Latter-day Saints in the public square
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The Deseret News looks at past protests at the Y. They’re not that uncommon.
With the disclosure that Kyle Sampson is LDS, National Review is on to the vast Mormon conspiracy (and confirmed here). Will Mormon be the new “neocon”? (Mormo-con?)
BCC looks back when Senator Robert F. Kennedy (and then-presidential candidate) visited BYU in 1968.
I’m a little surprised but the Church released a statement in response to the gathering Cheney Protest.
The press release is largely in response to a SL Trib editorial in support of the Vice President’s appearance and a snarky op-ed by Trib Columnist Rebecca Walsh.
Walsh comes across as bitter and defensive, rejecting the Church’s repeated statements of neutrality in favor of conspiracies she prefers to see. Yes, shockingly enough the Church has had some relations with Republicans. Most prominent LDS politicians have been part of the GOP in the recent past. But that is changing.
Would a more politically appropriate position have been to reject a standing Vice-President from appearing? Would BYU have rejected Vice President Gore? I don’t believe so.
But don’t worry, there will be some balance.  As the release states Senator Reid will be coming to BYU this fall, as arranged prior to the Cheney appearance. Plus, BYU is allowing students to protest Cheney’s visit, an rare gesture.
The release ends:
Is it appropriate for a university — even one that espouses a policy of political neutrality — to have as featured speakers the holders of some of the highest offices in the land? Of course it is. And whoever the visitor — the vice president, the majority leader of the Senate or the chief justice of the Supreme Court (another scheduled fall speaker) — the university and the student body will listen, evaluate and react to them as intelligent citizens capable of making up their own minds about their messages.
UPDATE: Originally, I thought the release was in response to Bruce Van Orden’s SL Trib letter as I couldn’t find the Walsh column. I was mystified why the Church would take issue with Van Orden’s relatively mild letter. Messenger and Advocate has more coverage and pointed me to the Walsh column. Thanks.
The Church issues a response to the Anti’s DVD campaign: “The issue is not one of rights. Rather, it is that one religious group chooses to target another with a DVD full of distortions of its doctrine and history, and misrepresentations so stark that they call into question the integrity of the producers.”
Messenger and Advocate covers the coverage on recently resigned DOJ chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, including his LDS background.
George Will: “Once upon a time, Americans admired models of self-control, people such as George Washington and Jackie Robinson, who mastered their anger rather than relishing being mastered by it. . . Today, however, proclaimed anger — the more vituperative the better — is regarded as a sign of good character and emotional vitality.”
Orson Scott Card read Hugh Hewitt’s A Mormon in the White House?: 10 Things Every American Should Know about Mitt Romney
But as a Mormon, I found his take on the difference between the Church leadership vs. its bureaucracy and how they treat LDS celebrities very interesting:
I’m a Mormon public figure, of sorts, and I know a few others. And I’m aware of exactly how the Church hierarchy deals with public figures.
A writer like me is a constant target of meddling middle-level bureaucrats who seem to think that their job in life is to afflict me for anything I write that wouldn’t be appropriate to put in a Sunday school lesson. But in all the years of low-level harassment, the actual Church authorities, in Salt Lake and locally, have always stood by my right to do my job as I see fit.
Government figures are more like sports figures in the way they get treated: Mid-level Mormons suck up to them mercilessly. But, once again, the higher-level authorities leave them alone to do their jobs.
Bay Buchanan (LDS and sister of Pat) signs on to temporarily manage Rep. Tancredo’s presidential campaign.
Mormons Against Romney
Wisconsin
Onelowerlight’s Daily Photo Safari
Because life is so much more interesting when seen through the lens of a camera. Updated Daily.
Utah
Exceedingly Curious
Maine
Mormon On Politics
Opinions on a Variety of Political, Social, Economic, Transportation, Technology and Sports Issues with Links to Related Sources.
Utah
East of Eden
New Mexico
Miscarriage Journal
A blog about my experiences with infertility, pregnancy loss, life and death from the LDS perspective.
New Mexico
Bountiful Thoughts
I have the wonderful opportunity to teach Gospel Doctrine in my ward. This blog is my way of capturing the many thoughts that come from my lesson preparation — thoughts that sometimes never make it into my lessons because of time constraints or because they simply don’t fit in with the lesson objective. I hope that you will share your thoughts about the Gospel Doctrine course of study — whether you are the teacher or the student.
Utah
John welcomes you
Imagine yourself a weary desert island shipwreck survivor. You need something to read. Or imagine a faithful dog, the kind that’ll go anywhere with you, mooch around in the grass, then slap himself down on the pavement, casting a friendly, insightful eye over you as he licks his nose. That’s this blog. Witty, though not acidic, poetic, though accessible, familiar, though not personal.
United Kingdom
Riches For Good
clothe the naked, feed the hungry, liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted
Colorado
The Stupid Shall Be Punished
Keeping the blogosphere posted on the goings on of the world of submarines since late 2004… and mocking and belittling general foolishness wherever it may be found. Idaho’s first and foremost submarine blog.
Idaho
The Church posts today a commentary on its Newsroom site observing the “looseness” of some of the reporting on the Church and its teachings. Instead of just doing the web searches and talking to its vocal critics, why not ask the Church itself what it teaches?
In response to reports that Vice President Cheney will be speaking at BYU’s commencement , an online petition has been organized. The protest claims that the VP is too partisan and controversial and will undermine the Church’s position of neutrality. Â
Even if I wasn’t a fan of Cheney and his wife (which I am) I find that unpersuasive, he’s the sitting VP! I have never understood his position as the Darth Vader of politics. That is, besides his singular ability to have a scowl in every photo he has ever taken.
But, as a bipartisan gesture and as a collector of LDS Blogs, I link to Oppose Dick Cheney’s BYU Commencement Speech.
A slick DVD campaign is to be launched tomorrow targeting thousands of evangelicals which purports to teach the “truth” about Mormonism. Nothing new but FAIR makes a point-by-point response with a colloborative wiki, http://www.JosephSmithDVD.org. Pretty impressive. Could some evangelicals be concerned that Mitt Romney’s campaign may mainstream Mormonism too much?
Bobbie’s World
Our Family Tree is Full of Nuts!
Puerile Quips At Your Fingertips
A young LDS view of entertainment, the Internet subculture, fandoms and being generally insufferable.
Pondering Serenity
a journey of spiritual insight
My So Called Perfect Life
I’m a Mommy to my Husband, my Dog and 4 cuties under 5 with a house to clean, parties to plan, crafty projects to prepare and 6 lives to keep organized…and I love every chaotic moment of it.
The Washington Post prints a letter from a BCC blogger someone who has been under a national security gag order for three years. Criticism of the USA Patriot Act has been greatly exaggerated, but recent reports of abuse by the FBI and stories like this show that it needs to be reviewed. Unfortunately, the media and Democrats seem more eager to play Beltway politics and focus on the U.S. Attorney non-story. (via BCC) UPDATE: I get jokes, really I do. I just won’t be taking BCC’s sidelinks so literally anymore. (Thank you J. Stapely for setting me straight).
LDS and Mormon Blogs
