Curious Behavior

Seeing the photo to the left, I'm going to guess that most people believe that FLDS polygamy and potential child abuse is probably the "curious behavior" about which I'm writing, but no. Something suspiciously odd has hit me about this whole situation. Perhaps, it's just my exposure to some of the history of the LDS (not the FLDS) church here in Utah and it's wranglings with the US military back in the late 1800s...

What I find odd...and somewhat suspicious... behind the removal of the members of that compound:

1. They took busloads of women and children out in a First Baptist buses. I'm guessing that the US Govt has been planning this for some time, so why did they use a church bus to remove the individuals? There's a long history of distress between LDS and Baptists. Their views are very similar, yet just enough to cause some hatred between 'em. (I've known a couple of strict Baptists who hated the mormons, yet when they took the "Belief o' Matic" test, they came up scoring highest as Latter Day Saints aka Mormon.) So, while the FLDS is even more *out there* than straight-up LDS, it seems curious that the government would use church buses to move the women and children. Why involve the First Baptists at all if this was strictly a child protection/police matter?

2. While I certainly believe there is child abuse going on in the Texas compound, I wonder how much more prevalent it is than in the US population as a whole? Take 180 kids anywhere in the US and you'll probably find 18+ who have been sexually abused in this country. So, one girl makes a call from the Texas compound to get help and we invade and tear apart the entire compound? Granted, there should be zero children being abused, but it makes me think the government is on a crusade against the oddity that is the FLDS in a religious and "polygamist" sense than in the protection of the children. It's as if the unknown ways of their world MUST BE wrong. But, from what I know, polygamy isn't illegal unless one tries to gain multiple government sanctioned marriage licenses. Living on a compound with 50 women and 1 man isn't illegal. It is odd, but only because we come from a "1 to 1" based societal norm. Also, while it's creepy to hear of a 16 year old getting married to a fifty year old man, it's not illegal in the state of Texas. So, why are we there??

I fear that when we attack small fringe groups like this, we're doing it NOT for the good of the people involved, but only to get the "nut jobs" to conform to our belief system.

Eh, I could be wrong, but it just seems too curious to simply discount....

One down...Many More Will Follow

With the death of Jerry Falwell today, I feel a weight has been lifted from my moral compass. There's one less dark leader -- an evil-doer masquerading as the religious righteous. Ah, you know at times I think it's wrong to be happy for a death. In this case, while I feel for his family's loss, I'm quietly hoping that there is a hell whilst confident that if there is one, Mr. Falwell is on his way for a visit.

Coffee in Utah

It's taken pretty seriously, this liquid. Especially by the LDS / Mormon Church. Apparently there's a HUGE hubbub going down over t-shirts which depict the hand of god pouring coffee into the angel Moroni statue. The angel Moroni is atop all of the LDS temples, so it may or may not be familiar to you. Anyway, the Church has cried fowl and suggested that the the use of the angel Moroni statue is copyright infringement. Huh.

A couple of things -- 1. What is it about idolizing false idols that the church rails against? Oh, yeah, that. Seems a bit odd that they would be upset about the use of an "idol" on a t-shirt. 2. Secondly, if the church has actually copyrighted the image of the angel Moroni, isn't it something created and not divine?

Seriously, the bottom line more than likely isn't that there is truly copyright infringment, but because the church has billions of dollars at its disposal it is able to push it's weight to prevent a parody of anything they find offensive. It's not about the statue. It's about the coffee being closely tied to the church.

Given the resources that the church has and the fact that the coffee shop "Just Add Coffee" is just one little shop up the street from me, the guys have decided to change their t-shirt design. (The new one is pictured on the right). It now states, "The Lord Giveth and A Church Taketh Away." with a picture of God's hand pouring coffee into a trumpet. Of course it's not Moroni's trumpet...or is it??

Be Careful What you Tell Missionaries

Be careful what you tell missionaries who come to your home. Apparently discretion isn't taught at the LDS training center. I was stressed out with a work thing and the spanish speaking LDS missionaries came to my door. Not sure why they were canvassing this neighborhood, 'cept maybe trying to gain some newbie tracting experience. They were quizzing me about my religious beliefs...questions for which I really didn't have time to give them a full answer. So, suffice it to say that they left with juicy tidbits of religious gossip from a ~heathen~ like me. What did they do? Well, they went next door and spread said gossip to my neighbor. Finding out that this happened leaves me with an uncomfortably icky taste in my mouth. What can ya do? Plenty, methinks. I have a plan for the next poor missionaries who come to my door and I don't have time to chat. When asking what religion I am, for instance, I will simply state, "Did you see the sheep in back? Well, yes, we raise them for ritual sacrifices. Come June 21st, I will be stripping naked, smearing the blood of one of the innocent lambs across my nubile (hehehehe) body while dancing around the flames of satan. Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee?"

Wacky Religious Beliefs

I’ve had to learn a lot about Mormonism in the past few years. They certainly have their own wacky beliefs, but the FLDS (Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints), an offshoot from the regular LDS church, has got to take the cake.

In this article from the Salt Lake Tribune, apparently FLDS members, who are mostly polygamists, may be stripped of their entire family (16 kids, 5 wives, no matter!) if the church leadership deems that someone else is more “worthy” or “righteous”. What the crap is that??  This quote says it all: 'If my father does better, can he be my father again?' " Fischer said. Unfortunately for that little kid, the answer was “no”.  How messed up is that?  Talk about some permanent mind-f*cking.