Windy Sydney

The other day I promised to take tons of photos at the SigningforSomething.org petition and letter delivery to church headquarters in Salt Lake City. Here are the photos that I promised, along with a little explanation of what you are seeing. If you are in one of the photos and you don't want to be, please pm me and I will take the photo off immediately.

When my Mom and I made our way to the designated meeting place, I immediately picked out FlatLander being interviewed by Chris Vanocur from KTVX News Channel 4. I took this shot from the passenger seat in my Mom's truck while we waited at a stop light.

An amazing couple drove all the way from St. George to be a part of the delivery and to show their love for their son who was married in California 4 months ago. They were also interviewed by Chris Vanocur.

If you want to see the video, click here... side note: There is also a photo of me on that page (I freaked out when I saw it) I am the one in the brown sweater and the camera around my neck placing my stack of letters on the table.

There were 13 individual copies of each and every letter sent in to the SigningForSomething.org website. One for Thomas Monson, and one each to each member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. They were wrapped neatly in pink ribbon.

The crowd was getting larger and larger by the minute. We were all very happy to see the number of people willing to help us take a stand and make a difference.

Many media groups were there. This is a photo of a journalist from the Associated Press. She was waiting to speak with Peter and Mary Danzig who have helped with the website since the very beginning.

More media interviews took place while we waited for everyone to arrive.

These flowers represented men and women who were no longer with us because of their struggles with their sexuality, church, and their families.

Not only did we have adults, but we had a small group of children who wanted to help. This young girl waited her turn to help carry the flowers across the street to the church headquarters. I have another photo of her smiling for the camera (it's my favorite photo of the whole day) but I wouldn't want to put her photo on the internet like this...

As we all made our way across the street, trying not to cry, many in the group started singing the hymn, "As I Have Loved You." It's important because in my opinion, the church isn't showing love for anyone right now.

We finally made it to the entrance of the COB when we were greeted by a Church Spokesperson. Members of the media scrambled to get their microphones and cameras to capture what Andrew Callahan (aka Flatlander) and Peter Danzig had to say as we walked up, one by one, and placed our stack of letters on a cart.

This is another shot of Peter Danzig (bottom right) talking with the Church spokesperson (woman in red). You can also see Rod Decker, a well-known Utah jounalist from KUTV channel 2, and behind him a photographer from the Deseret News.

After the adults had placed the copies of the petitions and letters on the cart, the children walked up and placed their flowers in baskets to represent those that we no longer with us. It was quiet and amazing.

Sorry the rest of these are kind of blurry... I was crying and shaking. Lets just consider the blurry photos "artistic."

These gentlemen worked for the church, and they wheeled in our letters, petitions and flowers with a promise to get them to the men in charge.

Rod Decker, from KUTV News, interviews Peter Danzig about the SigningForSomething website and our message.

Soon after the media went into the building to hear the Church's official statement, they packed up their equipment and got ready to edit their stories for television, newspaper and radio.

All in all, it was a beautiful day.

I will never forget the feeling I had when I walked over to the table to place my stack of letters. Imagine that warm fuzzy feeling we were told was the "holy ghost" and multiply it by 20. I was smiling, laughing, meeting new friends and making a difference.

We don't know if the church leaders will actually take the time to read the letters given to them, but we got our message across. Hopefully, someone reading the newspapers, watching the news stories or listening to the radio programs will realize that what the church is doing isn't right, and that they should also take a stand.

I would like to personally thank Andrew Callahan (Flatlander), Peter and Mary Danzig who helped with everything, and most of all, every single one of you who took the time to voice your concerns over the church's actions in this matter. Without you, none of this would have been possible.

Thanks,

Andee

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Hello internet pals, I have missed thee.

Mom and I just got back from the 2008 Ex-Mormon Foundation Conference in Salt Lake City. We had an amazing time, and I have tons of photos and stories to share. It's going to take some time for me to unpack, do laundry and edit the 400 photos into a decent post, but it should be up later today.

Check back later... I have a lot to say... I always have a lot to say, don't I?

Andee

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I am leaving for Salt Lake City in about a half hour to be a part of the ExMormon Conference and be there to hand deliver the petition and letters from SigningForSomething.org. Needless to say, I won't be home to update the blog, but I will have lots of fun stories and photos to share with everyone when I get back on Sunday.

I am looking forward to meeting some of the people that have helped me stay sane during the past year and a half. It's an amazing feeling to know that the problems you have with the church are shared by many, many others. These are amazing people who have paid the price to stand up for the truth, and that includes losing their spouses, families, and sometimes friends and businesses. If we didn't have each other, I don't know where we would all be.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Andee

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I know I have posted about the blog Cake Wrecks before, but when I saw this photo I couldn't stop laughing. I had tears in my eyes. Maybe it's the heavy dose of NyQuil in my system (I have a killer cold) but I found this hilarious!


If you are ever in need of a good laugh, this blog won't let you down. Check it out, you won't regret it! Here are a couple more, I hope they don't mind me sharing them...

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Update: It is now, officially, too late to get your letter submitted in time to be included in the group delivery on Friday in Salt Lake City. However, your letters and names added to the petition are still needed as we will keep up the effort until the election. Thank you to everyone!

I have been honored to have been a part of the SigningForSomething.org group. I have not even come close to the time and attention other members have put into the website and cause, but I am proud to say that I will be standing next to them on Friday when we deliver each and every letter sent to the website in person to Church Headquarters in Salt Lake City.

Andrew Callahan, the man who has put more time into this than anyone else, has been threatened with excommunication from the church because he took a stand with his morals. He refused to let the church silence him, and he is on his way to Utah right now. I have spoken with him on the phone, and I cannot wait to shake his hand in person.

For those wanting to write a letter, or simply sign the petition, please go to the signingforsomething.org website and tell the church how you feel about this issue. We can't stand back and do nothing.



There are also a group of people who plan on resigning their membership from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on election day in protest of their involvement in political matters. There is no pressure at all to do this, as resigning is a very personal decision to make. The option, however, is there.

I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to write a letter, note, or even a single sentence on the website. Each and every person counts. Don't forget that.

Sincerely,
Andee Joy Duncan
Providence, Utah

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This is an example of the emails that are being spread by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All misspellings, punctuation errors and other problems are the original authors fault... not mine. Really. I know I am a horrible speller, but this isn't me. Promise. My comments, as always, will be interjected when I feel like it.

I don't know if you're aware of whats going on politically here in California right now, but for the first time in my life I've seen the Church take a stand on a political issue to the extent that we've had Ward gatherings for the past three weeks to physically canvas neighborhoods and make phone calls to registered voters to educate them about the language and affects of Proposition 8.

Wow, that was one long sentence. I thought Brigham Young was good at that, but honey, you put him to shame.

Now, of course we know what is going on politically in the state of California. Duh. It's all over the news, and everyone is talking about it... especially if you are in the church. Your church neighbors are telling you how to vote, your bishop is telling you how to vote... oh, and your email is just another piece of evidence that the church is telling me how to vote. You don't see it that way? Shocking.

I guess I was kind of oblivious to the wider reaching affects that this could have on all church members but found this informative e-mail interesting and decided to forward it to you.

I can think of half a million other things that you are oblivious to, but we won't go there for now. Maybe later. Oh, and I will be the judge on how "informative and interesting" the email is, because I doubt your judgment.

In a recent Sacrament meeting in California, the focus was on amendment 8. (The gay marriage issue.) one of the speakers who was an LDS judge in the area, had statistics that were "mind blowing."

Can I ask you a quick question Molly Mormon? Why is it that the focus was on limiting the rights of a group of people and not on loving thy neighbor or preaching the gospel? Why not talk about Jesus and his wonderful teachings? Why not share love instead of hate? Just sayin'.

I also love how you used parenthesis around the words "The gay marriage issue" as if you were whispering the words so quietly as to not let your kids hear the word "gay." Give me a break.

For example, in Boston, PA, (where gay marriage is no le gal,) the Catholic charities have closed their doors because the state has required them to allow adoptions to same sex couples, and they refused. They are a large and worthwhile charity with great power in the state and they were overruled.

Sweetie... sweetie...

All charities should be equal to everyone, yes? I mean, lets pretend for a minute that everyone in the world thought the Mormon church was wrong, and those practicing it were immoral. Just for fun...

Okay, so lets pretend you want to have lots and lots of kids, but you can't. You would be a wonderful parent, but no one will let you adopt because you are a Mormon. Would you like that? Probably not.

No church should have power in the state. The separation of Church and state is something that should exist but rarely does... especially in the state of Utah. You see, charity belongs to all of God's children, whether you, the Catholic church or the Mormon Church see it or not. I find it telling that you don't. Do you even know God?

A Methodist church has lost it's tax exempt status because a minister refused to perform a marriage of a same sex couple (they were not of his congregation.)

The Methodist Church should lose it's tax exempt status if they are not treating everyone as equals. That is how it works. The Mormon Church will hopefully learn that lesson soon. No church has a right to give certain rights to certain people. One day, when you are on the outside of that circle, you will see how unjust and unfair it is.

A physician who refused to do fertility treatments on a same sex couple because of religious reasons was sued, lost, and the state is requiring him to treat everyone as equals.

OH! THE HORROR!

The state is requiring him to treat everyone as equals? Where will this insanity end?!

You are off your fucking rocker if you don't think this guy was out of line by denying his services just because of their sexual orientation. It's a bigoted thing to do. Are you sticking up for him? Looks that way. God help you, honey.

Remember a few decades ago when African-Americans were trying to get equal treatment? Remember how they had to use different water fountains, entrances, and had to sit in the back of the bus? This isn't any different. Those with dark skin can't change who they are, and SHOULDN'T change who they are. Same goes with those in the gay and lesbian community. They can't change, they shouldn't have to feel as if they have to change. They are productive members of society who pay the same taxes and work the same jobs. They deserve the same benefits that you do, honey, and if you can't open your mind enough to see that, I pity you.

Remember when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints had to be forced to give them the same priesthood that it gave the white men or THEY would lose their tax exempt status? No? Oh, of course you were never taught about that. Look it up. Please, and thank you.

Our schools will be required to teach, starting in kindergarten that marriages make up many different combinations. The consequences are horrible.

Eh? I don't see what is so bad about that... what is horrible?

What in the name of God is so horrible about teaching kids that everyone in the world is accepted and treated equally? It shouldn't matter if their families are made up with a mommy and a daddy, a grandmother and an aunt, or two mommies... it's the same.

By teaching kids that families should be one-size-fits-all-cookie-cutter-fairy-land-families, you are singling out every child that lives with his grandparents, his aunt and uncle, or the young men who adopted him. You are making these children feel as if there is something wrong with them and the family they are in. That is really, really messed up.

Would you teach kids not to hang out with other kids who have less traditional families? Would you not let them go over to play at their house? Why? Are you worried they would "turn gay?"

The ignorance is obvious, and THAT is horrific.

Directly tied to ALL of this is our right to continue to go to the Temple. If gay marriage is supported by the government, then those who are same-sex married, who are 'LDS' and legally recognized as married by the government can sue to be married in the temple.&nbs p; It is my opinion that the church will not bend on this issue, and our rights to go to the temple will be in jeopardy.

Sweetie, you can go to your temple, put on the silly clothes and do whatever the hell you want. The trouble starts when your church, the LDS Church, singles out a group of people and tells them they can't share in the "wonderful temple experience." I use quotations because we all know it's a load of crap anyway.

If you lose your temple, it's because your church isn't treating people as equals, not because the gay people are bad and evil. Open your eyes and examine it for what it is. Please. You could learn a thing or two about love and respect if you think your church is right in this case.

AND goodbye to those religious tax-deductions. Tithing, fast offerings, etc. We will lose our tax-exemption status if the government legally forces the church to support same-sex marriage.

They should have lost their tax-exempt status a looooooong time ago, and if there is one thing I have learned about the church I grew up in, it's that nothing matters more to them than money. They will have a revelation of some kind, and their minds will be changed. Just like in the past when the government threatened to do the same thing in 1978. Times are changing, and the church doesn't like change. Tough shit.

These effects are far-reaching! I hope no one is upset by this email, I would not want to offend anyone, but I believe this issue is not a political issue at all, but a moral issue that affects all of society.

Well, you have offended me, and you will continue to offend me until you stop trying to take rights away from people you don't even know.

I agree. The effects of banning gay marriage are far-reaching. It tells young men and women that they are not equal, respected, and they don't deserve the same right to happiness as you do. Morally, that is wrong, don't you agree?

What kind of morals do you have if you think it's perfectly fine to limit someone's right to happiness? Wake up and have some coffee. Please.

The Proclamation on the family clearly gives a warning voice on this matter. I pray that this issue on the ballots will overturn the gay marriages occurring right now in that state, and help prevent other states from adopting this stance. I believe that it is important to support and defend traditional marriage, home and family.

The Proclamation of the Family is something that Mormons believe in. Mormons. Not everyone else. Why are you going to force a group of people who are not of your faith to abide by your church's laws? Is that something you feel is right? Guess what? It's not.

While you are praying that the marriages of men and women who were married in the state of California are overturned because of your beliefs, you are forgetting that they have not hurt you, or your precious family beliefs. Let them be.

There is no way in my mind that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is right, true, or has the right to treat people the way it has in the past. I will say one thing, I WILL NOT PRAY THAT YOUR MARRIAGE IS OVERTURNED BECAUSE I DON'T AGREE WITH YOUR BELIEFS. That is true morality. That is something you should learn.

Another friend says that her relatives in Sweden are even watching what goes on in California. Friends in Canada are watching. The whole world is watching what happens.

Yes, they are... and I hope they see the state of California stand up and do what is right.

You have a lot to learn, Molly Mormon, not only about this issue, but about your religion in general. If you only knew what they stood for.

Andee

P.S. If you don't want to take my word for it, read this...

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Make a Smilebox scrapbook

I made this with photos from ghoststudy.com... check out the website, it's amazing!!!

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I can't get enough quotes lately... if they are about Mormonism, being an apostate, Utah, or religion in general they are speaking to me.

"When his life was ruined, his family killed, his farm destroyed, Job knelt down on the ground and yelled up to the heavens, "Why god? Why me?" and the thundering voice of God answered, "There's just something about you that pisses me off." Stephen King.

"With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion." -- Steven Weinberg

"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction." -- Blaise Pascal

"Where knowledge ends, religion begins."-- Benjamin Disraeli

"I do not think that the real reason why people accept religion is anything to do with argumentation. They accept religion on emotional grounds. One is often told that it is a very wrong thing to attack religion, because religion makes men virtuous. So I am told; I have not noticed it." -- Bertrand Russell

"Being religious means asking passionately the question of the meaning of our existence and being willing to receive answers, even if the answers hurt." -- Paul Tillich

"When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion." -- Abraham Lincoln

"Of all bad men religious bad men are the worst." -- C.S. Lewis

"The beauty of religious mania is that it has the power to explain everything. Once God (or Satan) is accepted as the first cause of everything which happens in the mortal world, nothing is left to chance... logic can be happily tossed out the window."-- Stephen King

"Truth is so rare that it is delightful to tell it."-- Emily Dickinson

"We are never deceived; we deceive ourselves." -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad." -- Aldous Huxley

"Half a truth is often a great lie." -- Benjamin Franklin

"Ignorance, the root and the stem of every evil." - Plato

"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing."-- Edmund Burke

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A friend of mine from PostMormon.org had the missionaries stop by his home. He took the opportunity to ask some very important questions to these young men, and hopefully got them thinking. I use this with his permission, and I applaud him for what he did!!!

So two new missionaries knocked on my door. After the small talk they asked if they could come in and meet the family. I told them fine come on in. Then I went and checked w/ DW, who wasn't interested.

So I went back and told them that my family was doing homework.

So they asked if they could come back and share a message about Jesus.

I told them I'd heard it all and that I could probably teach them a thing or two about Jesus and if they were interested in having a lesson about Jesus, I'd be happy to teach them a lesson. They said, "Sure. No problem."

Then I said something about being honest and there were certain questions they couldn't answer honestly as representatives of the church, because Mormon Doctrine is just nonsense.

One of them said, "Well, I found just the opposite to be true. Whenever I've had a question, I've always been able to answer it."

I said, "Really? OK. How many wives did Joseph Smith have?"

They both laughed and said, "Why is that important?"

I said, "Because he was the founder of your church. Don't you think it's important to know about the life of the founder of your church?"

One of them said, "Jesus Christ was the founder of our church."

I said, "Any church can claim that. That's nonsense. Joseph Smith started your church. Don't lie. I was a missionary once, remember? Why can't you answer a simple question like that? It's pretty important to know how many wives the founder of your church had, don't you think?"

I was just about to answer that. He had 14.

Wrong. He had 34. The LDS geneological records even support that. Now how many of them were married to other men?

I don't know.

There you go. It's real easy to find out, you just don't want to know. That's called ignorance. You just want to ignore what's real.

One of them asked me, "Do you believe Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior?"

I said, "You're changing the subject. You said you could get all the answers to all of your questions, but when I ask you a question you don't have any answers all you want to do is change the subject."

"Well why is that important?"

Well, because it says right in your scriptures, D&C 132:62 that marrying other men's wives is adultery. Now if Joseph's Myth married other men's wives, then he was an adulterer, according to your own scriptures, which you do believe are the word of God, right?

Yes.

Well there you go. Now here's another question you can't possibly answer honestly. Why did the Mormon church discriminate against blacks for 120 years after Joseph's Myth gave the priesthood to blacks like Elijah Able?

They looked suprised. I said, You did know that Joseph's Myth gave the priesthood to blacks right?

Uh. No.

Well there you go. There's another case of ignorance. It's a matter of church history, but you choose not to investigate it because you're ignorant. You don't want to know. You don't want to be honest. You can't be honest.

Yes we can.

Ok, then answer my question.

We don't know. Why is that important?

Well apparently it was important enough to everybody from Brigham Young to Spencer W. Kimball to ban an entire race of people from recieving the priesthood for 120 years based soley upon their skin color. Why is that?

Like I said, I don't know.

Well, that's the problem. They send you 19 year old kids out here and you don't know any thing about the world. Heck you don't even know anything about your own religion. You're just young and idealistic and you can be easily trained to repeat these cliches instead of really thinking. Look guys. I was in your shoes once upon a time. It's one thing to convince yourself that the religion you inherited is the one and only truth, but someday you're going to have kids and you're going to want to be honest with your kids. You're not going to want to give them the same nonsense you're telling me. And let's not make any mistake about it, it's nonsense and I'm not going to indoctrinate my children with that nonsense and I'm not going to teach other people's kids that nonsense. Children your age in the ward you're serving in still believed these racist myths. Do you believe the curse of cain?

Yeah.

Really? You belive that black people are black as a result of the curse of cain?

Yeah.

Wow. That's amazing. You do know it's 2008 right? We've got a black man who's going to be our next president. You think he's black because of a some curse of cain?

Yes.

Wow. Now that's what I'm talking about. That's just ignorant. Tell me this. How did the curse of cain survive the attonement? Didn't Christ attone for the sins of all mankind?

Yes.

Including Cain?

Yes. Well. Uh....

Yeah. See, that's what I mean. How is that possible? How could a curse of Cain have survived the attonement?

Uh. Gee. Good question. I don't know.

Well, there you go. You don't know. And you want to teach me a lesson about Jesus Christ? Here's another question for you. What was Christ's main commandment.

To love God with all your heart.

How?

(Some nonsense.)

What was his 2nd commandment?

To love your fellow man...

as?.....

....as yourself.

OK. So did Christ say, Unless he's black, then discriminate against him? Or unless he's gay,then discriminate against him? Or unless she's female, then discriminate against her? Or unless he's Native American, then discriminate against them?

No.

Exactly. That's the problem. These bigoted myths are still a part of LDS Doctrine. You still believe in the Curse of Cain myth when it completely violates the commandments of Jesus Christ and denies his entire mission and the whole point of the attonement, but none of that really matters to Mormon leaders, who're far more committed to maintaining these nonsensical bogus racist myths than they are to establishing the truth or Christ's Commandments.

So how did you answer your questions?

I did a whole lot of research. You mean like why did the Mormon church discriminate against blacks for 120 years?

Yeah.

Well, here's how I understand it. The curse of Cain myth was a common 19th Century myth used to dehumanize blacks and justify slavery. As was the explanation for why God didn't mention anything about the Native Americans in the bible, they were wandering Jews. Unfortunately those common 19th Century racist myths got incorporated into Mormon Doctrine. Now Joseph's Myth was relatively progressive. He was an abolitionist and even extended the full authority of Mormonism to blacks, like Elijah Abel. Unfortunately his successor was not nearly as charitable. He was a product of his time. He hated blacks. He decided to take those racist myths and use them to justify discriminating against blacks. I could excuse Brigham Young for that, but it took 120 years for any leaders of the Mormon church to have the courage to question that institution of bigotry, years after the civil rights movement made it patently obvious just how bigoted and out of step with modern society Mormon doctrine really was. So they didn't change the doctrine, they just stopped the obvious discrimination. Nobody apologized for 120 years of discrimination, they just swept it under the rug and children like you are still taught to believe those ignorant, racist doctrines, which will continue until the Mormon leaders gain the courage to do what's right and clearly denounce those racist doctrines, the way other churches have done.

Well. Nobody ever said the Mormon church was perfect.

Really? Seems to me like I grew up hearing that the church was perfect, but the leaders were not. Somehow it doesn't seem so perfect if there are so many unanswerable questions does it? It's nonsense. Like I said.

So is there anything we can do for you tonight.

Yeah. Answer my questions.

Well. We can't.

I know. I didn't expect you to be able to answer them, because the only answer is that it's all nonsense. But think about those questions and when you have real, honest answers for me, you come on back. OK?

Sounds good.

Allright. See you later. shakes hands. Buh Bye.

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This was in my email waiting for me this morning:

I'd appreciate it if you had more respect towards other people's believes and religions.I just want to leave you with a scripture from the Book of Mormon. Hopefully it will help you remember all that is true.I don't ask you to believe what it says right away, but follow the instructions that are found in Moroni 10:4.

Hope u read spanish.

"Porque he aqui, si niegas al Espiritu Santo, una vez que haya morado en ti, y sabes que lo niegas, he aqui, es un pecado que es imperdonable; si, y al que asesina contra la luz y el conocimiento de dios, no le es facil obtener perdon; si, hijo mio, te digo que no le es facil obtener perdon."(Alma 39:6)

p.s. my name is Blanca

Here is the thing, Blanca...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints isn't "someone else's religion." It's still technically my religion, and it's a pile of horse manure. I have the right to talk about the things I have learned and the things I am going through while leaving if I want to.

If you don't like it, don't read it.

I find it hard to have respect for an institution who practices racism, sexism and other forms of bigotry. Your first impulse will be to tell me that these things are not practiced in the LDS Church, and my response to that would be to prove me wrong. Check into why blacks were denied the priesthood until 1978, why women are still unable to hold the priesthood, and why the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is pushing so hard to ban gay marriage.

Now, do you see any article on my blog written in Spanish? Have I ever once written in Spanish? No. It's probably clear I don't speak or read Spanish... at least, it's clear to me.

Another thing, quoting the Book of Mormon to me isn't really going to work because I believe the Book of Mormon is a fraud, along with the Book of Abraham and anything else Joseph Smith got his grubby little fingers on... including banks, treasure seeking, and his marriages to other women behind Emma Smith's back. Yes, you are going to argue with me again here, but again... prove me wrong. If you look, you will find the information.

When the church respects others, I will show it respect. They get what they give. Until then, you and everyone else who are so convinced you are right will just have to get over it.

Andee

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