tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33131983.post8544640214482585015..comments2023-11-03T06:24:22.342-07:00Comments on Cog: Important Announcement, ReallyScothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12350801865113852319noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33131983.post-60177734274804537062008-11-01T22:47:00.000-07:002008-11-01T22:47:00.000-07:00I hope to be there. I have a research paper due on...I hope to be there. I have a research paper due on Monday that is still in its formative stages, so... we'll see.<BR/><BR/>That's an interesting op-ed piece. I don't necessarily agree with Ms. Van Wagenen on the effects of nineteenth-century polygamy on families, women and children, but the way she tells it makes the irony of the current Mormon position much more apparent, so I guess I won't argue with her.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33131983.post-17308501478818234172008-11-01T17:19:00.000-07:002008-11-01T17:19:00.000-07:00Check out this great op-ed piece in today's LA Tim...Check out this great op-ed piece in today's LA Times:<BR/>(sorry, pasting as can't get link now)--<BR/>Mormons and Proposition 8<BR/>Of all people, Mormons should be sensitive to those seeking nontraditional unions.<BR/>By Lola Van Wagenen<BR/><BR/>Reports that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a big supporter of Proposition 8 should sadden all Mormons. Based on the unique history of Mormons, there is no religious group in our country that should be more tolerant of "nontraditional" forms of marriage than those of us whose ancestors were polygamist Mormons, who were persecuted because of theirtheir "nontraditional" marriages.<BR/><BR/>Have today's Latter-day Saints forgotten that in the 19th century, our ancestors were violently and relentlessly attacked for their "peculiar institution"? Have they forgotten that they pleaded for understanding and tried in vain to prove that they were good parents? Have they forgotten that Utah territory gave our great-great-grandmothers the right to vote in part to prove that they were not downtrodden, and that these ancestors prayed to the Lord for the protection of "celestial marriage" against the hatred directed at Mormons?<BR/><BR/>Our polygamous ancestors were accused of being incapable of providing loving homes for their children. Who knows better than we do that this was untrue? Who can deny that our "nontraditional" ancestors left a heritage of hardworking, high-achieving progeny. And yet the fallacy that "nontraditional" marriages erode and destroy family values is one of the main attacks being used against gay and lesbian couples by LDS proponents of Proposition 8.<BR/><BR/>Most Mormons today would concede that much of the continuing prejudice against the LDS church persists because of our history of "nontraditional" marriage, even though 118 years have passed since the church abandoned polygamy. Still, what religious group has known more hatred and persecution in America than our families? And it lingers. Have today's Mormons not learned to fight against prejudice and the vilification of people who happen to be different?<BR/><BR/>Returning to my Mormon roots as a historian has deepened my appreciation for, and gratitude to, my ancestors -- for their struggles and their sacrifices that living in "nontraditional" marriages demanded. My great-great-grandfather was jailed for his marriage, a history that I share with so many practicing Mormons. Given the Mormon experience, why are today's Latter-day Saints not in the vanguard of pleading for acceptance, equal rights and compassion for all Americans? They should be standing up in opposition to Proposition 8, knowing that loving homes and good parenting can come equally from "nontraditional" or "traditional" marriages.<BR/><BR/>Lola Van Wagenen is a member of the Mormon History Assn. and the author of "Sister-Wives and Suffragists: Polygamy and the Politics of Woman Suffrage, 1870 to 1896."Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02311716129622644980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33131983.post-46216090475726082862008-10-31T10:41:00.000-07:002008-10-31T10:41:00.000-07:00Great, we don't need to set a place to meet, or do...Great, we don't need to set a place to meet, or do we?<BR/><BR/>I'll be the guy who looks just like my pictures. I'll have my family and some extended family with me as well.<BR/><BR/>Eh, just in case, at 6:00 I'll look for people looking like they're looking for someone at the north edge of that wading pool fountain. It' the one the kids like to play in in the summer, just south of the south exit of the library into the plaza.<BR/><BR/>Craig: "I'll be there, and I'm even bringing/going with a BYU person."<BR/><BR/>Does that translate into "date"? :-)<BR/><BR/>"so we should represent...?"<BR/><BR/>That we should. The more people the better the event.<BR/><BR/>Guy: "Such great women they are!"<BR/><BR/>Indee.<BR/><BR/>"I'm even considering taking a break from the Prop 8 craziness here and coming up for it...Or should I be here getting out the vote?"<BR/><BR/>We'd love to see you all, but I hope you can help give us something to celebrate too.<BR/><BR/>"It would appear that Dec has decided that we are going to go to this. "<BR/><BR/>Yeah, we'll see. :-)<BR/><BR/>Amanda, thank you so much for the kind words. And welcome!Scothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12350801865113852319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33131983.post-68653900515352863852008-10-30T20:51:00.000-07:002008-10-30T20:51:00.000-07:00It would appear that Dec has decided that we are g...It would appear that Dec has decided that we are going to go to this. (He's even confirmed it on Facebook.) We're just going to eat an early dinner and not tell the kids or their mother before we go. :)Christianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02954160939175918093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33131983.post-77103606881716882592008-10-30T20:07:00.000-07:002008-10-30T20:07:00.000-07:00Okay this comment is totally unrelated to this pos...Okay this comment is totally unrelated to this post, but I couldn't figure out how to comment elsewhere - I just read your "long version" story and I was very touched. You have a beautiful family (both you, your husband, and children, and the family that raised you), and I wish you all the happiness you can have. Stories like yours are wonderful to hear, and I wish everyone who is afraid of "the gay community" could read and see that there is nothing there but love. :)Amandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07026099426503180472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33131983.post-82648203717523676672008-10-30T14:11:00.000-07:002008-10-30T14:11:00.000-07:00This sounds wonderful. I heard about it from my mo...This sounds wonderful. I heard about it from my mother who was at that luncheon. Such great women they are! I'm even considering taking a break from the Prop 8 craziness here and coming up for it...Or should I be here getting out the vote?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33131983.post-9384489823525707692008-10-30T13:27:00.000-07:002008-10-30T13:27:00.000-07:00Oh! the frustration. I will not commit one way or ...Oh! the frustration. I will not commit one way or the other at this point. Here is why: We have the kids this weekend, and 6:00 is around the time when we are either eating or getting ready to take them home. So, if I can finagle it, I will.Christianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02954160939175918093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33131983.post-39488893697582887562008-10-30T13:19:00.000-07:002008-10-30T13:19:00.000-07:00im not doing anything.... so i should go... we'll...im not doing anything.... so i should go... we'll see... the U's lgbt sent this out so we should represent...?Cadencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14678644975979787364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33131983.post-13824432855230837582008-10-30T12:59:00.000-07:002008-10-30T12:59:00.000-07:00I'll be there, and I'm even bringing/going with a ...I'll be there, and I'm even bringing/going with a BYU person.<BR/><BR/>See you there. Edgy, don't stand us up.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09374110841642375968noreply@blogger.com