OUR VIEW: All welcome to post-LDS panel
It’s no secret that society in Cache Valley is made up by a vast majority of individuals who make up the membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While this fact will likely not change before the End of Days, the students at USU must recognize – and respect – the religious freedom of all those not affiliated with the common Mormon identity.
On Tuesday, university organizations USU LIFE – Love is for Everyone – and the USU Post-Mormons will host a panel discussion in room 105 of the Geology building. Though this discussion will only run from 5-6:30 p.m., it’s sure to be the start of an important and needed conversation within our expanding community.
This discussion – a first step toward improving public knowledge and understanding of a difficult subject – will address the topic of life after leaving the LDS faith by developing an open dialogue for community members. Each of the selected panelists was once a part of the Mormon faith, but, for varying reasons, is no longer an active part of the religion. While this event isn’t designed to convince those in attendance of the wayward ways of the LDS faith, it will present members of the USU community with an opportunity to learn more about the situations that caused the speakers to leave the faith.
But more than that, the challenges these individuals have faced since deciding to leave the religion will be brought to light – and that’s something that’s overdue.
Too often in this predominantly-LDS community, individuals who don’t consider themselves to be part of the cultural norm feel as if they are somehow inferior. Whether or not they are intentionally made to feel this way by the dominant ideology is not for The Utah Statesman to comment on. However, because it does happen, journalists have a duty to acknowledge it under the Society of Professional Journalists code of ethics; we must seek the truth and report it, and furthermore, we must be a part of the continual education and betterment of this institution of higher learning.
Tuesday’s forum will give us – we journalists and you members of the USU community – the chance to take an in-depth look at the issue and gather information through the shared personal experiences and stories of these panel members. By enrolling in this university, we have all taken a small step toward increasing our knowledge, understanding and acceptance of tough issues; we can only further expand our way of thinking by taking every opportunity to get out of our comfort zones. If we put ourselves in those tough situations, we better learn how to approach them and handle them responsibly and civilly.
Regardless of whether you are an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a former member or a person of another faith entirely, attending this forum will only help you to better understand those Aggies around you who may be from a different walk of life. The Utah Statesman encourages any and all members of the USU community to attend this important forum.
We at The Utah Statesman are faced daily with a cavalcade of stories. We have to sift through each story, research the background and decide what content we report in our publication. Our editors will be the first to admit we don’t always give proper coverage to our university’s diversity groups. We are trying to remedy this, one issue at a time. But in order to make these changes throughout this newspaper, Utah State students, staff and faculty have to be willing to approach these tough subjects with an open mind – and be willing to change and adapt with the times.