Author Archives: Jeff Milner

About Jeff Milner

I'm a 27 year old guy. (I was born in 1979). I'm from Southern Alberta.

Church Admits Financial Support of Prop 8

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Update: See below.

When I heard rumours of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints financial involvement to pass Proposition 8, last November’s ballot measure that banned gay marriage in California, I assumed they were lies spread because of malice toward the institution. Though I felt repulsed by the Church’s aggressive position, I thought it acted within its rights to encourage members in voting to strip away the rights of same-sex couples.

I also thought that the church was wise enough to respect the separation of church and state and refrain from actively funding the campaign. It turns out, I was wrong.

In a campaign filing, amid an investigation by Fair Political Practices Commission—a California state campaign watchdog agency, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has revealed it spent nearly $190,000 since September to help pass Proposition 8.

While many church members had donated directly to the Yes on 8 campaign—some estimates of Mormon giving range as high as $20 million—the church itself had previously reported little direct campaign activity.

But in the filing made Friday [January 30, 2009], the Mormon church reported thousands in travel expenses, such as airline tickets, hotel rooms and car rentals for the campaign. The church also reported $96,849.31 worth of “compensated staff time”—hours that church employees spent working to pass the same-sex marriage ban.

For all the crying about how the church has been unjustifiably targeted it’s incredible that it would have opened itself up to such a huge legal blunder and a public relations nightmare. I don’t know what the implications for class action suits by the 18,000 people who had their marriages annulled by the passing of Proposition 8 might be, but I hope it is a wake up call to those that think the church is legitimate in the way it went about robbing the rights of same-sex couples.

Correction: It turns out I was just a little confused about the implications of this report. As pointed out by JKS the filing was posted on time and the church did not break any laws with its involvement in Prop 8.

To be clear, all same-sex marriage rights were stripped using legal means.

Update: According to a few sources, it looks like, the Church has been convicted of 13 counts of late campaign reporting.

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Big Love to Show Temple Ceremony

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Big Love, the HBO drama about a polygamous family living in Sandy, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City, is rumoured to be airing an episode next week (15 March) that will feature scenes and events from the mainstream LDS Temple ceremony.

“We researched it out the wazoo,” says [executive producer Mark] Olsen, who along with executive producer Will Scheffer hired an ex-Mormon consultant to help the set and wardrobe designers re-create even the tiniest details. “We go into the endowment room and the celestial room [areas of the temple], and we present what happens in those ceremonies. That’s never been shown on television before,” says Olsen. Adds Scheffer, “But it’s not for shock value. It’s really a very important part of the story.”

The church has issued a response to the unwelcome publicity stating basically that no official protest against the show will be forthcoming but that members are free to boycott as they see fit.

As someone that watches the show regularly, I am surprised by the move, since the show doesn’t really centre itself on mainstream beliefs and the temple ceremony can’t possibly be necessary as “a very important part of the story”—it’s quite the publicity stunt.

Previously

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Evolution: Best Explanation?

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According to a Pew Forum poll (conducted in 2007, released in 2008), only 20% of Latter-Day Saints feel that evolution is the best explanation for human life.

I’m a little miffed about this study for asking if evolution is the best explanation for the origins of human life, as opposed to asking if evolution is the best explanation for the origin of species (human or otherwise).

People might interpret this question to mean is abiogenesis the best explanation for the origin of life. As a member of the church, would this kind of wording make a difference to the way you answered the question?

Many of the things LDS are taught about the creation story are metaphorical. For example, nobody believes there are actual cherubim with flaming swords guarding any literal tree of life; intelligent people do not throw out evidence because of a metaphorical story.

When science speaks about evolution—it generally refers to the way species change and are formed, it doesn’t usually address how life started, nor does the creation story literally address the way species evolve.

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Exonerating Joseph Smith

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A couple of years ago, while travelling through Salt Lake City, my parents and I took a brief tour of the Church History Museum. One thing that struck me as odd was the exhibit “Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration“1, specifically the details about Joseph Smith’s death and the lack of information regarding the circumstances which put him in jail.

It has always been my understanding that when Joseph Smith was murdered, he was in Carthage Jail waiting trial for his order to destroy the printing presses of the Nauvoo Expositor (wikipedia, original text), but according to one of the couple missionaries at the museum, he was there under the charge of treason.

It turns out, both charges are related. Smith had originally been charged and exonerated of “inciting a riot” with regard to the printing press situation but due to public outcry the Illinois governor, Thomas Ford, ordered that he be arrested and tried again—violating the United States constitution by putting Smith in double jeopardy.

Several days before his death, the charges were changed from “inciting a riot” to “treason” for his declaration of martial law in Nauvoo. Was this change of charges legal? Whether legal or not was Joseph Smith posthumously exonerated for the charge of treason?

In my mind, if he has been exonerated of all wrongdoing, the church should put up a statement saying so in the Church History Museum and on their website. If he hasn’t, is there some reason?

1 The exhibit details can be found at josephsmith.net.

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Mormon.org – Chat Live

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The church now provides an opportunity to chat with missionaries (at the MTC?) online. They answer questions about the church and the content of the mormon.org website.

Use this feature to speak with a missionary online. Enter the information below to begin your session. A missionary from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will greet you and answer any questions that you may have relating to the content of this Web site.

Chat live.

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Apple, Google, Opposing Prop. 8

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In a move uncommon with the two companies, Apple and Google are openly opposing California’s Proposition 8, which aims to end same-sex marriage in California by amending the constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman.

Apple has donated $100,000 to fight Proposition 8, joining Google which came out publicly against Proposition 8 last month and donated $140,000 of their own.

Since the church is significantly supporting Proposition 8, both financially and politically, how will the average Latter-Day Saint react to this news?

Any chance that you will stop using your Apple Products or Google for your computer needs? Will you feel like a same-sex supporter knowing that you are patronizing these companies?

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BYU is Denying Chad Hardy’s Degree

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Chad Hardy graduated officially from BYU on Aug 15, 2008 and walked with his class in the convocation ceremony.

One month earlier, on July 13, Chad was excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for ‘conduct unbecoming of a member of the Church’ (which was specifically related to his part in publishing a calendar depicting shirtless return missionaries, the “Men on a Mission Calendar”).

Shortly after that, Chad received a letter from BYU dated Sept 30 informing him that his name had been removed from the August 15th graduating class list because of his excommunication prior to the posting of his degree.

Salt Lake Tribune Article: BYU yanks calendar maker’s diploma.

Some interesting facts about the case:

  • Chris claims, “the Church [tried] very hard to try to find a moral transgression by spying on me so they could excommunicate me for that instead of having to embarrass themselves by excommunicating me over the calendar.”
  • BYU has explained to Chris that if/when he ever rejoins the church and is in good standing, he may talk with them about the possibility of receiving his degree.
  • The calendar made media headlines in Utah for over a year before the Church contacted him about it.

Chris’s Myspace Page.

Whether you agree or disagree about Chris’s excommunication, it seems a little heavy handed for BYU to withhold the degree. I tend to agree with Chris’s statement that, “Had Hinckley been alive, he would have never allowed this to happen. He was a very media savvy man.”

Further Reading:

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