| OCR Text |
Show The Salt Lake Tribune GION MBULLETIN BOARD, C-2 WORLD VIEW, C-3 MECOMICS,C-4 MITV,C-5 ‘SATURDAY ENTERTAINMENT. C-6,7,8 JULY, 3, 1999 Military to Different Set of Family Values Comes to Utah| Let Indians Unitarians embrace Use Peyote family diversity at Unitarian Universalist General Assembly national gathering But drug is still prohibited for troops who handle nukes BY BOB MIMS THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE THE WASHINGTON POST Fiveyears after the enactmentofa federal lawpermitting Native Ameri- If thereis a poster state for traditional family values, it would have to be predominantly Mormon Utah with its stereotypically large, two-parent families of “stair-step” offspring ‘Thatmaybe theidealfor the 70percent of cans to use the hallucinogenic plant it has long ceased to define the typical Americanfamily a point driven home by for members of the military, with the exception of those who handlenuclear peyoteinreligiousservices, Pentagon officials and leaders of the largest In- dian church finally have reached Utahns whobelongto the LDS Church, but agreement on implementing the law this week’s UnitarianUniversalist General weapons. Assembly. ‘Two-parent households with childrenare a minorityin today’s society, stretching the definition of family far beyond the 1950s Leaders of the Native American Church of North America said the agreement was made with Defen norm,the Rev. Patricia Hoertdoerfer told 2,000 UUdelegatesgathered at the Salt Palace Department officials at the church 50th annual convention on June 18 in Farmington, N.M., ending years of Convention Center, “[Families] comewith diverse styles and different shapes,” shesaid. “We have fathers bitterness among many Indians over restrictions on i which contains the parents and second marriages bringing forces. working while mothers keep house... single children together from A Pentagonofficial would say only that the Defense Department plansto unrelated backgrounds. “Wehavegay andlesbian couples and parents and ‘amilles, we havechildless pe -- “ O° S ams” couples and unmarried couples with and See FAMILY, Page C-3 Leah Hogsten / The Salt Lake fribune Unitarian Universalist Rev. Patricia Hoertdoerfer, second from right, shares a laugh with fellow convention members during an ice-breaking sing-along at the Salt Palace Convention Center. The Rev. Keith Kron,left with microphone,leads the group. Misinformation, ignorance Drawn from thebutton of cacti har- “"@0no oO 2 BY BOB MIMS THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE From his youth, Forrest Cuch had thekind ofvaried religious upbringingthat could make any memberof the liberal. scendental Unitarian Universalist church sit up and take notice, T wasoriginally raised Catholic, as well as in the sweat lodge tradition. My father and | | uncles were sun dancers andI, too, was a sun dancerfor 10years,”Cuchsaid I guess you couldsay I was brought up in an eclectic kindof way," the Utetribal member said with a sn While Cuch continues to follow “a very personalspiritual tradition,” he said he shares with UU its dedication to social justice, Thereis no shortageof battlegrounds for civil rights and tolerance, he said, noting one need only browse the Internet to find them. This hate phenomenon is worldwide, Cuch said, pointing to an estimated 140,000 hate sites on the World Wide Web. “There is an evil that is encompassingour world right now, and it's going to takeevery bit of our spiritual energy to combat it Misinformation and ignorance are the twin seeds of prejudice, he said, using as an example the recent controversy over western Washington's Makah Tribe resumingits tradition of whale hunting. saythe small quantities normally tak: en inreligiousrites bring on only an introspective moodthat gives theuser thatis . encompassing Wereguaranteed whaling rights inan 18streaty gur worldright > NOW, andit’s discuss details of the agreement be- with the United goingto take States, every bit our Congress who mightraisenational se. curity concerns. Pentagon officials stressed that they are only following though whales for 70 Al Hartmann/ TheSalt Lake Tribune Forrest Cuch, Utah's Indian Affairs director, tells Unitarian Universalist General Assembly attendeesthat he shares the church's dedication to social justice. down to dawn. While large amounts ean inducehallucinations, adherents ings, boats and ceremonial garb. The Makah they had not huntedthe once: endangered During aSalt Palace workshop on “Native Nations” issues, about 100 delegates to the denomination’s General Assembly did just Affairs directordescribed his spiritual journey. drummingandchantinglast from sun- Thewhaleis Makahculture, A decorating the trite’s build: “There is an evil Forrest Cuch tells gathering church leaders as required by this statute to finalize the polic: is eatenor ingested as a teain ceremonies in which fireis kept burning and the heart of the are twin seedsofprejudice, use the 1994 American Indian Religious FreedomAct “andtheresults of consultations with Native American vested in partsof south Texas, peyote Ute SharesFaith, Dedication to Social Justice With Unitarians - that, riveted to their seats as Utah’s Indian e of peyote, hedelic drug mescaline, by Dersbers ti earned spiritual energy to combatit.” Forrest Cuch years. Opponents castigated thetribe for endingthat hiatus with peace of mind andinsight into the spiritual world Church officials were reluctant to i, they arefearful of a jarmist’’ members of the 1994 law Earl Arkinson, president of the church, said at the New Mexico con vention that about 40 members who work with nuclear weaponsstill will not beallowed to use the drug. Other the killing of a gray whale in mid-May. downplaying the fact that the seagoing restrictions weresaidto includeapro: Species List five years military vehicles, aircraft or ships; a requirement to stop using the drug 24 hours beforereturning toactive duty mammals were removedfrom the Endangered ago. The U.S. government recently issued permits, good through allowing the coastaltribe to kill five whales. There's always anotherside to the story, See UTE, Page C-3 hibition against the use of peyote on anda bar ontheuseof peyote onbase except with the permission of the commanding officer. Indian service membersalso may possess peyotein amulet form when worn asanitemof religious apparel Motorcycle Mormons Take the Righteous Ride Wearing black leather aboard their hogs, they roam the West and cheerfully hand out scripture BY HANNAH WOLFSON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS They don't drink, they don't smoke, and they carry extra copies of the Book of Mormonintheir saddlebags. But the Temple Riders areas proudof their big bikes and black leather as any other motorcycle gang. Sure, most of the riders are Mormons, and many have been members of the faith’s layclergy. Yet they still log thou sands of miles each year and attend the big bikerrallies. We'rejust a part of the motorcycling ommunity,” says Ted Gregory, who joined the group about 10 years ago af fastating members through the motor cycle safety classes he teaches Don't be fooled, though. There are some major differences betweenyour lo cal Hell's Angels and Utah's most ortho dox motorcycle First of all, the Temple Riders don't ride on Sunday. Theydon’t drink, smoke or curse, But the mostly over-60 mem bers do wear traditional motorcycle garb, plus a uniformof gray-blue dress vests; and they keep their duds — and their bikes immaculate very well ‘This group is very cl groomed,” said Gregory, They just stand out; they've got that glow about them There are about 95 bikesat the biggest meetings, almost all ridden by couples who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. About half of the planned rides include a visit to a Mormon temple, and some members wear hats bearing an imageof Salt Lake City's most famous landmark But for most, it's the fellowship that's important The mainthingis they're just a good bunch of LDS people,” said current President Cliff Beattie, a Salt | Lake ar. chitectural consultant whoat 55is oneof the group's youngest members. He joinedabout four years ago. Beattie said his group isn’t completely comfortable even with the mainstream motorcycle clubs that shun the rough: and-rowdy biker stereotype They're good people, but they enjoy their beer and their smoking even though they do good things,” he said We're way over ontheother side from the Hell’s Angels Temple Riders was founded back in 1987 by Frank and CatherineReese, avid bikers who werefrustrated because so manygroups rode on Sundays. following spring, they had Bythe handful of couples and a regular newsletter. Now the group is growing through word of mouth, Beattiesaid. See MORMONS, PageC-2 Mormonmotorcyclists assemblein front of the Manti Temple in Utah. Riders observea clean lifestyle and hand outscriptures at camps andonthe road TheIdea of Paying Child Supportfor Time andAll Eternity Makes MarriageSound Like a Good Deal I have come close to divorce several times in 25 years of marriage. The most memorable was when my wife caught Ralph and me welding a trailer hitch in her kitchen. It was like a psychotic wolver ine came home as bad as the time I That time was tw called her “Michelle Pfeiffer” during an amorous moment, and 5. 6 times worse than when I accidentally shot a window out of her car. Do not do any of these nless you havethe 24-hour number of a ‘ood lawyer So, it’s true love, or she's mentally ill Either way, | don't have to pay child sup port. This is good becauseI haveexactly four dollars and a 2-for-1 burrito coupon to last me until pay Child support | ry importantissue now that the LDS Churchis turning the crews tighter on members meeting their financial obligations to former spouses and/or children. You can't get a temple ROBERTKIRBY recommend if you are not current Well, you're not supposed to get one You could lie to the bishop, but that sort of to hell anyway for lying? The point is that the church considers duly appointed child the church actually stopped the official practice of polygamy more than a century They had to in order to make it possible to include the child support question in the temple recommend interview. Think about it Lf 1 would havea hard time pay ing child support for threekids, im: how much harder it would be to 108kids 1999, The Salt LakeTribune It just goes to show that churchleaders are inspired, with the possible exception of thetime they made mescoutmaster for a month. That was aseriousspiritual mis communication that almost got me arrest ed twice. Thereare, of course, larger theological v them that their father is, for example, a two-timing, four-eyed we: Arethere any circumstances of trans: gression, such as settingfire to your for Theoretically, this means support for oh, say, 6.9 kids and most of a dog, works out to be about 659 trillion easy payments that have not m resolved with your of $805.32 for time and all eternity There is, of course, the issue of visita cripplingobligations to variouslawyers? tion in the next life. No true priesthood holder is goingto want to cough upchild support payments very important, So seri ous is this issue tl as arule we also believe that families are forever makes going to the temple a mootpoint. I mean, whybother if you're just goingto go Never mind that, issues whenit comes to faithful Mormons being current in their child support. Not only do wehavelarge families support if his ex-handmaiden won't let him see the kids, even if the visits a pervisedby a court-appointedarch Maybe that should be a temple re mend question, too, “Are you curr forcing your former husband to take the kids for the weekend, whether he and his new concubine want to or not Here's another one: “Are you honest in your dealings withyour spildrenby telling mer family patriarch's new pool table. bishop or branchpresident? Are you current in your financially Do you now, or have you ever, wished that you had never heard of the opposite gender? No wonder Mo: sanctity of marri: cheaper thandivoi Salt Lake mons believe in the Going to hell is way Tribune columnist Rober Kirby lives in Springville. The selfede scribed “OxyMormon” welcomes’ mail at P.O. Box 684, Springville, UT 84663, or e-mail at da kgpslckrek.com ’ |
