Excommunicated for wanting equality

[Luddly Neddite]

Kelly on excommunication from Mormon church: ?I?ve done nothing wrong? | The Salt Lake Tribune

Religion » Ordain Women founder urges other Latter-day Saints to stick with the faith.

By kristen moulton

| The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published Jun 23 2014 02:32 pm • Updated 22 minutes ago

Women’s ordination advocate Kate Kelly said it’s unlikely she will seek rebaptism anytime soon into the LDS Church, which excommunicated her Monday.

"I’ve done nothing wrong and have nothing to repent," Kelly said in an interview. "Once the church changes to be a more inclusive place and once women are ordained, that’s a place I’d feel welcome."

The decision by a Mormon bishop’s council in Virginia to excommunicate her for "conduct contrary to the laws and order of the church" stunned Kelly, she said.

The word "apostasy" does not appear in the letter her Vienna Ward bishop, Mark Harrison, emailed to her, although it was the charge lodged against Kelly when he called for Sunday’s disciplinary council.

"I honestly thought until the very last minute that they would do the right thing," the Ordain Women founder said Monday evening. "It feels very much like a forced amnesia, where everything you thought you knew was gone and everything you thought you were isn’t the case anymore."

Nonetheless, she encouraged her supporters to stay in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"I love the gospel and the courage of its people," she said in a statement. "Don’t leave. Stay, and make things better."

Kelly vowed to remain active in Ordain Women and on its executive board.

Ordain Women founder resilient despite excommunication news | KUTV.com

Ordain Women founder resilient despite excommunication news
(KUTV) A defiant Kate Kelly says she will continue to advocate for female ordination in the men only priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After she received word Monday, by email from an all-male disciplinary council, that she had been excommunicated.

"I am still very much in a state of shock," said Kelly, who spoke to us from her parents' home in Provo, Utah. "I feel as though I'm talking about a dead person, but that person is me," says Kelly, who knew she was being tried for apostate in front of a council of three men, in her old ward in Virginia.

"I didn't think it would come to this, until that last second when I read that line in the email that had the word 'excommunication.' I thought and hoped that they (Church Leaders) would do the right thing," says Kelly.

Kelly is the founding member of Ordain Women, a group that advocates for the ordination of woman in the LDS church. Men are the only people who are allowed to hold the priesthood in the LDS church.

Exclusive: Interview with Kate Kelly, from Ordain Women | Student Review

First, tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Kate Kelly (view her Ordain Women profile here). I grew up in Oregon and was one of very few Mormon kids in my school. I always considered being Mormon as something that was really special about me, because we were so few and far between. In grade school they called me “BYU girl” because all of my school supplies—pencils, folders, erasers, supply box, etc.—were BYU themed. I was baptized by my dad when I was 8, and as predicted by my school supplies, I did go to BYU for college. Go, Cougars!

I had an absolute blast at BYU. It was a really wonderful time for me because after swimming upstream growing up, I was awash in a sea of really enthusiastic young Mormons like me. It was so delightful to be among my people. I sang hymns in the tunnels, hiked the Y, went on creative group dates and had a generally fabulous experience. (I also studied, on occasion.)

After a few years at BYU I served a mission for the church in Barcelona, Spain. My mission was such a positive eye-opener for me. For the first time I learned a new language and was able to reach out to total strangers and a wide variety of people that were really different from me. The people of Spain taught me what true hope is. They helped me learn the living, breathing definition of charity.

In May 2012 I graduated from law school at American University’s Washington College of Law, the only law school in the world founded by women. I’m now an international human rights law attorney and I help human rights defenders around the world bring their cases before international human rights bodies. The work is fascinating and my clients are truly inspirational people.



So this is about equality in the Church. Some say that women receive the same exact blessings as men. What’s your response to that?

Women are blessed by their church membership and service in countless ways. I simply want women to be able to have the full range of opportunity of service open to them. I want women to be given the mantle of God, and the chance to take their turn serving and directing others.

Was there a definitive moment in your life when you realized that women should be ordained, and that this was a cause that you should lead?

I was raised in a very egalitarian home. My dad called himself the “Laundry King” and shared equally in all parental duties and my mom worked as an attorney. This model of parity always resonated with me, and in some ways ordination and equality have always made some intuitive sense to me. However, the messages I received in church created some dissonance with what my parents taught me by example. This dissonance became more and more irksome to me over the years.

Clearly, there is no place for equality in the lds.

I think the same about this as I have thought about gays being shunned by their church -
- Why would anyone want to belong to a religion/church that does not value them the way their god does?

OTOH, I've never belonged to a religion or valued membership in a religion.

 

[Avatar4321]

Not at all true. She was excommunicated for apostasy and trying to lead others to. Read the letter she publicized from her bishop.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Not at all true. She was excommunicated for apostasy and trying to lead others to. Read the letter she publicized from her bishop.

Yeah, that's what I said -

Excommunicated for wanting equality

 

[Avatar4321]

Repeating it doesn't make it true.

She was already entitled to the blessings of the Priesthood. All members of the Church are.

http://www.deseretnews.com/media/pdf/1365030.pdf

 

[TheOldSchool]

You can't fault a religion for their beliefs. If they're not breaking the law they can do as they please. I don't have any problem with this.

 

[Moonglow]

The control of individuals through coercion and threats is rather antiquated..She don't need no stinkin' Mormon's..

 

[Luddly Neddite]

I don't have a problem with it either.

Except for what I said - Why would anyone stay with a religion that does not want and value them?

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Repeating it doesn't make it true.

She was already entitled to the blessings of the Priesthood. All members of the Church are.

http://www.deseretnews.com/media/pdf/1365030.pdf

Does this amount to being "shunned"?

Interesting.

Thank you.

 

[TheOldSchool]

I don't have a problem with it either.

Except for what I said - Why would anyone stay with a religion that does not want and value them?

At the same time if you truly believe in a religion what makes you think that you're opinion is powerful enough to change what is hundreds or thousands of years old?

I think she's best served by finding a religion that fits her better and will help support her faith as she interprets it.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Kelly on excommunication from Mormon church: ?I?ve done nothing wrong? | The Salt Lake Tribune

Religion » Ordain Women founder urges other Latter-day Saints to stick with the faith.

By kristen moulton

| The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published Jun 23 2014 02:32 pm • Updated 22 minutes ago

Women’s ordination advocate Kate Kelly said it’s unlikely she will seek rebaptism anytime soon into the LDS Church, which excommunicated her Monday.

"I’ve done nothing wrong and have nothing to repent," Kelly said in an interview. "Once the church changes to be a more inclusive place and once women are ordained, that’s a place I’d feel welcome."

The decision by a Mormon bishop’s council in Virginia to excommunicate her for "conduct contrary to the laws and order of the church" stunned Kelly, she said.

The word "apostasy" does not appear in the letter her Vienna Ward bishop, Mark Harrison, emailed to her, although it was the charge lodged against Kelly when he called for Sunday’s disciplinary council.

"I honestly thought until the very last minute that they would do the right thing," the Ordain Women founder said Monday evening. "It feels very much like a forced amnesia, where everything you thought you knew was gone and everything you thought you were isn’t the case anymore."

Nonetheless, she encouraged her supporters to stay in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"I love the gospel and the courage of its people," she said in a statement. "Don’t leave. Stay, and make things better."

Kelly vowed to remain active in Ordain Women and on its executive board.

Ordain Women founder resilient despite excommunication news | KUTV.com

Ordain Women founder resilient despite excommunication news
(KUTV) A defiant Kate Kelly says she will continue to advocate for female ordination in the men only priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After she received word Monday, by email from an all-male disciplinary council, that she had been excommunicated.

"I am still very much in a state of shock," said Kelly, who spoke to us from her parents' home in Provo, Utah. "I feel as though I'm talking about a dead person, but that person is me," says Kelly, who knew she was being tried for apostate in front of a council of three men, in her old ward in Virginia.

"I didn't think it would come to this, until that last second when I read that line in the email that had the word 'excommunication.' I thought and hoped that they (Church Leaders) would do the right thing," says Kelly.

Kelly is the founding member of Ordain Women, a group that advocates for the ordination of woman in the LDS church. Men are the only people who are allowed to hold the priesthood in the LDS church.

Exclusive: Interview with Kate Kelly, from Ordain Women | Student Review

First, tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Kate Kelly (view her Ordain Women profile here). I grew up in Oregon and was one of very few Mormon kids in my school. I always considered being Mormon as something that was really special about me, because we were so few and far between. In grade school they called me “BYU girl” because all of my school supplies—pencils, folders, erasers, supply box, etc.—were BYU themed. I was baptized by my dad when I was 8, and as predicted by my school supplies, I did go to BYU for college. Go, Cougars!

I had an absolute blast at BYU. It was a really wonderful time for me because after swimming upstream growing up, I was awash in a sea of really enthusiastic young Mormons like me. It was so delightful to be among my people. I sang hymns in the tunnels, hiked the Y, went on creative group dates and had a generally fabulous experience. (I also studied, on occasion.)

After a few years at BYU I served a mission for the church in Barcelona, Spain. My mission was such a positive eye-opener for me. For the first time I learned a new language and was able to reach out to total strangers and a wide variety of people that were really different from me. The people of Spain taught me what true hope is. They helped me learn the living, breathing definition of charity.

In May 2012 I graduated from law school at American University’s Washington College of Law, the only law school in the world founded by women. I’m now an international human rights law attorney and I help human rights defenders around the world bring their cases before international human rights bodies. The work is fascinating and my clients are truly inspirational people.



So this is about equality in the Church. Some say that women receive the same exact blessings as men. What’s your response to that?

Women are blessed by their church membership and service in countless ways. I simply want women to be able to have the full range of opportunity of service open to them. I want women to be given the mantle of God, and the chance to take their turn serving and directing others.

Was there a definitive moment in your life when you realized that women should be ordained, and that this was a cause that you should lead?

I was raised in a very egalitarian home. My dad called himself the “Laundry King” and shared equally in all parental duties and my mom worked as an attorney. This model of parity always resonated with me, and in some ways ordination and equality have always made some intuitive sense to me. However, the messages I received in church created some dissonance with what my parents taught me by example. This dissonance became more and more irksome to me over the years.

Clearly, there is no place for equality in the lds.

I think the same about this as I have thought about gays being shunned by their church -
- Why would anyone want to belong to a religion/church that does not value them the way their god does?

OTOH, I've never belonged to a religion or valued membership in a religion.

If you don't care about churches, why start a thread demonizing a church for enforcing the rules that everyone who joins it agree to? It really isn't any of your business what they do, just like it isn't any of your business what people do in their bedrooms, yet you seem to be obsessed with both.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

I don't have a problem with it either.

Except for what I said - Why would anyone stay with a religion that does not want and value them?

What, other than your bigotry and hatred, makes you think they don't value her?

 

[HenryBHough]

Funny how the Marxist element claps their little hands in glee when some Muslim woman is sentenced to being stoned but tut-tuts when something much less painful is done to a non-Muslim.

Of course the only response one might expect is a spew of filth. It shouldn't take long.......

 

[TheOldSchool]

Funny how the Marxist element claps their little hands in glee when some Muslim woman is sentenced to being stoned but tut-tuts when something much less painful is done to a non-Muslim.

Wrong. Fuck you.

 

[The Irish Ram]

Funny how the Marxist element claps their little hands in glee when some Muslim woman is sentenced to being stoned but tut-tuts when something much less painful is done to a non-Muslim.

Of course the only response one might expect is a spew of filth. It shouldn't take long.......

I can't speak for Marx, but I know of no Christian that claps their little hanies when Muslims kill the innocent.

 

[HenryBHough]

Funny how the Marxist element claps their little hands in glee when some Muslim woman is sentenced to being stoned but tut-tuts when something much less painful is done to a non-Muslim.

Of course the only response one might expect is a spew of filth. It shouldn't take long.......

I can't speak for Marx, but I know of no Christian that claps their little hanies when Muslims kill the innocent.

Consider that liberalism and Christianity ARE mutually exclusive and it'll all become clear.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Not at all true. She was excommunicated for apostasy and trying to lead others to. Read the letter she publicized from her bishop.

Insider sources at the President's office a 50 East North Temple have made it very clear why this happened.

(1) North American conversion rates in Canada and the US almost flat line, thus ruling does not hurt that potential pool of doners.

(2) As it expected, the ruling was hailed positively in Latin America, Africa, and East Asis where the cultures are very male centric. The ruling will boost conversion dramatically.

It has not to do with prophets but with profits.