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Show ieee <7 heSaltLakeTribune gly SATURDAY APRIL 22, 2000 Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell About God Utah polygamist leader glad census can’t quiz members Uncle Sam isn't too shyto ask about the Utahn whoportrays Jesus experienced a resurrection from addictto believer bedroom but won't go anywhere near the chapel. made in seeking a divine endtolocal Black Plague deaths, the open-air play has run every10 years since. In Salt Lake City, Dilley and other The Victor cast members strive to make the story of two millennia fresh and meaningful to their audiences, expected to number 1,500-2,000 people duringits run. Special effects, including That's speakers underscore the moment. “People say to me, ‘I didn’t see you up =, there, I saw Jesus.’ Thatis the whole point ofthis,” he said, nodding toward a ragged wound being molded to his back by makeupartist and fellow Christian Cen- butnotabouta person'sreligion. “It's a very interesting question,” said Iqbal Hossain, president of The Islamic Society of Greater Salt Lake. “I don’t see why that would be anissue. If they can ask questions about race, whycan’t they ask about religion?” It is that old church-and-state thing. The 1976 CensusAct says people should not be compelled todisclose their religion. Andthere is historical precedentfor that being a wise move. Two years ago, when members of Congress approved each question on the 2000 Census, religion again was excluded. That dismayed conservative groups, — such as the Washington,D.C.-based Heritage Foundation, which has long urged “When the guards take Jesus down Congress to include a census question on religious practice. “It violates nobody's freedom ofreligion for Congress to know Srom ictpaella the level andintensity of religious prac- ter member Todd Reeves. Goes up ana cradles Char Golay, a mortgage banker, has him and calls out to tice in America,”seniorfellow Patrick F. Fagan argued in a 1996 Heritage Founda- played Mary since the presentation's God. J try to put myinception. She knows the dialogue * a with the heart of both actress and selfin herplace; if script co-author, and yet admits this were my son, there remain moments when the what would my emotears she sheds in character betions be?” comereal. e “There’s one scene where I . stand at the foot oftthecrossandhe C¥nthia Tyhurst looks down on me, and hehasthe most compassionate eyes,” she as Mary in “Ma st arena said. “At that moment,it is really ASTER decided details on bathing and climbingstairs - istic makeup gore,are essential, they say. Night after night during this Easter season, Shane Dilley transforms himself into Jesus Christ. With makeup,costuming andstage blood, the 37-year-old electrician and_ self-proclaimed former drug addict becomes the bruised and bloodied founder of Christianity, dragging a raw woodencross toward a stage Golgotha. Dilley’s performance in The Victor Passion Play, which ends its run with a 7 p.m.finale this Sunday at Salt Lake Christian Center, has evolved duringthe three years he has played thepart. “The very first scene I did I was shaking so bad that I knowpeoplein the audience couldsee it. [just told the Lord, ‘I can’t do this alone — you’ve gotto help me.’ Andhedid,” Dilley said. “Butit is not a pair of shoes anyonecan fill, especially mewith thelife I’ve had.” Thatlife included addictions to cocaine, alcohol and tobacco — until Dilley accepted Jesus as his savior seven years ago. “I came to know the Lord, and the addictions were just taken; they were just gone,” he smiles. “Life has just gotten progressively better every year since.” Butthere is more to Dilley’s story. It was his ex-wife Robyn’s husband, Todd Hogan, who welcomed a thentroubled Dilley into his home. “I want what you guys have,” Dilley said, and Hogan led him in the “sinner’s prayer” of confession and acceptance of God’s forgiveness. Today, Dilley, whois raising five children with his new wife, Debbi, remains close with his former spouse and Hogan,whoplaysthe apostle Matthew in the passion play. Both families worship at Christian Center. “We're all friends now,”Dilley said. “That’s a miracle offorgiveness and healing in itself.” Robyn Hogan, whodivorced Dilley 14 years ago, insists there is no better wayto describe the changes in her ex-husband and the friendship that has flourished between their families. “T know it’s the Lord. When you completely come into submission to God, you can completely forgive,” she said. “Shane isn’t my ex-husband now as much as he is my brotherin Christ.” Easter Season,healso is Christ, reprising arole Paul Fraughton, that has been at the heart of passion plays since their Salt Lake Tribuneoe Middle Ages origins. An extension of liturgical worship, ShaneDilley in the earliest passion plays date backto the 10th century and the Benedictines ofSt. Gall, Switzerland. AreePlay” According to The Catholic Encyclopedia, the monastic order wrote dramatic sequences, hymns andlitanies to reat Salt Lake count chapters from Christ’slife. Popular with thelaity, the Christian Cenproductions grew to includeother characters like Pilate, the ter. disciples, Mary and soldiers until Easter celebrations becamefull-blown plays. The longest running of such dramas is the Passion Play at Oberammergau, Germany. Begun in the mid-1600s as fulfillment ofa vow Congress and race, salary and marital status, even “The bloodiness brings outthe reality of what Christ did for us,” Dilley said. “Today wehave gotten beyondthe blood and the pain with our fast-paced lives.” It takes more than two hours in the makeupchair to make Dilley ready for his climactic crucifixion scene. As intended, the re-enactmentelicits gasps and moansfrom the audience as it witnesses Christ lurching toward Calvary. There, Dilley sinks into a sea of red Roman capes and an iron mallet repeatedly rises above the circle, punctuated by screams. The cross is raised and dropped into a hole-between two crucified thieves. Stage blood spurts from Christ’s hands as thecross settles. Thescene concludes whenDilleycries,“It is finished!” Flashing lights and thunder blaring from loud- BY BOB MIMS THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE because census-takers can inquire about gender tion paper on whyreligion matters. Utah Rep. Jim Hansen believes a question on religion could be of value and would not be improper. “I don’t see any problem with that,” he said. _ But whetheror not the Census Bureau should be allowed to pop the question raisesissues not easily addressed, such as what repercussions there might be for groups living outside society's conventions. Take, for example, the views of Owen MENCer: 2 like Jesuslooking at me as both his mother and someone for whom heis dying.” At Salt Lake Valley Assembly of God in Kearns, passion plays have been an annual Easterevent since 1981. The Rev. Ray Smith said Master Mender began “as a dream written on the back ofa grocery sack” while he and his wife/co-author Cathi were driving through Oregon. The drama remainsthe region’s premiere passionplay,its cast of 175 having drawn more than 12,000 people last year. This year’s monthlong run of 19 performances — with multiple sets on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays — concludes April 30, at the church (Bangerter Highway and 4700 South). “The appeal todayis the sameas 2,000 years ago,” Smith said. “Times change, problemsdo not. . . . The Biblestill has the answer.” Valley Assembly turned to Tooele’s First Assembly of God six years ago to find its Jesus, youth pastor LewisFranco.Ironically, he cameto the role after a stint as JudasIscariot. The part gave him better understanding and a measure ofsympathy — for Christ’s betrayer. “I think Judas believed Christ was the Messiah, but he just didn’t under- Allred, presiding elder of Salt Lake Val- ley’s largest polygamist church, the 3,500memberApostolic United Brethren. He believes the religion question should not be asked — though he says he wouldn't stand in the way of government workers if it were. “There are too many people [who] feel like they are discriminated against becauseoftheir religion. A lot of our people lose their jobs when people find out they're associated with us,” Allred said. “We havea lotofhatred, not from the state or the [LDS] church or anybody like that — it seemslikethe greatest hatred is from the people that were once with us.” Nevertheless, he maintains, all the church’s members were encouraged to fill stand. He was trying to put Jesusin a position where he would haveto act politically,” Franco surmises, “God’s idea was different, to free people outthis year’s censusbased on assurances the information could not be used against spiritually.” NowplayingChrist, he believes the risen Jesus would have forgiven Judas share its findings with agencies such as the FBI, INS and CIA. Sce ACTORS,Page C-8 See CENSUS,Page C-2 them. Bylaw, the Census Bureau cannot Study Finds Words Are as Important as Actions in Passing Religious Beliefs to Children BY SHELVIA DANCY ere RELIGION NEWSSERVICE and family studies at Purdue University. The study appears in the April/June1999 issue ofthe Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. “Parents have to Forgetthe maxim that says “actions speak louder Hareeen”They have to share their than wot Words are just as mighty as deeds for parents who wantto pass their own religious beliefs to their children, according to a Purdue University study that examined how parents influenced the religious beliefs of students aged 18to 25. “We focus lot on telling parents to modelparticular behaviors for their children, butit’s not enough for parents to just model beliefs for their kids if they want them to adopt their religious beliefs,” said Lynn Okagaki, an associate professor ofchild development In her study, Okagaki queried 58 female and 36 male students at Purdue University about, among other things, the students’ relationships with their parents,as well as their religiousbeliefs and views of their parents’ beliefs. The students’ parents also completed a questionnaire that asked questions about the parents’ religious beliefs and their parenting goals andpractices. The study found that children were more likely to adopttheir parents’ beliefs when they had a clear understanding of what their parents believed, Okagaki said. “If a parent wants a child to have the samevalues, the child has to have an accurate understanding of whatthe parent believes,” she said. Keyto that is taking timeto explain the parent's beliefs and encouraging the child to participate in ac- tivities that the parent thinks support those beliefs. A child is also more likely to adopt their parent’s belief when the parent-child relationship is a good one, Okagakisaid. “Whatalso affects a child's desire to adopt a parent’s beliefis the child's perception of how important that belief is to the parent and the quality of the parent-child relationship,” Okagaki said. The study also found that when particular religious belief is accepted by both parents, their child is likely to do the same. “What we found is that when parents agree on a belief, their child perceivesthe particular belief to be more important andhas a strongerdesire to adopt ‘the parents’belief,” Okagakisaid. But a child is less likely to adopt a particularreligious belief when both parents hold different beliefs, the studyconcluded. “There’s less of an impetus to adopt one parent’'s particular belief because the child gets the perception that on this particular issuea variety of positionsare OK,”Okagakisaid. “For example,ifone parent goes to church andthe other parent does not, the child gets the message there are acceptable alternative positions to going to church.” Heading to a Mormon Wedding? Go Slow Mo — Don’t Rush Outto Buy That Big Screen TV When a Blender Will Do Robert Kirbyis on fact-finding junket in Washington,D.C. this week. The following column is a reprint. Mywife and I went to a Mormon wedding reception a few nights ago. We handed our hastily wrapped gift to the snatchers and wentto the end ofthe line. The couple ahead of us said they'd been waiting about 20 minutes to see the betrothed. “We're related to the groom’s mother,” thewoman said. members ofthe same ward casionally happens at Mo receptions.It's nobig thing. Live in Utah long enough — anywhere from 60-90 days, usually — andyouwill get invited to a Mormon wedding reception. We do it a lot. Even without polygamy,we're the marryingest bunchof people around. If you have neverbeento a Mo wedding reception befpre,it can be a little confusing. Mainly because our wedding receptions are nearly indistinguishable from our funerals. We have them in our on my father’s side,” I . About halfway through the line, just ward houses where some people cry while the rest of us eat. There's always a wrong reception. They went and got their gift back from the snatchers and left with. out the loss offace a no-Mo mightexpect —_cultural hall, the hoop has become a Mo wedding tradition. So much so that wealthy Mos, who don’t wantto break before they reached the bride,it to our new friends that they were at the from such behavior. This sort ofthingoc- basketball hoop in the background. Because our receptions are heldin the tradition and yet still be upscale, will ROBERT KIRBY © 2000, The Salt Lake Tribune sometimes host their wedding receptions in the Delta Center. Otherthan that, Mo wedding receptions are like the receptions no-Mos have, except maybe forItalians. Wegive gifts, kiss the bride, eat goodies and mutter among ourselves that polygamy weet to solve problems like cousin dette’s seeminginability to find a man. If you're invited to a Mo weddingreception you should know a coupleof things that will not only enable you to avoid embarrassment, but might save you some bucks. First, Mormonshave,over time, abandoned some of the more mainstream wedding reception practices. In general, we shy away from getting drunk, wild dancing, lewd toasts and pantsing the best man.It’s also considered really bad Mo form for thegroom to spendthe first nightof his eternal marriage in the slam- the brideto gointo labor. Finally, unlike some no-Mocelebrations, being invited to a Mo wedding receptionis no real honor.Sure,it’s nice to be included, but you should know that you're notgoing to be part ofan exclusive group. Mainly because everyone in the ward, neighborhood,extended familwand zip codegotaninvitation. More importantly, 99%ofthose in vited are going to show up. This has léSs to do with honoring the bride and grogm than it does with reciprocity. Those im vited haveeithersentoutor will besending out their own invitations soon > Mormontradition holds that these wedding day celebrations were dropped from practice because they weren't in keeping with the sacred spirit ofholy matrimony, Privately, however, most Mos will admitthat it was because misbehaving sometimes caused the mother of | \ enough. mer. So, unless you're close blood kin (ou sometimes not even then), I wouldn't. rushout and buya big screen TV as a wedding gift. A toaster or a blender do. My advice is a case ofdisposable pers. 4 9 28H moons BY JOHN HEILPRIN ‘THE SALT LAKETRIBUNE |