.

The gentle tone and emphasis of Uchtdorf’s remarks — spoken at the Conference Center in downtown Salt Lake City and beamed to dozens of church buildings — came in the wake of an earlier speech by Boyd K. Packer, senior member of the LDS Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
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Barb Guy’s op-ed piece in today’s Trib reflects the world into which many LDS/gay youth are thrust. “Eternity” is a difficult timeline to work with.

Gays can choose — to put trust in themselves

The Salt Lake Tribune
by Barb Guy

You are the only you that there will ever be. You are unique and irreplaceable. You are beautiful and rare and exceptional and the world is better because you’re in it. You are gay because God made you gay and he loves you very much. All of us love you, too.
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