Nichelle+P’s+OpEd+Article

"Religious Intolerance?"

We all know that racism is bad, that people should be “open minded”, and that it does not matter what a person believes in. There are laws that say that everyone is allowed the right to believe in his or her own religion, freely and without fear. When Governor Boggs signed the Extermination Order over 100 years ago in Missouri, my people wondered why they weren’t being allowed to continue their religious beliefs. If any of them were found in that state at the end of a certain period of time, it was completely legal to murder them. Who are my people? We’re the “freaks on a leash” Mr. Geib told you all about: the Mormons. Let me clear up a common misconceptions about Mormons. First, we’re not a cult. We don’t traipse around in creeper robes carrying candles and chanting the Lord’s Prayer backwards or any crazy thing like that. We believe in Christ, God, and the Holy Ghost. We do NOT worship our prophets. No, polygamy isn’t practiced in the real Mormon Church anymore, and the reason it was started was because mobs of angry people were killing all the men. At that time, it was impossible for a woman to support herself, so she would be married to a man so she (and possibly her children) would have a way to survive. Yes, we can use modern technology- we’re not Amish! We can also swim in pools with members of the opposite sex, shave, sit at a table, and eat pizza. If you’re wondering why I’m putting these on here, it’s because people have actually asked about these things. Also, Joseph Smith did not talk to a hat. Finally, the real name of the Mormon Church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. There may not be angry mobs anymore, but there are still people who don’t understand my religion. They make fun of my beliefs with jokes and falsehoods. They don’t even bother to get the story right when they make fun of it, basing half of their knowledge of us on what they saw in South Park. South Park is NOT the official source for religious information! People bash my beliefs without even bothering to ask me what exactly I believe and why I believe it. If people want to make fun of my religion, they should at least know what they are talking about. So if any of you want a free Book of Mormon, I can get you one, and once you have read it and understood it, maybe you’ll find a better way to make fun of me than asking me if I can turn into a fish.media type="file" key="nichellep-muckraker-0910.mp3"

Nichelle- Your blog is the most humorous yet! And I agree with you- people give Mormons such a hard time about their religion. Good for you for sticking to your beliefs in such an intelligent fashion!--Sincerely, Charlotte