Cory Booker -- Friendly to Mormons

Every day, Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), best known for being a real life superhero as Mayor of Newark, posts an inspirational quote of some sort on his wall.  Monday's post was as follows:

Post by Cory Booker.

A friend of mine sent me the link and asked if it was Thomas S Monson, and asked if Senator Booker is Mormon

Turns out, this was a quote from Mormon Church President Thomas S Monson, from the June 2010 edition of the Ensign magazine.  However, quoting a Mormon President does not mean that you are Mormon any more than my quoting the Pope makes me Catholic.  However, I did find that Senator Booker has more of a connection to Mormonism than I expected -- one of his good friends from Oxford is the Grandson of former church President Ezra Taft Benson.  Senator Booker and Michael Benson were teammates on the Oxford Basketball team, and have remained close. In a CNN article from 2012 about their friendship with a rabbi, there is this fun bit:

The rabbi and Mormon say the mayor's humanity and heart inspire them. Booker says these two faithful men taught him to love and respect different religions, while helping him deepen his own beliefs and sense of awe. Likewise, both the mayor and Boteach say Benson changed how they and hundreds of others view Mormons.

Booker has been known to have his driver pull over when he spots young Mormon missionaries walking in pairs. He understands they’re often financially strapped, so he gives them some money for food and thanks them for being in his city.

“That’s something I never would have done if I hadn’t met Mike,” the mayor says.

 So, is Cory Booker a Mormon?  No.  But his coolness extends to Mormons, too.

The Hippies at LDSHQ: Gore Meets With Monson, Ballard, Cook

Had this been a few days ago, I would have thought it was an April Fools' joke.

However, it's no joke:

Al Gore met Thursday with LDS Church leaders in Salt Lake City.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner and former U.S. vice president requested the dinner time meeting to discuss climate change and its solutions, sources said.

Gore had a brief courtesy visit with President Thomas S. Monson before talking with other church leaders.

Gore did not make a public appearance or speak with reporters.

Church spokesman Scott Trotter called it "a cordial meeting" attended by Elder M. Russell Ballard, Elder Quentin L. Cook and other members of the church's Public Affairs Committee.

Gore "gave a 30-minute presentation and expressed his concerns about CO2 emissions, which was followed by several minutes of questions and answers," said Trotter.

[...]

last Saturday, church officials participated in the worldwide "Earth Hour" campaign to draw attention to climate change. The Salt Lake Temple's outside lights were darkened for an hour along with those in 88 countries and more than 4,000 cities.

"Prudent stewardship and wise use of resources are principles that church leaders have emphasized throughout the
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history of the church," Trotter said in announcing the LDS involvement. "The church encourages its members to join with their fellow citizens in supporting worthy programs that will make their communities better places to live and raise their families."

My Take On Big Love

Back before Comcast robbed me of HBO, I loved watching Big Love. The only time I've missed HBO has been when Big Love was on.

But I haven't really wanted to see it. Until this week.

Because I wanted to see for myself what the uproar was over.

I watched it illegally on YouTube. And, frankly, the uproar was misdirected.

After all, as LDS Scholar Hugh Nibley said (H/T KVNUftp):

“Even though everyone may discover what goes on in the temple, and many have already revealed it, the important thing is that I do not reveal these things; they must remain sacred to me. I must preserve a zone of sanctity which cannot be violated whether or not anyone else in the room has the remotest idea what the situation really is… No matter what happens, it will, then, always remain secret: only I know exactly the weight and force of the covenants I have made - I and the Lord with whom I have made them - unless I choose to reveal them. If I do not, then they are secret and sacred no matter what others may say or do. Anyone who would reveal these things has not understood them, and therefore that person has not given them away. You cannot reveal what you do not know!” (The Temple and the Cosmos, p. 64)

One thing that killed me was how many people made it sound like the full Endowment Ceremony was going to be portrayed. In fact, only a small portion was shown.

And, there were two glaring mistakes. I won't mention what they were, but they were obvious.

And, the Temple wasn't the only secret thing portrayed. In the end of the episode, the head wife gets excommunicated from the LDS Church. I'm not sure how accurate the proceedings were to reality, but I'm sure you can't find that on YouTube like you can the Temple ceremony.

And, it should clear up any rumors that they are trying to paint mainstream Mormons as polygamists.

But what should really trouble us was something the LDS Church pointed out in their press release:

Before the first season of the HBO series Big Love aired more than two years ago, the show’s creators and HBO executives assured the Church that the series wouldn’t be about Mormons. However, Internet references to Big Love indicate that more and more Mormon themes are now being woven into the show and that the characters are often unsympathetic figures who come across as narrow and self-righteous.

And the problem isn't that they are portraying tus that way. It's the Mormons who are portraying themselves as unsympathetic figures who come across as narrow and self-righteous.

I'm talking to you, Gayle Ruzika. Chris Buttars. Paul Mero.

I'm guilty of it, too, on occasion.

However, it's usually what my non-LDS friends mean when they tell me I'm not like other Mormons they know.

As a missionary, I was always nervous when someone informed me they once lived next to/worked with/knew a Mormon. Was the person they knew a "good guy" or narrow and self-righteous?

And, I think City Weekly hit it on the head a few weeks ago with their cover story:

Utah is bisected along religious, cultural and ethnic lines. But Utah doesn’t like to show its two faces. Every effort is made to wear just a good face for our visitors, to smile for the cameras, to promote our wholesomeness and to otherwise let the world know that Utah is normal. Except it isn’t. And it’s getting worse.

The death of former LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley marked a transitory time in Utah’s perception of itself and of its residents’ willingness to cooperate with one another. Beloved on one side and highly regarded on the other, Hinckley may have been the last finger in the dike, holding back what is becoming a bloodbath of ill will toward each side of Utah’s cultural divide. Since Hinckley's death in late January 2008, a slew of angry influentials have grown so powerful and outspoken that, to persons outside the LDS faith, they appear not only to speak for the LDS faith but are tacitly allowed to do so.

Thus, to non-Mormons and outsiders, state Sen. Chris Buttars—who frequently cites LDS scripture—is the face of Mormonism, not current LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson. We can’t imagine this is a good thing. Nor can a growing number of formerly silent Mormons. If people like Buttars—and his hatemates on Capitol Hill—are ever to change or decline in influence, that change will have to come from pressures within the Mormon community itself.

LDS First Presidency Issues Annual Letter About Voting

Since we get this letter every election cycle, you'd think it would just be photocopied every time. However, the subtle changes are nice.

The Press Release:

SALT LAKE CITY 22 September 2008 The following letter was issued by the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on September 11, 2008, to be read to Church congregations throughout the United States:

Political Participation, Voting, and the Political Neutrality of the Church

As citizens we have the privilege and duty of electing office holders and influencing public policy. Participation in the political process affects our communities and nation today and in the future.

Latter-day Saints as citizens are to seek out and then uphold leaders who will act with integrity and are wise, good, and honest. Principles compatible with the gospel may be found in various political parties.

Therefore, in this election year, we urge you to register to vote, to study the issues and candidates carefully and prayerfully, and then to vote for and actively support those you believe will most nearly carry out your ideas of good government.

The Church affirms its neutrality regarding political parties, platforms, and candidates. The Church also affirms its constitutional right of expression on political and social issues.

Sincerely yours,

Thomas S. Monson
Henry B. Eyring
Dieter F. Utchdorf
The First Presidency

Obama's Rallying Cry used in Sacrament Meeting

The First Councilor in my ward has been President and Sister Monson's home teacher for many years. He told us yesterday in Sacrament meeting that he has been asked by many people over the past week how President Monson was doing in relation to taking over the Church after the passing of President Hinckley.

He said that he was fired up and ready to go.

He also asked for our prayers of strength.

-Bob

BYU. Utah, and Irony

So BYU and the University of Utah have invited Vice President Dick Cheney and President Thomas S Monson to be their graduation speakers.

One is second in command of a secular instution. The other is second in command of a religious organization. Both are literally a heartbeat away from being the leader of their respective groups.

However, the irony lies with the fact that BYU (the religious School) has the secular leader, while the University of Utah (the secular schhol) has the religious leader.

-Bob