Mormons and Muslims

By now, I’m sure everyone has heard about the so-called ‘mosque at ground zero’. I first heard about this a couple of weeks ago when a Muslim fb friend of mine posted an article about it (at the very start of the controversy). I was surprised and annoyed by all the fuss then and have only gotten more annoyed and increasingly shocked/disappointed in the general public’s reaction to the proposed project since. I can’t understand why people can’t distinguish between Muslims and terrorists. The men who took down the WTC were terrorists. All the experience I have with muslims (through school and work) tells me that those men were not true muslims.

I recently read a blog post on Mormonism-unveiled which compared the building of the mosque on Park Place to our church building a temple on the site of the mountain meadows massacre. I still trying to decide if the writer is not from NY or if they just don’t have a brain. The site of the MMM is the middle of nowhere. If we were to build something there, it would be because of the massacre. That is a far cry from building a mosque on Park Place. If I began to list how many other things are within a 2 block radius of the WTC site, you’d be reading this blog for several hours. The people behind building this mosque are not building it there because of 9/11. They are likely building it there because they already own the property and there’s a need for a community center and prayer space due to the number of muslims working and/or living in the area. Anyone who believes that they are building it there because of its proximity to the WTC site is simply a paranoid conspiracy-obsessed individual. Or just straight up ignorant I guess.

Anyway, aside from the general public’s opposition to the project, which I find ridiculous considering people’s obsession with second amendment rights while seeming to ignore first amendment rights…or just relegating them to certain individuals, I’m more disturbed by members’ opposition to the project. And it’s not just because I expect more from members of the church (although I am constantly disappointed and should probably flush that expectation down the toilet). First, there is the 11th article of faith: We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may. I don’t think it gets more straightforward than that…and I don’t know how you can justify opposing the project and claiming to believe this. Integrity, anyone?

But more than that, it’s the failure of members to see the similarities between Mormons and Muslims that really makes me sad. We have seen lots of opposition when trying to build temples (the Plainview temple which was announced but never built due to opposition from the community is a local example of that – thank goodness since that led to the building of the Manhattan temple – saweeet!). The entire church is routinely blamed for the stupidity of either a few members or for the actions of people who are not even members of our church , but of a church which others confuse with ours (ya’ll know what I’m talking about). Additionally, I often feel I have more in common with Muslims than with other Christians. Muslims I know believe in the importance of the family. They don’t drink, they don’t swear, they dress modestly, they live modestly, and their beliefs seem to really impact the way they live their lives. In a world where most people think you’re backwards for having any traditional values (like believing in the importance of virtue for example), I believe Muslims (especially Muslims in America) are Mormons’ greatest ally on that front. Anyway, there’s a lot more I could say, but if I wrote everything that was on my mind, I would never post this…it’s already been brewing for over a week…

Ch-ch-changes

Well I am officially one of the lamest (if that is even a word) bloggers out there. Oh well. I will redeem myself one day. But I am not going to pretend that today is that day.

Dave is in Haiti and has been for the past 5+ weeks. I moved on Thursday-which bled into Friday-which bled into Saturday. So yes, I moved 'by myself'. I put that in quotations because I had lots of help with the physical moving - thanks to my in-laws and a few good friends. However, it's a lot to ask someone you're not super-close with to pack or unpack your personal belongings. And since I've lived here for just shy of a year, I can't say that I'm super-close with anyone yet. So that part has been done by myself. Not that it is done. In fact, the unpacking is far from it. I leave tomorrow night to meet up with Dave in the Bahamas and I've resigned myself to the fact that we are going to return home to a huge mess.

That being said, I am VERY excited to be in our very own place. Well, we are renting, but no one else's stuff is in here! Amazing! Plus we finally get to use all of our beautiful wedding gifts. Plus we live within walking (and I mean less than 2 minutes) distance from several friends. Plus we can (read: I can) start to get baby's room set up. Plus we live 2 minutes from the bus that will take Dave to the hospital (it even goes to another of the hospitals in the city where he will have to work during clerkship). Plus we have a back yard. Plus a garage (not having to heat your car up for 20 minutes while you scrape inch-thick ice off of every surface and try not to freeze to death all while muttering under your breath that now you're going to be late to wherever you're going because you had to spend so long getting the car in a state to be driven is not to be underestimated). Did I mention I am VERY excited about this new place?!

So our kitchen is a sort of eat-in set-up. I say sort-of because it's pretty small for an eat-in. BUT we will make it work! Due to some design flaws (in my humble opinion) there are some unused spaces that I will just have to make useful. I've looked at some kitchen carts at Ikea and I may *MAY* just be able to fit this cart next to the fridge - thus increasing counter space by probably about 1/3 - and maybe even this cart next to the stove. All while hopefully squeezing a small rectangular table with 3 chairs into the corner. I don't need those carts exactly, but they are the cheapest ones. The cabinets in the kitchen are a light-to-medium wood and the countertops are medium tan color (photos to be posted next week, I promise). Any thoughts on how to finish the carts to make them usable and easy to clean? Also, should I leave space for a high chair rather than get a kitchen cart?