So the Daily Universe published a very well-written defense of the viewing of R-rated movies (which is generally frowned upon by LDS culture at large); naturally, there was considerable backlash, as people with access to lds.org scrambled to find any and all articles they could condemning the viewing of movies with such a rating. Here is my response (although I've pretty much been black-listed by the editors and therefore don't hold out much hope of it being published):
A quick thought about R-rated movies and the counsel given against them: some counsel given by Church leaders can become outdated. Bruce R. McConkie said that blacks would never have the priesthood; President Benson said that you can't be a Democrat and a faithful member of the Church. None of the addresses quoted by those opposed to watching R-rated movies - who base that opposition on such addresses - were given in the last ten years. Some counsel and admonition spans generations and holds meaning over a long period of time; other counsel is given for a specific reason at a specific time. We as Church members have to recognize this difference. R-rated movies can be infinitely more empowering, enlightening, and inspiring than PG-13 movies, the many of which are filled with senseless and idiotic behavior that appeals only to the basest in our natures. If the counsel against R-rated movies has been removed from the "For the Strength of Youth" pamphlet, it simply means that, as in everything else in our lives, we should let the Holy Spirit guide our decisions and remember that the revelation and inspiration we receive applies to us only.
If I could have made it longer, I would have pointed out that film and other liberal arts classes here at BYU routinely show R-rated movies as part of their curricula; either self-righteous people have to get a firmer grip on life, or I, along with other liberal arts majors, must be going straight to hell.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
"Big Love" hype
I don't know how it is in the rest of the country, but in Utah, there has been a veritable Jules Verne-esque "War of the Worlds" going on here about the HBO series "Big Love," especially since the creators decided this past weekend to show an LDS temple endowment ceremony in the show. There are the outraged Mormons who, without having seen a single episode of the series, let alone the one in question, unequivocally denounce the show as essentially "casting pearls before swine." One misguided soul (unfortunately a columnist for the "Deseret News") even went to far as to stamp the show's presentation of the endowment ceremony as "religious pornography." Oh dear me. They're calling for a boycott of the show and of the network itself, again without having any knowledge whatsoever of the show's contents or its actual portrayal of the ceremony. There are two viewpoints on the other side of the argument: those who say it's about time the world at large (meaning those with cable TV) had a little more information about the "strange" rituals of the LDS church, and those who rightly but bitterly state that it's also about time the LDS church had their turn to be castigated by the media as every other religion has.
Where do I stand? Somewhere in the middle. No, I have not seen the episode in question, either; but from the summaries I have read of it, the series' creators presented the endowment ceremony in an uplifting and positive light; it was not a polygamous marriage ceremony, and it was necessary to show the struggles of one of the wives between her former religion and her current family. It was not the degrading, "Look how weird the Mormons are!" portrayal that many were expecting. On the other hand, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and having been through the endowment ceremony myself, I must say that it is a sacred ritual in which you gain knowledge and make covenants with God not available elsewhere. I have never felt closer to God and to my husband, who is also "endowed," than when I am in the temple. The stresses of life melt away and my vision becomes clearer. I am able to refocus my energies and attention on the important things in life and watch the superfluous melt away without regret. I make better decisions; I am kinder, more compassionate, more charitable; things that would normally bother me don't; and life simply goes better in general.
Although one of the covenants you make in the temple is to not reveal certain elements of the ceremony outside of it, the majority of what you learn and what is said in the temple can be found in the LDS Church's teachings and standard works. If you're curious as to what the interior of an LDS temple looks like, attend a temple open house. You can see all the rooms in the temple and ask questions to the well-informed tour guides there. Ask your LDS friends; they'll be eager to share what they believe and love. Contact the LDS missionaries, who will also be happy to answer your questions, even if you're not interested in joining the Church. The fundamentals of the temple are plainly declared in a children's song:
"I love to see the temple, I'm going there someday,
To feel the Holy Spirit, to listen and to pray.
For the temple is the house of God, a place of love and beauty,
I'll prepare myself while I am young; this is my sacred duty.
I love to see the temple, I'll go inside someday,
I'll covenant with my Father, I'll promise to obey.
For the temple is a holy place, where we are sealed together;
As a child of God, I've learned this truth: A family is forever."
So, to those of the LDS church who are still bothered by HBO's "Big Love," consider this from the Prophet Joseph Smith: "The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.” Nothing HBO, or anybody else, for that matter, says or does will disrupt the work of God. Chill out. To those of you whose interest has been piqued by "Big Love," find a Mormon and ask them about the temple. And then do some research of your own. The Church website, www.lds.org, has a video about why we build temples as well as a statement on "Big Love." All will benefit from discovering that the practices and rituals of the LDS church are actually quite transparent and, in fact, invite inquiry of this kind.
http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-publicity-dilemma
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x_-TQivCx8
Where do I stand? Somewhere in the middle. No, I have not seen the episode in question, either; but from the summaries I have read of it, the series' creators presented the endowment ceremony in an uplifting and positive light; it was not a polygamous marriage ceremony, and it was necessary to show the struggles of one of the wives between her former religion and her current family. It was not the degrading, "Look how weird the Mormons are!" portrayal that many were expecting. On the other hand, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and having been through the endowment ceremony myself, I must say that it is a sacred ritual in which you gain knowledge and make covenants with God not available elsewhere. I have never felt closer to God and to my husband, who is also "endowed," than when I am in the temple. The stresses of life melt away and my vision becomes clearer. I am able to refocus my energies and attention on the important things in life and watch the superfluous melt away without regret. I make better decisions; I am kinder, more compassionate, more charitable; things that would normally bother me don't; and life simply goes better in general.
Although one of the covenants you make in the temple is to not reveal certain elements of the ceremony outside of it, the majority of what you learn and what is said in the temple can be found in the LDS Church's teachings and standard works. If you're curious as to what the interior of an LDS temple looks like, attend a temple open house. You can see all the rooms in the temple and ask questions to the well-informed tour guides there. Ask your LDS friends; they'll be eager to share what they believe and love. Contact the LDS missionaries, who will also be happy to answer your questions, even if you're not interested in joining the Church. The fundamentals of the temple are plainly declared in a children's song:
"I love to see the temple, I'm going there someday,
To feel the Holy Spirit, to listen and to pray.
For the temple is the house of God, a place of love and beauty,
I'll prepare myself while I am young; this is my sacred duty.
I love to see the temple, I'll go inside someday,
I'll covenant with my Father, I'll promise to obey.
For the temple is a holy place, where we are sealed together;
As a child of God, I've learned this truth: A family is forever."
So, to those of the LDS church who are still bothered by HBO's "Big Love," consider this from the Prophet Joseph Smith: "The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.” Nothing HBO, or anybody else, for that matter, says or does will disrupt the work of God. Chill out. To those of you whose interest has been piqued by "Big Love," find a Mormon and ask them about the temple. And then do some research of your own. The Church website, www.lds.org, has a video about why we build temples as well as a statement on "Big Love." All will benefit from discovering that the practices and rituals of the LDS church are actually quite transparent and, in fact, invite inquiry of this kind.
http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-publicity-dilemma
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x_-TQivCx8
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Whatever
I am honestly not quite sure what to do with this blog, so I think I will make it a combination of a repository for my writing (academic or bitter diatribe) and something of an online journal. No one has, of yet, offended me today, so no type of the latter writing will appear in this post. I'll just update whomever on what's going on in my life.
David and I got a puppy. His name is Xavier, and he's a Great Dane, is 9 weeks old, and weighs 22 pounds; he's already as large as some breeds will ever get. When we took him to the vet, he said that Xavier already had "50-pound dog legs." It's true; his legs are already about as thick as my wrists (and I'm a toothpick). Xavier's hobbies include being good for David, and being bad for me, which includes anything from chasing and growling at the cats, peeing on the carpet, and chewing up my homework (no the last one is not a cliche exaggeration). I had a Young Women leader growing up that said that before you could have kids, you had to prove that you could take care of lower life forms. You started with plants, then moved to small animals - fish, hamster, bird, etc. If you could handle a dog, you could handle children. It sounded logical enough to me at the time. Now I completely understand. Only a child can compare in demand and attention to a puppy. He's therefore functioning as a great form of birth control - I think I would go insane if I had to take care of a puppy AND a child. The thought sends shivers of dread down my spine. Ugh.
As if acquiring an animal that will someday weigh as much as David and be as tall as him on its hind legs wasn't enough, we also bought a new car. Well, it's new to us, anyway. It's a 2008 Jeep Liberty in a bronze-y orange color. David will be starting work up at Mt. Dell Golf Course in Salt Lake soon, an he will need a way to get up there while I will need a way to get to school down here. I realize that we've kind of rushed through the "list of things to do once you get married" (i.e., car, dog, kids [not yet], etc.), but I've developed the attitude about it that I have toward college finals: I would rather take all of my finals as quickly as possible and get over the stress/anxiety/dread/terror/guilt in one go instead of spreading it over several days. I've found that stress only increases with duration of time anyway. Forgive the crude analogy, but it's kind of like throwing up: You feel really sick before, it's a horrible experience, but when it's over, you feel SOOOOO much better. That's how I view life right now. David and I are getting most of the big stresses out of the way early so we can enjoy life later on. However, I did find out once I got married that David had an undisclosed hobby of collecting cars - he's gone through 13 in six years. When we got this car, I sat in the passenger seat and glared at him to get my message across: "We are DONE with cars for at least ten years. DONE! NO MAS!" We now have two perfectly reliable 2008 cars - one great on gas mileage, the other great on storage and handling. There is no reason we need to get any more/different automobiles! I informed David he needed to find a cheaper hobby, like collecting stamps or buttons or vintage Barbies. He does collect coins, and has some pretty amazing ones, but he obviously has some void that cars fill. I'd be jealous if I didn't know he loves me more than anything else. And then there's the line in my favorite song "I cant believe you kiss your car good night / Now, come on, baby, tell me, you must be jokin' right?" that alerts him as to how I would feel about his relationship with a machine.
Anyway, those are my ramblings for today. I might ramble some more tomorrow, especially if there's nothing else to do at work.
David and I got a puppy. His name is Xavier, and he's a Great Dane, is 9 weeks old, and weighs 22 pounds; he's already as large as some breeds will ever get. When we took him to the vet, he said that Xavier already had "50-pound dog legs." It's true; his legs are already about as thick as my wrists (and I'm a toothpick). Xavier's hobbies include being good for David, and being bad for me, which includes anything from chasing and growling at the cats, peeing on the carpet, and chewing up my homework (no the last one is not a cliche exaggeration). I had a Young Women leader growing up that said that before you could have kids, you had to prove that you could take care of lower life forms. You started with plants, then moved to small animals - fish, hamster, bird, etc. If you could handle a dog, you could handle children. It sounded logical enough to me at the time. Now I completely understand. Only a child can compare in demand and attention to a puppy. He's therefore functioning as a great form of birth control - I think I would go insane if I had to take care of a puppy AND a child. The thought sends shivers of dread down my spine. Ugh.
As if acquiring an animal that will someday weigh as much as David and be as tall as him on its hind legs wasn't enough, we also bought a new car. Well, it's new to us, anyway. It's a 2008 Jeep Liberty in a bronze-y orange color. David will be starting work up at Mt. Dell Golf Course in Salt Lake soon, an he will need a way to get up there while I will need a way to get to school down here. I realize that we've kind of rushed through the "list of things to do once you get married" (i.e., car, dog, kids [not yet], etc.), but I've developed the attitude about it that I have toward college finals: I would rather take all of my finals as quickly as possible and get over the stress/anxiety/dread/terror/guilt in one go instead of spreading it over several days. I've found that stress only increases with duration of time anyway. Forgive the crude analogy, but it's kind of like throwing up: You feel really sick before, it's a horrible experience, but when it's over, you feel SOOOOO much better. That's how I view life right now. David and I are getting most of the big stresses out of the way early so we can enjoy life later on. However, I did find out once I got married that David had an undisclosed hobby of collecting cars - he's gone through 13 in six years. When we got this car, I sat in the passenger seat and glared at him to get my message across: "We are DONE with cars for at least ten years. DONE! NO MAS!" We now have two perfectly reliable 2008 cars - one great on gas mileage, the other great on storage and handling. There is no reason we need to get any more/different automobiles! I informed David he needed to find a cheaper hobby, like collecting stamps or buttons or vintage Barbies. He does collect coins, and has some pretty amazing ones, but he obviously has some void that cars fill. I'd be jealous if I didn't know he loves me more than anything else. And then there's the line in my favorite song "I cant believe you kiss your car good night / Now, come on, baby, tell me, you must be jokin' right?" that alerts him as to how I would feel about his relationship with a machine.
Anyway, those are my ramblings for today. I might ramble some more tomorrow, especially if there's nothing else to do at work.
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