The truth is non-partisan

Jonah Goldberg in his LA Times op-ed piece "An ugly attack on Mormons" is right. The kinds of attacks on Mormons would not be tolerated if they were directed toward Jews or Muslims.

Mormons (not the Mormon Church) contributed to the campaign to get passage of Proposition 8 in California. It's Mormons (not the Mormon Church) that are being attacked for taking a stand against same sex marriage.

Goldberg writes: "At a pro-gay-marriage rally in Los Angeles after the vote, chants of 'Mormon scum!' were reported. Envelopes containing white powder have been sent to Mormon temples in California and Utah; vandals hit other temples. Lists of businesses to boycott -- essentially Mormon blacklists -- have sprung up on the Internet."

I read a sampling of the current 1289 comments and most see nothing wrong with the attacks. Although these attacks are mostly verbal, they also have damaged property and hurt people financially. Most harmful is the fear that they create. Fear leads to terror (as in terrorism). In other countries such actions would be prosecuted as hate crimes.

These attacks remind me of the abuse that Mormons have suffered during most of the church's 180 year history. For example, when Mormons were driven from Illinois, they found refuge at Winter Quarters along the Missouri River in Nebraska Territory. That first winter almost 600 died out of a population of about 3000. Two relatives of mine, Mary Peirce and Caleb Neff, were buried at Winter Quarters and have their names written on a monument at the present-day Florence, Nebraska. When the Mormons have taken a stand against abuse, it hasn't ended well. At the Battle of Crooked River, three died and eighteen were massacred at Haun's Mill.

Mormons may disagree with gay and lesbian lifestyles, but they are not likely to attack the people nor even verbally abuse them. Why then are Mormons attacked economically and personally and threatened for their beliefs? I take these attacks very personally. They are not attacks on an institution, but on individual Mormons.

All my life I have been a defender of others' civil rights. However, I don't see this as a matter only of civil rights. (I think all people, including gays and lesbians, should have the benefits of a civil union.) This is a matter of safeguarding my children and grandchildren from a lifestyle that in many cases leads to unhappiness. Because marital infidelity also leads to unhappiness and divorce, I warn my children against that lifestyle as well.

As I write this, I'm aware of the risk I take in expressing my viewpoint. I'm afraid because by writing this defense I may also be subject to personal attack and abuse. I could also be placed on the "Mormon blacklist." I could lose my job, my livelihood, and my security. No one should suffer because they express an opinion or choose a certain way of life, including Mormons and gays and lesbians.

// posted by John Fisher @ 9:02 PM