Navigating Conflicts Between Religious Liberties and Gay Rights

I went to an event last night at school.  As part of the diversity lecture series, Clifford Rosky presented a lecture that was titled "Navigating Conflicts Between Religious Liberties and Gay Rights."  He is a law professor at the University of Utah's S.J. Quinney College of Law and he specifically studied law regarding sexual orientation because he has a brother who is gay.  He works with Equality Utah as well.

This was a very interesting and thought-provoking lecture for me.  My responses are still being processed, and perhaps there are too many thoughts for one blog post, so I'm thinking about breaking it up over a series of posts.

Suffice it to say, I was very impressed, and I'm glad that my school offers events like this.

Just Another Weekend

I'm not really sure about what I'm going to blog about, but I feel like I ought to have something to say.  After all, this was kind of a big weekend in the Mormon world.  Spiritual nourishment from a pulpit in the good ol' SLC.  But I didn't trouble myself with it, other than to wait on large parties of white-shirt-and-tie clad men on Saturday.  Every six months, like clockwork, they descend upon us.  And inevitably, as soon as the clock reads eight, someone will come around the corner and announce the White Shirt Alert.  Good times.

There were posts on Facebook about one thing or another.  The only one that possibly intrigues me is the talk given by Elder Uchtdorf.  As of yet, I haven't brought myself to read it.

I find that I used to get stressed about what might be said, who might be saying it, who might be taking it to heart.  This is the first General Conference where I genuinely have not cared.  That sounds different than I would like it to.  I guess what I mean is that I was completely nonchalant and neutral-feeling about what was going on.  It was just another weekend.  I didn't bother with the usual emotional stresses.

And it was really nice.

"Sunset"

I am a speck of dust
      a pebble beneath the blanket
      and froth of a swirling stream
small
common
      but not blind
            and not without feeling
            as often regarded
      and thought perhaps to be
as thoughts
when small
      and born in haste
      may perhaps be
though sight
      when for granted it is taken
becomes
as dust and pebbles
unseen