Russell M. Nelson's Century of Selective Compassion: Or, What I Learned While Building Bridges and Kicking People Off of Them

[Everybody Wang Chung]

Folks, you just can't make this crap up.

For his 101st birthday, Russell M. Nelson—or more likely, his public relations team—penned an article for Time magazine about treating everyone with dignity and respect. This message came as a tepid response to a recent Wall Street Journal article and stands in stark contrast to his own previous advice to "Never take counsel from those that do not believe."

It is quite a feat to preach about lasting solutions and "building bridges of understanding" while representing an institution that spent over a century denying Black people the priesthood.

Rusty's message of universal dignity is a masterclass in irony, especially when considering the church's long history of opposing LGBTQ+ rights, promoting conversion therapy, and treating LGBTQ+ individuals as less than human. It's easy to preach "love your neighbor" while simultaneously fighting to ensure they can't get married. It seems that according to Rusty, some truths are more eternal than others, particularly those that exclude and treat others differently.

This reminds me of DCP's long history of making disparaging remarks about other religions while simultaneously advocating for respect for all people. This apparent hypocrisy can be seen in several of his public statements. For example, he has referred to Scientology as "most clearly a fraud" and has labeled Calvinism "abhorrent." He has also used strong language to criticize other Christian groups, calling some evangelicals "anti-Mormon bigots" and stating that "the theological and historical ignorance of Protestants is astounding." Additionally, he has made various comments that have been perceived as disparaging toward both Judaism and Catholicism. This pattern of hypocrisy calls into question DCP's calls for respect and interfaith harmony.

https://time.com/7315003/russell-nelson ... y-respect/

[drumdude]

More of the shell game from the leaders of the Mormon church.

One day “peacemakers needed,” the next day “get out your muskets.”

[I Have Questions]

Nelson says

Love your neighbor and treat them with compassion and respect. A century of experience has taught me this with certainty: anger never persuades, hostility never heals, and contention never leads to lasting solutions. Too much of today’s public discourse, especially online, fosters enmity instead of empathy.

Imagine how different our world could be if more of us were peacemakers—building bridges of understanding rather than walls of prejudice—especially with those who may see the world differently than we do. I have seen bitter divisions soften when neighbors chose to listen to one another with respect rather than suspicion. Even small acts—like reaching out across lines of faith, culture, or politics—can open doors to healing.

Nelson does

In a statement, the church cited the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which the church says “specifically protects people of faith in building places of worship and does not allow local governments to impose unreasonable land use requirements” in arguing for its religious right to build the temple.
"While it continues to be the Church's hope that this matter can be worked out amicably, in the face of continued and unreasonable opposition, it appears the Church has no choice but to defend its rights in court," a letter from the church reads.

So love thy neighbour, show your neighbour dignity and respect, build bridges with your neighbour, unless they object to you doing whatever you want, wherever you want, whenever you want. In which case, sue your neighbour.

[huckelberry]

This reminds me of DCP's long history of making disparaging remarks about other religions while simultaneously advocating for respect for all people. This apparent hypocrisy can be seen in several of his public statements. For example, he has referred to Scientology as "most clearly a fraud" and has labeled Calvinism "abhorrent." He has also used strong language to criticize other Christian groups, calling some evangelicals "anti-Mormon bigots" and stating that "the theological and historical ignorance of Protestants is astounding." Additionally, he has made various comments that have been perceived as disparaging toward both Judaism and Catholicism. This pattern of hypocrisy calls into question DCP's calls for respect and interfaith harmony.

https://time.com/7315003/russell-nelson ... y-respect/

Everybody, it's a tricky choice we all face. I intend respect to Mormons but have said some negative things like it has too many vain and false claims. To a degree I am a Calvinist but agree that it can be abhorrent. There are areas where Calvinism and Christian nationalism breed some ugly stuff for which I struggle with how to be negative enough. It is not easy to balance respect and concerned disagreement. Is respect being silent? It is possible respect involves openly expressing a negative judgement.