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Show Monday. Opinions: What the Herald thinks, what the columnists say and what our readers think TRIPE TakesIt All to Help Anti-LDS Pair ‘Absurd’ By BEN HANSEN After reading the letters from Howard and Swensen, I felt as if I'd just been slapped in the face. I wonder if other women in the church like being called stupid and cowardly. Either greatness does noi need to be defended or no one bothered to finish the letters. It is evident from theletters that neither of them know little, if anything’ abeut church history or church doccrine, ts make suchirresponsible statements. If the’ would read just a little or Took around they would find many, many Mormon women with more intelligence and courage than they or I would be more correct to say that those who support ERA generally would also support gay rights and abortion. Is it any wonder that decent Christian people would not support anything so morally and Spiritually degrading Lastly, I find utterly infantile the Suggestion that the LDS Churchpossibly could be threatened by anyone. Anytimeit seems necessary to tear dowr to inake something or someone look better, there is usually no benefit gained, real or imagined, as I’m sure will be the case pc ERA and the Sonia Johnsonaffair, could ever hope to possess. Sincerely, Carol E. Adams It is peau absurd to say that support for ERA is synonymous with courage and intelligence. It 335 N. 100 E. Orem SoniaStill Can Repent Editor, Herald: I submitted an openletter to Sonia Johnson to you on Dec. 7, 1979, before there were manyletters on the subject, however,it was too long and personal — not well suited to publication. I do feel some of the points I brought out in my letter have not been adequately covered by others and should be presented to your readers so have tried to summarize it and hope you will want to publish this shorter version. An Open Letter to Sonia Johnson: Dear Sonia, I’m writing a long overdue yesponse to a lecture you delivered in Provo, Oct. 19, sponsored by. the Alice Louise Reynolds Society, to whichthe public wasinvited to hear you, the Chairman of Mormonsfor ERA, speak on the subject of “Obedience to Authority.” You may recall me as I stood up during the question and answer period and while expressing my love andfeeling of kinship for you and your sincerity, strongly warnedyouthatI felt you were preaching apostasy. I felt great concern that you had been deceived and were consequentyy deceiving others and causing em to rebel against that which was good and to be stirred up to anger and hatred of men,especially Mormon priesthood leaders. I likened you to Korihorin the Book of Mormon (Alma 30), who also preached in his time that the leaders of the church were simply trying to use their authority to gain power over the people so they would not dare to enjoy their rights and privileges. I feel you gave a totally false impression of both Mormon men and women — that Mormon women are just mindless slavesliving under constant fear and domination and Mormon men rule over them in oppressive tyranny. My main purpose in writing this letter is not to condemn you, but aay to help you understand how I feel you have been deceived.I will specify just a few of the things you said that so worried me. You said that at one time in yourlife you received a revelation or manifestation and heard your own voice telling.youthat you should have a baby, which you did. At a later date you said you received a similar manifestation and even saw yourselfStanding a distance away. This time your own voice declared, “Patriarchy is a sham.’ (Patriarchy means the order of priesthood authority through the male line. This is the order the Mormonchurchis founded upon and which we believe God’s church has been established upon since Adam.) You said you trusted the voice and knew you had to do semething about it, as you had been denying the validity of your own authority. Although you'd beena political innocent before — ignorant about elections and the women’s movement — wher you heard a letter read in church explaining why the church leaders were opposed to ERA, you were immediately converted to it and began your crusade for ERA. This showsthat you hadnot studied the issues or what wasinvolved that it is not really the See 0 ERA you're fighting — is onl the weapon you're using to attacl the Patriarchial Order and God himself. (This is demonstrated by a statement you madein a paper you resented to the American sychological Association — “Because Mormon women are trained to desire above all else to please men (and I include in this category God, whom all too manyof us view 4n extension of our chauvinist l-aders)..."” a Broadsides Letters to the Herald Editor, Herald January 14, 1980. THE HERALD. Provo Utah—Page 15 It disturbs me, therefore, to see ou and accuse our Beloved rophet and church leaders of threatening your church membership because of your support for ERA when you knowthatis not the issue. (Since I’ve written this letter you have been excommunicated.) You said Mormon women have been oppressed and stripped ofall power — don’t you know the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world? You said we must choose carefully what authority we obey and where that person cameby that authority. This we, and I believe I speak for the majority of Mormon women, have carefully done and we know our Prophet and Priesthood leaders received their authority from God. What greater source could there be? We know that although the Prophet has the authority to receive revelation for the church in general, we are able and do receive revelations in our own behalf, for our families and other callings and pursuits. We have been taught, however, to test the revelations we feel we receive to makesure they are not from Satan and are in harmony with the revealed truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the living prophet. We know God would never allow His prophetto lead us astray. Going back to’ Korihor in the Bo k of Mormon,he said he would keep on preaching his apostate doctrine and deny the words of the Prophet, Alma, unless he be shown sign. You said you believed Spencer W. Kimball was a prophet of God but that he wouldn’tplainly declare he'd received a revelation stating God is against ERA. You said that’s all you're asking. Isn’t that seeking a sign? Korihor was ie many chances to repent but did not do so until it was too late and God had had to show him sign upon himself and struck him dumb to stop him from deceiving others. He then admitted that the devil had deceived him and that he had been preaching doctrine pleasing to the carnal mind. He had so much success, he wrote, that he began to believe himself that:what he was saying was true and he withstood God’s truth. Please don’t let this happen to you, Sonia, and realize your mistaketoo late. There are many problems that must be solved and you show great courage in working to solve them. But they can only be solved with love because that is God's way. Anincident happened to me, and I was impressed to feel that the Lord is suffering great sorrow over the ath you’re taking. The message I elieve He would haveusall know is how much Heloves you,one of His choice, elect daughers whois lost and in great danger outof thefold. Remember the warning that in the latter days even the very electshall be deceived. We love you and want you back too, Sonia. We need a womanof your reat courage and sensitivity. Church courts are courts of love where those who have gone astray are helped back onto the straight and narrow path. It won't be easy to admit that you were deceived, but we know and will be praying that you can do it. We believe you will yet be a great leader of Mormon women and show us an example of repentanceand restitution which requires the greatest courageof all. If you can comeback, there will be great rejoicing both here and in heaven — now andthroughout eternity. é Sincerely, Thelma Thomas 8936 N. 4000 W. Pleasant Grove government Herald Managing Editor One of the most alarming syn- dromes of Americanlife todayis the well-meaning but ill-advised attemptto idiot-proof every aspect of Americanlife. We have the Occupational Health and Safety Administration trying to removeall risk from the workplace. And in the process, OSHAis sagt ing many small businesses with the cost of complying with someofits more asinine attempts to save workers from themselves. Consumer Products Safety Commission started out with the noble goal of removing dangerous products from the marketplace and also ended up with just another layer of niggling, costly regulations on the American businessman. Finally, Congress continues each year to deal with a number of Erposal to ban private ownership of firearms on the mistaken theory that a law which forces every lawabiding citizen to give the firearms used for sport and protection will keep criminals from getting guns that they already seem able to obtain in contravention of existing laws. Knowing thatif the present trend continues it’s only a matter of time until they have a government agency charged with carrying out enforcement of the bans and confiscations dictated by all the other bureaucracies. | decided it was time again to consult Morbo the Malevolent, Utah County's resident seer, clairvoyant and odor control consultant for a Utah Valley feed manufacturer, to see what we might expect. Morboquickly teleported me to a dayin the near future whereI found myself in the garage going through the travail of installing a new carburetor in my trusty pickup, Ol’ Beatahell “Stretch! I hollered to my sixfoot, two-inch better half. “Could you please bring me the ratchet screwdriver. I'm perched on the valve cover, and I'm afraid if I ever get off here, I'll never be ableto get back up.”” _My bridearrived quickly from the kitchen to answer myplea, but just as she was passing the screwdriver under the hood to me, a hand seemed to comeout of nowhere and snatchit from herbefore I could get it. “T'm afraid I'll have to take that,” said the voice that went with the hand, which I could see belonged to a clean-cut young manin a blue, three-piece, pin-striped suit who was putting the screwdriver into a large gunny sack which seemed clankingly full with other items. “And just who do you think you are?‘ T asked as I begantheperilous climb downfrom the valve coverof my high-slung four-wheel-drive pickup. “I, sir, am Arvid J. Beyurmother Special agent for TRIPE.” TRIPE?’ “Yes, he said, “The Trauma Reversal, Interruption and Prevention Entity. It's our job to see that the federal government provides you with adequate protection from all dangers lurking everywhere.” “Oh really?” “Yes,"’ he said as he took the just confiscated screwdriver out ot the gunny sack and hefted the foot-long toolin his hand. ‘I don't suppose you have a permit for this.” “A peel For a screwdriver?” “Tel it so. They told us in the service there's always 10 percent who don’t get the word.”’ “The word?” “Yes, our agency was created to cary out the enforcement of UP“UPCA?” “Yes, the Universal Protection of Citizens Agency,” which, of course is the entity designated to implement the Universal Protection of Citizens Act. We finally have a central agency to eliminate all danger and risk in society.” “How wonderful.” “Of course, we're going to eliminate allthe injuries from accidents and crime and then accidents and crimethemselves. NowI'll need all your firearms, and powertools, te because they notonlycould hurt you accidentally but they also could be used in criminal activities ‘Oh really “and I'll need all your small apPlicances, kitchen knives and any other tools orutensils with edges exceeding federal sharpness stan- dards,” Whatever happened to that clause in the constitution about not temoving the property of citizens without due process of law?” “Better yet,” my better half chimed in, “how am I supposed to cook dinner or do anything else around the house without myutensils and ara “Naturally, due process was taken care of by virtue of your elected representatives in Congress enacting the law, andif you wish to claim hardship youcanfill out these applications for special use permits to get someof the things back if you can prove ‘desperate need,” Beyurmother said as he dumped an inch-thick sheaf of papers into my wife's hands. “It certainly is reassuring to know that you're out combatting crime and tragedy by confiscating anything that could be used to cause an accident or commit a crime,” I mused. “Better things are yet to come,” Beyurmother said, ‘‘Watch the Federal Register for our proposed regulation to eliminate rape.” Paul Harvey You Decide on Synthetic Oil The annualIndianapolis 500 race is more than a dramatic, dangerous circus. In the research and development of improvedracecarsall cars have been made better and safer. Hoosier philosopher Homer McKee used to say that these daring menof Indy volunteer to take the germ of dangerinto their own bodies to test remedies. It is from them that our auto industry has learned how to make safer tires, sturdier cotter pins, balanced brakes, more reliable steering, alcohol fuels And one thing more. From race car drivers we have learned how to makesynthetic oil that in mosé waysis better than the petroleum product. Oil for an automobile engine does more than just lubricate moving parts. It should also seal and cool and clean an engine. Oil must havea viscosity whichis thin enough to allow for starting in cold weatheryet thick enough not to break down under high heat. Oils must include such compounds as detergents and dispersants to diffuse contaminants until they can be removed by the oil filter. Antioxidants are included also to slow down the creation of acids and sludge. Whenthe Germans started running out of cil during World War II they began developmentof ersatz oil synthesizing hydrocarbons. These synthetics that proved better in many ways than the petroleum product were adapted for jet turbines. Chemically constructed lubricants will flow freely at temperatures which turn most mineral-based oil to glue! A “thinner lubricant’ also creates less resistance—it takes less powertodrive the oil pump,for example. This can mean a four to eight percent increase in gas mileage. Now... If the synthetic oil perform well from 60 below zero to 450 degrees above... And if the synthetics are better able to lubricate such areas as the cam lobe androd bearings . And if the synthetics give better gas mileage... Andif the synthetics hold up so muchbetter that you need “change oil” only after perhaps15,000 miles Andif the engine runs cooler with synthetic oil... Then why in the world don’t we all switch right now? The editors of Car Craft believe weshould. However . . Synthetics now cost two to three times more than mineraloils They are not available everywhereyet. They should not be used in a very new car because the rings won't generate enough friction to seat themselves. They should not be used in very old car because,thinner, they tend to leak from loosefit- tings. And oil filter problems may develop after a long period ofuse. You are on your own. Onthe car I have to park outside I have switched. Robert Waiters Chrysler Misread Car Market By ROBERT WALTERS WASHINGTON (NEA) — The sceneis a familiar onein millions of households: teen-agers beseeching their parents for more spending money while simultaneously denouncing them for a variety of alleged sins. Motor Co. “Chrysler is a traditional leader in fuel economy,” Lee A. Iacocca, the company’s recently installed board chairman, boast2d to a Senate committee. ‘Chrysler builds more smali cars as a percentage of its total production than either General Motors or Ford.” A variation of that familiy drama recently was played on a grander scale in this capital. In the expanded version, the federal government wascastin the role of the parents while the Chrysler Corp. was the free-spending, ill-mannered small car market so late that it has pitifully little capacity to produce economicalautos. The highly touted Omnis and Horizons all have engines built by Germany's Volkswagen, while the Champ and In fact, the companyentered the Colt are built in their entirety by Japan’s Mitsubishi. Byconfining its claims to passenger cars, Chrysler deftly avoids mentioningits ill-advised corporate plungeinto the production of vans, motor homes and assorted other oversized, inefficient vehicles. During 1977 and 1978, Chrysler's share of domestic auto sales wasin the 10 to 12 percent range — but the company accounted for almost 57 percentof all motor homessold. Chrysler led the industry throughout the 1970s in producing teenagers. While imploring the White House and Congress to authorize unprecedented financial assistance tc bail out their corporation, Chrysler executives griped constantly about the real and imagined costs of federal regulation. The incessant nattering from federal nannies about emission controls, fuel ecouomy, air bags, safety bumpersandassorted other government mandateswas — according to companyofficials — a major cause of Chrysler's financial plight. Chrysler now hasits $3.5 billion aid package, including$1.5 billion in federal loan guarantees — andit’s time to set the record straight about howthe companygotintoits precarious financial condition. For decades, Chrysler has been content to be the ‘'me-too’ company of the auto industry, deemphasizing innovation in favor of copying the successful technical improvements and design changes madebyits bigger competitors, ihe General Motors Corp. and the Ford About Le tters: The Daily Herald material, material in poor welcomes letters to the editor on any subject of broad reader interest. Letters preferably should be type-written, doublespaced and not exceed 400 words (about two typed, double-spaced pages). Without exception, every letter mustbe signed in ink with the writer’s full name, home address and phone number (Phone numbers won't be published.) Names can be withheld for good reason but only after personalconsultation with the editor. The editor reserves the right to edit any. letter to removepotentiallylibelous vans designed to be customized with glow-in-the-dark exterior paint jobs, ceiling-to-floor carpeting, quadraphonic sound and swiveling, reclining captain's chairs. taste and to make letters conform to the length requirements. Length requirements can be waived in unusual cases where excess material provides exceptionally pertinent information or insights on a matter of broad communityinterest. Asnearly as possible, ail letters which meet the above requirementswill be published in the order they are recieved, although handwritten letters may be delayed for typing, and letters containing questionable statements may be held back to be verified. The only thing the vans lacked wasrespectable gas mileage — and Chrysler's most recent financial problems stem, in part, from the fact that the bottom dropped out of the van market when gasoline prices began to soar. Chrysler boasts of an enlightened new management team. led by Iacocca. But when General Motors began aggressively marketing small cars several years ago, Ford — then under Iacocca’s leadership countered with a more-for-yourmoney advertising campaign promiting its oversized autos. When lacoeca appeared before the Senate Banking Committee, his testimony was larded with references to the ‘massive cost burden’”’ imposed by federal agencies, ‘the heavy impact of governmentregulation’ and ‘‘burdensome product reyulations.”’ But authoritative analyses show that approximetelyone-half to twothirds of those costs invoive compliance with the fuel economy standards that hive forced Chrysler to finally accep. small, economical cars. Are those standard bureaucratic “nonsense,” as Chrysler claims, or are they responsive to consumer demands? The final word on that aubiect comes from no less an authority than General Motors President Elliot M. Estes: “The customers are ready. They want 1985 fuel economy now.” |