Salt City Sinner

posted on 2/6/2021 by Charles R. Bernard To the Editors of the Salt Lake Tribune, When I saw in my podcast feed that Mormon Land would be covering so-called “#DezNat” extremists, I tuned in with great interest. I study (and often write about ) cultic movements, far right ideology, and online extremism, so naturally #DezNat is a phenomenon I became aware of a few years ago. It currently exists at the confluence of many of the powerful forces that drive American politics in 2021.  

posted on 12/6/2018 by the Salt City Sinner A consistent theme present in many events from about 2008 until now can be summed up as “things as they have always been, but stripped of pretense and nicety.” Whether you’re talking about the racial politics of the GOP or Jerome Corsi admitting (on camera!) that a lie isn’t really a lie when an evangelical tells it to a heretic*, these are things that we’ve all known were true all along yet more-or-less mutually agreed to bury beneath a blanket of bullshit, nonsense, and euphemism. Ever so has it been, yea verily, in Zion. Anyone who hails from the land of Life Elevated knows that the LDS Church wields more cultural, political, and economic power than any other entity ever has (or probably will). Given our state’s history, the Church’s grip on Utah is understandable (if unconstitutional and colonialist) and has been the subject of much ink and many pixels from irritated, impotent nonbelievers such as myself. Having lived in...

LUKE 6:37: J udge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. I happened upon Occupy by chance.  While writing and posting pictures for CNN iReports I found Occupy an opportunity I could not pass up.   I became very intrigued with what OWS was standing up for and found that I too was part of the 99%.  I continued photographing and interviewing Occupants and supporters for weeks, frequently taking my two daughters with me (ages 6 and 8 at the time).  Not long into my venture I found myself getting to really know some of these people, and loving the time I spent with them.  They were warm, inviting, generous, and happy people.  They were focused and ready to fight for change.  (Although fight may not be the appropriate word as they showed nothing but peace even when faced with aggressors.  On more than one occasion I saw people scream at them "Get a job!" "Lazy Bums!" and each ...

Tonight 'round about 5 PM MST, #OccupySLC hosted a "flash meditation" in Temple Square. The first time I ever heard the term "flash meditation" I believe my exact, sardonic, aren't-I-clever words were "sounds tricky." Well har-de-har-har, Charles, you prick. It turns out that meditation is scientifically proven to be beneficial to your well-being , and to boot, it builds a more thoughtful, inclusive way to relate to the world around you. As pro-meditation flash mob hub  MedMob states : Our intention is to create an environment for people from all religions, all world views, and all experience levels to join together in meditation. Our vision is to continue inspiring world-wide meditations until the entire world is invited to join - literally! Tonight was cold. Colder than I anticipated. But the lights were up, and beautiful. As I've said before, if I had my druthers, we'd have Christmas lights up year round. Thankfully ...

Harper's magazine's October 2011 cover story, " Pennies From Heaven: How Mormon Economics Shape the G.O.P. " (by Chris Lehmann*) is certainly a bombshell for anyone living in Utah, anyone of the LDS persusasion, and/or anyone who has a passing interesting in either post-1970s Evangelical politics or political Mormonism. It has some excellent research and some decent points, and also, in my opinion, has some significant, crippling flaws that demonstrate a lack of understanding on the author's part of Mormonism's history (aside from its most recent few decades) and modern Evangelical (especially megachurch-Evangelical) self-help theology. That said, it is exhaustively researched enough to include gems like this one regarding chemical magnate Jon Huntsman Sr., which I think presents the best case thus far for the existence of actual, physical evil: Even as he worked in the Nixon White House as personal aide to the president, the elder Huntsman was also sel...

This is adorable, Zoe Pollack has discovered the phrase "Jack Mormon" and thinks she has gleaned a major insight to Huntsman's persona. A profile by Mark Hemingwey quoth : It's not a pejorative term, but in some select contexts Jack Mormon is not exactly a compliment. It’s often shorthand for “Mormon who drinks alcohol.” Jack Mormon may refer to fully lapsed or inactive members more often than not, though the definition is highly fungible. That's a fair term, I guess. "Lapsed Catholic" and "Jack Mormon" have a lot of common ground, I think.