Yesterday was General Conference for the LDS church. Yesterday Elder Boyd K. Packer got up and spewed out the same old, out dated, ignorant and hateful vomit that he and countless others have been poisoning all-who-will-listen with for decades upon decades.
And we are eating it up.
We are ranting and raving on Facebook and blogs and emails. We are outraged. We are crying for change. Seriously? Change? This is BOYD K. PACKER we’re talking about. Guys, the man ain’t gonna change. EVER. We’ll see giant nipples on Mt Rushmore before we see a change in Packer’s attitude about anything – let alone homosexuality. Why are we even surprised? It’s not like this is his first time at a pulpit. We knew there would be some kind of fall out from Marlon Jensen having the audacity to actually state publicly that he was sorry for the pain caused to gays and their families by Prop 8. I can only imagine what was said to him behind closed doors by Packer and Monson. Of course something had to be done and Packer was just the man to do it.
Isn’t the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over expecting different results? Conference comes twice a year – like clockwork. The same men get up and say the same things. Why the hell are we surprised? Why do we keep expecting them to change? They are not going to – we are the crazy ones for expecting them to.
We want change? Well then what the hell are we going to DO about it? May I make a few suggestions?
(1) Stop being surprised at anything said by the leaders of the Mormon Church. And stop eating up what they say – even if it’s to rant and rave. Remember that cute little story I posted a while ago about the woman in an eating disorders clinic that kept throwing up, baking and re-eating her own vomit? Do I really need to say more? Stop eating The Brethren’s old vomit. It doesn’t taste good.
(2) Stop being victims. Stop begging for their approval. Stop thinking that their validation is needed for ANYTHING. It’s not. For those of us that truly believe that they are just some old men doing their jobs, and not very well, stop hanging on any word they say at all. If you start to feel the old fear and intimidation creep in, wave your magic wand and repeat after me: “You have no power here. Be gone – before someone drops a house on you!” And then smack them in the head with your ruby slippers.
(3) Walk away. For God’s sake, if you are among those that no longer believe I beg of you have your name removed from the records of the church. It will have more of an impact on your mental and emotional health than you know. And it sends a much needed message. Once you have walked away, don’t look back. Go. Be free. Live a happy life in the sunshine.
(4) If your soul feels called to make a difference for the gay kids still being harmed by the church they are trapped in then do so from a place of strength and power. Reach out. Be a role model. Give them enough love to carry them to a place where they can one day choose healing and not death. You want to speak out? Great. Be noisy for the kids. But, again, do it from a place of authority and power NOT smallness and neediness.
(5) If you are gay, COME OUT, COME OUT, COME OUT!!! Stop hiding. Your presence in this world as a wonderful gay person is part of the solution.
Guys, it’s just plain old time to be bigger than they are. Their fear and ignorance are getting in the way of them being the love that the Jesus they believe in taught them to be. Be bigger. Be better. Be happier. Be the change you want to see in the world. Laugh more. Love more.
And, above all else – stop eating the vomit. I beg of you.
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