The Fierce Sun

 

The sun was fierce this morning

It was not a gentle rising

No soft breezes were blowing in the new day.

The light was bursting

With a fire that burned into my eyes

Blinding me to beauty

Stark the truths we face today

Anger pain and loss

Fear and evil stroll along together

We are all refugees running for our lives

But in a moment a year a decade

This day will end at last

Fading with the soft colors of the setting sun.

 

 

 

Banning the Children from the Temple

In Matthew 19:14, Jesus is quoted as saying, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Maybe the elders of the LDS Church have never read these words.  Or never taken them seriously.  Yesterday they banned the children of same gender parents from receiving blessings or the priesthood. (OK , they actually only banned the sons of GLBT folks.  Daughters of straight couples are also forbidden the priesthood.)  Even adult children of gay parents cannot be baptized in the Mormon faith until and unless they renounce their GLBT parents.

News article:

Mormon Church makes same-sex couples apostates, excludes children from blessings and baptism

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe the LDS faith is the one true faith and I think never participating in it may in fact ultimately be healthier emotionally, psychologically and, most especially, spiritually, for the individuals involved.  The church authorities could actually be doing these kids a favor in the long run.

For seven years I served as the minister of a Unitarian Universalist church in Utah.  Almost half of my congregation was ex-Mormon.  I know the pain that faith can cause.  I know the havoc it can create in people’s lives who don’t fit the stereotype of the perfect Mormon, or who just can’t help but question some of the beliefs.  People can lose their jobs, their homes, and their families when they become apostates.

And there is so much good about the faith as well, which is why it can be so hard to leave it.  This latest action will doubtless drive more people to leave the LDS church.  They will be, as before, mainly the ones who really strive to follow the teachings of Jesus and finally realize that their church hierarchy either can’t or won’t do the same.

There is much grief in Mormonland today, tears, sorrow and pain.  My heart breaks for those who are suffering.

“Let the children come.”  “Do not hinder them.”

If you are still a member of the LDS faith, it may be past time to find another church, my friends.  Unitarian Universalist congregations will welcome you in the fullness of who you are.  Other faith traditions will as well.

Please know that you are worthy of love and respect.  You are a precious child of God, blessed from the moment of your birth.  The whole sacred world is your temple.  You don’t need theirs.

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Death and Dying

Death is not the problem

Dying is

Death comes to all of us

More certain than taxes

Even for the rich

From our very first breath

Fresh with the damp of our mother’s womb

We begin to die

What is hard is the slow decline

The faltering

The shrinking down

Of possibilities

The wondering

What more can we do

That we have not yet done?

What will be left for others?

How long can we go on making

Dreams come true?

Breathe deep

And know

Even your bones

Will someday nourish

New life

All will be born again.