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The religion of Mormons has a rich and often confusing history. Even if we start from the beginning you might still find yourself a little lost so we will keep things simple. The religion was established by Joseph Smith, Jr in the early 1820's when he was visited by an angel (Moroni) who told him to dig up the Golden Plates (the bible) that was buried near his home (at that time) in western New York. The ancient "invisible" metal plates could only be read with seer stones and could then be translated by the leader of the religion. I am not even going to get into the special underwear quite yet to keep things as simple as possible. This is pretty much how it all started.

Confused? Well, you are not alone. The Mormon church has had a real battle keeping up with present times, at the same time keeping with tradition, and all the while not terrifying the outside world, and this is continual process which I assume is very stressful. What is this all about, anyway? Well you would think a religion that is viewed as "silly", "weird", and "unnatural" would understand the plight of other groups who are in the same boat, like, oh I don't know, THE GAYS - but this is not the case.

Mormons have helped to fight a strange battle with the GLBT(QIA) community - most recently with Prop 8 in California, but also with gay kissing and numerous other social issues. This comes from a church that mainstream America might find very strange and even crazy. You would think the two sides would establish some level ground and work together to rid the world of stereotypes and oppression but to my knowledge this is not the case.

I often wonder why such a young church, with such questionable religious practices, would have such intolerance torwards other groups that are not a part of the traditional fabric of society. The only thing that I can come up with is that much like the weird, effeminate, religious kid at school, Mormons don't need any more unwanted attention than they already get.

You know what else I have noticed? There seems to be a lot of sexualization of the Morman Faith which is odd to me - I guess it must be because they all look so clean and groomed or something? I don't really get it - wouldn't it be more sexy if they weren't all clean and well mannered?

Anywho - Mormons of America - being that you too are on the outside of what is considered "normal" I am asking you to open your hearts, minds, and churches to people who are different than yourselves. Acceptance and tolerance of the GLBT (homosexual) community will only bring you closer to God - not further away. I am asking you to stop hating on a group that seems so alien to your own - take the time to get to know those SLC gays and open up to a whole new dialogue about where the world is at now. We have much to teach you.