I am not at all sure this is the case. One cannot extrapolate soley from the polygamy cases and that historical context. (And yes, the Mormons did oppress/abuse others, *see* the Krakauer book cited in an earlier post) though they were horribly persecuted and abused). I do not have the exact date handy, but I do know that the LDS Church changed its beliefs about Blacks when the Civil Rights Movement had been going fo rawhile. And while we're at it, many hierarchical churches do change beliefs over time, including the Roman Catholic Church (eg, Vatican II, but see current retreat on Vatican II). See, eg, the Anglican/Episcopal church's decision to ordain women. Humility and recognition of the faulty nature of humanity versus a G-d leads to changes. To the best of my knowledge, based on conversations with several LDS colleagues, LDS does not sanction polygamy, excommunicates polygamists, and disclaims any connection to the splinter groups. That doesn't mean that individual members of LDS might be sympathetic to the polygmaminsts. Lynne
----- Original Message ----- From: "Rick Duncan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, July 14, 2003 9:20 AM Subject: Re: "Agenda" > The analogy to the persecution of the LDS church is a > very apt one, I think. > > If "private homophobia" is at least as great an evil > as was polygamy, is society (or at least powerful > secular elites in society) prepared to treat Catholics > and traditional Christians the way it treated Mormans > in the 19th Century? Will Catholics and traditional > Christians (and orthodox Jews and the growing body of > Islam in America) passively submit to persecution and > to being treated as dirty and marginalized religions? > > This is why Scalia's suggestion of Kulturkampf is apt. > If you want to equate the homosexual revolution with > racial civil rights, be prepared for a very ugly > campaign of religious persecution, and for a > passionate ecumenical defense of religious liberty. > > Rick Duncan > > > > ===== > Rick Duncan > Welpton Professor of Law > University of Nebraska College of Law > Lincoln, NE 68583-0902 > > "Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book." Ronald Reagan > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! > http://sbc.yahoo.com
