Mormon Bloggers

Introduction Westboro Baptist Church is at the center of another controversy. This time, it is over the tragic shooting that occurred in Tucson, Arizona. Why the notoriety of this particular group of people? They have been known to picket funerals – including Gordon B. Hinckley’s funeral. Many people are up in arms over the tactics and methodology [...]  Read More →

In fits and starts, Evangelicals all over America are beginning to overcome their historical aversion against Mormons and are warming up to us. Recently, Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention “upgraded” us from a cult to the “fourth Abrahamic faith”, alongside Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. And Glenn Beck even gave a commencement address at Liberty University in May 2010. So the barriers are slowly coming down. But it’s Glenn Beck who’s the subject of this post. Evangelical pundit Bryan Fischer, who formerly served as the executive director of the Idaho Values Alliance and is now the host of the daily ‘Focal Point’ radio talk program on AFA Talk, a division of the American Family Association, recently suggested on RenewAmerica that Evangelicals owe a debt of gratitude to Glenn Beck for his role in leading the Restoring Honor Rally which took place in Washington, D.C. on August 28th. Fisher noted that although Beck provided... Read the rest of this entry »

Last week Glenn Beck announced on his radio show that he had been diagnosed with Macular Dystrophy, a progressive (ironic, but no not in the political sense) condition, possibly leading to the total loss of his eyesight.  For those of you waiting for the punch line, or the incisive, cutting satire on this point, allow me to spare you the disappointment, other than the slight joke at the beginning, I find nothing even mildly humorous in this whole situation.  Notwithstanding my vehement disagreement with Mr. Beck on matters political, spiritual and historical, the man has my pity. There are certain fates that it is customary “not to wish upon one’s worst enemy.”  While I hardly grant Mr. Beck that distinction, for me blindness would be one of those fates.  As a young child I remember reading about Louis Braille, who lost his sight as a child and later developed that magnificent system by which the blind were able to read.  I also learned of Helen Keller, who despite... Read the rest of this entry »

This is a repost from the KSL Radio website: KSL Newsradio severs ties with talk show host Sean Hannity July 1st, 2010 @ 5:04pm SALT LAKE CITY — KSL Newsradio announced Thursday it has ended its relationship with syndicated talk show host Sean Hannity, effective this fall. The move is intended to make room for more local programming, according to KSL Broadcasting Chief Executive Officer Mark Willes. He said the company believes its future success depends on creating unique local content. “We acknowledge the great partnership we’ve had with Sean Hannity and appreciate his contributions to furthering public dialogue,” said Willes. “At the end of the day, we simply feel our future success and competitive advantage reside in creating unique local content, and that is our objective for developing replacement programming.” Hannity has been on KSL Newsradio since October 2001. The Sean Hannity Show is on the air from 1 to 4 p.m. and will remain on KSL... Read the rest of this entry »

Back in March, I wrote a post on this blog regarding Glenn Beck’s comments to the effect that religious teachings on social justice amounted to Nazism and Communism. Mr. Beck has continued in this vein; a few days ago, he objected to the recommendation of a government panel that the government should help faith-based and other not-for-profit organizations obtain loans to encourage green building projects. For Mr. Beck, this amounts to “merging” the churches of America with the Environmental Protection Agency, into a superfaith that teaches “the Gospel of Gaia” and “the religion of environmental and social justice.” In a new post to “On the Mark: Social Commentary from a Reflective Perspective,” another blog of mine, I address the misunderstandings that Mr. Beck has regarding the real meaning of the separation of Church and State. However, on “Mormon from Manhattan,” I would like to focus on another aspect of Mr. Beck’s thought: his misunderstanding regarding, yet... Read the rest of this entry »

Mike Lee took his message to the nation today via the Glenn Beck Radio Show: and part two: Copyright 2010. All rights reserved by Candace E. Salima. Copyright 2009 Candace E. Salima, All rights reserved  Read More →

An article by Laurie Goodstein in The New York Times of Friday, March 12, 2010, informs us of the following: Last week, the conservative broadcaster Glenn Beck called on Christians to leave their churches if they hear preaching about social or economic justice, saying they were code words for Communism and Nazism. … Mr. Beck said on his radio show on March 2, “I beg you, look for the words ‘social justice’ or ‘economic justice’ on your church Web site. If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words.” … “If you have a priest that is pushing social justice, go find another parish.” Despite the fact that Glenn Beck is a Latter-day Saint, what he has to say on this subject is entirely his own opinion, and does not reflect Latter-day Saint teaching. I am writing this blog post to inform the world at large of two simple facts: 1. Latter-day Saint (LDS) teaching, doctrine, and scriptures clearly demonstrate an LDS commitment... Read the rest of this entry »

Criticizing Mr. Beck is a lot like shooting fish in a barrel, one could do it blindfolded, and likely intoxicated, but where’s the satisfaction?  But every once in a while (all too often for my taste) a new pearl of crazy pops out of the man’s mouth that just begs for commentary of one form or another.  Most recently, Mr. Beck has decided to provide us with his own particular spin on religion. In essence, according to the ever-incisive Beck, if one is a member of a church that seeks to promote “social justice” one ought to leave it immediately, for such churches are promoting either socialism or Nazism. Seriously, Glenn?  You’re now telling your listeners what church they should be a member of, based on your own warped political ideology?  And what of our own faith sir?  Yes, I refer to the religious identity that I reluctantly share with you, Brother Beck.  To be sure, “social justice” is not a value that is specifically addressed in Mormonism,... Read the rest of this entry »

Kudos to the people over at the TimesandSeasons blog! They were featured in the Salt Lake News Tribune last week as naming Harry Reid “Mormon of the Year.” While I completely disagree with his politics, I can see how he could have that title. He has definitely caused a big stir this year and has been in the headlines frequently for wanting to push the healthcare bill along. Most recently, he was under fire for his comments about Barrack Obama’s skin color. Others in the running for Mormon of the Year were: Glenn Beck, Stephanie Meyer, Jon Huntsman Jr., and others. My personal vote would have gone to Glenn Beck. I think he has caused even more of a stir than Reid has this past year. He was featured on the cover of Time magazine back in September too. Any way you look at it, there were quite a few LDS people making news last year.  Read More →