NOM

I'd like to do something, most likely on Facebook, to mark the 1 year anniversary of the Policy. I'd like to be able to post something (an article, blog post, etc) along with a few thoughts of my own. I am not wanting the nuclear option but I would like to agitate for good.

Does anybody else have plans?
I'd welcome any suggestions on what I could share.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/07/us/mo ... .html?_r=0

Just share this article on your FB-feed with a short explanation?

I would love to see something that honors our LGBT brothers and sisters that took their lives because of policy. Maybe a meme with their names or pics. I think we need to put a face(s) to the horrible damage this piece of sh*t policy has done. Wasn't it 33 people who have taken their lives? or I think that number might be from July and I know that there was a young man who took his life only a few weeks ago. We could caption it "Mourn with those who mourn."

I'm not very good at putting stuff like this together. But I bet we have a NOM or a lurker NOM who could do something wonderful. Just an Idea.

Is posting a picture of the Family: A Proclamation to the World with an LGBT filter too nuclear?

Can of Worms wrote:Is posting a picture of the Family: A Proclamation to the World with an LGBT filter too nuclear?

Yes, but that would be awesome!

i want to do something. trying to decide what would be best?

do i post on facebook a photo of my old missionary tag in flames and change my fb cover photo to the mama dragon logo?

write an essay about my feelings that day when i first read about it and the ensuing loss of my faith as i came out of my church-induced stupor?

combination of the two?

i wish i was braver than i am...

I'm thinking about 'liking' one of Bill Reel's posts on FB about it. Maybe see if anything he has posted speaks to you?

Not only am I not brave enough to share or post anything of my own, I know it would be hard on DH if I did anything more than that. Even though we're both on the same page about the policy, nobody on either side of the family know how we feel.

Last year in silent protest in remembrance of the 5th I turned the alternating pale gray and white columns on the companies monthly report the colors of the rainbow at my 99.9% Utah Mormon job place. Kept it that way every month until I left in May. I'm retired now. Still thinking on how to honor that day this year. It is my son's birthday day. I now have 2 reasons to never forget the 5th of November.

Last year, it made me come out publicly as an exmo on FB. I'm not sure what (if anything) I will do about it this year.

I am going to wear this tie to church on Sunday in support of my son and sister-in-law.

https://amzn.com/B0055MA2MY.

The lead Mama Dragon herself, Wendy Williams-Montgomery, will be speaking at 2:00 PM on Sunday, October 6 at the Community of Christ church in Mesa (150 N Sulleys Dr, Mesa, AZ 85205-8549). I plan to be there and any NOMs in the Phoenix area would be welcome to attend. The topic will be "The LDS 'Exclusion Policy': The Aftermath and Moving Forward" so this seems entirely appropriate.

The only thing I have to offer is an anecdotal happening from my own life you might find interesting.

My (LDS) DD and her same sex (LDS) partner (not in UT) recently befriended the local elders. They often pop in to just hang out, sometimes for several hours. When we visited our DD and her family this past summer the elders watched several hours of the Olypmics with us. They were good guys and just seemed to appreciate a place where they could have an occassional meal or hang out and be themselves, visit about non-church stuff, and play with our unbaptized grandkids. The Sr companion told me the Bp had told them NOT to visit my DD and partner, but he said they chose to ignore the Bp. He said they park their car up the street so other members in the neighborhood don't see them parked in front of DD's house. He said the Bp is aware of my DD's lifestyle but seems to be electing to turn a blind eye to the issue. An interesting glimpse into how the policy is being implemented by some missionaries and leadership.

Obadiah_Dogberry wrote:I'd like to do something, most likely on Facebook, to mark the 1 year anniversary of the Policy. I'd like to be able to post something (an article, blog post, etc) along with a few thoughts of my own. I am not wanting the nuclear option but I would like to agitate for good.

You could post this link:

http://infantsonthrones.com/i-dont-belong-here-creep/

Probably a bit too nuclear though...

Here's what I wrote about it a year ago. I still feel exactly the same. I'm not feeling the need to personally share anything this year, but reading this in my FB memories made me think about how upsetting I found all of it last year.

For those who are wondering based on my recent internet activities...no, I'm not a practicing Mormon anymore. In fact, I'm a fully resigned, no longer on the records, don't believe a single bit of it post-Mormon.

I've held off on being fully public to avoid causing more pain and awkwardness with family members and friends. I usually reserve facebook for funny things my kids say and pictures, but last night I lost another night of sleep to the LDS church. It was the first in a long while, but it made me realize that I don't want anyone to wonder if I agree that it's right for a church to exclude people (and their babies!) based on who they are.

Last year, after reading and learning new information from the church's essays* about polygamy in Nauvoo, the Book of Abraham, the priesthood ban, and the first vision, I asked myself, "Would you have ever joined this church as an adult if you knew all of these things?" The answer was no.
(*I've included links for all of these at the end of this post as facebook doesn't have easy hyperlinking for multiple items.)

Last night, I tackled another big question, "Are you okay with people thinking that you're still Mormon and, by extension, in agreement with the LDS church?" No. No, I'm not.

From the Washington Post article: "The new policy says that once natural or adopted children living in a same-sex household reach 18, they may disavow the practice of same-sex cohabitation or marriage and stop living within the household. If the individual follows those two rules, they may request approval to be baptized, confirmed, ordained to the church priesthood and recommended for missionary service with the permission of the faith’s highest leaders, the First Presidency."

(If facebook had a way to disable comments and likes for a particular post, I would use it now. Since they don't, I will merely remind everyone of the 11th article of faith.)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/mormon ... o-exclude-…/
http://www.deseretnews.com/…/Church-upd ... ies-on-fam…
https://www.lds.org/…/plural-marriage-i ... -and-nauvo…
https://www.lds.org/topics/first-vision ... s?lang=eng
https://www.lds.org/…/translation-and-h ... -of-the-bo…
https://www.lds.org/topics/race-and-the ... d?lang=eng

This lovely Sunday afternoon I attended a Phoenix Open Mormon group at the Community of Christ building in Mesa, AZ. The keynote speaker was the lead Mama Dragon herself, Wendy Montgomery. She spoke about the notorious November policy and effects on family, friends, and strangers. A lot of her journey came up also. The thing that really got to me was her reasons for staying in the church. She stays primarily because she wants to be the safe person that a faithful, LDS, struggling LGBT person can talk to and find the way to stay happy and alive. Sister Montgomery talked about the horrifying suicide statistics in Utah in the past year and how they are probably much worse than the already tragic official statistics. She's trying to stem the tide.

More than anything else, it was an encouragement for me to remain attending my ward and holding a calling and a temple recommend. Sister Montgomery encouraged people to be that person who remains in their ward but she quickly acknowledged that leaving is quit understandable. I'm not sure there were more than a handful of regular LDS attenders in this gathering but it certainly gave me a reason to keep finding the middle path. It was with a grudging resolve that I will keep being at church for the foreseeable future.