As I’m sure you already know, last Sunday the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent an official letter to congregations throughout California asking the members of the church to “do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment by donating of your means and time to assure that marriage in California is legally defined as being between a man and a woman.” The full letter is available on the official church website.

In an interesting contrast, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for President of the United States, Barack Obama, has issued a letter of his own addressed to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club which was read at the group’s annual Pride Breakfast. In the letter, not only does he express strong opposition to the California amendment, but he goes even further and advocates “repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy.”

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life has released the results of a new Survey on Religious Belief and Politics in America (pdf).

More than three-quarters of American adults (78%) believe there are absolute standards of right and wrong, with a majority (52%) saying they rely primarily on practical experience and common sense for guidance regarding right and wrong. Far fewer say they rely mainly on their religious beliefs (29%), and fewer still say they rely on philosophy and reason (9%) or scientific information (5%). Only among Jehovah’s Witnesses (73%), Mormons (58%) and members of evangelical churches (52%) do majorities say they rely primarily on their religion for guidance about right and wrong.

Some of the interesting findings:

• 39% of Mormons surveyed agreed to the statement that “Many religions can lead to eternal life” (Compare: Protestant 66%, Catholic 79%, JW 16%, Muslim 56%, Jewish 82%)
• 100% of Mormons Surveyed believe in God in some form (Compare: Protestant 98%, Catholic 97%, JW 98%, Muslim 92%, Jewish 83%, Atheist 21% ??)

The Prophets of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have repeatedly emphasized the importance of Motherhood to both the stability and happiness of our earthly society as well as its central importance in the eternal plan for our salvation.

This month, Elder Henry B. Eyring reminds us again of the importance of motherhood in his message from the First Presidency of the Church :

In our own time we have been warned with counsel on where to find safety from sin and from sorrow. One of the keys to recognizing those warnings is that they are repeated. For instance, more than once in general conferences, you have heard our prophet say that he would quote a preceding prophet and would therefore be a second witness and sometimes even a third. Each of us old enough to listen heard President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) give counsel on the importance of a mother in the home and then heard President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) quote him, and we have heard President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) quote them both.

Following this counsel from the prophets represents a great sacrifice for many women and men. My own mother made that sacrifice, despite her disinclination toward those things often associated with motherhood, and endured the scorn of her own feminist generation for choosing to stay at home and be a mother. She has since testified that it was the right decision and she has been blessed for her humility.

There is a heartbreaking article by Rebecca Walker , who is the daughter of famed feminist icon and author of “The Color Purple” Alice Walker, where she discusses the damage caused by her mothers fanatical feminism. She says:

A few month’s ago, I arrived late to church and as I scurried across the parking lot with three small children to try to make it in time to take the sacrament, I noticed something so awesome that I just had to stop. Despite our tardiness, the freezing cold, and the fact that we were probably going to miss the central purpose of attending church every Sunday (again!), I fumbled around in my pocket for my phone to snap a picture, trying to ignore the children’s whining remonstrations and arm tugging.

I think that this photo is nicely symbolic. Or it at least implies a story. What it symbolizes, however, or what the story is, is up to you. Submit your photo caption suggestions in the comments or by email.

The winner will be announced next Week.

I have waited to comment on the situation down in Texas where the Texas government has removed over 400 children from their parents with allegations of abuse until there was more information available.

The situation distresses me for a number of reasons.

It wouldn’t be appropriate to go into details here on my blog, but a number of years ago I was involved in a brief legal struggle over some abused children. Having reported abuse to child protection services, I quickly discovered that unless there is physical evidence of abuse (bruises, dislocated or broken bones, etc.), the chances of getting abused children removed from their parents into the safety of state care are practically nil.

It is extremely frustrating and heartbreaking to talk to an abused child who has trusted you and to have to tell them that there is nothing you can do because they haven’t been hurt badly enough yet to deserve protection from the government’s Child Protection Services.

At the same time, through this process I did learn that there are very strong legal protections for parental rights in the United States, and that is something that I strongly support.

“The face of sin today often wears the Halloween mask of tolerance. Do not be deceived. Behind that facade is heartache, unhappiness, and pain. You know what is right and what is wrong, and no disguise, however appealing, can change that truth. The character of transgression remains the same. If your so called friends urge you to do anything you know to be wrong, you be the one to make a stand for right, even if you stand alone. Have the moral courage to be a light for others to follow. There’s no friendship more valuable than your own clear conscience, your own moral cleanliness…”

President Thomas S. Monson
Priesthood Session, April 2008 Conference
In his first address as President of the LDS Church

This weekend we are holding the annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Every year I try to post links to MP3 audio and other Internet resources as they become available. This conference will include the sustaining of Thomas S. Monson as the President of the High Priesthood and Prophet.

MP3 Audio
These are links to the earliest available audio I can find. They will be replaced by links to the MP3s at the church website as they are posted.

Saturday Morning Session
Entire Session
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Elder Russell M. Nelson
Elder Ronald A. Rasband
Sister Cheryl C. Lant
Elder Kenneth Johnson
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin
President Henry B. Eyring

Saturday Afternoon Session

Sunday Morning Session

Sunday Afternoon Session

Streaming Video
Live Video, streamed over the Internet, as well as archived recordings of completed sessions is available on demand through BYU and KSL. We have been watching conference through BYU.tv for several years now and love it. The video player only works on Windows or Mac OS X (Sorry Linux Users!). This year KSL appears to be using the same player as BYU.tv, so they may be actually the same source. Also, the church is officially providing a Video Podcast for the first time this year (see the podcast section below).

Over the last few years in both public and private discussions about apostasy from the church, I have encountered an increasingly frequent complaint. It goes something like this:

“Practicing Mormons incorrectly attribute all apostasy to sin. There are many, many sinners in the church who do not leave. People leave the church for a variety of reasons, but it is not because they are sinners.”

In their own minds, they leave the church because they have discovered apparent incongruities that lead them to believe the Church is not true.

Of course everyone within and without the church sins. But when members say that people “leave the church because of sin” it is an idiomatic shorthand. What they mean is that people leave the church because they are unrepentant for their sin. We are all sinners, but we are not all penitent. Justification of sin eventually leads the unrepentant to leave the church.

The notion that those who reject the Gospel do so because of sin is not a just a cultural invention, it comes from the scriptures.

Transcripts, mp3 audio, and video of the World Wide Leadership Training Meeting originally held on February 9th, 2008 by the LDS Church on the topic of “Building Up a Righteous Posterity” are now available online at the official church website:

Building Up a Righteous Posterity

All adult members of the church were encouraged to attend. If you weren’t able to do so, find some time to watch it online, or download the mp3 audio to listen to at your leisure on your iPod or other portable mp3 player.

The past Sunday, our Bishopric decided that instead of following the Sacrament ceremony with prepared talks by three or four members of the congregation, or with a testimony meeting like we normally do, they would try something new: A Hymn Testimony Meeting.

The Bishop’s Councilor read the First Presidency’s preface to the LDS Hymnal:

Music in Our Church Meetings

Inspirational music is an essential part of our church meetings. The hymns invite the Spirit of the Lord, create a feeling of reverence, unify us as members, and provide a way for us to offer praises to the Lord.
...

In a fascinating interview with Time Magazine , the Anglican Bishop of Durham, N.T. “Tom” Wright, who is the fourth most senior cleric in the Church of England, says that most Christians misunderstand the Biblical teaching of the the afterlife. The view he advocates bears a striking similarity to the Mormon teachings of Joseph Smith.

Here are excerpts:

Our culture is very interested in life after death, but the New Testament is much more interested in what I’ve called the life after life after death — in the ultimate resurrection into the new heavens and the new Earth. Jesus’ resurrection marks the beginning of a restoration that he will complete upon his return. Part of this will be the resurrection of all the dead, who will “awake,” be embodied and participate in the renewal.

There is Luke 23, where Jesus says to the good thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” But in Luke, we know first of all that Christ himself will not be resurrected for three days, so “paradise” cannot be a resurrection. It has to be an intermediate state.

The President of the High Priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley, passed away last night.

The speed at which the news spread was phenomenal. Aided by technologies that were not yet available or wide spread when the previous prophet passed away in 1995, the news traveled quickly by word of mouth. Within an hour of his passing we had received Instant Messages, Text Messages, and Telephone calls from friends and relatives. Those whom we contacted many states away had already heard from others before two hours had passed since his death. Even friends who are lamentably no longer associated with the Church took the time to send email to pass the news along.

President Hinckley presided over so many sweeping changes to the Church’s structure and policy:

This is an entry in an ongoing, periodic series I call “An LDS Lexicon.” Each entry in my LDS Lexicon series contains etymology, etymologically related words, some information about the Hebrew and Greek terms from which the word is translated in the Bible (if applicable), and some personal insights about the word.

The views expressed here and in other entries in this series are my own and should not be construed to represent the official doctrine of the LDS Church. They are subject to change and amendment.

You may view all entries in this series: An LDS Lexicon

SACRAMENT

Many people more qualified than I have commented on why the war in Iraq has been such a hard slog. I know honest people who believe that the war was at best a terrible mistake and at worst an evil conspiracy. However, I do not believe that the war was a mistake. I still think it was the right course of action. I was in favor of the war before it began and I had no illusions at that time that it would be easy, short, or wildly successful.

Aside from the debate over the motivation and justification for the war, there has been plenty of criticism about how the war has been conducted. Certainly there have been plenty of mistakes and bad decisions. However, realistically there is no such thing as a strategy or plan that can guarantee victory from the outset. Enemies are not automatons whose reactions can be perfectly calculated, anticipated, and prepared for. They are intelligent, creative people who are unexpectedly inventive and cleaver.

Winning a war is in some ways like writing a computer program. No matter how well you think you know the parameters from the outset, it is an ongoing iterative process of constant adjustment, learning, refactoring, rethinking—and it usually takes longer than you expect.

Many Latter-day Saints aren’t particularly adventuresome when it comes to serving drinks at mormon get-togethers. If you go to a mormon party you will often find that there isn’t much of a variety when it comes to beverages. It is likely that you will have to choose between the most inexpensive generic band of Rootbeer, Lemon-Lime soda, Orange soda, or if it is the season, Steven’s Hot Chocolate.

Faithful members of the church live by a dietary law called “The Word of Wisdom” which prohibits drinking Cofee, Tea, and Alcoholic beverages. Many also avoid drinks containing Caffeine, though it is not explicitly required (the church owned Brigham Young University does not sell cafinated drinks on campus).

Latter-day Saints are also often quit frugal, and this also affects what they drink. I attended a Mormon “bachelor” party recently in a beautiful, multi-million dollar home. What did they have to drink? Generic-brand Rootbeer, Sprite, and water.

So, this holiday season, I thought it would be fun to compile a list of Mormon Friendly beverages that one might consider serving at party for a little more variety. By Mormon friendly I mean drinks that not only strictly comply with the official Word of Wisdom restrictions, but drinks that could easily be stocked and sold at the Creamery on BYU campus—no caffeine; drinks that shouldn’t give even the more fastidious Word-of-Wisdom-Czar any reason to worry.

Here are a few of my favorites, most of which are currently available at the BYU Creamery or Church-owned Deseret Bookstore. They should all be served cold:

Apple Beer
http://www.applebeer.com

Recently, Apple Beer has become my favorite Mormon-Friendly soda. It is not too strong and has a nice subtle flavor and after-taste. It bills itself as the “Soft Drink with a Head.” Get it in the bottles if you can, the flavor is much better that way.