Mormon Calendar Maker - Excommunicated

Well I'm having a hard time finding additional news articles about this. One of our local online news sites is running the follow-up story. I guess the other sites didn't feel it was newsworthy. But you can read the Full Story here.

I give Mr. Hardy (formerly Brother Hardy) credit for his words in the article. He doesn't backlash or speak harshly of the church "elders."

"I have no ill feelings toward any of those people," Hardy said of the church council. "They did what they believed was right and I really do feel it was the best decision for both of us."

I'm not sure why he felt it was the best decision for him. To have his name removed from the church rolls, and his Priesthood taken away and all the blessings of baptism, etc. Perhaps he felt like he needed a break from the strict rules and commandments our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ expect from us. The LDS faith has sometimes been referred to as the strictest religion. It takes a lot of self-discipline, dedication and faith to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mr Hardy also states:

"I felt like I spoke my truth," the 31-year-old entertainment entrepreneur said. "Bottom-line, they still felt the calendar is inappropriate and not the image that the church wants to have."

I'm glad he felt like he was able to present his case. Of course the church does not want the image of shirtless, provacative missionaries. Missionaries have a hard enough time controlling hormones at their age, and keeping from being hit on. The last thing they need is for the general public to purchase these calendars and think of missionaries as sex symbols.

"The project is about stepping outside the stereotypes and stepping outside of the image," Hardy said. "Not everybody fits the image and I let them know we're not trying to portray an image for the entire church."

Stepping outside the stereotypes, and images? Do you think the original 12 apostles changed their clothing, or the way they looked, because they didn't want to be associated with the Lord anymore? Does Mr. Hardy not understand that the Lord wants His missionaries to represent Him with this "clean-cut" image? Does Mr. Hardy not understand that this image is "not of the world", which is exactly what Jesus Christ is?

Unfortunately this is one man's distorted view, and he became too caught up in what the world thinks about the LDS faith. Does he not remember the words spoken by the prophet Gordon B. Hinckley, 18 years ago?

Gordon B. Hinckley, “A City upon a Hill,” Ensign, Jul 1990, 2
"Unless the world alters the course of its present trends (and that is not likely); and if, on the other hand, we continue to follow the teachings of the prophets, we shall increasingly become a peculiar and distinctive people of whom the world will take note...

As the growing permissive attitude toward sex continues to spread, the doctrine of the Church, as consistently taught for more than a century and a half, will become increasingly singular and even strange to many...

It is not always easy to live in the world and not be a part of it. We cannot live entirely with our own or unto ourselves, nor would we wish to. We must mingle with others. In so doing, we can be gracious. We can be inoffensive. We can avoid any spirit or attitude of self-righteousness. But we can maintain our standards. "

How true these words are today. Especially in this case. The world finds us strange and peculiar because of our beliefs, but now it seems that even members of the LDS Church are thinking the same thing. This is when things become dangerous, and it is even more important to study the gospel and take our concerns to our Heavenly Father.

I hope all of the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will remember the foundation the church is built on. They will remember who is the head of the Church, and they will have faith in Him. Be strong my brothers and sisters, and don't be afraid to be different and peculiar. Never think it is ok to distort the Church's stereotype to fit the mainstream world.