Sunstone Essay

As you might have guessed, things have been pretty busy lately with school and flying all over the place for doctoral interviews. 

To tide you over I wanted to post the final version of what I wrote on Prop. 8 for Sunstone Magazine in December.

It is an adaptation of my post here a few months ago, so it's not required reading. ;)

I Love You, Period.

I tried to remain as neutral as possible on the gay marriage debate, passing it off with, "Well, I don't live in California, so I don't have to make a decision." However, as the saying goes, "the personal is political."

My sister is gay. That has made this debate personal.

Just a few months ago I was talking with my sister’s friend (who is also gay) defending my LDS friends who believe the “I love you even though you’re gay” sentiment. I was arguing that one could love a gay family member and not accept (or even like) his or her sexuality.

My thinking shifted when she explained that for many people (possibly even me), their sexuality is a fundamental part of their personhood. So to truly love any kind of person, gay or otherwise, you cannot say, “I love you even though…” you have to say, “I love you, period.”

If my sister is gay, and God made her that way just as He made me straight, then I love that she is gay. For me, to be against gay marriage is to be against my own sister. How can I tell her, "You know, I love you but I really hate this particular fundamental part of who you are." I refuse to do that.

If that attitude is in conflict with the teachings of my faith, then it is something that I will have to just sit with, perhaps for the rest of my life. I love my sister too much, and I love my faith too much (which, paradoxically, has become more personal and more inspiring than ever in my life).

I hope my friends and family who disagree with me will be understanding and not decide that I have lost my testimony or am not following the prophet, both of which miss the point. There are simply some things you cannot reconcile or explain into neat categories. You just have to sit with them.

The best I can do is to allow this tension to make me a little softer, a little more humble, a little more patient. A little more like the One I claim to follow.

Taking care of our bodies

Grad school takes a toll. After some minor/ongoing health issues, I have begun to realize that our bodies are basically like cars. We only have them for so many miles, they need fuel, and repairs. Some cars break down and die before their time, some last 300,000 miles, like my uncle's Suburban. Granted, that car is also a miracle of auto-science and duct tape.


I know that whether I exercise or not, I will eventually die. But I want to be as healthy as I can while I am alive. While I may not have as much time as Dara Torres or Lance Armstrong, one of my goals this semester is to workout at least 3 times a week. That may be 27 times less a week than these two, but it's a lot better than the 0 of last semester! Still, they are quite inspiring.

What inspires you to exercise, to live in healthy ways? Is it worth the effort? Do you need a personal trainer to see real results?

Mamma Mia!

It has generally mixed reviews, but last night I saw Mamma Mia! and had probably the most fun I’ve ever had at a movie. Normally I don’t care about the rest of the audience at movies but it made this one feel like a live stage production. If you like musicals, and you can allow yourself to have some non-cynical fun, this one is highly recommended.

It started off with a trailer for HSM3, which I think was supposed to be a serious preview, but had the audience roaring (check it out around 0:53). The first High School Musical was bearable for a TV movie. This one (at least the trailer) looks unintentionally funny--never a good sign.

Back to the movie – Meryl Streep was really good. It was neat to see a 50-something actress carry a leading role that would normally go to someone 20 years younger, and do well at it. Pierce Brosnan was campy and does not have much of a voice, but I think he was aware of that fact so his singing parts feel like he intentionally hammed it up. The songs are all popular ABBA numbers--it’s immediately engaging. There was also a story but you’re not going to care once the musical numbers get going.

If you absolutely detest ABBA, you may not like this movie. Otherwise, GO! See it in a big crowd while you can, and go with someone who can let loose and have some fun!

A+: my expectations were lowered by the 53% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, so I was quite surprised by how entertaining it was. Mamma Mia! is rated 4.1.3 (PG-13) on Kids-in-mind for some sex-related humor.

63 year-old Mirren works a bikini

After my recent post gave some unwarranted advertising to the men on a mission, I wanted to balance out the bare navel time and follow up with something a little more classy. To the right is a picture taking the Internet by storm of 63 year-old Oscar winning actress Helen Mirren. She has not had surgery, works out at the gym, and tries to eat a healthy diet. There's an article about it here.

Here she is in The Queen, which incidentally is a very good movie (96% on Rotten Tomatoes), and as you can see she is a bit more dressed playing the Queen of England.