Is anyone out there?

Hello, everyone. 

I am trying to see if there is something I can do to make my on-line presence more active. I tweet and I post on Google+ but that's about it. I'm more of a reactor than a proactor. 

So, I'm going to try once again to do more. Maybe ask a question a day and see what happens. 

Maybe see if I can do some interviews with different people and post them.

Maybe some book and/or music reviews. 

I'm not sure what I can do. And I don't know who's listening.

So, if you are, here's today's question:

Who are you? 

Maybe I'm A Conservative

You know, maybe I'm actually a conservative. According to Merriam-Webster, one of the definitions of conservative is "tending or disposed to maintain existing views, conditions, or institutions."

That got me thinking. Most so-called conservatives seem to be more radical than most of us so-called liberals. They want to change the way things are done. They want to change the classes of persons. They want to change the rights and opportunities people have. 

For instance, the Citizens United decision. How is this conservative? It is radical. All citizens have the right to free speech. Not corporations. I want to conserve the right to free speech for all people.

National security. Torture. Drones. The PATRIOT Act. All things that are supported and glorified by the conservatives. But they are radical. I want to conserve the rule of law. The right to an attorney. The right to a fair trial. The right to protection from search and seizure. 

I want to conserve the right to a free press. Not a bought and paid for press. A press that reports on events. Not a press that presents information. 

I want to conserve the separation of church and state. I want to conserve my right to worship how I wish without having religious influence in my government. 

I want to conserve my right to be free of discrimination. We all created equal. Not just men. Not just white men. Not just wealthy white men. Not just wealthy heterosexual white men. All of us.

I want to conserve the rights my mother's generation won for me. I want to conserve the America imagined by Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F Kennedy. I want to conserve the America imagined by Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. I want to conserve the America imagined by Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. 

I want to conserve the word conservative from the conservatives.

Matrimony

I'm a normal girl, I guess. I'm 47 and single and childless. But, I still want to get married. I still have fantasies about the perfect wedding dress.

I fantasize about the ceremony. Who will I have as my maids of honor? What will my bridesmaids wear? Where will I have the ceremony? What will the cake look like??

I look at my ring finger and wonder why there's nothing there.

Did I do something wrong? Is there someone for everybody? Did I miss my chance? Why am I still alone?

These are all valid questions. I also belong to a church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) that emphasizes a lot on family. On families being forever. On how important marriage is. Think about being single in that atmosphere!

So, when I think about the recent controversy over Proposition 8 and DOMA, I am proud of our Supreme Court for moving equality forward.

Primarily I support marriage equality because I believe that we should all have equal standing under the law. As long as the government is involved in marriage, it has to treat us all equally!

But, beyond that, as a romantic (who still believes in happily ever after), I just feel that any two people who love each other enough to dedicate their lives to one another and to raising a family together, should not be told they aren't able to.

Love conquers all. (At least, that is my hope and prayer.)

In My Defense...

Recently I have had to defend my position on marriage equality and my disgust at the Church's involvement with Prop 8. One person even mentioned my confusion and conflict with the Church teachings and statements by Church leaders. 

This got me to thinking. I don't really feel all that conflicted. I know what I think and what I believe. 

There are two parts to this really, the political and the religious.

1. The Political

I am a firm believer in the separation of church and state (and a card carrying member of Americans United. I feel that not supporting marriage equality and not fighting any other law that treats LGBT citizens differently from other Americans is - at its heart - un-American (and not worthy of a Latter Day Saint). 

We are all equal under the law. 

Regardless of our religious and moral beliefs, we should all support that.

2. The Religious

It's sad that I have to state this - but maybe we should all state it more often - Thomas S. Monson is a Prophet of God. I sustain him. I am blessed by his presence in my life.

I love reading (and listening) to talks by the First Presidency and the other General Authorities (past and present). Many people that read my comments on-line may think that I don't accept these people as inspired by God, that I don't follow their advice and guidance. That is wrong.   

But there is a however. There are times I have heard things that I have considered wrong, troubling, or even infuriating.

When I first joined the Church, for instance, it was my single state that bothered me the most. In Sacrament, in Relief Society, and even in General Conference, the ordinance of celestial marriage was always emphasized as necessary for exaltation.

Now why would a woman's eternal existence have to be dependent on a man?

I found this to be very hurtful. I can't count the amount of times I ran out of Relief Society crying. I even went inactive for some years due to this. (Of course, this was before I discovered Paxil.)

But the Church changed, that is something I have discovered. They do change. They learn from their errors and mistakes. We should not make the mistake of thinking that everything that comes out of Salt Lake City is infallible. They moved on from polygamy and denying the priesthood on racial reasons. They have become more sensitive to single women and, now, they are reaching out to the gays.

Who's to say that there won't be further changes and outreach? Many like to say that Church is the "same yesterday, today, and forever." But the Scriptures actually say that it is God who is the "same yesterday, today, and forever."

Of course, many also tell me I must bide by and obey the Prophet's and our Church leaders' statements and proclamations. But do they say I have to do so blindly? My mother blames my obstinate attitude on my ancestors. I am descended from Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick. They were Quakers and they were persecuted for their religious beliefs by the Puritans (who themselves came here to escape religious persecution).

I don't claim any special revelations or connection with God. No more than anyone else. And I am positive that Presidents Monson, Eyring, and Uchtdorf are very holy men. But what I do claim is the right to ponder what they say and pray about it before blindly obeying it and accepting it as gospel.

Joseph Smith's View of Government

Reading Section 134 of the Doctrine & Covenants - which is dedicated to showing the early Church's dedication to certain liberal democratic standard - I was struck by how so many of the statements they make apply more to liberals than conservatives. At what point, did Mormons become such staunch conservatives (at least in considering government)? Why did so many stop believing and supporting the values set out in Section 134?

From verse 2, "unless their religious opinions prompt them to infringe upon the rights and liberties of others". Incredible, right? Yet, they spend a lot of money to stop others from having the same rights as they do based on their religious opinions (i.e, marriage equality). 

From verse 5, "We believe that all men are bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside, while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such governments; and that sedition and rebellion are unbecoming every citizen thus protected, and should be punished accordingly;" 

I really think that many of my friends need to reminded of this one. Way too many of them have no respect for our current government. Many of them spout reasons why shouldn't even be President. Some may even be supporting nearly seditious beliefs. 

Hugh Nibley, that great Latter Day Saint scholar, himself was a Democrat. He did not support Richard Nixon as he was running for office. But when he became President, he put all that behind him and supported him. (See Hugh Nibley, World's Worst Politician)

From verse 9, "We do not believe it just to mingle religious influence with civil government, whereby one religious society is fostered and another proscribed in its spiritual privileges, and the individual rights of its members, as citizens, denied." This shows how Joseph Smith realized that the separation of church and state was incredibly important. That if it weren't for that he would not have had the opportunities he had. Also, it was the influences of religion in government, that led to his martyrdom. Many members forget that. 

We need to remember this when people try to institute creationism into our schools, basing foreign policy on Biblical prophecy as in our support for Israel, social policy as in the fight against contraception and abortion, etc. Even the Prophet Joseph saw the danger in this in 1844. 

There are many other statements in the Section that I support. Many of the verses could be considered libertarian. Others could be considered liberal. I am very impressed that the Prophet Joseph considered it important enough to put down in writing for the benefit of posterity.

That's not salvation, that's prison!

Sometimes I just have to wonder at some of the members of my church. Do they not get the same message from the teachings of Jesus Christ that I do? That salvation is for all. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28)

I participate in a Latter-Day Saints community on Google+. I left it before because of political reasons. But I'm just perverse enough to have them kick me out this time. The problem is just how right wing and fundamentalist it seems to me. (I should know better, really, the moderators are virulently anti-Obama and pro-Republican.) 

Now, you may say: "But, Kirsten, they're Mormons, aren't they?"

Yes, they are. But we should be a more diverse church. And I cannot look at Christ's teachings and say "Well, he's obviously a Republican."

Well, today, it's a little beyond the pale. This incredibly caveman of a poster actually told me that I could not be "fully faithful" since I am against the former Church practices - he called them doctrines - of polygamy and the priesthood ban for Blacks. Since then, we have been going back and forth. And, on top of that, the two moderators have decided to tell me they agree with everything he's said. No criticism for him at all. And I even got a private message from one saying my posts have been "too liberal". 

I read some of his comments and it made me think that if his version of the celestial kingdom is true, I may just ask to stay with the souls in prison. I just cannot believe that some of his statement are in line with what Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have in mind. 

The Lord revealed plural marriage to Joseph Smith as "the moral salvation of the world". It is clear that polygamy will be practiced in the New Jerusalem. It is clear that polygamy will stretch into the eternities. We were forced into a moratorium on the practice, but that doesn't mean we don't believe in it anymore, it just means that the practice has been suspended. 

What can I say? I testify that Joseph Smith was a Prophet. I testify that the Book of Mormon is true. But I just cannot accept polygamy as "the moral salvation of the world" if he really said that. Additionally, the idea that polygamy is still not just acceptable, but highly anticipated in the future is horrible. How anyone can think that it is not just morally acceptable but a "salvation" is beyond me. There is more than enough evidence out there of the poisonous effect it has not just on women, but on children. Also, in the Book of Jacob, there is a section where the Prophet Jacob is chastising the men for having plural wives and is given this advice: 

 "And I will not suffer, saith the Lord of Hosts, that the cries of the fair daughters of this people, which I have led out of the land of Jerusalem, shall come up unto me against the men of my people, saith the Lord of Hosts." (Jacob 2: 32)

Perhaps the so-called "doctrine" was changed due to the "cries of the fair daughters of this people". More from the same poster: 

The world hates us, because we are not of the world, but of God. Their doctrines of race and sex blindness are not acceptable to the God of Heaven, and He has graciously taught His people to avoid these pitfalls, though many choose not to accept those saving teachings.

Oh, dear, what can I say? "Not acceptable to the God of Heaven"? Really? 

I am so glad this man does not run the Church. But he did offer me this advice: 

I have no doubt that unless your perspective matures, you will leave the good ship Zion yourself when the president of the Church gets up and helps us move on to the next stage of the kingdom, which will include polygamy, or when other eternally true, controversial, non-world-approved practices or teachings are revived or magnified (next up: same-sex marriage/homosexual issues). No need for me to kick you off.

 

It is really appalling what kind of people are in my church. I will have to find another community - maybe - of less fundamentalist Mormons to commune with. In some ways, I have so much more in common with secularists and atheists than with the church members I meet on-line. The secularists and atheists are actually more in line with Christ's teachings than so-called devout servants of Christ are. 

 

February Reading

A short month and not as many books read. I am still on the reading challenge:

One more month -- hope I get more books off my TBR shelf. So, here's what I read this month:

Feel free to check me out at GoodReads