July 14, 2008
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Men On a Mission
A Mormon missionary has been excommunicated from the Mormon church because he put together a calender with 12 missionaries shirtless.
His goal was to break the stereotypes that are associated with the church. Here is the link: Link
Excommunicated people are removed from the church rolls, prohibited to receive the sacrament and are not allowed to teach or preach during meetings. They are unable to enter church temples too.
Do you think the punishment is a little severe for putting together a shirtless calender?
Comments (120)
…no comment
Hahahahha
Way too severe.
More male missionaries should do this.
I hope to see a Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, AME, Pentecostal, Church of Christ, Jewish, etc., edition…
Yup! Good morning, Dan!
You mean calendAr, not calender.
What can you expect from Mormons? Take out that second “m” and you get a perfect description.
it was a little tasteless and showed poor judgement…I can’t imagine his bishop giving the go-ahead, but I didn’t read the article.
That’s horrible!
@WomanOfLight - LOL
Once they park the bicycle and take off the white shirt and dark tie, they’re no longer Mormons. Unless they’re portraying Joseph in a Broadway musical. Then it’s okay.
A healthy dose of irony.
Yes. There’s nothing wrong with nudity.
All in the name of evangelism!
It seems a little too severe. Men going shirtless isn’t risque. But I can understand the LDS church’s wish to not be seen as a group that sexualizes everything like the rest of society.
are mormon boys hot? is the calendar worth the buy? just kidding.
yes, he looks good
I want to see more of this shameless behavior going on
My daughter is dating a Mormon…this will be a good dinner discussion.
So apparently they don’t want the stereotypes broken?
Sounds like an excellent way to free one’s self from a cult.
Just a little bit. That happened to my friend. She joked around with her friend and her boyfriend about a threesome. The friends mother found out and then the church was told. So she was excommunicated and forbidden to ever talk to her friend. Her friend is still allowed at the church.
i don’t know anything about Mormonism, but to be excommunicated for a shirtless calendar seems to be a bit harsh in the case of any Christian denomination. but of course, i’m speaking from a lack of knowledge. although, i wonder what GOD would be displeased with more: the excommunication or the calendar?
oh well…some rules just aren’t meant to be broken Mr. LiberalMormomMan.
@I_Am_Twilight - apparently.
wow….kinda torn between yes its harsh and yes it was so worth it!
well i know what you think. i enjoy the way you sometimes embed your answer in the question, you propagandist you.
I think that was a little harsh. you see loads worse just by watching the news.
Definitely. @____@;;
I’d like to see shirtless calendars of other religions!
Yes it is too harsh. I could understand if they were called back from their mission,but to be expelled from the church is going a bit too far. That would be like disowning your child if they did something wrong,you want to teach the child the difference between right and wrong,not throw them out.
Just a tad. Poor guy.
To hell with the punishment… where can I get a copy of the calendar?!
First off I want to start off by saying those of you who think being a mormon means you are unintelligent or in a cult need to stop believing everything you here and see on the TV. I happen to have a friend who is a mormon and she is just like everyone else. She just goes to church and prays more. I fail to see how that is a bad thing and this is coming from someone who hasn’t been to church since she was about 8.
I believe that since these men were representing their religion, and therefore their church, when they did this, the church had every right to punish them however they saw fit. The mormon church does not believe in being overtly sexual and these men should have known that. Afterall they were missionaries. They choose to ignore that and are now paying the price for their actions
hahahaha,,, when a church takes action such as this, they are only pointing out,,, they are a lie, and stating what they preach is a lie,,,,
which,,, to me,,, dont really make any sense at all,,, if i wanted folks to give me money based on a story that god x was in charge and made all the decisions,,,,
i think id let god x decide,,,,, he could strike them with lightning or something,,,, that would be punishment enough i suppose,,,,, hahahahahahahahahaha
if churches wanted to be believable,,, they first of all would have to stop making decisions.
i thought the iron clad rules were,,,,, written in stone,,, or something,,,,, hahahahahahahaha
@musinuite - id like to see some shirtless nuns myself,,, hahahahahaha,,, maybe some shirtless,,, or barkerless,,, or whatever theyre called muslims,,, hahahahahahaha
Well, personally, I don’t think the shirtless calendar was the best idea. There are millions of other ways to break stereotypes. However, excommunication is definitely too harsh here.
Just… WOW.
no — the punishment was “on point.”
why?
‘cuz there should’ve been women on that calendar instead
::ducks head from verbal-lashing females::
Mormonism isn’t a christian denomination btw, even though that’s what they say and what many people think, there are fundamental things they believe that just aren’t christian
I live in Utah…among the Mormons. I’ve grown up with them. They excommunicate for A LOT less than this. They have to uphold their “morality” and “values” and “modesty.” I put those in quotes because the majority of them are hypocrites. They always say it’s a sin to judge one another, yet they are very judgemental. This is just one example. heh
@BeKa28 - American Heritage Dictionary: “1. The Christian religion, founded on the life and teachings of Jesus.”
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Christianity
This seems the clearest of the provided definitions. By this standard, it would seem to me, that Mormonism qualifies as a Christian religion. While it may not overlap well with your own personal brand of Christianity, there’s nothing in the definition that disqualifies it from the term.
Well that’s a shame. He’s not bad looking.
I would say it was harsh to excommunicate them. Where is the sense of fun?
wow, that is a bit extreme…
I can kind of understand it coming from the mormon church. Every mormon I’ve ever known has been verrrry conservative.
Sexy missionaries? Woo-hoo! The only missionaries who come to my church are old!
That’s up to the Mormon leadership to decide. Who are we as outsiders to judge?
Hmm. Seems a bit harsh, but then again, I’m not Mormon, so I don’t know all of their rules.
@huginn - there are some things that are foundational to christian denominations, one being that Christ is God in the flesh. Mormons do not believe that He is. They also believe that Jesus is Satan’s brother, which is also clearly against christian teaching and the Bible.
I -am- Mormon, or LDS. I really don’t think its that harsh, to be honest. All our lives we are taught that we should be examples of Christ. Christ wouldn’t be posing in sexual positions with his shirt off. We are also told that we are to avoid the appearance of evil.
‘To be honest, I think this is kind of disgusting of him. It gives our church a bad name, but at the same time, it shows that the church will not tolerate those who disobey. Excommunication is a form of punishment, but it is also meant to teach a person the consequences of their actions. I fully support the Church’s decision in his excommunication. All in all, just because a person is excommunicated, it doesn’t mean that he will never be allowed in the church again, it just means that he has to show remorse and repent for what he did…..
I hope I kind of explained … something…
@BeKa28 - uhhh what are you talking about? Have you even read anything about Mormonism that actually comes from the church? Have you ever been to a church meeting?? It is completely focused on Christ and his sacrifice for us. We try to live our lives in a way that exemplifies CHRIST.
this looks like your kind of scheme, dan.
nudity for a cause.
Yes, I would like to think so because I don’t see anything wrong with that calendar.
@BeKa28 - As for your thing about Christ being Satan’s brother…yeah…that is what we believe. But it doesn’t say anywhere that he is not. When most people think of the trinity concept, they believe that Christ, God, and the Holy Spirit are all the same person. We don’t believe that. We believe that when Christ is called the “son of God” he is literally that. God gave his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, to come to Earth, to atone for our sins, and to die that he might break the bonds of death, that we may all be resurrected to a perfect state.
When it says that Christ is God…Christ -is- the God of the New Testament, and the God of the Old Testament. But he is not our God that we worship. We pray to our Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ. They are one in purpose. That is the way they are connected.
Besides the doctrine…to me it just doesn’t make any sense that God would talk to the people from heaven, while Christ was being baptized, AND be the Holy Spirit descending as a dove. To me, that just proves that they are three separate beings.
Not sure whether I think it’s too harsh or not, but I suspect that the consequences for FEMALE members of the church who were former missionaries would have been equally severe, so I’ll at least give them credit for not letting it slide for guys when we all know they’d lose it if a bunch of their pure daughters posed provocatively.
I’d bet cash money it was not just the calendar. But I would have excommunicated him for the calendar.
Excommunication is ridiculous. There’s no such thing. Only God can decide who is saved and who is not- someone can be cast out of their church and still be heavenbound. (Or, for that matter, be embraced by their church and hellbound.)
Yes, I think it’s too harsh, and no, I don’t thik it’s any great leap to guess your opinion. Not after those boobie posts!
@fullmetalbunny - oh gosh how i love what you just said. especially the part about being embraced by your church by your church and still being hellbound.
Excommunication is always pretty severe, but maybe now he can become a Christian.
duh !………yeah.
Uh – yeah a little harsh. Way to go Mormons….
Yes. That was too severe. :
@BeKa28 - I understand your point.
The dictionary, though, can’t presuppose that a particular holy book is correct. When we look up “God” in the dictionary, rather than “God: n. 1. Jesus Christ,” it defines the term generally.
The dictionary can’t judge the Protstant Bible any more accurately the word of Jesus than that of Mormon scripture.
I’m not too sure about the rules and requirements of being a Mormon but I guess excommunication is a lot better than death.
I think some religions still stone people to death.
Or some other physically damaging punishments for “bad behavior.”
@huginn - yes the dictionary can’t presuppose a holy book is correct, but obviously Christians do and base our assumptions about other religions on it. So if Mormon teaching contradicts what the Bible says, then it contradicts Christianity.
I just goes to show how differently we perceive the world. Yeah, in my mind it’s too harsh. Then again, I’m not Mormon.
*I* think it’s harsh, but from what I know of mormons… it’s not harsh for them.
Definitely, but it is the Mormon church a pretty absurd group of ideologues that has some really screwed up beliefs.
I would however defend to the death the Mormons right to excommunicate anyone and everyone they want to.
@BeKa28 - Point taken.
Another idea is that common definitions are shaped, in a large, part, by their useage and definition.
In regular speech, I don’t group Mormonism with Catholicism, Protestantism, and the Orthodox church in “Christianity,” because I realize that many people don’t recognize or understand the definition.
@madame_butterfly137 - to respond to Christ being Satan’s brother- yes the Bible does not say He’s not his brother. So are you saying I can i take anything i want and believe it just because the bible doesn’t say its not true?
Also you say that you do not worship Jesus. in the bible Jesus says that He himself is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end…clearly stating that He is God. While yes, the three persons of the trinity do serve different purposes, they are one. Also Mormons believe in several other books such as The Book of Mormon and believe it has authority even above the Bible, which is clearly non christian.
Also to quote the Mormon Brigham Young who said “How many Gods there are, I do not know. But there was never a time when there were not God’s”– another contradiction to Christian teaching
@WomanOfLight - I’ll buy the Methodist version, lol. Seriously.
About the excommunication… well… I don’t mean this to be offensive or anything, but they are Mormons. I’m not going to try to understand it.
@BeKa28 - Judge not lest ye be judged. EVERY religion starts out as a cult.
@yingforyouryang - um having a discussion with someone about their religion is not “judging” and judging whether something is right or wrong is not wrong. Where would we be if we never “judged” anything…
kudos to missionary for trying to break stereotypes, unfortunately in his religion it seems it wasn’t steretypes but but beliefs he was tearing down. he’s welcome to come to my church any time, we’ll let him in the building and give in the sacrament. excommunication was a little bit harsh for a guy who had his heart in the right place. hopefully this won’t turn him away from god, but instead help him find a more loving church home.
this is as bad as the youth in russia putting together that nude calender..what were they thinking?
but I’m not sure they should be excommunicated, not that I would care to be excommunicated by the Pope or anyone else
It’s their church; they can create whatever crazy rules they want to, I suppose.
@Dare2BDiferentt - That’s exactly what I said.
I hate excommunication. Who gave man the right to keep man from worshiping God? God didn’t give man that right and therefore I see no purpose in excommunication other than the power it gives to the people who prescribe it.
I never understood any church org having a clear reason as to why this course of action was ok, despite the fact that we are all ordered by God to forgive and forget. Hypocrites maybe??
Religious drama never ceases to make me giggle.
I don’t think mormon guys are allowed to go shirtless if they aren’t swimming.
I mean, the gals aren’t even supposed to wear short sleeved shirts.
Yes, too harsh.
Severe? Yes. Surprising? Not in the least.
CALENDAR, not CALENDER.
aren’t christians suppose to forgive and be loving and stuff? i guess when your leader finds golden plate instructionals you can do whatever the heck you want, marry 30 women, excommunicate, have sexy parties, etc
I think that’s pretty hysterical. What’s next? “Raunchy Reverends: 12 months of your favourite saggy preachers”?
Epic.
Fail.
Oh, it’s a decision made by a church.
You what’s the good thing about old men?
They will die sooner.
@tinahawt - It’s wonderfully rediculous!
It’s awesome.
Are they gonna have a calender with women on it, too?
@hecticmuse - Dan can spell something wrong and the Webster’s changes it, just because he’s that awesome.
@BeKa28 - we worship the one and only god. I’m not going to argue with you, because everyone has the right to believe as they wish. That is our right as children of God. We have been given the right to choose. The right to free agency. I never said you shouldn’t believe a certain way. In fact, I urge you to believe the way you want, because that is what Christ would have us do. I know what I believe, and I won’t be swayed, because I have faith, and testimony in my beliefs. My beliefs do not make me worse of a person, in fact I would hope that they make me better. But every person has the right to judge, and to make their own decisions.
In regards to Satan being Christ’s brother. You asked if I was saying you could take anything you want and believe it even though its not in the bible. Because we believe in -modern- revelation, and believe that Christ wouldn’t just let us hang in this world without a prophet, we believe in the revelation that has told us that. Besides, there are so many interpretations of the Bible, so I fail to see how you can use that as an argument. If you go read different versions of the Bible like, The Message, NIV, New Living Translation, New King James, KJV, etc. You will find that many passages differ in translation. Even scholars have differing opinions on the meaning of scripture and verses. They interpret them to what they think they mean. We believe that through prayer, we can discern for ourselves what Christ would have us learn from those passages.
As for Brigham Young, yes. He did indeed say that. I also believe what he said. There are many Gods, Gods have always been. But we do not worship many Gods. We worship our God. One God. He is the Alpha & Omega. You are right that he is that. I will never in my life deny that.
I believe that Jesus, is the Christ, my Saviour, my Redeemer. He is the Light, the everlasting Fountain, the Son of God, the Lamb of God, Jehovah, Yaweh. He is my God.
There is a song we sing at service,
I believe in Christ; he is my King!
With all my heart to him I’ll sing;
I’ll raise my voice in praise and joy,
In grand amens my tongue employ.
I believe in Christ; he is God’s Son.
On earth to dwell his soul did come.
He healed the sick; the dead he raised.
Good works were his; his name be praised.I believe in Christ; oh blessed name!
As Mary’s Son he came to reign
’Mid mortal men, his earthly kin,
To save them from the woes of sin.
I believe in Christ, who marked the path,
Who did gain all his Father hath,
Who said to men: “Come, follow me,
That ye, my friends, with God may be.”I believe in Christ—my Lord, my God!
My feet he plants on gospel sod.
I’ll worship him with all my might;
He is the source of truth and light.
I believe in Christ; he ransoms me.
From Satan’s grasp he sets me free,
And I shall live with joy and love
In his eternal courts above.I believe in Christ; he stands supreme!
From him I’ll gain my fondest dream;
And while I strive through grief and pain,
His voice is heard: “Ye shall obtain.”
I believe in Christ; so come what may,
With him I’ll stand in that great day
When on this earth he comes again
To rule among the sons of men.
That is what I believe. Every word of that song.
hahahaha
they take themselves WAY too seriously
Yes, they are over reacting.
NIgger Nigger Nigger NIgger what does everyone else think i think that comment about wraps it up.
Ridiculously harsh. He didn’t do anything wrong.
I think that is something the particular church should decide for itself.
That having been said, I think it says something about the stereo type.
@madame_butterfly137 - Yes, we can believe and say what we wish and we’re both very lucky to have that right. I don’t believe you are a bad person because of your beliefs but I’m arguing with you out of concern because I think you are wrong about some things(though honestly I think there are much worse beliefs and events going on right now to argue about), but I will respond to what you said.
“Besides, there are so many interpretations of the Bible, so I fail to see how you can use that as an argument” –
to that i would say that while yes there are different translations of the Bible such as the King James( which is in Old English) and the New International Version(which is in modern English), and scholars do have different interpretations of scripture passages, that is very different than completely making something up, that is clearly not in the Bible. In Revelation 22:18 it says “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away form the words of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book”
-Also you say that you believe there are many Gods, but you worship only “our God” This is not biblical, as God says that He is not just the true God, that you should worship, but also that He is the ONLY God.
I’d like to send that calendar out as Christmas gifts…
i love this.
He says that is what it is about. He can say anything he wants after coming out of a disciplinary council. The church will say nothing. Everyone is jumping to conclusions when they assume it is merely about the calendar.
Oh its harsh, but it is the LDS church.
Who cares about that…
where can I get the calendar?
*snickers*
I think so.
HOLY SHIT! THEY’RE HOT! We’re not allowed to have hot missionaries!
:p
I love that the most embarassing thing to ever happen to our family was my cousin’s marriage into, and subsequent conversion to, mormonism
This may be a morei nteresting conversation than the iced tea incident of 2005.
“God says we shouldn’t drink tea”
“……”
“Ok, fine, Joseph Smith said it!”
Removal from church office maybe, but kicked out of the church itself? nah.
Oy… what they don’t mention in the article is that all he has to do is repent and show remorse… I am not sure what he would be remorseful for… but if he does that then he can rejoin the church…
There is another side to that issue that we will never know because the council for the church would never disscuss what goes on in a disciplinary session with anyone else… so we will only here from him…
As for the punishment being too severe… it probably is, but it is unlikely that THAT is the entire reason he was excomunicated… but then unless he tells us, we’ll never know. lol
Do male missionaries also do that?
There no malice in nudity when it is being done privately.
Nudity in public can cause vehicle accident. ahahaha
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@Dare2BDiferentt - I think I’d pay more for Amish women than Mormon women. Oh god … I have an idea …
I looked at the site… the staging was so sexualized that even though I was just looking at well-toned chests, my heart raced a little. I still wouldn’t have excommunicated them even if it were full frontal, but Mormons have always been abnormal.
Actually… I might have been turned on just because they are topless Mormons. Those shortsleeve shirts and ties are to Mormons like collars are too priests… take them off and you’ve got my attention.
Poor guy, but maybe he can start a new career… as a firefighter for example.
ahahahahaha!
As a former Mormon, I have to remind people how damn sexy those missionary boys can be.
Where can I buy this blessed calendar?
their church, their call
I don’t think any of your readers are qualified to answer that question.
interesting..
it’s not severe..! kind of weird, but definitely not severe.. the maker had to have an idea that something like that would happen when the calendar came out. plus, none of them seem to regret what they did, because it’s not tasteless or extreme..and they did what they felt right.
If Mormon missionaries can be excommunicated for going shirtless, their church is in some real trouble. . . . When they come knocking on my door, I usually arrive shirtless, and that’s enough to scare them away. Not to mention that I have a whole list of theological rebuttals to their arguments.
The more persistent missionaries are Jehovah’s Witnesses, though. Even after I tell them I believe in everything in the Nicene Creed and that I’m thoroughly trinitarian, not to mention I have a flag right outside my front door, they keep coming back for more.
Oh, and the word is spelled “calendar,” not “calender.”
totaly
Yes, but I’m not at all surprised.
@Dare2BDiferentt - Yeah, sure.
The human body, as a creation of God, really should be celebrated more… there is a difference between “art” and porn,and in this case, i see no problem with it.
These guys are fuckin’ hotttt!!!! I’m burning!!!
i told them i would get in trouble with the church if they put me on the cover but they went ahead and did it anyway. now i’m shirtless and churchless…
Dan, I think the fact that he has not been active in the church for several years plays a role in this:
is it really punishment if it is something you don’t participate in anyways?
When a LDS (Mormon) boy commits to go on a mission he makes certain commitments to God, since he believes he is in the service of God, some of these commitments pertain to a hightened state of modesty.
If a nun did a calendar of what was under her frock . . . and the Catholic church turned their eyes to it . . . wouldn’t you think that was a little hypocritical?