Here's to New Priesthood traditions

Some traditions were meant to be broken, like throwing stuff at weddings, denying people the right to vote, and outdoor plumbing.

But I like the tradition of going to priesthood meeting on general conference Saturday. Last week it was announced that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will broadcast the meeting live to LDS men and whomever else can turn on a computer or a TV at home.

I liked dragging my boy to the stake center for a guy’s night out. I appreciated not having to worry about what to wear or how to keep the young men entertained. (Wear a white shirt and listen-up.)

It’s true, our father-son tradition of getting ice cream after the Saturday night priesthood session changed a year or two ago — one of many changes I have dealt with since he started shaving more than I do.

We invited some neighbor boys to go with us, but that wasn’t much of a change. As a parent, I am prepared for more than one. “Wake up, “or “Put your phones away” works just fine in the plural.
There have been other interruptions in the tradition. Several years ago I was part of the priesthood choir that sang in the Conference Center during the October general conference. So, my son and I improvised on the tradition for that session.

We went out the following week and discussed our favorite talks, or the ones that stood out for us over ice-cream. At least I had ice-cream. My son had a shake, a coke, a banana split and a double order of chicken fingers.

The tradition was about my relationship with my son anyway — not where, when or what we ate.

Now we have the option of staying home to watch the live session on Saturday night, and I don’t know how I feel about that. I like the idea that the meeting will be open to more than it ever has before.

I am proud of what has been discussed, and pleased that everyone will get to hear the instruction my church leaders have always given to the men; treat your families with respect, follow the commandments and love your wives.

I won’t be surprised when “Mormon men asked to follow the rules and to be good husbands,” is not in the headlines.

My son and I will be at the stake center come Saturday night. Who knows about next year? This may be the last time all the men get together as the fashion mishaps that we are. It was a nice tradition. But sitting at home in my socking feet will be nice too.

One thing won’t change, I'm pretty certain. Dessert will still be on me. 

Hazing at the Laramie Project?

In two days, it will mark 15 years since officer Reggie Fluty found Matthew Shepard tortured, bleeding, hung on a fence in the middle of nowhere and left to die. Tuesday evening, after and during a sensitive performance based on that event and Shepard's own story, a group of Old Miss's athletes decided to yell out "fag" and heckle the actors on the stage.

After being dealt with by the administration, these athletes apologized, but didn't seem to have a clue why they were being called on to apologize in the first place. 

According to the play’s director Rory Ledbetter, audience members used slurs like "fag" and heckled both cast members and characters they were portraying for their body types and sexual orientations. Ledbetter  later stated that the audience’s reactions included "borderline hate speech."

From USA Today: University of Mississippi officials apologized Thursday for the behavior of a group of athletes among an audience of the play, The Laramie Project.  These freshmen used gay slurs and other disparaging comments to verbally harass performers during the production.

Ole Miss Chancellor Dan Jones and Athletics Director Ross Bjork issued a joint statement pledging and investigation of the incident, and plans to work with the response team to address the matter.

"It is clear that some students badly misrepresented the culture of this university," they said in their statement.

The play is based on the murder of Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student who was killed in 1998 due to his homosexual orientation.

In a statement Friday, the response team said, "The task of identifying specific individuals who were purported to have disrupted the performance is difficult because of the dark theatre, and initial reports vary in regard to the frequency, volume and source of the comments or disruption.

Garrison Gibbons, a 20-year-old acting major who was in the play, told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday that the atmosphere at Tuesday's performance was "radically different" from other performances and that actors had heard gay slurs from the audience and laughter at moments in the play that weren't intended to be funny, including a funeral scene.

"They were laughing at lines that spoke in negative ways about gay people," Gibbons said.

Gibbons added that he felt "an incredible amount of judgment and laughter" while delivering a monologue in the play in which his character comes out as gay, including audience members taking pictures of him with their iPhones, which he said "appalled" him. He said the cast was later told after the play's second act that the football players and other athletes in the audience were going to apologize after the show.

Gibbons said he did not want athletes to be suspended for games but rather to learn lessons and help create a better atmosphere for gay students on campus.

Michael Barnett, assistant chair of theater arts at the school and also chair of the Ole Miss faculty senate, told USA Today that a house manager identified the group as athletes:

 "The football players were asked by the athletics department to apologize to the cast,” Ole Miss Theatre Department Chair Rene Pulliam said. “However, I’m not sure the players truly understood what they were apologizing for."

The football players’ apology was given by one undisclosed football player on behalf of the entire group.

The whole thing is massively depressing when you take the context of what these kids were yelling out and what The Laramie Project is.  Incidents like this one make us question Shepard's legacy and whether we have done enough to make sure that no one forgets what this young man went through before and as he died.

Today's Gay Day -- In the news

I've been reading a bit about the Prop 8 situation from 2008.  A recent article claims that the LDS church paid out tens of thousands of dollars in fines for improper procedures concerning its involvement, and that it was fined even more for funding a big hulk of the "yes" campaign. 

From what I see, that is not true.* (Please feel free to give me more information) Yes, the church paid $5000. in a fine for not reporting non-monetary contributions to the workers who were supporting the proposition. California law is worded differently, and the church plead guilty to not following the California law.

THIS IS RELEVANT.  THE WHOLE THING IS STARTING AGAIN IN HAWAII

As far as the millions and millions that was given to the "yes" campaign?  There was money paid -- by a political PAC, not a church group, not the Mormon church, but a political pro-Romney PAC created by Conservative Republicans and business people that included members of the LDS church.

This reporter then lists a collection of people and groups who are pulled from a "secret" list (it's on the Internet, buddy) of groups who gave money to the campaign.  Here are a few that were of interest to me from the list they published:

Who gave the $40 million to the "Yes on Proposition 8 campaign"? - Public information from the California Secretary of State’s Office.

The National Organization for Marriage THIS IS THE ONE THEY SAID WAS FOUNDED BY THE MORMON CHURCH.  IT WAS NOT.  IT IS  A  SEPARATE ORGANIZATION  LEAD BY SOME THAT ARE MEMBERS OF THE MORMON CHURCH.
$1,041,134.80*Princeton, NJ

20 Nassau Street, Suite 242, Princeton, NJ 08542 • Tel: 609.688.0450 • Web: www.nomcalifornia.org andwww.nationformarriage.org

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) gave: $225,000 on 1/22/08, $38,132.50 on 2/1/08, $47,402.25 on 2/18/08, $172,500 on 2/21/08, $108,000 on 2/22/08, $105,000 on 3/7/08, $50,000 on 4/14/08, $25,000 on 4/18/08, $25,000 on 4/18/08, $100,100 on 4/24/08, $25,000 on 4/25/08, $20,000 on 7/30/08 and $100,000 on 10/21/08.

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is headed by syndicated columnist Maggie Gallagher, President and Brian Brown, Executive Director. Gallagher has worked for several other organizations before founding NOM. She is best known for being in the center of a (George W.) Bush Administration scandal. She had a $21,500 contract with the Health and Human Services Department in 2002 to help promote the administration’s $300 million “healthy marriage” initiative, but did not disclose her contract and was using her column to promote the program. Gallagher attempted to withhold this information until she finally admitted the conflict four years later. [2]

Due to its sizeable early financial support of ProtectMarriage.com, NOM is chiefly responsible for the qualification of Proposition 8. Their funds made it possible to hire the signature gathering firm of Bader and Associates. Bader then was able to hire hundreds of professional petition circulators to collect the necessary signatures to qualify Proposition 8 for the November ballot. The Protect Marriage Campaign spent $1,227,263 with the Bader organization alone between January and June of 2008.

Alan Ashton
$1,000,000 on 10/28/08 Lindon, UT

Alan Ashton is the co-founder of Word Perfect Corporation and a former professor at Brigham Young University. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and a grandson of former LDS Church president David O. McKay.

Focus on the Family
$539,643.66*Colorado Springs, CO

8605 Explorer Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80920 • Tel: 800.232.6459 • Web: www.focusonthefamily.com

Focus on the Family gave: $50,000 on 12/4/07, $22,259.46 on 1/22/08, $10,834 on 1/28/08, $50,000 on 4/7/08, $250,000 on 6/13/08, $20,000 on 7/24/08, $9,152.63 on 7/29/08, $1,669.37 on 8/6/08, $21,402 on 9/4/08, $4,306.83 on 9/4/08, $1,739.37 on 9/15/08 and $100,000 on 10/28/08.

Founded in 1977 by Dr. James Dobson, Focus on the Family is the most powerful evangelical ministry in the country. Focus on the Family is located in Colorado Springs, CO and is now run day-to-day by President & CEO, Jim Daly, but James Dobson is still the face and voice of Focus on the Family. Their 2005 budget was $129 million and they have 1,300 employees. They advocate creationism and have called same-sex marriage “the most radical human experiment.”

The American Family Association
$500,000 on 7/22/08 Tupelo, MS

P.O. Drawer 2440, 107 Parkgate, Tupelo, MS 38803-2440 • Tel: 662.844.5036 • Web: www.afa.net

The American Family Association (AFA) of Tupelo, Mississippi was founded in 1977 by Donald E. Wildmon. He serves as Chairman and his son Tim is President. According to its web site, “AFA exists to motivate and equip citizens to change the culture to reflect Biblical truth and traditional values.” They are established as a 501(c)(3) Corporation and according to their IRS Form 990 for 2007, brought in $22.5 million. AFA owns over 180 American Family Radio stations in 28 states across the country. [3] AFA has led several national boycotts against companies such as Walt Disney (1996–2005)www.afa.net/disney Ford (2005) www.boycottford.comand just launched a boycott against McDonalds Corporation www.boycottmcdonalds.com all due to their support of fairness and equality for gays and lesbians. AFA is currently targeting the Hallmark Card Company because it began selling a same-sex wedding cards.

David Moon

$200,000 on 10/28/08 Alpine, UT

The Vineyard Group, LLC
$160,000Mesa/Queen Creek, AZ

1223 S. Clearview Ave., Mesa, AZ 85209 • Tel: 480.222.5800

The Vineyard Group gave: $25,000 on 6/23/08, $35,000 on 7/15/08 and $100,000 on 10/29/08.

The Vineyard Group is part of Cardon Hiatt Bowden, a real estate and investment company based in Mesa, AZ. Principals include Elijah and Craig Cardon, Broc Hiatt and Brent Bowden, many of whom were big financial backers of Mitt Romney for President. Broc Hiatt is a Director of the New York based Institute for American Values, where NOM founder Maggie Gallagher is an Affiliate Scholar.

 

Michele Adams Watterson
$100,000 on 10/29/08 Cache, UT

Watermark Investments, LC

Roger Boyer
$100,000 on 9/17/08 Salt Lake City, UT

Boyer Company (www.boyercompany.com)

Katharine Garff
$100,000 on 10/29/08 Bountiful, UT

Belinda Vandersloot
$100,000 on 10/28/08 Idaho Falls, ID

Belinda Vandersloot is the wife of Melaleuca–The Wellness Company President and CEO Frank Vandersloot. Melaleuca (www.melaleuca.com) is one of the world’s largest online and catalog retailers offering wellness products to its customers, who also enjoy the benefits of community membership.

Does the LDS church or any other church have a right to believe that the family should try to be structured one way?  Yes.  And, I think every church has a right to promote its teachings.

Does it have the right to tell people they don't have the choice?   My understanding is that the church is not telling us whither or not we can choose.  They are letting us know what they think the consequences of that choice will be. That is their right. 

We have agency to choose.  We also have agency to create for our familes the kind of home we wish to have in order to raise children happily and healthily.

What say you on any of this?