"Dear Steve,
"I . . . think your readers might . . . appreciate a story on a Mormon protest being held in one week regarding the LDS church's refusal to address controversial, revised, and hidden aspects of the church's history and practices (see attached press release).
"Any help or direction on getting it into the right hands to print the story and bring awareness to our common cause would be greatly appreciated by the whole exmormon community,
"A group of over 170 concerned Mormons will be posting a copy of 95 LDS Theses onto the doors of their local churches around the world between the hours of 9:00 p.m. Saturday, February 16th, and 9:00 a.m. Sunday, February 17, 2013.
"The project is organized by an anonymous blogger named Mormon Luther-Day Saint, who aims to follow Protestant reformer Martin Luther, who in 1517 posted a list of grievances on the door of the Castle Church of Wittenburg. Within two weeks, it was distributed by the press throughout Germany, exposed the corruption of the Catholic Church, and started what came to be known as the Protestant Reformation. Now, protesters claim, it is time for a Mormon Reformation.
"I appreciate your time and consideration for this or future pieces.
"Best wishes,
"Spencer L. Jensen,
Managing Editor"
P R E S S R E L E A S E
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Spencer L. Jensen
(801) 610-6942 Phone
contact@truebelievingmormons.com
February 8, 2013
Concealed Mormon Beliefs & History Protested Reformation-Style With 95 Theses to Be Posted on LDS Church Doors
(American Fork, UT) A group of over 170 concerned Mormons will be posting a copy of 95 LDS Theses onto the doors of their local churches around the world between the hours of 9:00 p.m. Saturday, February 16th, and 9:00 a.m. Sunday, February 17, 2013.
The project is organized by an anonymous blogger named Mormon Luther-Day Saint, who aims to follow Protestant reformer Martin Luther, who in 1517 posted a list of grievances on the door of the Castle Church of Wittenberg. Within two weeks, it was distributed by the press throughout Germany, exposed the corruption of the Catholic Church, and started what came to be known as the Protestant Reformation. Now, protesters claim, it is time for a Mormon Reformation.
Why Do Concerned Mormons Feel a Protest Is Necessary?
The protest is intended to be a peaceful, non-confrontational, and anonymous way to achieve the following two objectives:
1) Educating the membership of the church on controversial, revised, and hidden aspects of church doctrine, history, and fundamental claims, and
2) Influencing the church to officially address topics that have dodged, dismissed, and covered up for too long.
The 95 LDS theses include grievances concerning the church’s whitewashing & suppressing of documented history, such as:
• Joseph Smith illegally marrying at least 33 women, some of whom were as young as 14 years old. Some of Joseph's marriages were secured by promising salvation or threatening damnation.
• Joseph Smith married at least 11 women who were already married to other men. In some cases, Joseph married the wives of men whom he had sent away on missions. Brigham Young also married other men's wives.
• Boyd K. Packer and other church leaders have openly advocated obscuring and editing history by teaching us that "some things that are true are not very useful."
• The LDS Church stifles honest scholarship of Mormonism, going as far as excommunicating people who find and publish history that contradicts the Church's narrative.
• The LDS Church’s refusal to disclose its finances, even to its tithe-paying members, despite former President Hinckley stating to Larry King that financial "information belongs to those who made the contribution."
“To make this event successful, I am enlisting the help of a wide variety of people,” says the protest’s organizer, Luther-Day Saint.“ The group of protesters includes progressive, temple-recommend carrying members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, as well as less active members and former members of the church.
There are now over 1,000 discussion forums, podcasts, and blogs in what is called the Exmormon community, which vary in focus and style from gently discussing pertinent issues to openly satirizing Mormon beliefs, its leaders’ inauthenticity, and the church’s institutionalized behavioral and information control.
In January, 2012, a Reuters article announced a statement by church historian & recorder Marlin K. Jensen’s that the church has never experienced such a profound loss of its membership since the Kirtland, Ohio, banking scandal in 1837.
According to Mormon Luther-Day Saint, “Some people wish for nothing short of the complete destruction of the church. For them, my efforts don't go far enough. Others just want to tweak a thing or two about the church. Whatever your personal desires for the church, I hope that I can count on your support to achieve the above two objectives by sharing the 95 theses and our Facebook event through social media.”
The event and printable copy of the 95 Theses are at:
http://mormonreformation.blogspot.com/"True Believing Mormons" is a satirical blog and cartoon podcast addressing Mormon beliefs, policies, and public statements. For more information, contact Spencer L. Jensen at 801-610-6942 or contact@truebelievingmormons.com.
###
_____
More from Jensen on the project's PR efforts:
"Someone commented on RFM: 'The PR angle on this is good. Sending newswires of the "theses" and an announcement of the event could work wonders, unless Mormons are the ones who pick up the newswires locally, meaning that local news in Utah would probably not mention it. But other locales and non-local feeds may fare better.'"
[
http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,788737,788848#msg-788848 ]
Jensen then adds info on the project's PR plans:
"Happy to say I submitted it . . . for distribution early Tuesday morning all over but also with a chosen emphasis on the UT-SLC, UT-Provo, ID-Boise, and AZ-Phoenix regions. . . .
"I firmly believe PR (and on a lesser scale, social media) is the one form of media the church with their deep pockets and clone army cannot exercise information control over as cults provide no shortage of juicy hooks.
"Thanks again . . ."
Edited 9 time(s). Last edit at 02/08/2013 08:42PM by steve benson.