News from Illinois

[wmanion]

I received this email today and thought I would pass it on.




During the fight over Proposition 8 in California which stripped same-sex couples of their legal right to marry, the influence and power of the LDS Church or Mormon Church grew each and every week as it headed to the ballot box. Even the Yes on 8 Campaign has said they couldn't have won without the Mormon Church.
And not just there. In Arizona, we now know the Mormon Church raised $7.5 million to pass Proposition 102, which forbids marriage between loving gay and lesbian couples.
And just recently in Utah, the headquarters of the LDS Church, those same anti-gay forces torpedoed every single piece of the Common Ground Initiative -- five pieces of state legislation that extended basic legal protections for LGBT Utahns.
Those same anti-gay, Mormon forces that brought you the passage of Prop. 8 in California, Prop 102 in Arizona and the defeat of Utah's pro-equality legislation have now set their sights on Illinois. We just learned today that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has sent a private email to its Illinois members urging them to contact state legislators and voice opposition to pending civil unions legislation..
The email, sent to at least one ward in Illinois, was authorized by Bishop Chris Church, of the Nauvoo, Illinois 3rd Ward, and sent by that web site's ward administrator. The email spreads many of the same bigoted lies that were hallmarks of the LDS Church's campaign to pass Prop. 8 in California and Prop. 102 in Arizona. It misleads Illinois citizens by blatantly misstating that the civil unions legislation would, "empower the public schools to begin teaching this lifestyle to our young children regardless of parental requests otherwise." It goes on to issue this incendiary and inaccurate warning – "it will also create grounds for rewriting all social mores."
No more lies! Church leaders want to spread their distortions in secrecy, but it's time to shine a light on their insidious and devious work. And you can help!
Please let the Nauvoo Illinois Mormon Temple -- the church responsible for authorizing this deceitful and fear-mongering email -- know that enough is enough. No more lies. No more secrecy. You can reach them by calling (217) 453-6252.
Then take a moment and let members of the Youth and Family Committee in the Illinois State Legislature know that you support The Civil Union Bill (HB 2234).

Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago)
Chairperson
(217) 782-3835

Rep. LaShawn K. Ford (D-Chicago)
Vice-Chairperson
(217) 782-5962

Rep. Mike Fortner (R-West Chicago)
Republican Spokesperson
(217) 782-1653


Rep. William D. Burns (D-Chicago)
(217) 782-2023

Rep. Michael P. McAuliffe (D-Chicago)
(217) 782-8182

Rep. Al Riley (D-Matteson)
(217) 558-1007

Rep. Dave Winters (R-Rockford)
(217) 782-0455
Directions for identifying your legislators:
Click here to identify your state legislators and their contact information and enter your 9 digit zip code. If this link doesn't work, you can also click here and then click on "legislator lookup" near the bottom of the page, then click on "by zip+4". Type in your zip code, and you'll see a list of your legislators. Make sure you contact your own state senator and state representative. It is important they hear the voices of pro-equality Illinois voters before they vote on this bill.
Warmly,

Joe Solmonese
President, Human Rights Campaign

[BruceChris]

I was an Investigator. That's a Mormon-in-training. Even back then, I got the impression that the Mormon church was very controlling. It was almost as if they wanted to make sure that God got my soul, but only after they were through with it.

Their church seems to have a sense of Manifest Destiny, to many of them.
I don't have many good things to say about them.

Nauvoo was one of the earlier settlements of the Mormons, where, as best as I understand it, they got into some conflict with the locals, and then moved on westward.

Wmanion, you may have some interesting times ahead of you. Bruce Chris

[taminator]

Yikes! My partner is from Danville, IL. Her folks are very liberal, and her father sometimes writes letters to the editor of the local newspaper to speak his mind on issues. I bet he'll have something to say about this!

[Rick336]

Originally Posted by BruceChris

I was an Investigator. That's a Mormon-in-training. Even back then, I got the impression that the Mormon church was very controlling. It was almost as if they wanted to make sure that God got my soul, but only after they were through with it.

I bet you have some very interesting stories to tell.

Rick

[Petrese]

I work for a company that is owned by Mormons, run by them, about 80% of the people that work there are LDS members. They are extremely nice and I have never heard any anti gay retoric, ever. Except from the few evengelical people that work there, those few are spewing anti gay stuff all the time, but then they spew anti everything. But the Mormons have been totally cool, so I just don't get all this anti Mormon stuff. It seems to me that the Proposition 8 driving force was from a lot of different sources, not particularilly just mormon. Not as much as most other denominations banding together for what they saw as a common cause. And a lot of general citizenry. In fact, the majority of vote for Prop 8 came from the black population in California, traditionally not at all Mormon, but prodistant and catholic based. Of course I can write my opinions here openly because as a tranny, most of the Gay based membership here shrug me off as unmerited or will overlook this post altogether, coming from a tranny, what do I know LOL.

[antiochian]

Scary to think this is the fastest growing church in America!

Hate to diss another's beliefs, but when those beliefs are vehicles of discrimination, which the LDS church has clearly been along with various other churches and groups, I'm not going to be nice and keep my mouth shut at that point.

[Rick336]

Originally Posted by antiochian

Scary to think this is the fastest growing church in America!

The hardcore fundamentalists of the Church of Later Day Saints (Mormons) believe that magical underwear will keep them safe from Satan. Seriously. I'm not making this up.

When someone believes that magical underwear keeps them safe from the devil, then chances are, that person will believe absolutely ANYTHING that somebody of authority tells them. ANYTHING!

"Homosexuality is the work of Satan? Sure. Why not? If you say it's true then it must be true. I have no mind of my own. I'll believe ANYTHING you tell me!"

I bet if the Mormon Church told their followers that a magic hat brought a snowman to life, they'd say, "Okay. If you say so then it must be true."



Rick

[BruceChris]

Is that when two Mormon teenagers begin to get all hot and bothered, and they run into the underwear, they may stop to think long enough to wonder if just maybe an act of un-abstenance will send them to hell.

I don't credit the Mormon leadership with motives any more sophisticated than that.

On the other hand, as I recall, the out of wedlock birth rate in Utah is much higher than the national average.

And yes, some of the members will believe almost anything that the leaders teach, especially if the belief fits the model that "they will be saved, and we will be damned".

And like God's other "chosen" people, the Jews, Mormons often refer to lesser beings as "gentiles"

Bruce Chris

[Rick336]

Originally Posted by BruceChris

Is that when two Mormon teenagers begin to get all hot and bothered, and they run into the underwear, they may stop to think long enough to wonder if just maybe an act of un-abstenance will send them to hell.

I don't credit the Mormon leadership with motives any more sophisticated than that.

On the other hand, as I recall, the out of wedlock birth rate in Utah is much higher than the national average.

And yes, some of the members will believe almost anything that the leaders teach, especially if the belief fits the model that "they will be saved, and we will be damned".

Bruce Chris

Below is a link to their own website about the underwear or "garments." It does indeed not say "magical" underwear even though it appears to me that's exactly how they see it.

They say: "It [the underwear] fosters a mindset of continual obedience to the Lord, which is crucial in keeping the covenants entered into in the temple. Through such obedience, a person can find physical and spiritual protection. The Lord God is enabled to grant promised blessings, fulfilling His side of the temple covenants. Thus, the garment is sacred to the wearer not for what it is, but for what it represents. The garment helps the wearer to focus his or her life on Jesus Christ and to thereby lay claim to the blessings promised to those who do so."

So even though they don't claim the underwear is magical, they do say that it will protect them.

They also say on the website that they are "in the world but not of it." So they're telling us that they are "not of this world?" If that's not magical thinking, then what is it?

Here's the link: http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/mormon/underwear/

Rick

[Petrese]

The underwear sounds no different than the millions who wear a crucifix, how many of ya do that? Some of the people in here should take a good look at themselves and what they say about others. Worring about some BS like the underwear, this that is no different than the fruitcakes that worry about what bathroom a tranny uses or,,,, do I say it? two guys tying the knot! Sounds strikingly like the bigots they critisize. yep, take a look in the mirror folks, see whats up. Go out, find the biggest group that voted to take away marraige in California, it is the vote and the person behind it, not even whoever promoted the measure. Most people in this country don't like Gays, regardless of religion.

[wmanion]

Originally Posted by Petrese

The underwear sounds no different than the millions who wear a crucifix, how many of ya do that? Some of the people in here should take a good look at themselves and what they say about others. Worring about some BS like the underwear, this that is no different than the fruitcakes that worry about what bathroom a tranny uses or,,,, do I say it? two guys tying the knot! Sounds strikingly like the bigots they critisize. yep, take a look in the mirror folks, see whats up. Go out, find the biggest group that voted to take away marraige in California, it is the vote and the person behind it, not even whoever promoted the measure. Most people in this country don't like Gays, regardless of religion.

You are correct if a person thinks that by wearing a crucifix around their neck it protects them from harm and makes them closer to God, just like the underwear does. However, it is not about the little tokens people use to make themselves feel better in their faiths. It is what the church is teaching their people. And I disagree with the fact that it is not the organizations that took away marriage in California because it is the organizations that feed the people the lies and fear that cause people to vote in a particular fashion. Additionally, when that organization uses their finances to promote hatred and lies to sway voters then, yes,the organizations can be blamed. I am sure there are good people in every religion, including the Mormon Church. I do not necessarily think they are bad if they want to wear special underwear or a crucifix. However, when you swallow church doctrine as being the truth and the absolute truth, regardless how many people it hurts, families it destroys, suicides it cause, then these organizations need to be held accountable for the destruction they cause.

Bill

[Petrese]

Originally Posted by wmanion

You are correct if a person thinks that by wearing a crucifix around their neck it protects them from harm and makes them closer to God, just like the underwear does. However, it is not about the little tokens people use to make themselves feel better in their faiths. It is what the church is teaching their people. And I disagree with the fact that it is not the organizations that took away marriage in California because it is the organizations that feed the people the lies and fear that cause people to vote in a particular fashion. Additionally, when that organization uses their finances to promote hatred and lies to sway voters then, yes,the organizations can be blamed. I am sure there are good people in every religion, including the Mormon Church. I do not necessarily think they are bad if they want to wear special underwear or a crucifix. However, when you swallow church doctrine as being the truth and the absolute truth, regardless how many people it hurts, families it destroys, suicides it cause, then these organizations need to be held accountable for the destruction they cause.

Bill

OK well that makes sense. Every one of the posts above yours, save mine, do not tho

[BruceChris]

Does not in any way imply that you have ever encountered the Dominionist ones.

BC

[Gennee]

I'm transgender and what I saw in California is that the Mormon Church outspent and out worked the many lgbt organizations. I remember some who worked with the mainstream lgbt organizations commented that their approach was trickle down fromthe top rather than from a grassroots level.

I believe Illinois has a great chance to turn the tide. The churches and glbt organizations will have to spend money on ads, knock on doors, and speak to community groups to counter what the opposition will do. The minority communities must be mobilized, something that wasn't done in California.

Gennee

[Adam42]

Originally Posted by Gennee

The minority communities must be mobilized, something that wasn't done in California.

Gennee

Yes, from what I hear the lgbt groups were not that well organized, and didn't get going on getting the word out early enough. There was a lot of misunderstanding that not passing Prop 8 would lead to laws allowing polygamy, which deterred mainline Christian people I know.

A friend of mine went out to help and he said that there was virtually no outreach to the African American community. After the vote there was talk that African American votes were the cause of passing the bill, and that their higher turnout because of Obama tipped the scales. The African Americans who did vote for the bill weren't a large enough group to ultimately be the sole reason for the bill being passed, though, and there was some unfortunate backlash. I heard some really racist remarks from my gay friends and we all had to sit down and talk about it.

In my opinion, we really need to strengthen and deepen the ties between the African American community and the lgbt community, because there is so much to learn and gain strength from there. I love the quotes on this site from civil rights leaders. We need to try and encourage black men who are on the "down-low" to come out of the closet and figure out how we can work with the spirit and power of the black church without piquing homophobic feelings.

How can we do this? How can we work on racism in the lgbt community? It's hurting us and we are losing allies in our political battles.

[tdogg]

Hi Adam!

We are doing it! Mainly in smaller groups, but Equality California has actually done quite a bit of outreach to minority communities. Most of the speakers at recent state events have been minorities. The equality summit (held in L.A. in January) addressed the issue and provided interesting possibilities for action plans to get this done. Things are being implemented but mainly on a smaller scale. It can be difficult to find a group that is working on the issues.

I am personally working with a faith outreach group in the Sacramento area. We are working to help bring a wonderful curriculum, Living Lovingly, into local churches that aren't terribly conservative, but perhaps have split congregations as to how they feel about marriage equality.

If you want, PM me and I'll see what information I can find for you. You can also Google CA Faith for Equality, as they are also working on the issues with the faith community and might be able to help you find a minority community outreach group if you are interested.

[tdogg]

I see you are in New Hampshire and not CA. But I'm sure there are groups there as well, and this is a national issue not a CA issue. Those who have said we must work on federal recognition are correct. Until DOMA is repealed and we obtain national advances, the struggles at the state level will be tough.

[Gennee]

Originally Posted by tdogg

Hi Adam!

We are doing it! Mainly in smaller groups, but Equality California has actually done quite a bit of outreach to minority communities. Most of the speakers at recent state events have been minorities. The equality summit (held in L.A. in January) addressed the issue and provided interesting possibilities for action plans to get this done. Things are being implemented but mainly on a smaller scale. It can be difficult to find a group that is working on the issues.

I am personally working with a faith outreach group in the Sacramento area. We are working to help bring a wonderful curriculum, Living Lovingly, into local churches that aren't terribly conservative, but perhaps have split congregations as to how they feel about marriage equality.

If you want, PM me and I'll see what information I can find for you. You can also Google CA Faith for Equality, as they are also working on the issues with the faith community and might be able to help you find a minority community outreach group if you are interested.

Equality California has done a fine job. I complimented them after the election. I encouraged them to keep going in their efforts. It sounds like your doing some wonderful work, tdogg.

Gennee