Mormons and Proposition 8 - Update

UPDATED: Emily's blog is now touting Don Sedgwick, a jewelry store chain owner who graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Business Management and holds an elected school board position on the Saddleback Valley Unified School District as an "education expert." Sadly, it is typical of the far right religious elements to label as an "expert" anyone who will parrot what they want to hear regardless of their lack of legitimate credentials. Based on my many years as a education activist, I can assue you that most elected school board members in practice know little about education - especially when they hold no actual education credentials. Once again, the Christianists and Mormons talk about truth and integrity but do not practice it in reality.

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In response to yesterday's post about the disproportionate amounts of money being funneled by Mormons to support Proposition 8 which would forever make LGBT couples second class citizens in California, I received a comment from one "Emily." "Emily" is a blogger who operates a blog that is advocating for passage of Proposition 8. Not surprisingly, "Emily" - who appears to be LDS - was none too happy about the first grade class that took a field trip to observe a same sex marriage as part of its study of current events. While "Emily" did allow me to track back to her/his blog, there is no e-mail link, you cannot confirm her/his real identity, and all comments are moderated (hence my comments that differed in view have not been published). To "return the favor," I have not published Emily's comment.

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Emily and her/his blog - as well as the comments that are allowed - evidence the typical religious extremist's view that THEY and their denomination "know" the will of God. Moreover, a number of the posts/comments clearly depict gays as diseased and less than normal human beings. The irony of course is that having lived through high school in New York State not too far from Hill Cumorah near Palmyra, New York, where Joseph Smith allegedly found the golden plates comprising the Book of Mormon, to this day most people in that area view Joseph Smith as an extreme nutcase and fraud. Despite this fact, Emily displays the hubris of believing that she/he and the LDS know God's will and are "private citizens doing what they can for what they think is good."

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History is full of those who murdered, tortured, and marginalized others based on the religious beliefs of the sanctimonious believers who thought THEY were right. The Inquisition is one such example, the religious wars in Europe in centuries past are another, as are the ongoing murders of adherents of rival religions in the Middle East. Obviously, "Emily" and those like her/him still haven't learned this lesson from history. Once again, I believe at times that religion causes far more evil than good. The incessant efforts of Christianists and in this case Mormons to marginalize gays is obviously an evil. Citing religious belief for justification of harming others does not make it right.