Full-page ad in the New York Times on December 5th– Activists, scholars and politicians decrying the campaign against the Mormon Church. Note one of the signers is Alveda C. King, niece of MLK and a political activist:
“An Outrage That Must Stop”
December 8th, 2008 · 6 Comments
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6 responses so far ↓
1 queuno // Dec 9, 2008 at 12:56 am
What bothers me about this is the attitude of my fellow Saints that they should be able to take unpopular stances and not suffer any ramifications.
I guess I have always considered myself belonging to a Church that isn’t popular, that isn’t trendy, and that has always (and always will be) rejected and persecuted.
(You mean people don’t like Mormons? You don’t say! That they don’t want them to be president? You don’t say! *shrug*)
2 David // Dec 9, 2008 at 2:40 am
Yeah, queuno, you’re right. Doesn’t mean we have to just take it, though. I try to be a reasonable guy, and when I see the population come at us en masse, I try to look for voices of reason out there that say, “Wait a minute…”
I find them everywhere. This one was significant enough to post.
3 s'mee // Dec 9, 2008 at 3:33 am
When my seminary students thought that taking away “some” of our constitutional rights in the name of “security” was o.k. because, “If you don’t have anything to hide, you shouldn’t be bothered.” I pointed to the high school that asked each and every young woman to lift her dress to expose her underwear (from and back) to adult staff to make sure that it was appropriate (not a thong) for Prom. EVERY young woman had to expose herself or be denied entrance to the Prom.
Sometimes we need to stand up and say “no more”.
The reason this ad is a good thing is that it points out that not only moral issues were tampered with, but also the laws. It also point out that the church being targeted indeed did nothing legally wrong. Thirdly, they stand united for ALL religion, not just Christian, not only Jew or Muslim, but ALL.
We have a habit of shouting, “SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE!” hoping the crowd will eventually put state over church in regard to special laws and rights. In the origin, the proclamation of “separation” was to protect the Church from the state. To insure that religions could and would grow and succeed however they seem fit, not the other way around.
I find this ad not only appropriate, but assuring that there are still people out there who can look past each others’ Gods and stand up for what is right.
4 cheryl // Dec 9, 2008 at 4:55 am
Amen, s’mee. Amen.
Like queuno, I always thought (think?) that being LDS means we’ll be persecuted –I think it says a lot that Satan is so hardpressed to fight against us, even when it doesn’t make sense. I know it doesn’t prove truth, but it should/tends to make people pause. But at the same time, when lines are crossed, we shouldn’t put up with it. And seriously? What if the protests had been against Jews? Muslims? I just think the protesters are shocked because people actually see Mormons as American citizens and humans now. I’m betting those launching the attacks against us were assured in their minds that the country would not protect us or even care, because as queuno said: We’ve always been persecuted. It’s part of our image.
I’m just glad the country proved them wrong and did take a stand for us. It’s miraculous and comforting all at the same time…
5 queuno // Dec 9, 2008 at 5:04 am
I guess the point I was trying to make is I’m generally unimpressed by attacks on the Church to the point where I need to protest.
And I learned long ago thatstanding up for my beliefs means sacrificing friends and associations.
You get used to it, living outside the Corridor.
I think more of our membership needs to understand what it was like for our ancestors. We have it pretty easy.
You fight against evil, you move on, and you shrug off the criticism. You don’t cry foul over what you should have expected all along.
6 xoxoxoxo // Dec 9, 2008 at 5:21 am
I agree with all. I, like queuno didn’t expect it to go over well, I was however a little surprised at the violent/destructive level of the reaction.
But as he said, you turn the other cheek and move on. I suspect that things will only get worse and if members would actually read their own scriptures, none of this would have been a real shocker.
But as David pointed out, it’s nice to know we haven’t been hung out to dry (this time) by those who took the same stance we did and that others are still willing to stand up and say enough.
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