LDS Resignation Update: It's DONE!

Well, it's DONE!

I received my letter stating that my membership has finally been removed from LDS Church records. I tried logging in to www.lds.org and was denied access, and I double checked the roster with the help of a friend; it's all 100% done.

To be honest, it's quite a relief knowing that I don't have to stress about whether or not they were going to let me leave without going through a bunch of meetings or extra hassle. For anyone who doesn't know, the LDS Church's resignation procedures are somewhat simplistic but also somewhat complicated. The short version is that the Church considers a

Governor Pence Criminalized Gay Marriage Applications

A few days ago I post the following image on Facebook:

A friend of mine asked for more information on this since this isn't a topic frequently discussed. In response I decided to write this review of the law's actual text so that everyone could see HOW the State of Indiana's Legislature and Governor Pence made gay couples APPLYING for Marriage Licenses criminals.

Indiana HB 1041 isk the law the image refers to. It's wording is very complicated and the bill's language jumps around a lot (plus it has been heavily edited and has had multiple sections repealed) so it is honestly hard to follow. In order for the information to make sense I will have to jump around and connect different passages from the bill together. The bill was signed in 2013 by Governor Pence who was elected to office in 2012.

#MormonLeaks

So many people have been tuned into the LDS General Conference this weekend! Thousands upon thousands have been Tweeting and Posting Conference messages and musings for the last two days but something else has happened today that may at first seem overshadowed by the shear mass of #LDSconf (and other hashtags). Despite being overshadowed by the popular LDS media frenzy this new event is extremely important to the future image of Mormonism.

I'm sure we have all heard of the controversial power house WikiLeaks, well as of today the world has been introduced to MormonLeaks (#MormonLeaks)!

MormonLeaks appears to have the same basic mission of WikiLeaks, to expose secrets and damning information that governments and corporations don't want the general public to know, only this time the information in question directly and only involves the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

At the moment the videos are available on YouTube at this URL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJTIFO9JJWiXABNXHDUKj4A?app=desktop

Framing The Transgender Reality For Mormons

The Mormon reaction to a person being Transgender has confused me for several years. The LDS Church repeatedly has insisted that gender identity (like sexual orientation) is a matter of Mental Health or Wretched Wickedness. These positions may fluctuate from time to time but generally speaking Mormons seem react with even more disdain towards a Transgender person than they do to a Homosexual or Bisexual person. This hostility is something I simply don't understand from a doctrinal standpoint, being Transgender is living proof for some of the most fundamental doctrines in the LDS cannon, so opposing a Transgender reality has the effect of shooting your own doctrines in the foot.

In Mormonism the belief in a Pre-Mortal Existence is paramount and is one of the most supreme tenants of a Mormon's faith. It is the Pre-Mortal Existence that solidifies the beliefs in Family, Gender, Satan, Creation, Divine Potential, Mortal Trials, Pro-Creation, Choice/Agency, Afterlife, etc.

Elder Oaks Promotes Fake Science and Conspiracy Theories From The Pulpit

On Sept. 16, 2016 Elder Oaks participated in a Stake Conference Q&A where he was asked how to bring LGBT members back to Church. Instead of answering that question he spoke on LGBT related principles. During his response Elder Oaks appears to reference (with high praise) Dr. McHugh's research claiming that "Gender Confusion" was a mental illness which usually is "grown out of". Oaks continues by suggesting that the "Media" is purposefully avoiding references to McHugh's work for undisclosed reasons. The audio file and transcript for that response can be found HERE.

 

Dr. McHugh is famous for his Anti-LGBT beliefs and research. His Wall Street Journal article claims to have research support, but was exposed by pro-LGBT advocacy groups as a hoax because he falsified research data in his citations, modifying other research studies until they support his claims. Elder Oaks gives credibility to this falsified study by promoting it from the Pulpit. It is also disconcerting that an LDS Apostle would promote Media Conspiracies from the pulpit over his own personal beliefs.

 

Just as dangerous is the notion that an LDS Apostle is publicly endorsing the idea that being Transgender is nothing more than a Mental Illness, a claim no longer supported by the international scientific community.

More information will be forthcoming about Elder Oaks' comments in a future post.

Answering A Mormon

Today's Post is copied from my Facebook response to a Mormon who held some misconceptions about what it means to be LGBT and Mormon, especially at BYU. This is entirely in my own words, I just copied my post from Facebook to here. Please feel free to share this link to any Mormons who you feel need to better understand the LGBT/Mormon situation.

I think you might understand more if your child (scenario) was active in the Church and yet came out of the closet as LGBT. The pain you witness in your child is absolutely destructive and not at conducive to the faith you both once had. I grew up a very faithful and active Mormon but now want practically nothing to do with it because of the LDS efforts to go out of their way to attack LGBT beliefs (even when those beliefs have nothing to do with the Church, like Gay Marriage). 

The horrible name calling I've received from Church members and leaders has scarred me forever;

What If Abinadi Lived Today

Perhaps the most repeated defense for the Prophets and leaders of the LDS Church, and why members or non-members (mostly ex-members) cannot or should not criticize the Prophet or other Church leaders, is that these men have the Authority to speak for God. To so many active and devoted members of the Church their authority seems like an impenetrable defense, unfortunately for them however, it is actually a very weak scriptural defense, one that is contradicted regularly in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. There are multiple accounts in both scriptural records proving that a Prophet's Authority is not enough to protect a Prophet from being rebuked over his own wrongdoing. Anyone who desires to protect the Prophets and Apostles will need to prove the defense of their leaders by other means after these examples are published and explained.

Abinadi's story is well known to Mormons, as is the painting of his trial before the Wicked King Noah, but perhaps the details of his situation are not so clearly understood.

What's So Great About Being Gay?

Lately I've started playing a game called Crusader Kings 2. It's an excellent game by the way that focuses on being a sort of replacement for the all-time epic game series "Civilization" but set in the Middle Ages. It's incredibly detailed with lots of computer characters and historical accounts incorporated into actual game play. This game is unique in how it's played because you don't just have one character that you play until you win or lose, instead you have your starting character that you play until he/she dies and then you continue playing as the family or kingdom's heir (you do get married and have children in this game) and so on. You lose when you have no heir to replace you when you die, which means the game can last for centuries.

Believe it or not this game does actually relate to today's post topic.

We Are Orlando

I've so far been quiet on the horrific tragedy in Orlando. It's been hard for me to think about even though I've not been directly involved. I cannot imagine the pain and suffering these people and their families are and have been going through, straight or gay. My heart goes out to the families of the dead and injured, as well as to the heroes of that night who helped save lives (even at the cost of their own).

On the Talk this afternoon I heard of a story where a mother (a straight woman) had gone to Pulse to go dancing with her son that fateful night. When the shooting started she threw herself over her son, shielding him from the shots and died literally saving his life. This is pure heroism and love, she deserves to be remembered as do all the others who died or were injured there. There was a young gay couple who were getting married soon and will now be having a joint funeral instead. A club bouncer risked being shot and killed by leaving his safe hiding spot to run and open the back escape door, saving roughly 60 lives in the process. #heroesoforlando