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MESJ
Resolution on The War in Iraq
President Gordon B.
Hinckley: "We call upon the Lord …to bring an end to the
conflict, an end that will result in a better life for all concerned…"
MESJ at her recent conference adopted a resolution to end the war
in Iraq. |
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Senator Harry
Reid at BYU
The country's top democrat, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid,
gave a speech at BYU and told the audience his faith and political
beliefs are deeply intertwined.
Read news reports and read the entire speech. |
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Do
LDS Patriots Shun Protest?
Confusing civil protest
with unpatriotic activity prevents some members of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints from speaking out against the Bush administration
concerning the war in Iraq. |
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Visit
our Proclaim Peace Page!
MESJ has a message: "sue
for peace, not only to the people that have smitten you, but to all
people; And lift up an ensign of peace, and make a proclamation of
peace unto the ends of the earth." (D&C 105:38-39) |
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Well-behaved women
seldom make history
On October 2nd at 7pm, Harvard
Bookstore will generously host our first mesj event of the year: our
very own Laurel Ulrich will be discussing her new book, "well-behaved
women seldom make history." |
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For I was in prison
...
The MESJ Wichita, KS chapter has a special interest
in our deeply broken prison system and develops new ideas for restorative
justice and reconciliation. Richard Lange refers us to a Deseret Morning
News article. |
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More
honorable to Proclaim Peace
Provo citizens gathered
in front of Sen. Hatch's office :
Bart tippetts: "Mormon history, literature and theology renounce
war; while it is honorable to serve, it is more honorable to prevent
war and proclaim peace." |
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Barefoot
Anthropology
In two weblogs, Jason Brown shares with us his dreams and visions
of bioregional living in: June
Sucker Nation and of anthropology as a way of living in:
barefoot anthropology.
Log on and walk along! |
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The
Untold Story of Black Mormons
The Boston chapter of
MESJ is currently working on organizing a discussion with Margaret
Young and Darius Gray, focusing on their documentary project, "Nobody
Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons." (more)
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Who
Would Jesus Deport?
A haunting question for those
of us who have forgotten the Lord's admonition: "Treat the foreigner
as a native. Love him like one of your own. Remember you were once
foreigners in Egypt" (Leviticus 19:33-34). |
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You Can Make a
Difference - MESJ video clips
MESJ is preparing a number of video clips to encourage Latter-day
Saints everywhere to make their dreams of equality and social justice
become a reality. Watch clips about poverty, inequality and lack of
healthcare. |
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President
Faust pulled for Democrats
President Faust who was
a Democratic state legislator and party chairman told his biographer:
"I am a conservative on fiscal and property matters, and I am
liberal in terms of human values and human rights." |
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Hole-y
Bible
The Western Bible Foundation in the Netherlands
has created a new Bible translation making the gospel more attractive
by cutting out all outdated and much too difficult texts about
money, possessions and justice. |
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MESJ
in the Media - Deseret News
'Recycling crusade launched
in Provo' is the headline in a recent Deseret News article, reflecting
how our Utah County chapter is definitely making a difference when
it comes to wise stewardship of the earth. |
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Wichita KS - MESJ
in the Heartland
Richard Lange is spearheading efforts
to begin a MESJ chapter in Wichita, with a special interest in our
deeply broken prison system and with new ideas for restorative justice
and reconciliation. |
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Washington
DC - a New Chapter for MESJ
On July 14th, 2007, sixteen people attended the first meeting
of the Washington DC Chapter of MESJ held near DuPont circle in the
heart of our Nation's Capital.
Visit our homepage with a picture and a report! |
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Salt
Lake City - MESJ Crystal Clear on the Airwaves !
Crystal Young-Otterstrom was part of a discussion on Free
Speech on the radio station KRCL Community Radio, where she eloquently
defended free speech.
Thanks Crystal, for representing MESJ ! |
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Utah County
- Service Education Action
We will devote the next few months to raising residential recycling
from around 10% to 50%. We will do this by going door to door, missionary
style, to raise awareness of the economic and ecological benefits
of recyling. |
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Madison
- Healthcare is a gift, not a commodity
"Charity in the broad spiritual sense--the desire to
relieve suffering . . . is the most precious possession of medicine."
Health care infused with that sense of charity can never be a commodity;
but is a gift to ourselves.. |
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Boston - Online
Chapter Discussion Group
Wish you could share your thoughts on Mormonism and issues of equality
and social justice with others?
Well, now you can! Visit our online discussion group.
Please join the conversation!
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San
Francisco - New Friends in the Bay-Area
The San Francisco chapter recently welcomed
some new members in her midst, and even made some (bite-size) revolutionary
plans...
You'll read it all on our chapter home page!
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Southern
Utah - Spirituality and Social Justice
Breathtaking
natural beauty and historical names like Zion, New Harmony, and Orderville,
are an invitation to spirituality and a longing for equality and social
justice, connecting us with our roots. |
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Los Angeles
- Order your T-shirts today
John McCabe of the Los Angeles chapter prints T-shirts as a project
to promote peace. Our favorite :
- Proclaim Peace and Renounce War - D&C 98:16 -
Visit the LA homepage and order your T-shirts today!
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New York - Participatory
Democracy
We touch on the often uncomfortable process of bringing deeply-held,
faith-based opinions into the public sphere, whether that is appropriate,
and how it makes our non-religious counterparts feel. |
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Las
Vegas - New Sanctuary Movement
"I was a stranger and you welcomed me." (Matt.25:34)
MESJ Las Vegas plans to actively support immigrant workers and their
families.
Do we as Latter Day Saints follow the Savior's example? |
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Music
for a Change -
audio and video
Where have all the protest songs gone? Well, we're collecting them
right here in our MESJ Music Archive! Nothing drives a point home
better than a good old protest song, sung from the heart with conviction. |
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MESJ - INTERNATIONAL
How does
Mormonism as a world religion relate to the world's social problems?
Below a first introduction as MESJ seeks to spread her wings...
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Middle East
- Will van Wagenen reports
Joseph F. Smith: "For
years it has been held that peace comes only by preparation for war;
the present conflict should prove that peace comes only by preparing
for peace." From MESJ's peace correspondent in Iraq.
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MESJ
en Español
Mormonism plays an increasing role
in Latin America.
MESJ hopes to introduce an independent sister organization in Spanish
and English in due time.
In anticipation watch this video: Victor Jara of Chile. |
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The
Netherlands - MESJ is going Dutch
MVG is a sister organisation of MESJ in Belgium and The Netherlands.
Besides extensive web content in Dutch, her website features many
social justice articles in English. |
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South
Africa - Truth and Reconcilliation
Shedding apartheid
has been a difficult process , requiring modification of repressive
laws and cultivation of new attitudes between brothers and sisters.
A MESJ sister-site in Afrikaans, English, and Dutch. |
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Tonga - Islands
on the Brink of Change
MESJ reports about the struggle
for democracy in the Kingdom of Tonga with the highest mormon presence
per capita in the world and about Tongan communities abroad who live
on the other side of heaven.. |
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Esperanto
- a MESJ site about Language Equality
A MESJ site
for Esperanto enthousiasts with interesting articles about language
equality and solutions to the growing complexities of language problems
in the world. Esperanto - La Internacia Lingvo de La Mondo ! |
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Latter-day Saints and Evangelicals are on a spiritual journey, well
beyond
an Evening
of Friendship, embracing each other and those of other
faith traditions.
MESJ introduces Sojourners as an excellent source of information for
progressive Latter-day Saints and reports each month on the latest
edition of Sojourners Magazine. |
Thousands of immigrants and their supporters have attended
rallies throughout the United States in the past year, calling attention
to the broken system in which many undocumented immigrants languish.
Separation from family members, the possibility of deportation, workplace
discrimination and exploitation, and decades-long waits for legal rights
(or even help) are only some of the battles they face. Top it off with
a mean-spirited political climate that tends to vilify "foreigners,"
and you have the recipe for a contentious, complicated issue.
Members of the New Sanctuary Movement, a faith-based
coalition of congregations and groups, are telling the stories of the
men, women, and children who are living these difficult circumstances.
As Alexia Salvatierra writes in "Sacred Refuge," the goal
of the New Sanctuary Movement isn't to provide sanctuary to the 12 million
undocumented immigrants living in the United States. It's to call attention
to the reality of immigrants' lives?like the woman and child on the
cover, these are real people living at the margins of society?and the
need to repair the ailing system.
Despite Congress's failure to enact comprehensive immigration
reform, this issue isn't going away, and faith communities are working
on long-term strategies for changing hearts and minds. "When a
foreigner lives with you in your land, don't take advantage of her,"
the Bible reminds us. "Treat the foreigner as a native. Love him
like one of your own. Remember you were once foreigners in Egypt"
(Leviticus 19:33-34). Such remembering can truly help us in the difficult
but essential task of welcoming the stranger among us.
In two weblogs, Jason Brown shares with us his dreams and visions of
bioregional living in: June
Sucker Nation and of anthropology as a way of living in: barefoot
anthropology.
