Thought I’d spend this Sunday morning doing a roundup of Mormon news.

BLAME THE VICTIM: United States Congressman Chris Cannon found himself in hot water after he sided with Filthy Foley–sort of. While Cannon did not come out and endorse Foley’s Flirtation with pages, he DID use a common Mormon logic, which is to BLAME THE VICTIM. Surely, these “precocious kids” must have done something to FORCE Foley to try to engage in sexual activity WITH A TEENAGER. Give me a break. A pedophile is a pedophile.

“These kids are actually precocious kids,” Cannon, R-Utah, told KSL Radio’s “Nightside” program. “It looks like, uh, maybe this one e-mail is a prank where you had a bunch of kids sitting [around] egging this guy on.”

“Frankly, this is the responsibility of the parents,” Cannon said. “If you get online, you may find people who are creepy. There are creepy people out there who will do and say creepy things. Avoid them. That’s what you have to do. And maybe we can say that a little more to the pages.”

That’s all we can do, dipwad? I don’t think so. Cannon is now backpedaling so furiously he’ll soon be in China.

JERALD TANNER DIES:
Jerald Tanner, longtime foe of the LDS Church and evangelical Christian, died last week.

Jerald D. Tanner never jay-walked, avoided driving faster than the speed limit and always returned to the grocery store if the cashier gave him too much change, family members say.

The Salt Lake City man, who family and friends regard as a person of unwavering integrity, died this week of complications related to Alzheimer’s disease. He was 68.

Long considered a thorn to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in his search for truth, Tanner gained notoriety among Mormons for challenging their faith.

One of the reasons Tanner was SUCH a challenge to the LDS authorities was because he believed the TRUTH would be the ultimate failing of Mormonism. He never resorted to lies, deceptive tactics, etc. He just researched, analyzed and reported the truth, time and time again.

Godspeed, Jerald.

PERPETUATING THE MYTH OF OFFENSE:
At the semi-annual LDS General Conference, held last weekend, Elder David A Bednar, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, once again reiterated the myth that the only reason people leave the LDS Church is because they have been offended.

I made hundreds and hundreds of such visits. Each individual, each family, each home, and each answer was different. Over the years, however, I detected a common theme in many of the answers to my questions. Frequently responses like these were given:

“Several years ago a man said something in Sunday School that offended me, and I have not been back since.”

“No one in this branch greeted or reached out to me. I felt like an outsider. I was hurt by the unfriendliness of this branch.”

“I did not agree with the counsel the bishop gave me. I will not step foot in that building again as long as he is serving in that position.”

Many other causes of offense were cited—from doctrinal differences among adults to taunting, teasing, and excluding by youth. But the recurring theme was: “I was offended by . . . ”

I have to tell you, I have met and conversed with HUNDREDS of former Mormons, and maybe THREE of them left because someone pissed them off.

This is a stupid myth, and one that needs to be stopped. The truth is MOST of us left because WE DON’T BELIEVE IT! The offense comes AFTER that, when no one will believe you are capable of using your brain and making an ACTIVE CHOICE not to endorse something you believe to be PATENTLY FALSE. You better damn bet I’m offended that you will not respect my right to say NO. Oh, but Bednar says that is my choice.

Choose Not to Be Offended

When we believe or say we have been offended, we usually mean we feel insulted, mistreated, snubbed, or disrespected. And certainly clumsy, embarrassing, unprincipled, and mean-spirited things do occur in our interactions with other people that would allow us to take offense. However, it ultimately is impossible for another person to offend you or to offend me. Indeed, believing that another person offended us is fundamentally false. To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else.

It ultimately is impossible for someone to OFFEND another person? Wow. What an eye-opener. Gotta tell you, I’d love the chance to try, but suspect it isn’t worth it.

This links back to the “blame the victim” mentality. Ultimately, if you are offended, it’s because you CHOOSE to be offended. And if you are raped, it’s because you set yourself up to be raped by wearing short skirts or walking in dangerous areas. And if you are approached by an unsavory person online, say a US Congressman, it’s BECAUSE YOU WERE ONLINE. Get it straight! This kind of reasoning makes my head hurt.

PARENTS KIDNAP BRIDE TO KEEP HER FROM TEMPLE WEDDING:
In one of the WEIRDEST news stories to come out in the last few weeks, we learn that the young woman whose parents kidnapped her, and drove her to Grand Junction, Colorado, keeping her there until she missed her schedule Temple wedding, IS PREGNANT!!

How does one get a temple recommend when one has FORNICATED? Incidentally, the parents have NOW been charged with kidnapping. I would REALLY like to hear their side of the story.

Are they zealots who didn’t want their daughter to TAINT the temple by lying and not admitting she was pregnant? Premarital sex would guarantee that Julianna Redd and her now-husband Perry Myers would not be allowed to marry in the temple, at least until they had been disciplined and repented.

Are they ex-Mormons who are opposed to their daughter marrying in the temple, because they would not be allowed to attend?

It’s all a puzzle. (Incidentally, the pregnancy thing is being largely ignored. The baby will probably be delivered “prematurely.” Ha!)

Happy Sunday!

This is not a light subject, so forgive me if I forgo my usual levity.

TWO FEMALE MISSIONARIES were raped, beaten, and one was shot. This happened in South Africa, according to ABC-4. One was from Kenya, and the other from California. This is a very, very sad case, and one has to ask, “Is sending these ‘children’ out to proselytize’ really safe?” What kind of angst will these young women bear the rest of their lives? I grew up in the era of the “it’s better to die than to give up your chastity,” but I don’t think that is pushed so much right now. Nevertheless, it is there, for anyone to see.

I know many young women had a hard time living with a rape, especially after hearing the teachings and counsel of LDS leaders. Here are a few of those.

Not only is safety an issue, but how will these victims deal with this terrible tragedy when they heal physically? Mentally, they have a long road ahead, particularly considering LDS teachings.

Consider these quotes:

“Loss of virtue is too great a price to pay even for the preservation of ones life - better dead clean, than alive unclean. Many is faithful the Latter-day Saint parent who has sent a son or a daughter on a mission or otherwise out into the world with the direction: ‘I would rather have you come back in a pine box with your virtue than return alive without it.’”–Apostle Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine (all editions), page 124.

” . . . Your virtue is worth more than your life. Please young folk, preserve your virtue even if you lose your lives. Do not tamper with sin . . . do not permit yourselves to be led into temptation.”–President David O. McKay, quoted in THE MIRACLE OF FORGIVENESS by Spencer W. Kimball

“…There is no true Latter-day Saint who would not rather bury a son or daughter than to have him or her lose his or her chastity — realizing that chastity is of more value than anything else in all the world.”–Heber J. Grant, quoted in THE MIRACLE OF FORGIVENESS by Spencer W. Kimball

“Also far-reaching is the effect of loss of chastity. Once given or taken or stolen it can never be regained. Even in forced contact such as rape or incest, the injured one is greatly outraged. If she has not cooperated and contributed to the foul deed, she is of course in a moe favorable position. There is no condemnation where there is no Voluntary participation. It is better to die in defending one’s virtue than to live having lost it without a struggle.”–Spencer W. Kimball, THE MIRACLE OF FORGIVENESS

“… For behold, many of the daughters of the Lamanites have they taken prisoners; and after depriving them of that which was most dear and precious above all things, which is chastity and virtue–”–Moroni 9:9

“The victim must do all in his or her power to stop the abuse. Most often, the victim is innocent because of being disabled by fear or the power or authority of the offender. At some point in time, however, the Lord may prompt a victim to recognize a degree of responsibility for abuse. Your priesthood leader will help assess your responsibility so that, if needed, it can be addressed. Otherwise the seeds of guilt will remain and sprout into bitter fruit. Yet no matter what degree of responsibility, from absolutely none to increasing consent, the healing power of the atonement of Jesus Christ can provide a complete cure.”
- Apostle Richard G. Scott “Healing the Tragic Scars of Abuse,” General Conference, Ensign, May 1992

“Of course, a mature person who willingly consents to sexual relations must share responsibility for the act, even though the other participant was the aggressor. Persons who consciously invite sexual advances also have a share of responsibility for the behavior that follows. But persons who are truly forced into sexual relations are victims and are not guilty of any sexual sin.”
- First Presidency Letter to General Authorities, Regional Representatives, and other priesthood leadership, 7 Feb. 1985

These girls are going to need a lot of therapy. My heart goes out to them.

My friend Ryan writes:

elipses are a neat literary tool. They are used by writers of all kinds to leave information out of a quote, that the writer chooses not to repeat. They can be used to leave out important contextual material, or they can be used to shorten a speach by leaving out irrelevant points. It isn’t who does the editing that leaves out information tht is important, its the information that gets left out, and the purpose for leaving it out. What is your purpose? From what i can see your purpose appears to be nothing more or less than an attack on a group of people who try to live the way they believe is right. None are perfect, Members of the LDS church know they are not perfect, but they try. As for the days of unpaid clergy called by God being gone, I dissagree. Trained people are needed, but churches are not the only possible source for that help. There was a day when the only place a person can turn for protection, like the police who have weapons and the authority to remove children from a home, unlike a biship or a priest, regardless of how they make their living.

Your rant about unpaid clergy is also obviously unfounded especially in light of the erious problems tha other churches have had with abuse of children. Not problems with a lack of training in how to deal with it or what must be reported to civil authorities, but problems of professional clergy performing abusive acts upon children themselves. Churches arent the only institutions with problems of this type. Schools and even government agencies have them to. The bishop not protecting children is a tragic and horrible occurence, and I would never try to excuse it. Still there is a difference between a failure to do enough to protect someone, and intentionally attacking them.

As for covering up unplesant facts like the Muntain Meadows Massacre, I would like to cite (without the use of ellipses to remove inconvienient data) a piece by the Archaeological Institute of America titled “Mountain Meadows Massacre” dated November 30, 1999:

The archaeologists, from church-run Brigham Young University, attribute these bodies to the massacre because of their location along the Spanish Trail, the route the pioneers were taking, and because of the skeletal evidence. “The remains themselves are a general confirmation of past reports,” said Baker. “These people were brought out and gunned down at close range.”

Is tis what someone says about an incident they are trying to hide? I think not.

I understand that it might be your mission in life to defame the LDS church, but if you want toretain any small amount of crediblilty, you might want in the future to research a little before writing about things, and then when you have learned a little, maybe a little more truth could find their way into your writing.

First of all, Ryan, you have the definition of ellipses wrong. This does not surprise me, though. I find it interesting that you are lecturing me on literary terms and writing, since your COMMENT is filled with typos, misspelled words, and starts out WITHOUT a capital letter on the FIRST word of the FIRST sentence. You’re killing me here.

el·lip·sis (-lpss) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. el·lip·ses (-sz)

The omission of a word or phrase necessary for a complete syntactical construction but not necessary for understanding.
An example of such omission.
A mark or series of marks (… or * * *, for example) used in writing or printing to indicate an omission, especially of letters or words.

I do not leave things out, or use ellipses, to try to CHANGE what something says, but rather to SHORTEN it. I am perfectly happy to have ANYONE read the whole thing, but should I post the ENTIRE thing on my blog I would get slammed with hatemail from people who suffered brain injuries after pounding their heads against their keyboards, walls, or desktops, after being forced to listen to people drone on and on and on….

Well, you get the picture. Your tactic is one I hear often. Accuse me of taking things out of “context” or using ellipses to alter text, but I don’t. You can read the whole thing. Anyone can read the whole thing. Where possible, I LINK to the whole thing. I do that A LOT. Whether it’s the Church Web site, or the newspaper, or just someone else’s blog. In other words, I GIVE SOURCES.

Your argument does not hold water. But thanks for trying.

And you aren’t saying ANYTHING I have not said myself many, many times. Mormons are not perfect. Mormons are human. Yada yada yada. I say that a lot. There are good Mormons and bad Mormons. Yada yada yada.

All in all, nothing much unique about your comment, but I did want to address this.

I understand that it might be your mission in life to defame the LDS church, but if you want toretain any small amount of crediblilty, you might want in the future to research a little before writing about things, and then when you have learned a little, maybe a little more truth could find their way into your writing.

Muuwaahhhhaaa. I suspect I know MORE about the Mormon Church, and its teaching, than you will EVER know. That is obvious. You don’t really address my comments about the Mountain Meadows Massacre, other than one cititation, but just take the “attack’ route, again, a common tactic. Usually used by someone who has NO argument, so MUST ATTACK THE WRITER. It’s the only way to try to make me look bad. You can’t argue my facts, so you try to make me look stupid.

If you want to actually DISCUSS what happened, and DISCUSS the history, without slinging insults, please take a course in basic English grammar, punctuation, and spelling and then come back to visit. Until then, keep your finger pointing and accusations to yourself.

There is more truth in ONE PAGE or ONE POST of my writing then you have ever allowed yourself to see in your ENTIRE LIFE.

Ask yourself this, Ryan. Why, oh why, would God’s ONLY TRUE CHURCH have to resort to deception and lying to convert people? If it’s TRUE, it had better stand up to scrutiny. And if it DOESN’T stand up to that scrutiny, than you BEST be asking yourself why.

Time for a dose of reality.

As for my mission in life, it’s to FREE KATIE HOLMES from the clutches of EVIL FRANKENTOM Cruise. It used to be to see Weenie Rat Face aka Warren Jeffs behind bars, but since he is now BEHIND said bars, I had to find another cause.

KATIE, don’t marry him! You’re only his beard! They believe in MEN FROM OUTER SPACE. I PROMISE. RUN, KATIE, RUN!

Er, anyway, I only WRITE about Mormonism, because I am deeply enmeshed in this culture. It’s my right to do so, much as it is YOUR right to do whatever it is YOU do. Sorry you don’t like my take, but that’s okay. I don’t much like yours either. It’s what makes the world go around.

a very heartwrenching secret, and one we see all too often here at Trapped by the Mormons.

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

A shorter clip of the Robert Millet address to prospective missionaries–which I referenced a few posts ago–has now been posted on Youtube.com by Jim Huston. You go, Jim.

When the missionaries come knocking, people, beware. They have been taught NOT to answer your questions. They have also been taught that they are already superior to you, because they have “the truth.”

It is the ultimate arrogance to IGNORE SOMEONE’S HONEST question, and instead, answer what YOU think they need to know.

Do you really want to let them in?