So, Donald Trump has deleted #BlackHistoryMonth has he? Why is this a bad thing?

Darth Vader and Kylo Ren - The Same Mission?

What is the “Mission” of Kylo Ren?

 After watching “Rogue One” in theater I was again reminded of the awesome power of the Death Star, and its importance to the Empire. But what struck me the most is how little discussion there has been on the importance of the Death Star to the Emperor and Darth Vader on a personal level, especially to Darth Vader. Watching the Star Wars films again in chronological order is helping me to connect the dots, pinpointing what seems to be a very crucial axis mundi (central point) to the entire Saga, and especially the character of Kylo Ren. Just keep reading 😎.

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

The True Facts of Standing Rock

Speak English! A Letter to Anti-Immigrant Americans

This is a HYPOTHETICAL conversation, not any actual conversation between myself and any particular Anti-Immigration American. This is a generalized response to the rise in White American Nationalism correlated and fueled by the Donald Trump campaign for the Presidency of the United States of America.

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complicated and the bill's language jumps around a lot (plus it has been heavily edited and has had multiple sections repealed) so it is honestly hard to follow.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.

LDS Resignation Update

Not long ago I published my official resignation letter to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Yesterday I received my reply from the Church's Office of Confidential Records and today I responded back. You are more than welcome to read the entire discussion and I hope that my efforts will be of some use to you.

Just so we're clear, I have actually been able to use e-mail for almost this entire process. If anyone wants to resign their membership with the LDS Church but doesn't want to use a stamp you can use this e-mail address: msr-confrec@ldschurch.org

I received the response to my resignation letter via postal mail though so if you want to keep digital records of everything you'll probably need to use an app like Tiny Scanner to take a photo of the letter and turn into a PDF which you can then e-mail to yourself and anyone else.

If you're playing catch up with me or just haven't read my official resignation letter you can read it HERE.

LDS Response:

Resigning Mormonism

THIS IS MY OFFICIAL MORMON RESIGNATION LETTER.


Membership Records Division
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
50 E North Temple Rm 1372
SLC UT 84150-5310

Dear Membership Records Division:

My name is Joseph Samuel Edwards, I am writing to resign my name and records from the membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

United Nations Betray Jewish Faith's Holy Sites

Regarding the rights of the Jews' claims to Jerusalem and their ancient lands: War and Conquest by nature do not only kill people, they remove the rights of human beings. If anyone values the work done by groups like the Red Cross (which tries to restore human dignity) then you have no valid reason to deny people the dignities they had before being killed and conquered. Israel is the ancestral home of the Jewish people and the Jewish religion, a home that they were violently forced from.

The actual history of the land is far more complicated than many are saying.There was in fact a forced Diaspora, it is not revisionist history.

#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.

Right Even When Wrong

If you ever want to know what's like arguing with a Mormon, just read the following story:

"A friend's world history teacher told his class that Confucius once remarked "It is wasteful to try to kill a fly with a cannon or a bullet." Someone mentioned that Confucius lived thousands of years before gunpowder was invented, in response to which the teacher argued he was right for some time. The next day he told the class "Even though he wasn't right, they shouldn't have questioned him because he has authority and experience."

He is not teaching at our school next year."

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.

Star Wars Again

STAR WARS AGAIN!

These are my theories/points from the Star Wars movies (movies only, I do not include information from books, games, or tv shows)

Roll Call - Good Things Only

Looking through a number of my blog posts you'll notice that I have a lot of negative experiences and opinions about the LDS Church. I am very willing to criticize them on what I believe they do wrong or what hurt they cause through their words and behaviors. However, there is one thing that distinguishes me from certain other Ex-Mormon, Angry-Mormon or Gay-Mormon messages: I am willing to compliment the Church whenever they might deserve it. Today's post on Good Things is directly inspired by a General Conference talk titled "O Remember, Remember" by President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency of the Church.

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

Leading Them Away From Suicide

*NOTE: I am not a Psychologist or a Counselor, instead I've survived my own war with Suicide for over 15 years.

Suicide is a Tragedy that is happening all over the world every day. Suicide is a child of fear, hate, despair and most importantly, the loss of feeling loved.

Suicide is an epidemic affecting all walks of life, from the very poor to the very rich. It affects all races, religions, nationalities; it literally crosses all boundaries and knows no discrimination. Suicide, no matter who is affected is heartbreaking. No matter who you are, if you struggle with wanting or needing to commit suicide, you are not alone, there are many people all over the world who can find you and help save you if only they could see your personal SIGNAL FIRE. We WILL search for the human being behind every S.O.S. If you live in the United States, the National Suicide Hotline is a good potential resource for anyone who needs help (1-800-273-8255).

Even though Suicide reaches everyone, not all groups are affected in quite the same way. Sometimes the causes are different, sometimes the behavior leading up to suicide might be different, sometimes the community response is different, sometimes even the number of people affected can be different within a community. That is why I and so many others concentrate so hard on Suicides affecting youth, children and young adults who are Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgender. We do not diminish the tragedy of any other person who feels so alone and desperate that suicide feels necessary or desirable, we reach out to them as much as we can too. All are welcome at the doors of the LGBT community.

If you are feeling like suicide is an option, how do you light your SIGNAL FIRE and ask for help?