Gosh it's good to see other have escaped the torment that is Utah.
It feels like the vortex of the Mormon strong hold likes to brings us all back to center on occasion. But fight on my brothers and sisters. Fight on.
Silly soap box I'm on today. Yay.
It feels like the vortex of the Mormon strong hold likes to brings us all back to center on occasion. But fight on my brothers and sisters. Fight on.
Silly soap box I'm on today. Yay.
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Re: Life behind the doily curtan.
Wed, April 28, 2004 - 11:10 PMI'm not LDS--just an interested observer. People either
love Utah and Zion or hate it--there doesn't seem to be
any middle ground.
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In the LDS diaspora, the faithful yearn to "return" to
Deseret to raise their families. Those who feel
oppressed by the church are glad they are away from
Utah in a secular society.
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Certainly there must be more than just smoking,
drinking, and the Word of Wisdom that stimulate
discontent. What about the baptism of ancestors?
Temple garments? Tithing? Missionary duty?
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Would a non-LDS ever really feel at home and
be accepted in Utah? I think of places
like Provo-Orem and Nephi, where the population is
95%+ LDS.
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Salt Lake is getting more diverse. I understand that
there is now a Hindu Mandir (temple) there; and that
the Sikh sangat (congregation) is raising funds for
building a new Gurdwara (temple) in the Salt Lake
area. So could there be hope for a more diverse
and accepting Utah society? -
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Re: Life behind the doily curtan.
Thu, April 29, 2004 - 7:31 AMYou know, it's not a bad place really for a lot of good reasons. It's a lot more diverse in the SL area then people think it is.
But it seems that groing up in that Social dichotomy provides a sense of "class" at an early age. Creating a strange flow of self esteem issues for a lot of kids through their adulthood.
And because of the excellent economy, it's hard for people to get out and experience society with a spiritual "better."
But it's not that bad once you've left and came back. -
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Re: Life behind the doily curtan.
Tue, June 15, 2004 - 1:44 PMI went back to Spanish Fork UT to live with my father for a few months a couple years back. Sort of a reconciling and putting to rest the differences we had in the past. I didn't want to live the rest of my life free from the church still holding this monkey on my back. But my impression of the area was rather suprising.
In Provo I found an occult bookstore that actually looked like it was doing alright. It was opened by some other Jacks who thought that alternatives needed to be represented in the area. I spent most of my afternoons hanging out there and reading up on different religions. After leaving the church I made it a hobby to study different religions of the world to gain perspective. None the less I was happy to see something like that was there.
I don't think they still operate, I'm pretty sure I heard they went under, but it still brings a light of hope to my mind that someone was trying to diversify the area. -
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Re: Life behind the doily curtan.
Tue, June 15, 2004 - 10:42 PMMy last time in Provo was in 1996. At that time I
was surprised to find a small Asian grocery store
in the downtown area. Have the demographics of
the Utah Valley changed that much since then? -
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Re: Life behind the doily curtan.
Wed, June 16, 2004 - 2:17 PMNo I think they are pretty much the same. This was in '99 and like I said I was suprised to find it. Though on a few ocasions it was amusing to watch people cross the street out of terror of the place.
I was sitting out front reading, I think it was Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, and this man with a grocery bag actually startled when he recognised the meaning of the name of the shop, Alternative Pathways (or something like that), saw the pentacles in the window, and actually hurried across the street. I chuckled to myself, smiled, and waved to him. Not in a condescending way, but out of honest amusement. The man was simply entertaining. None the less he almost ran 'till he was a good block or so down the road.
I believe it is still very much the same today, very sheltered and fearful of any alternative that might echo the pagan belief structures that are the root and stem to all their ritualistic practices. Even the symbolic eating and drinking from the flesh of their god. How odd that seems to me now, but by tooth and nail they seem to grasp to the denial that serves them well in casting illusion over their foundations. Oh well, such is life.
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