Utah County Republicans put party over religion

If you've been following the immigration issue in Utah, you know that Utah recently passed an immigration law, and you know that the LDS church supported the law. The law is actually a collection of laws--a comprehensive immigration reform. Anti-immigration types call it unconstitutional (which it might be) and amnesty.

So how do members of the church respond? In Utah County (where more than half a million people live, the majority LDS) Republicans voted to repeal it. Or at least part of it. Wow. The church has come down pretty hard about it's opinion on immigration lately. And many members are in denial, while others lean towards apostasy (especially, apparently, many in Provo and surrounding cities). Meanwhile, the church has to repeat itself to members who don't believe it means what it says.

Over two years ago, a missionary from what was formerly the Cincinnati mission was deported. (I know because I was here, in Cincinnati, at the time). He had gone to high school in the U.S., and the prophet sent him on the mission even though he wasn't legally in the U.S. Now a branch president in Utah is being deported. Part of me wonders if a member of the church in his stake reported him. The church newspaper, the Deseret News, didn't have a single article about the missionary. Fortunately, they've changed their approach now and did an article about the branch president. They've also done other articles about members who have been deported. (The Salt Lake Tribune, of course, reported about both the missionary and the branch president). The church has made itself more than clear--some things matter more than our immigration laws. Unfortunately, those who put politics over their faith aren't getting the message. That's their right, but they need to understand that that's what their doing, and that their church disagrees with them. They need to understand that while they can still be members in good standing, they are in exactly the same position as LDS opponents of Proposition 8 were a couple of years ago. They are disagreeing with church leadership.

Random things

So I just realized blogger has a number of new features, including a map of who's looked at my site. For some reason, it claims that my blog site has had 14 views from Iran this past week. What's up with that?

Also, anyone else paying attention to the church's stance on immigration? The church makes itself clear, and then just days later has to repeat itself because the anti-immigration crowd refuses to believe it and keeps calling church headquarters to ask if that's actually the church's position. I'm a bit curious about what church statements cause people to leave the church (either officially or unofficially). I'm betting this ranks way up there. Above Proposition 8. Above anything else in my lifetime. What do you think?

Had an interview today. Not sure how it went. Would be a great place to work--it's a company that places international healthcare workers in the U.S. But it's an incredibly tough market out there for young attorneys. People say it will work out, and I'm sure it will, but frankly I just want a decent job that pays enough so I can support my family, and I don't want to wait even more time for it. We've spent the last three years in poverty, with April and I both working part-time while I attend law school. I'm ready for that to end. It's scary not having a job lined up, especially with another kid on the way. Hopefully something will work out--and soon.

Chuck and Game of Thrones

I already knew Chuck's creators have great tastes in music (Rush, anyone?). Now Chuck's reading "A Game of Thrones." (The very beginning of Season 4, Episode 20). Awesome.

Can a good Mormon be a Democrat Survey

Apparently, less active Utah Mormons are almost twice as likely to believe that a good Mormon can't be a Democrat as are active Mormons. Any ideas on what can explain that? Granted, it would be nice to know sample size on this survey, and it's very limited geographically, but it's still an interesting result.

The Killing

So, AMC has a new show--The Killing. It's a dark, Scandinavia-influenced detective story that takes place in Seattle. Very good (consistent with AMC TV shows within the last few years, and perhaps even better). And the lead actor, Mireille Enos, is apparently LDS. With the possible exception of Dollhouse (where the lead actor was raised LDS), this is the only TV show I know of with that distinction.

Did I mention it's good?

Amazon might still have the first two episodes for free. If you're into good TV, and aren't turned off by the PG-13 nature (did I mention it's dark?) you're in for a treat.