I do have to defend Seth a little bit. Basically he is on our side. He is saying there are subtle nuances with how the Mormons handled the Proposition 8 fiasco than in other political instances the LDS Church has been involved with. It caught many Mormons by surprise at the heated negativity that resulted from their victory in California politics. Of course, Mormons are going to hunker down and get defensive. It’s a natural reaction to seeing thousands of people protesting their beloved sacred sites.

But how much “the letter” that was read at Mormon Churches was a surprise to me, so too, was the support of an LDS spokesman at the anti-discrimination ordinance during a Salt Lake City Council meeting. I would never had thought in a million years the LDS Church would so publicly defend gays & lesbians. That was a jaw-dropping moment for me. And it was due, in large part, to the reaction they received from supporting the Proposition 8 as they did.

It woke some people up…and that was a good thing.

And I do agree with T. Kincaid. We may be really surprised at who donated to NOM and the Proposition 8. I’m not discounting the majority of the funds were LDS tainted but…

Our foes for equality are varied.

Seriously, I am a super nice guy–I built a career out of it– and have no difficulty with it if someone shows me I am wrong about something.

I brought up the story to show that the Mormons are not without legal recourse and advice. They are hardly victims, and haven’t been since they moved to Utah.

I would still like one of these boys to show up and defend themselves, but i don’t tihnk we’ll see that. Their lack of interest so far in doing so for confirms a good deal of the negativity around their motives and methods.

the oakland temple was build in the mid 60′s in the oakland hills, not far from my home. The hills are riddled with underground springs, as well as a number of streams fed by rain and underground water. To build the temple where they did, they had to terraform the ridge, cap a number of springs, and divert the flow of some of the streams.

A few years after construction of the temple, a good portion of the ridge on which the temple stood, but south of the temple grounds, slid into Rettig canyon below it. A whole neighborhood– I don’t remember how many homes– took aobut two weeks to move.

I read the geologist reports before buying my home. they said that the water table had risen due to the changes in how the water flowed. The implication in the little I read was that it was due to the construction of the temple, which took over 18 acres on a hilltop.

The old timer, now gone, told me that the neighbors felt they had enough evidence of the source of the slide to sue the temple.

Sue they did, but they didn’t have the legal power that the tmeple did. The lawsuits went nowhere. Eventually, the neighbors just gave up.

It’s written by a lawyer from BYU and he takes his fellow Mormons to task for items in “Commentary on Six Consequences”. Read how some of his commentary echos what we have been saying here on BTB.

It may surprise you. There were many Mormons who did not agree with Proposition 8 and they still are fighting for the equality for gays/lesbians. I’m not saying it is a pervasive attitude with the majority of Mormons but some Mormons did question what their political machinations would bring.

How did people lose their homes when a temple was built?

Seems like a nearby temple would increase the neighborhing value.

I say this because a good friend of mine from Portland, OR, says that when the site of the Portland temple was announced, two blocks from his parents’ house, Mormons began to arrive at their door, offering double and triple the value of the house so that they could “live in the shadow of the temple.”

His parents accepted an offer and moved. This was before he was born, but it’s a family story about how they came to be where they are.

You imply impropriety or even something illegal done by the LDS Church with your quip: “the people in my neighborhood who lost their homes when the Temple was built 40 odd years ago can tell you”

And just a few comments ago you demand documentation for claims made by other commenters:

You need to provide documentation and cite sources for your claim about the people who lost their homes. Hearsay is not what I expect from you.

The Grand Poobahs were afraid that they would be forced to perform same sex marriages in the temple.

They are not stupid. the people in my neighborhood who lost their homes when the Temple was built 40 odd years ago can tell you that they have very high priced lawyers who work for free.

If they want to discuss this, let them appear honestly as they are. If they was to discuss this, let them present REAL arguments and concerns, not LaPeter and Paul Cameron distortions and fear mongering.

As I said many posts ago:

My suspicion is that they went the fear mongering route because they knew they would lose if they stuck to the facts, given the simple reality that even bigots can see, that anti gay prejudice is on the wane, even among the religious.

I don’t really care if there is an internet monitoring group. fine with me. What i care about is the dishonesty with which they approach it.

Let’s not pretend they are just a bunch of random commentators who just happen to be here. Let’s admit who they are.

and let’s get some documentation for the claims.