I have to admit that I assumed his answer would be something like, “How do you think I feel?  I’m ashamed — wouldn’t you be if you ruined a bunch of  lives?” His answer, however, was something like: “I feel pretty good about it.”

I’m sure that my whole body registered shock.

He went on to explain that the people who he converted had very little going on, and that Mormonism gave them the tools to likely better their situations — there’d be community support, educational opportunities, and sense of hope for the future.

“Hmm,” I thought.  I was dissatisfied with the victory for organized religion, but certainly intrigued with his answer, especially given that he’s a guy who I really, really respect.

Through the course of the same conversation, he went on to share his experience of leaving the LDS fold. He told me that he could ultimately leave because his (Mormon) education gave him the critical thinking skills to see the logical holes in Church doctrine. “Hmm,” I thought, “Very, very interesting…”

Anyway, I was reminded of our conversation when I came across this video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Then I found this video, which made me really glad that this particular friend, and a bunch of others, had the intellectual skills and courage to walk away from the bright (or at least comfortably known) future that they had peddled to others:

Now, we all just need to hope that Paris gets what he needs out of the Church, and can move on to one day become a happy, well adjusted exMormon.

Well, my sister finally passed away.  It’s been a long time coming since she had lived with Multiple Sclerosis for 25 years.  This is a photo of her oldest child with my son.  The big kid was adopted into my parents family in 1980.  The little one born into the extended clan in 2004.  The oldest and youngest cousins.  There are 12 more in between.

I like how this photo flips.

It feels like life that way.  One body tumbling into another.  Both caught up in the dizzying mess of it all.

My sister and her ex-husband raised four children.  Two adopted.  Two naturally born.

 Sweet kids, my sister’s four.  A kind of mongeral little family complete in its incompleteness within the larger birth mythology of my Mother’s Family.  I used to take them thrifting at the local thrift temple back in the 90′s.  The four of them worked really hard, and quite sucessfully to stay sane amist the disater of thier mom’s illness and all it’s tragedy.  I was happy to be thier cool uncle.  And I’m happy to be playing that role now.  Sitting here in the shadow of the Wasatch Front.  Contemplating my benedictory words.  On my brother’s 47th birthday.  Days of 47!  “How circular, how strange . . .”

Women with MS probably shouldn’t have children.  It was the ultimate sacrifice for the next generation. 

 Here’s to my sister!  And her sweet raga-muffin kids! (and to her dopey ex-husband, john the beloved smuck. . . ) 

 How circular. How strange.  How much like life.

‘Book of Mormon’ Announces Cast and Designers
By ERIK PIEPENBURG

“The Book of Mormon,” the first Broadway musical from Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of “South Park,” has found its Mormons.

Josh Gad, a correspondent on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” and Andrew Rannells (“Jersey Boys”) will play Elders Cunningham and Price, “a pair of mismatched Mormon boys sent on a mission to a place that’s about as far from Salt Lake City as you can get,” as described in a press release. Other cast members include Nikki M. James (“All Shook Up”), Rory O’Malley (“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”) and Michael Potts (“Grey Gardens”). Additional casting is still to be announced.

The design team includes Scott Pask (sets), Ann Roth (costumes), Brian MacDevitt (lighting) and Brian Ronan (sound).

Mr. Stone and Mr. Parker wrote the book, music and lyrics for “Book of Mormon” with Robert Lopez, a Tony Award winner for “Avenue Q.” Mr. Parker will direct with Casey Nicholaw (“Elf”), who is also the show’s choreographer. Previews begin at the Eugene O’Neill Theater on Feb. 24, with opening night set for March 24.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The firing caused a huge uproar; many believed Williams was simply stating a truth, something that many other non-Americans feel too, and that political correctness had run amok. Personally, I was glad to see Williams fired, mostly because it’s not okay to vilify a group of people based on their religion, especially in these hyper-sensitive times., but partly because I think he’s a jerk.

About a week later, Bill Maher said this on his show:

There was a small ripple of indignation after Maher’s comments, but nothing approaching the firestorm after Williams’s. Why? Were Maher’s remarks any less inflammatory? Is he saying anything different? Or is he getting a pass because he’s Bill Maher?