It’s often suggested that LGBT+ folks are being unfairly asked to surrender too much in the Church. While it’s a big ask, it’s nothing less than He asks from all of His followers.
Believers in Jesus know exactly what to do when we’ve been hurt by our own (sinful) actions— thanks to the practice of repentance. But when we are hurt by someone else’s actions, the pathway forward is far less clear.
Ancient accounts of the covenant are (mis)taken by modern eyes to be legalistic and punitive—rather than the grace-filled entreaty of a God to His beloved people.
Talk of resurrection usually hearkens to a day far off into the future when all will be made right—with little reference to the fears and despairs crowding us right now.
It’s important to raise our voices to defend truth. But especially in confusing and difficult moments, it’s also important to come together to seek a better understanding of the full truth of a matter.
The problem with HB 11 was not its failure to reach compromise on the question of transgender athletic participation, but limiting its scope to a single question, where only one set of competing interests could be served in the end.
Our daily rundown of the articles from around the web that we feel our readers would enjoy and appreciate. We hope to highlight the best of what’s around. Public Square Bulletin recommends: For Russian priest protesting Ukraine invasion, a mixture of defiance and concern Jack Jenkins – Religion News Services Rev. Ioann Burdin first wrote a letter against the Russian war in Ukraine in late February. He eventually started praying for peace in his church, and within a few weeks the police were contacting his parishioners. His journey is essential reading. God’s Paradoxical Path Meagan Kohler – Mirabile Dictu Starting from a reflection on General Conference, Meagan Kohler concludes, “The world will change when you change yourself.” She bemoans those stuck in perpetual fist-shaking at the heavens. Naw! Nobody in the Title IX wars is asking LGBTQ questions about religious schools Terry Mattingly – Get Religion The Washington Post recently spoke about a new application of Title IX rules. But though the change will effect more than 7,000 religious schools the reporting on the issue ignores the question of religion entirely leaving a major hole in their reporting on the matter. The Women Who Restored Moral Philosophy Paul Dicken – The American Conservative As World War II began, four women took positions at Oxford University. They found the moral philosophy of the academy severely lacking. Watching the horrors of WWII shook them from their complacency. This fascinating story is worth your time. To the columnist who questioned why we ‘half’ to do general conference — let me answer Hanna Seariac – Deseret News In Monday’s Conference run down, I shared a quip in response to a columnist asking why we even have General Conference. Hanna Seariac takes the question much more seriously and gives it a much fuller answer, definitely worth a read.
Actor and activist Sean Penn can certainly never be faulted for the passion or sincerity of his convictions. Much the same could be said for entertainment commentator Sean Hannity. But civility is hardly a word often associated with either. So I wanted to point out an important conversation between the two Seans that occurred last night on Fox News. Hannity had learned that Penn was filming a documentary in Ukraine when the conflict began. And reached out for an interview, and while Penn started the interview by telling Hannity that he didn’t trust him. But Penn eventually discusses how as an American he has a luxury “to indulge my lack of trust, which it becomes a petty thing.” But that witnessing the resistance of the Ukrainian people he noted that they didn’t have that luxury. The two merely agreed to disagree about the role President Biden has played in the conflict, and focused instead on their shared commitment to the good of the people of Ukraine. While it might be sad that a simple civil conversation is worthy of note, the reality is that this level of discourse is something which we would do well to aspire to more often. Perhaps it’s good we are gaining the perspective to see it.
There is concerning news out of Nigeria. Mubarak Bala was sentenced to serve twenty-four years in prison for the crime of being an atheist. Bala whose been in prison for several years awaiting conviction has been forced to worship as a Muslim. Today the United States Commission on Religious Freedom issued a statement condemning the prosecution. While Nigeria’s constitution protects the freedom of religion, in practice religious freedom is concerning in Nigeria. This sad incident intersects with US politics because of Biden administration’s treatment of Nigeria. Last November, the State Department, controversially, removed Nigeria from the list of countries of particular concern on religious freedom. This incident was one of the major factors in the poor score I gave in my one-year report card on President Biden’s work on religious freedom. This incident with Bala suggests that religious freedom is now functionally non-existent in Nigeria.
A study out today find that most Americans can’t name all four of their grandparents! Despite this 2/3rds of respondents said they wanted to know more about their ancestors. This gap may provide a natural opportunity for connecting others with the gospel due to the Church’s world-class genealogical facilities. For those who want to better connect with their own family, a new Kickstarter may be of interest. FamilyBinds Storybooks hopes to offer personalized storybooks that you can read to your children about their ancestors. Since more than half of the respondents to the survey said they wanted to learn more about their ancestors’ stories in particular they may be meeting an important need! Founder, Meeshell Hélas, tells LDS Daily that the project was born out of a desire for her children to learn about their great-grandmother, even though they wouldn’t have the same chance to connect with her.
Modern minds tend to exult in new ideas—while scoffing at those of the past. Could that hubris help explain some of our crises today?
Given how politicized issues are with tax and churches in the United States a recent issue in Australia may be ripe for abuse by church detractors. Australia does not allow tax exemptions for funds used for building and maintaining churches. But they do provide tax exemptions for donations for humanitarian uses. So the Church of Jesus Christ has structured its donations differently in Australia. Tithing funds go to a local office, run by volunteers, and the funds are used in accordance with Australian law. The concern is that because the office uses volunteers and doesn’t have any paid employees it may be seen as a “shell company” under Australian law. The Church often works with local officials to ensure technical matters of these kinds are addressed. But a local reporter, Ben Schneiders is attempting to make the concern much larger. Last year Schneiders found himself embroiled in controversy for what was called “knowingly misinterpreting financial data” of another religion. Schneiders appears to be skirting ethics again in his journalism here making claims that an investigation was being conducted by multiple news organizations, without revealing that the article published at each publication was written by him.
