idk I guess I'd like to think that some of the folks in that photo read Recovering Agency, got over a bunch of their pain and confusion, and were able to attend that protest because of it.
Based on feedback I've gotten in the past, this is very likely true.
And that's why I want to restore my health, so I can do more of that. That's my calling. That's what stirs my spirit.
That said, there's also a lot of authoritarianism running through Mormon doctrines, and those with authoritarian mindsets glom onto those ideals instead.
They have their eye on a Utah theocracy, just like ol' Brother Brigham once ruled over. And many of them are in Utah government and police. So I also wouldn't be surprised if that comes to blows.
The prophecy about separating the wheat from the chaff has never felt so poignant, so imminent.
#ReligiousTrauma
#Mormon
#LDS
#exmormon
#exmo
#USPol
#UTPol
#HandsOff
That photo of the Utah protest keeps going around. Social media and news outlets are all surprised for some reason.
I'm not. Not at all. That's because 1. I was raised LDS and know the fire they implanted in people like me to stand for what is right, and 2. I've followed activism in Mormon spaces for the last two decades, and know that when educated on these issues, nuanced Mormons and exmormons bring all that fire with them. They've been largely working within Mormon spaces to change the Church and help those wounded by it, and have accomplished amazing things, moving the mountain that is the world's wealthiest religion with hardly a mustard seed.
Most of the base values Mormonism teaches are perfect for anti-Trumpism. The Book of Mormon is anti-monarchy and pro-liberty. The driving core doctrine is "free agency." The world after Jesus returns is basically a functioning global commune.
This is why I've chosen to work in this space as my own activism, my calling, to heal Mormons and exmormons of their trauma, teach them critical thinking, educate them on these issues, expose them to progressive ideas, and then they'll have the energy for changing the wider world.
We were reared to change the world, pushed to magnify our talents, taught to be leaders, shown how to organize, and then they chained us to a hamster wheel of useless activity that did the opposite of changing the world.
Once released from that hamster wheel, we are a force to be reckoned with.
So yeah, folks in Utah are gonna show up. Don't underestimate the Mormons.
This weekend is the semi-annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It will feature Christ-centered messages of hope and peace and I’d like to invite you to join my family by tuning in online.
Details: www.churchofjesuschrist.org/feature/gene...
#LDS #Christian
General Conference – Church of...
This weekend is the semi-annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It will feature Christ-centered messages of hope and peace and I’d like to invite you to join my family by tuning in online.
All other posts I make about it will be behind CW as I know you guys don’t follow me for religious content.
Details: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/feature/general-conference?lang=eng
@mmiasma Oh, they will see it. LDS Temples are normally lighted at night.
They are so bright that a friend of mine who lives near one doesn't really need to leave a porch light on at night.
And the LDS Temple in Oakland CA is an important air-traffic marker for landing, at night, at the Oakland Internat'l Airport.
The religious view.
In Cody, I guess Jesus gets the front-row.
I hope they make it a particularly attractive view of Moroni's backside for the people who used to see the mountains.
Utah Ex-Therapist Scott Owen Sentenced to Prison for Sexually Abusing Patients
—
Owen’s 15-year-to-life prison term follows a 2023 investigation by The Salt Lake Tribune and ProPublica that uncovered a range of sex abuse allegations against the ex-therapist, who claimed to be a specialist for struggling gay Latter-day Saints men.
https://www.propublica.org/article/scott-owen-utah-therapist-sexual-abuse-prison-sentence?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
Xan came to the office while I was in between calls to let me know that Trump crashed the economy, and we chatted and joked a bit about the end of the United States
THEN she said that if the US did, y'know, end, #Utah would most likely become the sovereign nation #Deseret, and she (who was not raised Mormon) wondered if Deseret might not be just a bit better than what we have now
and, dear friends, I have neither the character count nor the courage to describe to you the terror that turned my marrow to water at the thought of living under a #mormon theocratic nation
Church that's richer than Heavenly Father (and every other church in the world) soon could live on the interest from its more than $200b of investments, but naw, will require tithes anyway because it's in the Book of Malachi and they're saving up treasures in heaven for you! A couple billion more is always nice, so pay up your tithing even if your cupboard is bare! After all, the Prophet isn't selfish! He doesn't want to hoard all those blessings to himself!
https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2025/04/01/lds-church-wealth-day-soon-may/
No paywall:
With a Living Prophet, Seer, and Revelator™ able to see what mere men cannot, LDS Church rushes to do bare minimum of what other Utah churches are already doing to meet demands of new state law to protect children from predators.
https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2025/04/01/lds-church-other-groups-are/
(Subtext: The "helpline" mentioned at the bottom of the article is historically just a dedicated legal team who will rush in and cover-up any scandals before the church's good image can be sullied. Nelson's words are so, so empty. Yes, Brother, sic Jesus on 'em. That'll save the children.)
(Also, fuck Nelson. Support Protect Every Child and other advocacy groups! https://protecteverychild.com )
No paywall:
#atheism #christianity #catholicism #mormonism #baptist #Jehovah_witness #islam #judaism #buddhism #b…
https://friendica.produnis.de/display/6036f0c5-3efa495f-d6c65e03b894a355
#TIL that god-botherers have a lot of servers.
What on earth do they need that many for?
This is the strongest statement against racism the LDS Church has *ever* officially released. Among other things, it calls racism a "sin" and tells members to call out racism when they see it.
While this is big, I still have complaints.
As with all the "essays," it's a minimum effort, published online in a little far off place so they can claim plausible deniability but reach as few members as possible. I'll feel better when they expound on this from the pulpit at General Conference, Every Single Conference, with some words From the Actual Prophet, and also get Correlation to include this as a dedicated lesson in every single lesson manual from Primary to Gospel Doctrine, churchwide. And throw in a couple of hymns and primary songs to show they mean it.
I'm going to be very hard to please on this – thanks to being raised by goodly parents, I have Very High Standards™ – but I will acknowledge this very large step in the Right Direction, especially in these times when it seems like everyone is taking a step in the wrong direction.
And I will add that they would not have taken this step without the intense efforts of activists, progressive mormons, and exmormons, including Black Latter-day Saints, putting the pressure on for well over a decade, and to a free and open internet that made such activism effective.
I wish I had capacity to write my full thoughts in a blog post on this. But my Very High Standard is this: When they speak out against racism and OTHER BIGOTRY as often as and as intensely as they speak against unauthorized sex, then I'll be satisfied. They've got a long way to go, but to quote my old ex-friend Jesus, who is now quite doctrinally NOT WHITE:
"I didn't say it would be easy; I only said it would be worth it."
(Maybe he's not white anymore, but Christ is still incredibly Smug. On this topic, he should be.)
https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2025/03/22/lds-church-jesus-wasnt-white/
Dan McClellan is a BYU Bible scholar. He's chosen the correct fork in the great divide of these times. This is a good talk on empathy's role in society.
#psychology #empathy #exmo #exmormon #lds #mormon #AbuseCulture
