Recently in mormonism Category

I've wondered for a while now if Utah's shallow gene pool wasn't partly to blame for its high rate of depression and suicide. Some mental illnesses, such as bipolar, seem to run in families. And before any of you get defensive and call me a bigot, my family has been breeding within the confines of Mormonism for as long as the religion has existed. I'm as much a product of Utah's near-miss inbreeding as anyone. 

Genetic or not, I don't think this lets the church of the hook. After all, Mormon doctrine is clear that the faithful should only marry and procreate with active, tithe-paying, temple-going members if they want to be with their families in the afterlife. That sure doesn't leave a big group to choose from.

Ok, that's not the actual title of the show, but it could be. Church tool, Carol Mikita here reporting for KSL on a new feature film about Emma Smith, the first wife of Joseph Smith. Great idea actually. I mean hell, you know there will be at least 32 sequels.

Good news! You thought you had run out of ways to make people think you're a dork  stay pure. Not so, my friends. Someone on the interwebs is selling belt buckles that practially guarantee you'll never get laid! 

No really. Link.

Adios, Mr. Hinckley. Too bad you couldn't take Fred Phelps with you. The only thing I can say positively about you is that thanks to your ministry of shameless and cynical self aggrandizement, there are less people who believe in Joseph Smith's con game now than there might have otherwise been.

Some highlights you won't get from the local news media:

• He single-handedly denied almost as much LDS doctrine in public as me (see the Mike Wallace interview).
• Just like Jesus, he flew around in a private jet donated by the Huntsman famil...er wait. Never mind.
• In spite of holding the office of Prophet, he never made any prophecies or performed any miracles.
• He denied on camera ever directly speaking with God.
• He also denied on camera that men could become like God, which for over a hundred years had been a core Mormon doctrine.
  
• He built a quarter-of-a-billion-dollar Meganacle in Salt Lake City. The homeless continue to wait outside in the cold for food and shelter just a few blocks away. But the homeless couldn't satisfy his ego, so he built dozens of McTemples and a billion dollar mall downtown.

I suspect that Hinckley has been out of commission for some time now.  In the summer of 2007, an inside source of mine at the Salt Lake Tribune told me that the suits from the Church Administration Building had paid an important visit in which they arranged all the details for what they'd need to do in the event of his death.

Given the dramatic and vocal change in the LDS church's public policy over the last few weeks (removing wine coolers from grocery stores, immigration reform), it makes sense to me now that someone else has been in charge. A precedent for this was set with Ezra Taft Benson before him.

I could go on and on, but he really doesn't deserve the time. So here's to your worldly legacy, Gordo. I can honestly say the world is a better place without you.

Let the counter-PR spoofery onslaught continue! What I find particularly insulting about this one is how they attempt to position themselves as champions of racial equality while dancing completely around the skeletons in their own closet. Shame on you Betty, (or whoever you really are), for selling out.

If you're interested, the music is part of a haunting and beautiful collection of old recordings called The Sounds of Slavery. It's public domain, so you can download the entire collection free of charge.

Here's the original:And here's my answer to it:

Have you seen the LDS PR videos?



Yeah, we've got those here, too.

Good news (un)faithful readers and podcast listeners! Your diligent work on the Web is starting to show returns. Mormon "apostle" Melvin Russell Ballard wants the faithful to step up the blogging!

 “We cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the Church teaches.”

Well, I've got news for you Melvin, your church doesn't have a leg to stand on even as you define it. As one of your sincere and devoted critics please allow me to congratulate you for arriving (albeit embarrassingly late) to the party.

Before you get too excited imagining the hoards of devoted young believers falling over themselves to follow your counsel, consider the humble numbers of this single blog. Last year, the Eight Hour Lunch Podcast was downloaded 14,582 times. Since January 1, 2007 this single site has served over 33,530 pages. And I've done a piss-poor job of keeping it current.

Your days are numbered. Show some dignity and bow out while there's still a chance of history regarding you kindly.