Great blog foxjones.  sensitivity and respect is one of the hallmarks of a great leader.  Quality people will be attracted to that person.  I wish I lived in SLC to so I could attend your first chapter meeting.  Bear

When I saw mention of this group starting, I smiled. Perhaps one of the more difficult transitions for LDS college aged members is to leave the church they’ve never really believed in, or are seriously doubting now that they are being challenged to think critically. Best wishes in your efforts to help those through the mist and into clarity.

Great job foxjones.  Like nxtOracle wrote, the college years constitute a period of awakening that can be complicated by critical thinking about Mormonism, in addition to critical thinking about everyday life.  You seem to have created a safe place from which these young critical thinkers can explore the World in which they find themselves.

Thanks everyone, I hope it can be a place for all who need a place to talk and hopefully will feel welcome.

So everyone knows Shimon is the new Chapter Leader of UUPMSA!

Welcome Shimon, we look forward to your being the new chapter leader.  Bear

Shimon is a perfect person to lead the group at the U. of U.

here is an article about him:  Article in today’s online edition of the Salt Lake Tribune:

http://origin.sltrib.com/news/ci_8345693

Peter Danzig did not set out to be a Mormon activist.  The gentle musician spent his life serving the church he loved. He went on a mission, married in the temple, composed pieces for Mormon pageants, and taught hymns to children. He and his wife, Mary, also a returned missionary, were raising their three daughters in Levan, but driving to Salt Lake City each week to play in the LDS Orchestra at Temple Square - he on viola, she, the violin. Both believed their music was their gift to God.

Danzig said nothing in 1993 when church officials charged six well-known Mormon scholars and intellectuals with apostasy for their writings or speeches about LDS issues. He kept quiet when Brigham Young University fired history professor Steven Epperson, a member of Danzig’s Mormon congregation, for serving the homeless rather than attending church.

But in 2006, Danzig finally felt compelled to protest. BYU adjunct professor Jeffrey Nielsen lost his job for arguing in a The Salt Lake Tribune column that the LDS Church was wrong to oppose gay marriage and to enlist Mormon support for a constitutional amendment against it.  The dismissal appalled Danzig, who had explored the questions of homosexuality while pursuing a graduate degree in clinical social work.

“I wish to express to Jeffery Nielson that I admire his courage and that I stand with him,” Danzig wrote in a letter The Tribune published on June 14, 2006. “I was troubled that my church requested I violate my own conscience to write in support of an amendment I feel is contrary to the constitution and to the gospel of Christ.”

What happened next is disheartening to many who believe the church should allow its members to express divergent political and personal views. While others wrote letters in support of Nielsen without facing discipline, Danzig endured months of grueling attacks on his motives and membership.

I won’t post the entire article, but you should read the whole thing.  The rest of the article describes how Peter and Mary ultimately felt forced to resign and move away rather than be excommunicated.  It’s very sad.  So much intolerance and fear in the LDS church.

EDIT: I just noticed this link to Peter’s blog where he tells his story:
http://equalitysblog.typepad.com/equality_time/2008/01/update-more-on.html

P.S. If this is saying too much you can...delete this.