Ignorance Is NOT Bliss!

“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the ‘bamboozle’. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The ‘bamboozle’ has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back”. ~ Carl Sagan

Warning: This post will be long! T.B.M's, "True believing Mormons" should stop reading here!

I was bamboozled by the Mormon Church for over 40 years. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done to challenge those intensely held, ingrained beliefs and change my mind about them. Admitting I was wrong was extremely difficult to put it lightly. I understand why so many people would rather stay in the religion of their childhoods, with their heads buried snugly in the sand, than leave it after they discover the deceitful ‘man behind the curtain’. It takes courage to pull your head out of your ass and reclaim your power by walking away from your faith. It takes bravery to speak your truth especially when it is unpopular with your friends and family. However, I have learned that I would rather be all alone with a free mind than with a crowd clinging to conformity.

This past weekend was the one year anniversary of the hateful Mormon ‘exclusion’ policy change regarding its LGBT members. I have devoted chapter 24 in my book to this subject. Because of the anniversary, it is once again being covered in the news. I feel it is very fitting to address this subject today. In addition, tomorrow is Election Day. (Thank GOD this circus is almost over!!) I believe this hurtful policy change and this shameful presidential election have something deeply disturbing in common, the barbaric mentality of patriarchal authority and consciousness which is dying out, but not without one HELL of a fight first.

To recap what this detestable policy is all about, for those who don’t know, here is a summary of the basics. On Thursday, November 5^th, 2015 the L.D.S church updated its confidential handbook which is only for the leaders of the organization. A policy regarding homosexuals and their children was secretly slipped into it because originally they only meant for this information to be known by a few select people, bishops, stake presidents, and those men higher up in authority in the L.D.S church. Fortunately, someone from within the church, and we now know who, knew this policy change was a big deal, and he thought the public should be made aware of it. The information was leaked and it ended up in the hands of John Dehlin. He posted those changes on FB, and it spread like wild fire!

The update to the handbook declared that starting immediately, any member living in, or married in a same sex relationship would automatically be considered an apostate. Therefore, mandatory disciplinary action should be taken to disfellowship or excommunicate them. In addition to that action, any children living with the couple in a same sex relationship are no longer eligible for baptism into the church, baby blessings, priesthood ordinations, and missions. These rituals are banned for them until the child turns eighteen. Then, they could petition the church for baptism if they wish. However, it must be approved by the very top leaders of the church, and the young person must disavow their parents’ practice of sinful cohabitation. Requesting membership into the church will be considered, but not guaranteed for young adults from gay families. It was the effects concerning the children which were the most upsetting to members.

At first, this policy change was denied by the faithful. They said it had to be made up. It was anti-Mormon rhetoric. The outrage on the internet was palpable. Friday, November 6^th, 2015, the church was forced into facing the music of their bigotry. They sent Todd Christofferson, a member of the current Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, to try to calm the growing storm. He reluctantly gave a formal statement from the church explaining this shameful policy. He said it was in fact true, but they had good reasons for their changes. At no time did he ever mention this policy change as a revelation from God. He tried to justify the exclusion of children from baptism by saying, “We don’t want the child to have to deal with issues that might arise where the parents feel one way and the expectations of the Church are very different.”  This policy is supposedly saving the children from conflicts between the teachings of the church and their home life. Since their parents are ‘living in sin’ according to Mormon beliefs, if they came to church, the children would be taught to view their parents as sinful. Ironically, they are still welcome to come participate in Sunday services thus, learning the very things this policy says it wants to avoid, which really makes one conclude that the children of gay families are NOT truly welcome at church. It is a dizzying logic indeed, excluding the children so they won’t feel excluded, shaming them so they won’t be shamed, and causing further division between already wounded and broken hearts.

My kids are in a similar position as children of same sex parents. I am an apostate too. When my family goes to church, and the older kids go to seminary, they learn horrible things about me as an apostate, a.k.a, a ‘servant of Satan’. It puts them in a conflicting position as well. They are getting contradictory messages too, yet the church doesn’t deny them anything. I am living in sin, according to the church. I drink coffee, tea, and alcohol if I choose. I speak out openly against the church, and I support the LGBTQ community and their marriages. But, since my sex life is ‘acceptable’ to this religion my kids aren’t punished. This is wrong and discriminatory! Rapist, murders, regular apostates like me, and even child abusers can all have their children blessed, baptized, ordained to the priesthood, and they can serve missions, but not the children of loving, same sex couples? The church is clearly singling out and discriminating against homosexual couples. Although these same policy standards are in place for kids of polygamists as well, it would make more sense if the church extended these same rules for same sex couples, and polygamists, to include all the groups that I just mentioned, and all apostates for that matter.  

There was one thing that Todd said in his interview last year that I wholeheartedly agree with, and I wish this were the case for every child being raised in the L.D.S church. Speaking about when these children of same sex parents can be baptized Todd said, “If, when a child reaches maturity, he or she feels like that’s what they want and they can make an informed and conscious decision about that. Nothing is lost to them in the end if that’s the direction they want to go.” He just admitted that nothing would be lost to them if they choose baptism at the age of eighteen rather than at the age of eight. This is exactly what we are doing with our younger children. They will not be baptized at age eight. They will be able to make an ‘informed and conscious decision’ regarding their baptism should choose to do it. Aristotle said, “Give me a child until he is 7 and I will show you the man.” The true age of accountability should be around the age of eleven or twelve at least when the reasoning mind kicks in. Instead, Joseph Smith set it at age eight so that conditioning, indoctrination, brainwashing, and programming could be effortlessly accomplished.

On February 23, 2016, David A Bednar, a member of the current Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was talking to a group of Spanish speaking members. David answered a question from a member of the church from Chile during that meeting, which was recorded. David was asked, “How can homosexual members of the church live and remain steadfast in the gospel?” an excellent question given this hurtful policy change. David answered this man’s question by altering the inquiry. David said, “First, I want to change the question. There are no homosexual members of the church. We are not defined by sexual attraction. We are not defined by sexual behavior. We are sons and daughters of God. And all of us have different challenges in the flesh.” He continued to explain, “Simply being attracted to someone of the same gender is not a sin. There are many members of the church who may have some manifestation of that attraction… It is when we act on the inclination or attraction, that it becomes a sin. We do not discriminate and we are not bigots. We extend Christ-like love to all sons and daughters of God.” Really David, there are NO homosexual members of the church? I am positive that there are many homosexual members of the L.D.S Church, but clearly the leadership of the L.D.S church refuses to acknowledge them in a ‘Christ-like’ way. This policy is a perfect example of the church saying one thing, “We extend Christ-like love to all sons and daughters of God”, and then doing the complete opposite by stating that those in same-sex marriages are automatically apostates and must be disciplined for it. The church is going after happily married couples who haven’t been to church in years and calling them in for a ‘court of love’, a.k.a disciplinary action. Obviously, the church is trying to make good on David’s claim that there are no homosexuals in the Mormon Church through excommunication.

Apostle Russell M. Nelson, the alleged instigator and primary force of action behind this policy change, recently clarified that this ‘guiding principle’ was, in fact, a direct revelation from God to the current prophet Thomas S. Monson, 16^th Prophet of the church. Same sex couples being declared apostates, and the exclusion of their children from baptism, is not just a policy change that was determined by men. It is absolutely the will of God. They are claiming this ‘revelation’ came to them like an astounding bolt of lightning from the clear blue sky! It came from God directly to the prophet of the church. So you can’t blame the men at the top of this pyramid scheme any longer because this decree came from the ultimate authority of God! It is indisputable now, written in stone! What an interesting way for a ‘revelation’ to be revealed; it was leaked, argued over, and then finally admitted. But, it wasn’t until two months later, on January 10^th 2016, that the church avowed it was, after all, an official, authoritative revelation from the Lord, not merely a change in policy. Remarkable!

This is just like when the church dug in their heels against giving blacks the priesthood back in the 1950’s and 1960’s. It took the church fourteen years to catch up to the country. Instead of leading the way for the inclusion of black people, sons and daughters of God, and practicing the commandment to ‘love one another’, the church was stubbornly holding on to its bigotry. This comment from 1967 shows the arrogance these men have when they believe they are speaking for ‘God’. N. Eldon Tanner, a counselor in the First Presidency of the church said, “The church has no intention of changing its doctrine on the Negro. Throughout the history of the original Christian church, the Negro never held the Priesthood. There is really nothing we can do to change this. It’s a law of God”. In 1967 the church certainly didn’t have any intention of changing its doctrine regarding darker skinned people, but come 1978 they were singing and dancing to a completely different tune! Spencer finally gets a 'revelation' in 1978. He declares 'people of color' are now worthy enough to hold the priesthood too, despite all of Brigham Young’s statements to the contrary. Supposedly, ‘people of color’ had been punished long enough. It might take the church another twenty years from now too, but they will reverse this position on homosexuals. Especially, when their precious dollars are threatened because the L.D.S church is a giant corporation, a gigantic big business!

The most upsetting and tragic part of this whole thing are the resulting suicides from the L.D.S/LGBT members. The Huffington Post stated in Feb of 2016, “Mormon-affiliated groups are reportedly tracking 32 completed suicides of LGBT Mormon youth in the wake of the new Mormon policy, which has been dubbed “the exclusion policy” by many practicing Mormons. And just last week the Utah Attorney General noted that “statistics devastatingly show that suicide is the number one cause of death of Utah children ages 10-17.” One life lost is too many, 32 is atrocious! And, the number of suicides has continued to rise. UT had 5 in one week this past summer. This article continued saying, “Today, the message to LGBT Mormon youth is clear, and it’s a bleak Sophie’s Choice: either resign yourself to life of celibacy, or be ejected from your church and family, for all time and eternity, regardless of which option Mormon youth choose, they lose.” A life of celibacy is unrealistic, cruel, and unhealthy. It is so wrong make our brothers and sisters choose between a healthy expression of their sexuality, or being included in ‘the tribe’. Dean Ornish, a cardiologist, wrote in his book, Love and Survival, that no other factor in medicine, “not diet, not smoking, not exercise, not stress, not genetics, not drugs, not surgery, affects our health, quality, and length of life more than feeling loved and cared for.” We can literally die from lack of love, affection, touching, and a broken heart. To make our gay brothers and sisters choose between love and their religion is literally killing them by the dozens. 

This is undoubtedly an exclusion policy for many ‘sons and daughters of God’. When will the church ever fight for, and lead the way for, inclusion rather than exclusion? What will it take? How many deaths need to transpire before the church apologizes and rights this incredible wrong? Here are the kind of words we should be hearing from an apostle of Jesus, “Go and love someone exactly as they are, and then watch how quickly they transform into the greatest, truest version of themselves. When one feels seen and appreciated in their essence, one is instantly empowered.” (Wes Angelozzi) How long before a message like this will be preached from the General Conference pulpit? How long before the members of the church unite and stand up to say, “Enough is enough!”?  

        

Since there have been so many suicides in UT, it would be good to look at what the church teaches concerning suicide? Bruce R. McConkie, an apostle up until 1985 when he passed said, “Suicide is murder, pure and simple, and murders are damned. There is no more justification for self murder than for the willful destruction of another. There is a common and supposedly compassionate tendency on the part of many to reason that all who commit suicide must be mentally unbalanced and that therefore, they are not accountable for their crimes… But the greater probability is that nearly all self murderers, though they be depressed and mentally ill, do in fact know right from wrong, the same as most killers do. No murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” Those are harsh words from an apostle of the ‘Lord’! Again, is there no forgiveness? What about the atonement? Does it not work for certain sins? According to Mormonism, that answer is yes, some sins Jesus just couldn’t atone for. 

When we were living in CO a young man in our ward took his life at the start of his senior year. It was such a shock to everyone in the ward. I was in the young women’s presidency at the time. I watched this faithful family struggle through the pain of his decision. I watched how our bishop handled the situation with the youth in the ward, and I was terribly torn up inside. This young man was a football star, well-loved, well-liked, it made no sense whatsoever that he was, in truth, desperately despondent. He seemed like he had it all going for him, yet he still chose to end his life. Unfortunately, at that time in my life I had no fortitude in me to question the messages that were being preached from the pulpit after his death. Yes, we all mourned this young man who was gone too soon, but there was also this crucial, disturbing point in all the leadership’s talks, that this young man was definitely in Hell, and there was nothing his family could do about it. At that time I was so scared for this young man. Of course, I no longer agree with the church’s standing regarding suicide. I find it terribly troubling that the church believes they can judge these situations, like suicide is a ‘one size fits all’ circumstance. There can be no comfort to grieving families if that is the message they continually receive. 

        

Tyler Glen from the Neon Trees did an interview with John Dehlin for Mormon Stories Podcasts. In this interview with John, Tyler talks about the faith crisis that exploded for him on the weekend after this policy change was leaked and then officially announced by the church. It is a powerful interview. On April 29, 2016, Tyler Glen also talked with Rolling Stone about his then new song, Trash, which denounces the Mormon Church. Tyler said, “The big problem here is that they (the Mormon Church) claim it’s the only truth. There have been over 40 suicides within the church as a result of this policy. These aren’t just grown men and women, many are children. It’s backwards. It’s not of God. I needed to make this statement to artfully show the pain of a faith crisis and the darkness of doubt, but also that there’s ways to reclaim what is yours.” He went on to say, “I always tried. My entire life and perspective on God, the afterlife, morals and values, my self-worth and my born sexual orientation has been wired within the framework of this religion that doesn’t have a place for me. I served (this church). I was the square peg trying to fit into the round hole. I believed it till six months ago.” I strongly recommend watching his interview with John Dehlin. You can find it on the Mormon Stories website at www.mormonstories.org

        

The theme of this post is ignorance is not bliss! Now more than ever, it is time for an over haul of these outrageous and out dated beliefs! In the Manifesto Appellatio Fraternitatis Rosae Crucis (1614-2014), it states, “An ancient Rosicrucian adage says, “It is from ignorance and ignorance alone that humans must free themselves.” Ignorance is at the origin of the worst things a person can do to oneself, to others, and to one’s environment. It is also the source of different superstitions that demean humanity and prevent it from finding complete fulfillment.” Ignorance is not bliss, can never be bliss, will never be bliss. Ignorance is really the only thing we need to correct in this world. Too many people are ignorant of the problems with no desire to becoming aware, and there is a significant reason why that is the case. Mark Passio, host of What on Earth is Happening in podcast #29, while talking about the deception in the media and in the police force, gives the answer as to why people don’t want to become conscious of the problems. Mark said, “The reason the world is still a mess is because you haven’t really changed your actions or the way you think. It is not the dominators, it is not the occultists, ultimately, who are doing this. If anything, their actions should be massively waking up people in larger and larger numbers because the things that they do are becoming so ridiculous, and still people don’t want to see because they don’t want the responsibility that goes along with seeing. What is needed, the real thing that needs to be developed is COURAGE.” In my opinion, these words are very fitting for the Mormon Church, its members, and this current Presidential election as well. The church is being ridiculous with this policy, and it should be a huge wake up call to the members. The political arena is being ridiculous with this fiasco of an election. Yet, many people lack the courage it takes to stand up against the so-called 'authority' of religions and politics to bravely say, “This is wrong!” 

Again, ignorance can never be bliss, because bliss can only originate through awareness, and awareness demands consciousness. Consciousness and ignorance cannot co-exist. Consciousness, or ignorance, those are the only two choices now and always. If there is only one thing that you take away from this long post, let it be this, please realize that your ignorance is ‘their’ power. Have the courage to take back your power! 

Living authentically, truthfully, and with integrity will always be my chosen passageway through life. Authenticity is the top virtue that I strive to live every day. It is the most important quality for me to embody; above all else, I choose to be authentic. Brené Brown says, “Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.” For me, there is no other way to be. Ironically, it is because I was raised in the Mormon faith that truth, and integrity, are so very important to me. I must follow the truth wherever it leads me. I want the truth at all costs. They say that in order to be effective truth must penetrate you like an arrow, and that is likely to hurt. Yes, the truth can hurt! But, the truth is what directed me away from the church and onto my authentic path; and, I wouldn’t trade that for the world. Awakening to the truth of the ‘bamboozle’ was a lonely decision; nevertheless, it is one I will never regret. 

Yes, it feels like we have been given a momentous and outrageous decision to make tomorrow. However, I believe there are many who are awakening to the bamboozle of the political arena. This election should surely be a wake up call! Fortunately, there is an enormous shift happening in the collective consciousness on this planet. I predict it will manifest with the victory of Hillary Clinton. She is representing the return of the Divine Feminine. Trump represents the patriarchal and outdated mentality that is leaving the planet. In the coming years, we will see a beautiful blending of the Sacred Masculine and the Sacred Feminine energies within us and within the world. It is not about one type dominating over the other any longer, but rather about the balancing and harmonizing of the two vibrations, respecting the two mentalities, and combining the gifts that both males and females have to offer. 

Whatever your feelings are about the choices represented in our candidates, please vote consciously by honoring your truth and following your heart!

Namaste!

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