10.22.2008

Something to Talk About...

I'm sure there have been a number of people who've already seen this article (which ironically, is a perfect contradiction to my quote in the header) or something like it, but I just got it in my email. It's entitled "Mormon Maneuver" and is on page 4 of the Santa Monica Daily Press.

Now, my first reaction was incredulity mixed with outrageous laughter. I mean, honestly, I can't believe people actually still believe some of these things. So I wrote the following letter to the editor:

So I'm sure you've been getting countless emails and responses from enraged Mormons about this article. Now, I'm a Mormon, one of the suppressed white female kind. And far from being enraged, I actually find the article completely ridiculous. My natural response as I was reading it was outright laughter. This author clearly has no clue what Mormons actually believe, preach or stand for. He makes so many hasty -dated- generalizations that it's funny to me that people actually still think these things.

And I find it terribly interesting that although Christians in general are rising up against gay marriage (look up the American Family Association- not a Mormon group by any stretch, but a Christian group), he chooses the classic "the Mormons are coming" battle cry. Please. It's been done since the beginnings of our religion. If it's not amusing, it's tired. I honestly feel bad for anyone who reads this and actually thinks that these allegations are any more than the tripe that has been thrown our way for ages. I had thought that our society, our country was making strides towards tolerance. No, just tolerance for gays, not tolerance for other religions. If the author had made any valid and true accusations, he might be worth listening to. But he discredits himself with every uninformed, bigoted statement (I counted 8 blatant misrepresentations of specific beliefs and practices) he makes about Mormons. Please, if you want to complain about Mormons, find something accurate and legitimate to get us on. If you have to make stuff up to prove a point, maybe you don't have a leg to stand on.

Now that it's had a chance to set in a little bit, I'm less amused and more tired. Tired of hearing the same old crap these ignorant people love to trump up. I had originally thought when I started this post that I would respond point by point to the article, but when I got to this point, the fire in me died. It just seems so pointless. Anyone interested in the truth about what we believe can find it with a minimum of effort. I found someone else's point by point rebuttal as the third hit on a google search. So rather than throw out the same thing you can get anywhere, I've decided to refresh myself on what the purpose of this blog is: it's to find truth and examine it. Not to play apologetics. I've been there and done that, which is why the discussion is so stale to me.

Thus, if I happen to have any readers, and those readers are in fact interested in my response to any of the article's "points" about Mormons, I will be more than happy to address your questions. By all means, ask me if you're wondering. But otherwise, I'm going to refocus my thoughts on other, more important and interesting matters.