Note by Hunterbear: Earlier this week, I posted on several lists the essentially anti-War/ pro-peace position issued by a top LDS leader at an important gathering of Church leaders at Salt Lake. I should add that I, myself, am a flexible Catholic -- a mix of our own traditional Native beliefs with Jesuit Catholicism, much shaped by the fact that I grew up in Northern Arizona and Western New Mexico within and immediately around the Navajo Nation. I spend far more time in rugged and very remote mountain areas -- several times each week -- than I do in any church. But I do know a good deal indeed about the LDS church -- and often find myself in the interesting position of interpreting it to a variety of uninformed folk -- many open-minded and some bigoted.
A post, from the NYT of yesterday, was made reasonably enough on the good Marxmail list -- "Mormons Back Bush Middle East Policy" -- and this is my response to that. I'm including herewith that post from the Times -- as well as the CNN story of a few days ago discussing the LDS anti-War position and its collateral dimensions. The anti-War statement, important in any case, has direct and positive relevancy in the now relatively conservative Mountain West and environs. Hunter Gray [Hunterbear] Micmac / St Francis Abenaki / St Regis Mohawk [now living in Eastern Idaho] >From Hunterbear: October 11 2002 Don't jump on this one. I read the Times piece -- and I'd say its header is far from the mark. The Mormon anti-War statement given earlier this week at the 172th Semi-Annual General Conference at SLC by Russell Nelson, a member of the 12 member Quorum of Apostles -- highest body in the more than 11 million member LDS church -- should certainly continue to be viewed as a major [but not surprising] and very positive pronouncement. And, again, its related dimension explicitly and affirmatively referring to the common theological roots of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam is both refreshing -- and unsurprising. As I clearly noted in my accompanying comment on the initial media story, the Church -- [like other mainline Christian denominations], is not pacifist in nature. [After all, Brigham Young, with many Federal enemies, carried a revolver or two and there was once a Mormon Battalion that skirmished with United States troops.] And the LDS church, like any other large body, is certainly far from monolithic. This isn't the first time, the Deseret News -- which reflects various internal church currents -- has issued its editorial "clarification" on something and, despite the fact that -- far more than a "church paper" -- it's an excellent Western regional newspaper [available on newsstands locally], it has its ebbs and flows and quirks. It is true, however, that the Mormon church is extremely sensitive to broad national opinion and would not want to be misinterpreted as unpatriotic. The other mainline Christian denominations, not as recently attacked as the Mormons in the historical sense, would still hold the same basic concern. But, all of that said, Apostle Nelson certainly did not speak in a void -- and gave the very positive Church position on the current crisis and the critical need for peaceful solutions. When the newspapers in this region interpreted it as just that -- e.g., our local Pocatello paper, in a 70% Mormon setting -- they, too, knew exactly what they were saying. The Apostle statement stands as important and positive -- especially in the relatively conservative Mountain West and environs. Moving into a somewhat different dimension, I do have to say that I'm surprised at the depth of ignorance exhibited by so many Gentiles on the whole matter of Mormonism. [Much of this is reminiscent of the virulent anti-Catholicism of even a generation or two ago [e.g., "The Pope"] which does more than linger even today. In a discussion of this on our Redbadbear list, I commented yesterday: "The ignorance about Mormons that I've encountered is really far out. Some of these "critics" seem to be much more comfortable with, say, "mainline" Presbyterian Calvinism, which has always served that with which it grew up -- capitalism -- very faithfully -- while trashing Mormonism which developed in the utopian tradition and still maintains much of its old communalism. These critics are often thrown when they learn that Butch Cassidy and most of his Wild Bunch [though not, apparently, Sundance] were all Mormons. And their train-robbing focus may well have stemmed not only from the considerable grassroots resentment in the West about Eastern Capitalists -- but the pervasive Mormon concern about the predatory Gentile interests -- railroads, banks, and copper bosses -- pushing their way into the primarily agriculturally-based, communalistic lands of Zion and Deseret." I also said, with especial [but unspecified] reference to some: "If the radical movement in the United States -- and not just here -- is ever going to root-in and feather-out, it's damn sure going to have to not only live and work long and hard at the grassroots -- but do so on a shoulder-to-shoulder basis with at least respect for things like people's religion. All the intricate ideological refinement in the Creation isn't going to mean one damn thing -- if people are turned off by arrogance and superciliousness." And I'd also add to my statement, the relative absence of any sense of humor in some of these ostensibly intellectual circles. Yours, Hunter [Hunterbear] Hunter Gray [Hunterbear] www.hunterbear.org Protected by NaŽshdoŽiŽbaŽiŽ and Ohkwari' ----- Original Message ----- To: "Marxism List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, October 10, 2002 8:13 PM Subject: Mormons Back Bush Middle East Policy > Mormons Back Bush Middle East Policy > By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS > > Filed at 9:46 p.m. ET > > SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The Mormon church offered support for President > Bush's policy in the Middle East, qualifying remarks by an apostle who > denounced war at a conference of thousands of faithful last weekend. > > [...] > > Since the sermon, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has > declared its support for Bush, most clearly in a Wednesday editorial in > the church-owned Deseret News. > > ``Saddam Hussein and the threat he represents to the United States and > her allies will not go away on his own,'' the editorial said. ``This > time, the nation may well have to strike first.'' > > [...] > > Scholars said the church's quick clarification of Nelson's remarks was > unsurprising. > > ======================= > Full text at: > http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Mormon-War--Peace.html > ===================================================================== Note by Hunterbear: [October 7 2002] This news -- reported by CNN and also featured on the front page of our local/regional Idaho newspaper -- will be surprising only to those who know little or nothing of the Mormon church. The 172nd Semi-Annual General Conference has just been completed at Salt Lake -- and included 20,000 Mormon leaders. The LDS church is now one of the largest Christian denominations. Other major denominations have just taken similar positions: Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, United Methodists, etc. Mormon church makes anti-war statement Sunday, October 6, 2002 Posted: 3:50 PM EDT (1950 GMT) SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) -- The Mormon church issued a strong anti-war message at its semiannual General Conference, clearly referring to current hostilities in the Middle East, advocating patience and negotiation, and urging the faithful to be peacemakers. "As a church, we must renounce war and proclaim peace," said Russell M. Nelson, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which acts under the direction of church President Gordon B. Hinckley. Nelson never directly referring to Iraq or current moves toward war, but he mentioned the conflict in the Middle East and said "resolution of present political problems will require much patience and negotiation." The Golden Rule's prohibition of one interfering with the rights of others was equally binding on nations and associations and left no room for retaliatory reactions, Nelson said at the meeting Saturday. Descendants of Abraham -- Christians, Jews and Muslims -- "are in a pivotal position to emerge as peacemakers," he said. Hunter Gray [Hunterbear] www.hunterbear.org Protected by NaŽshdoŽiŽbaŽiŽ and Ohkwari' _______________________________________________ Leninist-International mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international
