Post-Prop 8 Goings-On

Oh my word... Things have exploded in the world. I have a few very interesting things to post about what's been happening since the people voted and Prop 8 was passed (as well as related propositions in other states), but I recommend people visit Lili's blog, because she has been keeping quite up to date with a lot of brilliant thoughts and damning evidence of intolerance by the No on 8 crowd.

Let me start by saying this: This is a democracy. Concerning socially desired changes of policy, there is a certain protocol that must be followed. Some such issue is brought to the table, the people vote, and that's it. Sometimes there are changes or amendments or whatever, but in general, that is how it works. When a presidential candidate I don't much care for is elected, I might complain as far as my personal and rational sphere allows, but I suck it up, hope for the best, and move on. When Prop 8 was passed the first time (this news surprised my roommate when I told him yesterday... he wondered why they even voted on it again if it's already passed... Good question, Jeff), that should have been it. Instead, the activists pressured and prodded until the powers that be overturned the voted-upon result and another proposition was up for debate. Does this not steam anybody else?? Does the majority vote not matter anymore?? I don't know why anyone's surprised it passed again, when you think of it. It passed last time, and societal morals don't shift that dramatically in just a few years. I will say that, unfortunately, I feel this is a delay of the inevitable, however, since by the time the older generations are gone, the younger, indoctrinated generation of voters will be around. Who knows, though? Maybe tradition and values will play a part even in the malleable minds of the MTV generation.

So, some of the things going around.

This is an outrageous, unfounded and pretty much ridiculous attack against the Church's involvement in the Proposition 8 issue. I mean... seriously?...

Here is an LA Times article citing the absurd protests at the LA temple... I mean, really, what do they expect? That the temple president is going to say, "Hmmm, you're totally right! Your obviously love-motivated actions have made me realize that the Church and dozens of other churches were wrong to promote family values and traditional morals! Since I'm the head of the LDS Church, I'm going to do something about it right this moment!" Please!!! I've never seen such hatred and intolerance displayed than in the articles about these protests. It's like a child having a tantrum because his mom didn't give him a cookie. And when people start blocking entrance and/or exit from MY temples, I am NOT happy. That's infringing on religious liberties, which ARE unalienable constitutional rights.

Then, a little closer to home, this article tells of the pointless and misdirected efforts of those protesting in Salt Lake City. Honestly, when are these people going to realize that there was a VOTE, and the majority spoke? It's stupid anyway, as if the LDS Church is the only one who participated in support of this proposition? Here's an awesome excerpt from the article:

Bishop William Weigand, head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, Calif., and former bishop of the Dioceses of Salt Lake City, lent his support to the LDS Church in a statement Friday.

"Catholics stand in solidarity with our Mormon brothers and sisters in support of traditional marriage — the union of one man and one woman — that has been the major building block of Western civilization for millennia," Weigand said in the statement.

"The ProtectMarriage coalition, which led the successful campaign to pass Proposition 8, was an historic alliance of people from every faith and ethnicity. LDS were included — but so were Catholics and Jews, Evangelicals and Orthodox, African-Americans and Latinos, Asians and Anglos."

Weigand called the "bigoted attacks on Mormons" for their part in the coalition "shameful."

"I call upon the supporters of same-sex marriage to live by their own words and to refrain from discrimination against religion and to exercise tolerance for those who differ from them," he said. "I call upon them to accept the will of the people of California in the passage of Proposition 8."

And finally (for now), this is the ultimate expression of intolerance. See for yourself, it'll blow you away. They dare demand tolerance while exhibiting this kind of behavior?? Can it be a joke?...

One good thing I will cite, though, is a news feature about the SLC protests featuring my dad, and the full, raw footage of the interview with Dad, one of the few people willing to stand up against the attacks and against the moral decline of the country, as far as he's able anyway. I applaud anyone who is brave enough to take a stand like this.

In other avenues, WTH?!? First Richard Dutcher, then Stephenie Meyer, and now Steve Young?? Is it at all possible for a Mormon in the spotlight to stand up and be a decent representative of the Church??

Proposition 8

I guess it's about time I reported on this!


A week ago the Church produced a broadcast, featuring Elder Ballard and Elder Cook of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles, and Elder Clayton of the Seventy, at which attendance was encouraged for students and young adults in certain areas around the country. This fireside-type broadcast was particularly for students from and in California, educating and informing them on the issue, but I suppose all were welcome to attend (and besides, we were with Jeff, and he IS a native of California). I was glad to see the church building eventually packed to capacity! The leaders broadcasting from Salt Lake City stated in no uncertain terms the Church's clear position on the issue of gay marriage and how we who believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His restored Church should react. Some have criticized the leaders of the Church for taking a stance on what they call a merely political issue, but this issue blurs the lines of politics by involving what is actually a purely moral issue. Gay marriage is just a stepping-stone for the pro-gay agenda, and I worry what roller coaster we'll be on when/if this gets passed in widespread fashion.

"At the request of the Protect Marriage Coalition, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is making arrangements for them to call friends, family and fellow citizens in California to urge support of the effort to defend traditional marriage." (Source)

Anyway, we were exhorted to get involved technologically (blogs! texts! wallposts!) with getting the word out and encouraging people to make the right decision. I have added the countdown widget in my side bar, and I encourage you all to visit any of the following websites.

Protect Marriage - Yes on 8
Preserving the Divine Institution of Marriage
The Divine Institution of Marriage (LDS Church's August statement)
The Family: A Proclamation to the World



I'm still amazed how LDS can seriously feel opposed to this proposition... Must be the last days.

Good Art Alert!!!

Yesterday at the Conference interpreter meeting they said they had a few extra tickets for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert to be held later that evening. They even said the visiting soloist's rendition of "The Impossible Dream" was especially stirring. Still, I didn't think too much of it, I hadn't heard of the concert before then, and I didn't know if I would be free in the evening.

So then Lacie called later and said her parents had gone to said concert the night before and that she HAD to try and get in with standby tickets. So she called me and asked if I wanted to join her, and also clued me in a little as to what the program actually entailed. It was the O. C. Tanner Gift of Music Concert, "An American Songbook", featuring the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the Utah Symphony, visiting conductor Erich Kunzel (conductor of the Cincinatti Pops Orchestra), and guese soloists Denyce Graves and Brian Stokes Mitchell. For those who don't recognize that last guy's name, he's only one of the best stars of contemporary musical theater, having starred in the original cast of Ragtime and the amazing revival of The Man of La Mancha, as well as providing vocals for The Prince of Egypt (as Jethro). I pretty much died at the fact that I almost missed this opportunity. We headed up to the enormous Conference Center, and while we really didn't have anything to worry about as far as tickets go, they still nearly filled the entire hall. The program consisted of American classics, such as patriotic favorites, standards and brilliant Broadway selections (and a lot of pieces that had become my favorites during my mission years). As promised, Stokes Mitchell's "The Impossible Dream" was probably the best I've ever heard, and there were several moments when the choir joined the soloists and the effect was overwhelmingly intense, such as the incredible Denyce Graves leading the choir in "Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor". I cried during "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the Ragtime selections, "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" was appropriately stirring and the choir was impressive in the John Williams-penned 2002 Winter Olympics theme, "Call of the Champions". President Monson and dozens of others rose during the Tribute to the Armed Forces medley, the rousing finale of "God Bless America" was just incredible, and then as the proverbial icing on the cake, an encore of Wilhousky's Battle Hymn. I thought it was odd it was left off the program, but presumed it would be performed as an encore, which it was. We basically floated home, but not before getting a Crown burger and serendipitously catching "Wheels of a Dream" (from Ragtime) on Showtune Saturday. Seriously, what ARE the odds?? I thought I was going crazy looking for and not finding Belinda in the crowd, but turns out she was home, unfortunately not feeling well. Still, all in all, a free night of a brilliant concert which turned out to be exactly what I needed.


So, here we have a clear example of good art. (See previous rant.) It was such a refreshing experience, an amazing venue absolutely filled with glorious music. Now and then there are those experiences that really affect you, and this was one of them. My perspective cleared and I felt for a few minutes like the worries I had were worked out, or at least that they would eventually. The Spirit works through many mediums, and music is one of them, which is why it's so important to seek out that which is "virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy." There is bad art, there is mediocre art, and there is good art. As far as expending our effort and spending our time, why should we settle for anything less than good? It's good to be reminded there are those in the Church making worthwhile art. Balances out the kitsch. (Incidentally, Mom found an amusing 1971 interview with Hugh Nibley entitled "Kitsch in the Visual Arts and Advertisements of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". If you get a chance, read it, it goes along with my Bad Art Alert post perfectly.) Also, it is always a breath of fresh air to hear a performance by groups and artists who are unafraid to outrightly and unabashedly praise God, as these did, without fear of being politically incorrect or unpopular to certain groups. It makes me even more grateful to Him. As the anthem says, Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation.

In general, I have been really impressed with the direction the choir has been going in the last ten years. I know they were always pretty good, but their CD releases continue to impress me. I was so glad to get to know them better while on the mission. I mean, the visiting conductor even went so far as to add to President Reagan's statement regarding the Motab as America's Choir, and called them "the world's greatest and best choir". There you go.

Bad Art Alert!!!

"We must recognize that excellence and quality are a reflection of how we feel about ourselves and about life and about God. If we don’t care much about these basic things, then such not caring carries over into the work we do, and our work becomes shabby and shoddy."

-- Spencer W. Kimball (Source)

So, lately I've been exposed to a lot of bad works of art, and specifically that produced by LDS artists, including a grotesque novel and a painful theatrical fireside experience. This seeming trend of LDS artlessness concerns me for many reasons. The excellent article by President Kimball quoted above indicates that Latter-day Saints have not only the opportunity, but the responsibility and obligation to produce good art (or, art that is "virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy", etc.), as well as the possibility to do so, considering our relationship with the Spirit. It concerns me when Mormons continue to churn out mediocre or even shamefully bad art, from literature to films to music to theater. I don't think we can expect everyone to be the next Handel or produce the next "The Last Supper", but I also think we should be able to expect not to have to trudge through the tripe that is splashed over the shelves of Deseret Book and permeates the inventories of online LDS stores with bright, vibrant advertisements and glowing reviews. Once when working at the BYU Bookstore, a woman visiting for an on-campus conference bought a DVD copy of the outrageously ridiculous movie based on The Book of Mormon. I asked her if she had seen it before, and she said she hadn't, but she wanted to support it because "it's Mormon" (incidentally, how a DVD can BE Mormon is beyond me). I so wanted to warn her of how hideous it is, and I may have mentioned that I didn't care for it, but the fact remains that people are falling for things like this, based sometimes solely on the fact that it's made by LDS (while ignoring some of the smaller titles which are actually quite good). Can you see why I feel like we have a responsibility to produce good art? It is uncharitable to bank on the relative artistic ignorance of the average LDS. How many more warblings of Kirby Heybournes, Kenneth Copes and any number of LDS boy bands must we endure? How many more of the lyrics of the Michael McLeans, Janice Kapp Perrys and pretty much any EFY artists do we have to bear? How many more simpering, golden-glowy Simon Deweys or Greg Olsens do we have to be subdued by? How many more breathy Mindy Gledhills or Hillary Weekses are we going to be exposed to? How many more Jack Weylands, Stephenie Meyers and Anita Stansfields are going to overrun our bookshelves? How many more The Singles Wards and The Home Teacherses are we going to suffer through? How many more arpeggio-fraught, identically-styled pianists' cookie-cutter new age versions of hymns are we going to listen to before realizing they all sound the same? Even the quality of many of the Church-produced films and music/pageants is questionable. Granted, many of the above listed artists do produce some good things, and it makes people feel warm and fuzzy and all that, but it's so often derivative or only "okay". Shouldn't we strive toward artistic excellence? According to President Kimball, the quality of classic art didn't necessarily die with the classic artists. We can and should produce virtuous, lovely praiseworthy art that is of good report.

For the record, I do believe there are LDS artists who are, at best, saying something, or, at least, doing it artistically (such as James Christensen, Walter Rane, Minerva Teichert, Brett Helquist, Greg Simpson, the 5 Browns, William Joseph, Gladys Knight, Mack Wilberg, William Whitaker, Richard Dutcher, Orson Scott Card, the BYU choirs in general, etc.), but I only wish these were more the rule than the exception.

Oh, and the meadowlarks are NOT still singing, by the way.