Let’s take a peek outside the Mormon bubble and see what is happening in other denominations and faiths lately. I’m pulling all these stories from the Religion News Service site. Some of the events and issues are familiar to Mormon readers. Others are not.
- Catholic — Let’s not forget that just a few months ago, a new Pope was selected by the senior leaders of the Catholic Church — and he is an American. This ought to be more of a big deal. Anyway, he just released an “Apostolic Exhortation of the Holy Father Leo XIV to All Christians on Love for the Poor.” Note that it is addressed to you and me (“all Christians”) as well as the billion or so Catholics in the world. It has 22 pages of text and 130 footnotes. When the Pope puts out a message, he presents a very thorough analysis and discussion. When LDS leaders put out a similar notice, it’s three paragraphs in a press release at the Newsroom.
- Evangelicals — A new book by Jen Hatmaker, “Awake,” is blurbed under the headline, “On ditching Evangelical scripts: ‘That system robbed us all.” It is described as an exvangelical book and here’s the first paragraph: “Jen Hatmaker married at 19 and for 26 years lived what seemed an enviable evangelical life. She had a pastor husband, five kids, a home renovation TV show and a thriving career as an author and women’s ministry leader. Then it fell apart.” I think some LDS women could write a similar book.
- Mainline Protestants — Headline: “At Bay Area protest, a second pastor is shot by federal agents with a pepper round.” This was apparently a targeted head shot: “For the second time in six weeks, a pastor was struck in the head with a pepper round fired by a U.S. immigration agent as faith leaders protested the Trump administration’s deportation efforts.” I’ve got a good deal of respect for local law enforcement. I’ve had a lot of contact with officers in legal cases and they have all been admirably professional. But Trump has turned ICE into a bunch of thugs with none of the accountability that is in place for local law enforcement. Trump corrupts everything he touches. Even the US military, which now, when it’s not intimidating civilians on the streets of US cities, is out killing civilians in boats in the Caribbean Sea, which certainly appears to be in violation of international law. We aren’t the good guys anymore.
- General Interest — Headline: “In temples and churches, sensory rooms remove barriers for neurodivergent worshippers.” Not LDS temples or churches, but these “sensory rooms” are designed for autistic kids or adults. These are a very helpful resource for some families, even allowing them to return to church on Sunday (or temple on Saturday). What a great idea. I don’t know of any LDS chapel that has tried something similar. A few months ago I stumbled on a website that employed similar techniques to make web pages more accessible for humans subject to overstimulation. Softer colors, clearer text, more white space, that sort of thing. Turns out there is a whole collection of sites on the Internet with this approach to web design. I think there are YouTube sites that do the same thing. The next time you hit a page with flashing lights and three or four annoying pop ups, this will make more sense.
- LDS — Last but not least: “New president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints inherites a global faith far more diverse than many realize.” You see these LDS diversity stories from time to time recently. On the one hand, there are many overseas wards and a few US urban wards that are truly diverse. I attended one in Montreal last year, and the ward there does a great job with it. On the other hand, the average LDS suburban ward (that is, 90% of LDS local units) doesn’t look very diverse, just a bunch of white families and a couple Latino families that sort of come and go on the edge of the ward. It’s an interesting article, written by a cultural anthropologist who has some expertise in the topic, not just some random blogger or reporter.
So pick your favorite paragraph and tell me what you think: American Pope, Exvangelical author, pastor shot by ICE thug, neurodivergent sensory rooms, or LDS diversity.
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Wheat & Tares 
> General Interest … Not LDS temples or churches, but these “sensory rooms” are designed for autistic kids or adults.
Not sure if you missed it – the article mentions a stake in Mesa, AZ that has implemented a sensory rooms across their wards. Albeit the picture is a much more *functional* one than the others listed.
We have had had 1:1 specialists called in our ward for a few kids with developmental needs. It’s worked well, but we’ve never had a room for them set aside. That looks like a great way to show and give support.
My og ward had a Stake Disabilities Specialist (PhD in education, ran an alternative school for kids with behavioral needs) who provided training to specialists as part of the Stake Primary training. It was well received.
My own ward is very diverse at the moment, with members from various African countries, Portugal, Brazil, Eastern Europe, the Philippines, India and Japan, along with the Brits. I love it when the African members attend in their African dress, both men and women. An additional sacrament meeting in Portuguese was held a few weeks ago. Of course, our ward boundaries include the city in addition to small towns outside the city, and villages in between.
“On the other hand, the average LDS suburban ward (that is, 90% of LDS local units) doesn’t look very diverse, just a bunch of white families and a couple Latino families that sort of come and go on the edge of the ward.”
I don’t know about 90%… but your description does not match my experience in Chicagoland. I don’t know where you live, Dave, but maybe the Church is more diverse than you think.
Thanks for the comments, everyone.
Nice catch, Thomas. I’m pleased to learn some LDS units are providing something along these lines when it is needed.
Chicago, I’m sure there are some wards like yours, maybe more than I would think. Hard to come up with accurate percentages or statistics.
Many years ago we had a short time that 1 child had some sensory issues at church. The ward leadership had no problem helping to accommodate us in this. One big issue for this being easier was that we only had a single ward meeting in our building. It was easy to have another room that was prewired for sound set aside for us. If there are 3 or 4 wards in your building, it may be more difficult to do that easy solution with others using the quiet and comfortable rooms.
There is a lot happening. The Methodists have been having a hard time, with splits and schisms lawsuits over building ownership, all driven by the gay inclusion issue. Similar for Anglicans and Episcopalians. The big difference between us and then, if I may use those terms, is that we as individuals are not allowed to have opinions on social matters and we appear anodyne.
But there is an exception! The state of Utah filed an amicus brief in support of Trump’s push to end birthright citizenship. Now, this was the state government, not the church, but the state government usually stays very close to where the church wants it to be, so I have to wonder if the church actually agrees with the state. I believe Trump’s (and Utah’s) push to end birthright citizenship is both unconstitutional and unchristian, but I am not allowed to say so within earshot of other Latter-day Saints because such would be tantamount to heresy. Anyway, this is the wrong way for any church to be heading.
ji I don’t think the Utah legislature is staying close to what the church wants any longer, I believe they have switched to following what the Trump administration wants. That doesn’t mean the church has no influence, but it looks to me like they are no longer the most influential. I don’t at all believe that the church would support ending birthright citizenship.
E, do you think appropriate church would indicate such to appropriate officials in the state government? or, will church officials remain silent and allow everyone to assume the church supports the state?
Growing up in the 80’s with autism and ADHD meant I had to learn to put up with a very uncomfortable world and I just accepted that was the way things were and would probably always be. Church never stood out to me as being particularly bad; it was just terrible in same way school was. Now there is a lot more awareness and understanding about our needs, and places all over have changed to accommodate us, often in ways you wouldn’t be aware of if you weren’t part of our subculture. Even grocery stores aren’t the nightmares they were when I was a child.
In fact, every place I remember being hard as a child has done something to be more accommodating except church. Often it’s not enough to make me feel valued as a full human being, but it’s a start and it makes me feel like at least their hearts are in the right place. Imagine what it says to me that the Church hasn’t done anything at all to make things better.
My autistic children are growing up in a world very different from the one I did. For them, church really is by far the worst thing they put up with on a regular basis. One of my children can only handle the first hour before having to go outside and scream. She doesn’t attend much anymore and I can’t blame her.
On the other hand, I attended the services of another church with her recently, and even without any accommodations it was much more compatible with her neurology. After two hours of that she was energized and wanting more. The difference between the two experiences is a choice.
Autistic Saint, your comment reminded me of something that happened in our relief society. Most church buildings in the UK, the classrooms are not fit for purpose, being too small. This is especially so now that two teachers are required for each child/ youth class, and also for adult classes. For some time relief society had been meeting in the chapel. This allowed members to choose seats they were comfortable sitting in, for the class, and participate in ways in which they were comfortable. However, the stake RS took exception to this. Folks were not sitting close together. They thought unity would be achieved by squeezing everyone into a much smaller classroom. I protested from the outset that it wouldn’t work, it was too small, the rows of chairs would be too close together, add to that prams and baby equipment of the young mothers, and the mobility aids of some of the older ladies, there’d be quite the obstacle course. Members experiencing claustrophobia, or anxiety disorders stopped attending. I stopped attending because I am both very longsighted, and short. The front row was far too close to the teacher for comfort, and any other row, the same could be said for the head/back of the person sitting in front of me. After a year or so, with new ward members attending, and a change in bishopric, we were back in the chapel. The next time the stake RS president visited she grieved the move back to the chapel, saying it’s great we have new members, but there was so much unity in the smaller room. There wasn’t, because quite a number of us couldn’t tolerate attending in the smaller room, which had been too small from the outset. But apparently we didn’t count. It’s a funny definition of unity that cuts off a portion of the members.
ji, I think it’s possible they have communicated with leaders in the legistature. I know they have quietly killed legislation in the past by asking legistative leaders not to pursue it. They rarely make public statements and I’m not really sure why. I think it’s possible they fear alienating or angering MAGA. I also suspect the age and poor health of our top leaders leaves them with very little bandwidth and a lot of issues they are trying to deal with, which is likely creating a leadership vacuum to some extent.
Thanks, E. I think your assessment is sound. I still believe Trump’s (and Utah’s) push to end birthright citizenship is both unconstitutional and unchristian, but I am not allowed to say so within earshot of other Latter-day Saints because such would be tantamount to heresy. Sadly, MAGA is in control, even at church.