Posted on 06/30/2012 7:13:48 PM PDT by Enosh
A group of about 150 Mormons quit their church in a mass resignation ceremony in Salt Lake City on Saturday in a rare display of defiance ending decades of disagreement for some over issues ranging from polygamy to gay marriage.
Participants from Utah, Arizona, Idaho and elsewhere gathered in a public park to sign a “Declaration of Independence from Mormonism.”
“This feels awesome,” said Alison Lucas, from West Jordan, Utah, who took part in the rally amid soaring temperatures. “I don’t know if I would have had the courage except in a group.”
The Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is known for its culture of obedience, and the mass ceremony was a seldom-seen act of collective revolt.
After gathering in the park, participants hiked a half-mile up nearby Ensign Peak, scaled in 1847 by church President Brigham Young to survey the spot where his Latter-day Saints would build a city.
At the top, those gathered gave three loud shouts of “Freedom,” cheered, clapped and hugged.
“It’s been a hard journey and this is a symbolic end,” said event organizer Zilpha Larsen, of Lehi, Utah. “I just hope that it boosts people up and helps them feel more comfortable in their decision.”
The church bills itself as the one “true” Christian faith, and its theology promises families eternal relationships among those who remain faithful, sealing those gifts through special religious rites.
Among the reasons cited by those resigning are the church’s political activism against gay marriage and doctrinal teachings that conflict with scientific findings or are perceived as racist or sexist.
Others cite inconsistencies in the Mormons’ explanation of its own history, including the practice of polygamy. The church renounced plural marriage over a century ago as Utah was seeking statehood.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Good for them. Now they can all come home to Rome.
I doubt those upset with the Mormon church's (nominal -- obviously not practically binding, viz. Mitt Romney in Mass.) opposition to Gay Marriage will embrace the Roman Catholic or any other Christian church of traditional moral views.
“Among the reasons cited by those resigning are the church’s political activism against gay marriage”
I doubt they’ll be joining the catholic church.
This is news why?
Ummm ... Did you see the reasons cited? For example, LDS opposition to gay marriage? I don’t think the RCC is a good fit for this crowd..
Got it. The Mormons just went up a notch with me.
Because it happened?
Who’s gonna launder all that magic underwear?
This appears a group of mixed motivations, some viewing the Mormon church as too liberal and some as too conservative, and I am surprised they did it together, this herd of cats.
As for science — well, Mormonism DOES have a sci-fi core. But nobody can bring up, say, Kolob with a telescope. Maybe it’s this part that some are rejecting as bunk.
Now if they’d only clue in high muckety muck bishop Mitt Romney!
Exactly. Wonder if activists infiltrated the church.....just like they do unis and other institutions to bring them down.
That particular teaching didn’t catch on with Mitt. He invented gay marriage out of wholecloth in Massachusetts.
I still don’t see where they are promoting sodomy.
Or any Church worth its salt.
You know that the leftists are always making these grandstanding displays, you can bet that there is some leftist advocacy group behind this and they probably get some of our tax payers money. This is how the communist controlled foundations work. These foundations have been taken over by communists a long time ago and they have been using them to wage war on America ever since. First they put up billboards urging people to leave the Catholic Church and now it is the Mormons, anyone who defies the sacred cows of the left will get this treatment.
Of course, the question begs - what drove them to “resign” (withdraw) from the “church”? Was it that they just grew weary of the legalism? Was it the politics Mormonism (internal, not governmental)?
Was it because some wanted to exercise sinful behavior that Mormons are particularly strict in enforcing?
Or is it because they have truly been called out of the cult by the Holy Spirit, leading them to a real, true, and saving faith in Jesus Christ?
And sorry - but to “go home to Rome” would be to go from legalism to legalism, skipping the personal relationship that Christ calls us to.
Is romney wearing magic underwear and does he believe Jesus appeared in New York? That’s all I want to know.
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