December 13: Picketing with the Huntington Miners 
Debora and James Tobler, Bonnie Tyler, and Rich Peterson stood on the picket line alongside striking miners in Huntington, as part of an event organized by Utah Jobs with Justice. Fifty people travelled from Salt Lake to Huntington by bus, while others came from Colorado; all together, about 100 people stood on the picket line. Supporting organizations included MESJ, PACE (Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical, and Energy Workers International Union), Communications Workers of America, and Utah Building Trades. Dee Rowland, from the Office of Peace and Justice of the Roman Catholic diocese of Utah, led the picketers in prayer. Later, a rally was held at the Huntington Middle School, followed by a dinner for the picketers.

November 12: KRCL Radio Show
MESJ members Debi Sheridan and Bonnie Tyler were guests on "RadioActive," a program aired every weekday on Salt Lake City community radio station KRCL. Sheridan, who teaches English and history at Weber State University, and Tyler, who teaches chemical engineering at the University of Utah, were invited to the show to talk about MESJ's views on the war in Iraq.

November 7-8: Solidarity Visit to Striking Miners in Huntington 
Salt Lake MESJ members James and Debora Tobler, John-Charles Duffy, and Hugo Olaiz made a weekend roadtrip to Huntington, Utah, to visit striking Mexican miners and their families. The 70 miners, employees of the polygamous Kingston clan, had been earning only $5.25 - $7.00 an hour, considerably less than market wages for this type of work. The United Mine Workers union is supporting the Huntington miners in their strike (which began in September), and the National Labor Relations Board is investigating allegations of unfair labor practices.

The visiting MESJ members took with them $320 raised in Salt Lake, along with donations of food, dishes, and diapers. These were presented to the miners as they met at a local Catholic church to distribute food and clothing donated by the UMW. The miners and their families appeared to be in good spirits but are in need of continuing moral and financial support.

October 29: Panel on Universal Health Care 
About 30 people came to the Salt Lake City Public Library for a panel discussion organized by Salt Lake MESJ, titled "Health Care for All: The Only Moral Option." The panel featured Joe Q. Jarvis MD MSPH, president of the Utah Health Alliance, with responses by Dr. Keith Harwood, medical director of Community Health Centers, and Marcia Scoville, a certified nurse midwife. In his remarks, Dr. Jarvis proposed a way to provide health care coverage for all Americans without an increase in spending. Special thanks are due to Bethany Brady for moderating and to Amity Condie for her help in organizing and publicizing the panel.

October 25: March on the Federal Building 
Carrying a brand new banner, MESJ members joined some four hundred people in a march from the Utah Capitol to the Federal Building. A local action coinciding with a Mass March on Washington DC held the same day, the march was a call to bring the troops home, to end the occupation of Iraq, and to devote money for jobs, education, and health care--not war. MESJ members Bonnie Tyler and James Tobler spoke to the crowd at the Federal Building during an open mic period.

October 20: MESJ Home Evening
Over 15 MESJ members and friends gathered in the home of Salt Lake MESJ member Suzette Smith for a special Columbus Day-themed home evening. Using one of the family home evening ideas that appear on the MESJ website, the group discussed blessings and conflicts that have resulted from the coming of so many different peoples to the New World. This was the first of what are expected to become quarterly home evenings by the Salt Lake chapter.

October 14: Utah County Chapter Officially Organized
After months of anticipation, the Utah County chapter of MESJ was officially organized during a meeting held at Utah Valley State College. Andrew Davies was appointed to serve as Chapter Coordinator and Marci Anderson as Chapter Treasurer; eight individuals signed up to become dues-paying members of the fledgling chapter. A follow-up meeting was held one week later at Brigham Young University. Both the UVSC and BYU meetings attracted 15-20 people, professors as well as students. A chief item of discussion for the new chapter was how to support employees at the Orem Wal-Mart in their ongoing uphill battle to organize themselves into a union.

September 25: Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride
A contingent of MESJ members were among the 400 people who rallied at the Utah state capitol for the Salt Lake stop of the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride. Salt Lake MESJ joined many other faith-based organizations, as well as labor unions, in supporting this national bus tour to raise awareness and support for immigrant rights. Two sets of bus riders--one from Seattle, the other from San Francisco--converged on Salt Lake on their way to the ride's final rally in New York City.

MESJ's Debora Wrathall served as m.c. for the rally at the capitol, introducing a roster of speakers that included Lt. Gov. Olene Walker and state senator Ed Mayne. Two other MESJ members, Rich Peterson and Bonnie Tyler, served as peacekepers during the rally and a subsequent march to the Federal Building. Craig and Amity Condie, also of MESJ, were interviewed for local radio station KRCL. In its coverage of the event, the Deseret News noted the presence of a MESJ member carrying a sign that read, "Thou shalt not oppress the hireling."

September 23: Letter to Senate Committee
By action of the Steering Committee, MESJ sent a letter to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works regarding Mike Leavitt's nomination to head the EPA. In its letter, MESJ expressed serious concerns about Leavitt's record on environmental issues in Utah.

September 19: Redfest
MESJ tabled at the University of Utah's annual Redfest celebration.

September 6: "Town Meeting" Presentation
MESJ was invited to send representatives to a “town meeting” hosted by the Green Party, appearing alongside such organizations as People for Peace and
Justice, Utah Health Alliance, and the Wasatch Coalition for Peace & Justice. Suzette Smith, Mike Fife, and Brian Fergeson gave a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation on MESJ's mission and purpose, explaining the organization's principles, resolutions, LDS heritage, and community involvement. The presentation generated considerable interest among attendees, who had come to learn more about local groups involved in social activism.

August 14-16: Sunstone Symposium
At the Sunstone Symposium in Salt Lake City, MESJ co-sponsored a panel discussion titled, "Civil Disobedience and Latter-day Saints: Personal Voices." MESJ member Debora Wrathall spoke about her experience participating in a peaceful interfaith demonstration at the national nuclear test site in Nevada. Also speaking on the panel were Dennis Potter (a UVSC philosophy professor who has been involved in Utah County MESJ), Karen Moloney (editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought), and Caleb Proulx (recently in the news for his efforts to organize anti-war protests at BYU). MESJ tabled throughout the symposium.

July 22: First MESJ Meeting in San Francisco
Taking advantage of the Pioneer Day holiday, James Tobler and Debora Wrathall travelled to the Bay area to meet with individuals interested in forming a MESJ chapter there. The fledgling San Francisco MESJ group was pulled together by Taryn and Jason Seawright, members of the Concord California stake, who discovered MESJ online. Tobler and Wrathall met with the group to discuss the MESJ bylaws and to hand over copies of MESJ literature. The San Francisco group plans to table at local events in order to raise awareness of its existence; the group also wants to get involved with the upcoming Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride. "It's wonderful to be able to publicly connect my beliefs about social justice to my faith," Taryn Seawright says.

June 28: Deseret News Article
MESJ was the subject of the lead religion and ethics story in the Saturday, June 28, edition of the Deseret News. Written by Diane Urbani and headlined "Choosing the Left," the story quoted liberally from the MESJ website, as well as from interviews with MESJ members or friends, including Craig Condie, Annette Daley, John-Charles Duffy, and James Tobler. The story highlighted MESJ's efforts to translate LDS principles into social action. "We are taking things we learned in church and acting on them," Craig Condie was quoted as saying. MESJ received some 75 emails, overwhelmingly positive, in response to the Deseret News story.

May 1: May Day Social 
On May Day, the international day honoring labor, Bonnie Tyler and Rich Peterson opened their Salt Lake home for a MESJ social. About 10 members from Salt Lake, North Salt Lake, and Orem met for a potluck dinner and to watch the film Matewan.

Apr. 26: MESJ Conference
MESJ members from both Salt Lake and Utah County met on the University of Utah campus to hammer out MESJ's bylaws. The new bylaws help define the relationship between local chapters and the organization as a whole, provide for a Steering Committee to make timely decisions for the organization between conferences, and commit MESJ to consensus decision making. The first MESJ officers were appointed: Bonnie Tyler to serve as Secretary-Treasurer, James Tobler as Public Liaison, and John-Charles Duffy as Media Director. Also at this conference, MESJ amended two previously adopted resolutions and adopted a resolution on capital punishment proposed by Andrew Davies, a new MESJ member from Utah County.

Apr. 22: Earth Day
MESJ tabled at the University of Utah's Earth Day celebration. For the first time, MESJ distributed a new handout (specific to Utah) on tips for environment friendly living.

Apr. 22: Letter to Senator Bennett
MESJ signed onto a letter to Utah Senator Robert Bennett prepared by the Coalition of Religious Communities. The letter urged Senator Bennett (1) to consider the impact that a tax cut would have on social programs already suffering because of budget shortfalls; (2) to oppose proposals to block antipoverty programs such as Food Stamps, Child Nutrition, and Medicaid; and (3) to oppose a superwaiver that would allow states to raise eligibility requirements for welfare programs or decrease benefits.

Apr. 18: Peace Teach-in at the U
MESJ member and University of Utah professor Bonnie Tyler spoke on a panel held as part of a day-long peace teach-in at the U. Over 30 organizations participated in the teach-in, many of which (MESJ among them) are part of the newly formed Wasatch Coalition for Peace and Justice. As MESJ's representative, Tyler cited recent remarks by LDS leaders on the need to work for peace and suggested various ways that citizens might do that, especially in the context of rebuilding Iraq.

Mar. 29: "No One Goes Alone" Rally
Some sixty protestors gathered at the City-County Building in Salt Lake to express concern for the rights of immigrants, especially in the heightened climate of fear occasioned by the war on terror. A Deseret News article about the rally quoted MESJ's James Tobler as saying: "It's very clear in our scriptures that all are alike unto God....We have a responsibility to work with the Latino community that has done so much to build this state." MESJ had earlier adopted a resolution on the war on terror expressing "serious concern about...infringements on civil liberties."

Mar. 12: Delegation in Support of Nurses Union
Acting on behalf of MESJ, James Tobler joined a delegation of community and labor activists in an unsuccessful attempt to meet with the owner of Salt Lake Regional Medical Center. The delegation carried letters urging the company that owns the hospital to stop fighting efforts to organize a nurses union. Letters supporting the nurses had been signed by Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson, BYU social work professor Michael Siepel, former BYU professor J. Bonner Ritchie, and MESJ members James Tobler and Debora Wrathall, among others. If successfully organized, the nurses union at Salt Lake Regional would be the first nurses union in the state of Utah.

Mar. 7: Daily Utah Chronicle Feature
MESJ member Amity Scoville was the subject of a special feature in the Daily Utah Chronicle, the student paper at the University of Utah. Headlined "A Twist on Advocacy: U Student Amity Scoville Believes In Helping People Help Themselves," the feature highlighted Scoville's work with the University of Poor, a project of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC), to whom Scoville serves as MESJ's liaison. The article explained that Scoville's activism stems largely from her involvement with MESJ.

Mar. 5-Apr. 20: Forty-Day Fast For Peace
Husband-and-wife team Rich Peterson and Bonnie Tyler, both members of MESJ and faculty members at the University of Utah, organized an interdenominational Fast for Peace to run the entire 40-plus days of Lent. Peterson, who is hypoglycemic, launched the fast on March 5 (Ash Wednesday), sitting in a tent outside the University of Utah student union. Peterson and Tyler kept the tent up until Friday, March 7, encouraging interested passersby to sign up to fast for one day between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday.

Mar. 5: "Books Not Bombs"
In response to a call by the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition (NYSPC), students at campuses across the country walked out of class or staged anti-war protests as part of a demonstration dubbed "Books Not Bombs." University of Utah faculty member Bonnie Tyler spoke on behalf of MESJ as part of an all-day strike event organized by students at the U. Throughout the day, Tyler's husband, Rich Peterson, also of MESJ, sat in a tent outside the U's student union fasting for peace (see related story, above).

Mar. 3: Presentation at the Murray Library
Four members of MESJ addressed a gathering of the Intelligent Inquiry Educational Society (IIES) at the Murray Public Library. John-Charles Duffy, Brian Ferguson, Amity Scoville, and James Tobler explained MESJ's mission, spoke personally about what motivates them to be part of the group, and fielded questions from the small but highly interested audience.

Feb. 28: BYU NewsNet Article
A story published on BYU's online news service brought new visibility to MESJ. Michael Todd, a student news writer, interviewed MESJ members James Tobler and John-Charles Duffy for the story, which briefly recounted MESJ's founding and mission. The story focused especially on MESJ's work against poverty and war, and on the inspiration MESJ draws from the 1998 First Presidency message urging the Saints to be full participants in political and community affairs.

Jan. 18: "Unite for Peace" Rally 
Across the United States and around the world, protestors turned out by the tens of thousands to demonstrate against war in Iraq. In Salt Lake, a rally was held at the City/County Building, organized by People for Peace and Justice of Utah; MESJ was one of a number of supporting organizations. Several MESJ members participated in the rally and the march that preceded it. MESJ member John-Charles Duffy addressed the crowd as one of a line-up of speakers that included Mormon law professor Edwin B. Firmage and Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson. MESJ's participation in the rally was mentioned in the Salt Lake Tribune's coverage of the event.

Jan. 16: MESJ Anniversary Potluck 
To celebrate the one-year anniversary of the first MESJ meeting, 16 members--old and new--gathered in the home of Amity Scoville for a potluck dinner. For several of those attending, this was their first MESJ activity; at least three people drove down from Ogden to participate. Following dinner, the group started to make plans for MESJ's second year of community involvement and activism.

Jan. 14: University of Utah Panel Discussion 
Two MESJ members, Annette Daley and Debora Wrathall, participated on a panel titled "Mormons Reflect on the Legacy of Martin Luther King." The panel was held at the University of Utah in connection with the U's annual Martin Luther King celebration. Daley spoke out of her experience as a person of color living in Utah and as an analyst for Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson's Office of Community Affairs. Wrathall, who is pursuing a doctorate in economics, spoke about the continuing problem of economic disparity by race in America; she also discussed Martin Luther King's lesser-known work in the areas of labor and peace. Daley was quoted in a Deseret News article about the panel.

Jan. 12: Presentation for the Wasatch Front Unitarian Fellowship
By invitation of the Wasatch Front Unitarian Fellowship, John-Charles Duffy, James Tobler, and Debora Wrathall spoke about MESJ's mission and activities as part of an on-going series of programs featuring different speakers or community groups. A few of those in attendance were Latter-day Saints, not members of the Fellowship, who had come in order to learn more about MESJ. By the time the presentation was over, MESJ had three new card-carrying members.