(Cont.) / End.

En Español:

(cont.)

Letter in full:

Along with a powerful testimony of the Savior, it closes with the following message:

A friend w/ a relative currently serving a Latter-day Saint mission in Florida shared that “[they] told us today how the ICE raids are negatively affecting missionary work. People won’t open their doors for missionaries (especially elders) because they think they’re ICE agents.“

New acquisition for my small (but growing!) collection of religious objects: an obsidian scrying mirror made of solid obsidian (volcanic glass) measuring ~7.5” in diameter and ~.5” in width.They have been used within Mesoamerican spiritual traditions, such as by the Maya, as a means of divination.

As a Mormon missionary, my late-father clearly took the admonition to “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15) very seriously. ☠️

Interested in the intersection of Queer and Mormon identity? I was delighted to be asked to review Nathan Kitchen’s memoir, The Boughs of Love:

Currently learning up on the Apostles of Infinite Love, a traditionalist independent Catholic sect HQ’d in Quebec:

“If the post-Vatican II Church was currently in the truth, it would mean that she has been in error for 2,000 years. And if she was in truth for 2,000 years, she is in error now…”

My likelihood of traveling to Iceland is directly connected to how soon they finally finish construction on Hof Ásatrúarfélagsins, the first Nordic Pagan (Asatru) temple to be built in 1000 years. 😅

youtu.be/rpeUtvF3ooY?...

“Neither the Bhagwan nor Sheela had Young’s political skills and long-range vision. He could compromise to secure his religious community. They could not.”

—Carl Abbott. “Revisiting Rajneeshpuram: Oregon’s Largest Utopian Community as Western History”. Oregon Historical Quarterly 116.4 (2015): 443.

Finished with most of the new office/study in our new apartment near UCLA. Still need to add assorted wall decor to offset the lowkey therapist’s office so far.

~1/3 children’s and classical lit (wife)
~1/3 religious studies + genocide studies
~1/3 Armenian lit and history

My ggg-aunt, Lorena Eugenia Washburn Larsen (1860-1945), was a Mormon plural wife who had to hide from federal authorities during the Utah persecutions of the 1880’s while her husband was imprisoned for polygamy. She wrote anti-American poetry during this time to express her righteous indignation.

I observed one of their most unique practices, Operation Prayer Power, where members chant mantras and store the spiritual energy into a “spiritual power battery.” They later release that energy back at specific crises as needed, keeping scrupulous record of the total # of prayer hours they log.

While small in size compared to many older faiths, The Aetherius Society is definitely one of the most successful and longstanding “extraterrestrial” or “UFO” religions, exhibiting influences from theosophy, Western esoteric traditions, Hinduism, Buddhism, and other forms of eastern thought.

A few weeks ago, I attended the global headquarters of The Aetherius Society, an NRM founded in the 50's by George King. A British spiritualist/yoga enthusiast with exposure to non-Western traditions, King claimed to be contacted by extraterrestrials, later channeling their messages to humanity.