Mourning the loss of President Gordon B. Hinckley, the beloved Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, members and non-members alike are flocking to Utah by the tens of thousands.
From Hinckley memorial register signing locations, the Church President lying in state for two days prior to the funeral on Saturday, to the funeral services, tremendous numbers of people wish to pay tribute to President Hinckley.
"In addition to the crowds coming to pay their respects, the same group that protests at military funerals, the Westboro Baptist Church, is planning on showing up. Wihongi says it's their right to demonstrate, but he's warning funeral-goers not to let these people tick them off. "If people just do their thing and don't give them the audience they're looking for," he said." www.ksl.com link
While Utah is prepared for the concourses of public, protesting may cause havoc as those whose emotions are already running thin from mourning may find their anger ignited in defense of this man, whose magnificence is globally respected.
Some have begun preparations to stop the picketing of this so-called "church", the Westboro Baptist Church, from disrupting the reverence of the ceremonies that are planned.
Link To Comments Regarding Protesting
"Word on the street is...
Westboro Baptist Church is going to protest his funeral. Apparently they think Gordon B. was making it ok to be gay or something. Who knows with those idiots.
On the brighter side, there will be a counter-protest where they will be blocking these idiot's view with sheets, tarps, etc.
There will be no provocation of the protesters, and no one involved in the counter protest will even speak to them. the goal is to block their view, and blocking them from view. Kinda cool I think.
Anyone interested in joining this silent, and non-violent counter demonstration, can attend a planning meeting this Friday night at...
Coffee Connection.
1588 S State St.
Starts at 8 PM.
The counter-protest meet up is at 200 N West Temple, Saturday 9am.
Thanks."
Looking at what this Westboro Baptist Church stands for, it is a disgust and disgrace that it is representing itself as a Baptist Church. Certainly, we all know that the Baptist religion does not preach this way. They represent themselves in an upstanding Christ-like manner. On the other hand hatred is preached from every angle from Westboro Baptist Church.
Regarding President Hinckley and the "Mormon" church, they have printed a flyer that digs quotations from the Bible and directs them in such a way that is...well in order to get the full gist, unfortunately you may have to read a quote. Link to pathetic flyer, click here
"It is impossible for anybody who believes Mormon nonsense to get to Heaven. All dead Mormons are in Hell, where they are tormented day and night forever. Rev. 14:10,11"
"...in religious protest and warning; to wit:"Be not deceived; God is not mocked." Gal. 6:7. God Hates Fags! & Fag-Enablers. Ergo, God hates Gordon Hinckley and every Mormon heretic."
For anyone reading the above quotations, steam may start streaming out of your ears from anger. However, remember what President Hinckley has said, what he has stood for during his life. In this case, he would show mercy. He would probably send them a smile and then turn the other cheek. He would not confront them to stir them up further in anger and stress, to assist them in bringing their cause further to the forefront. He would be gentle and Christ-like.
Look at what these people stand for, ripping apart scripture for their own good. "Since 1955, Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) has taken forth the precious from the vile, and is therefore as the mouth of God (Jer. 15:19)."
They are not only picketing President Hinckley's funeral, but additionally picketing the funeral of Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, both on the same day. What good does this "organization" feel it is actually doing? Here is what they say on the Lauterbach funeral picketing schedule regarding Marines. Picket Schedule Link
"They are sissified, perverted, brute beasts, who will beat you bloody. We have had numerous incidences with Marines; they are all foul-mouther and violent, with very few exceptions, if any. They are a microcosm of Doomed America, and they are all irreversibly headed for Hell for fighting for a nation that has gone the way of Sodom and Gomorrah: Isaiaah 3:25 Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war...[You're going to eat your babies!]...The siege is coming! America is Doomed! Amen!"
While looking into this church and its beliefs, the bio of Pastor Fred Phelps was pretty helpful, along with a memo he wrote to his church, which shows global hatred. Link To Memo
Obviously, from this memo, he wants control of his "congregation". Talking about where his "congregation" won't find the truth he states, "...and you don't find it in the form of a Bible college or a theological seminary, or a Sunday School of little churches meeting in different rooms for different age groups, or a super church with hierarchical rulers of archbishops, district superintendents, cardinals, popes or any such human authority above the local church, or a Billy-Graham-type multi-church crusade, or a so-called universal, invisible church, or a Youth for Christ Rally, or a foreign mission board, or a Focus on the Family-type Radio ministry, or a TV ministry -- or any of these legions of extra church religious groups, all of which have no authority from God Almighty to speak for Him or even to exist, and all of which therefore are Satanic frauds preaching Armenian lies."
So, if steam wasn't already streaming out of your ears, your face is now red with the fury of anger. Or you are at the point of thinking,"What?".
Shouldn't what the Westboro Baptist Church is doing be classified as hate crimes? What is a hate crime? Wikipedia link
"Hate crimes (also known as bias motivated crimes) occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her membership in a certain social group, usually defined by race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, or political affiliation. Hate crimes differ from conventional crime because they are not directed simply at an individual, but are meant to cause fear and intimidation in an entire group or class of people.
Hate crime can take many forms. Incidents may involve physical assault, damage to property, bullying, harassment, verbal abuse or insults, or offensive graffiti or letters."
Further, the punishments for these incidents are becoming harsher due to the hate crimes that are "the most destructive of the public safety and happiness. It is said that, when the core of a person’s identity is attacked, the degradation and dehumanization is especially severe, and additional emotional and physiological problems are likely to result. Society then, in turn, can suffer from the disempowerment of a group of people. Furthermore, it is asserted that the chances for retaliatory crimes are greater when a hate crime has been committed. The riots in Los Angeles, California, that followed the beating of Rodney King, a Black motorist, by a group of White police officers are cited as support for this argument."
In these cases, where this group intends to bully and harass, give verbal abuse and/or insults during their protests, wouldn't these be considered hate crimes? Wouldn't there be a reason to shut this system of picketing down, even with the freedom of speech and expression?
"The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously found that penalty-enhancement hate crime statutes do not conflict with free speech rights because they do not punish an individual for exercising freedom of expression; rather, they allow courts to consider motive when sentencing a criminal for conduct which is not protected by the First Amendment."
During these funerals, do as the loved ones would want you to do. Look the other way. Forget these predators are trying to entice hateful emotions. Additionally, if you are reading this and are able to protect the families involved from these predators, please do so as has been so wonderfully done in past picketing experiences performed by Westboro.
Sources:
www.ksl.com
www.godhatesfags.com (Westboro Baptist Church)
en.wikipedia.org
6 comments:
Thank you for bringing up the issue of hate crimes in this well written article.
I have also said before that the WBC cult members should be prosecuted for hate crimes for what they do.
They are not Christians.
Good article. The Westboro Baptists are a hate group on par with the KKK and neo-Nazis. They may have free speech rights, but I hope the counter protesters shut them down. The WBC definitely does not exhibit true Christian behavior, and they give Christians everywhere a bad name.
Great article. WBC does apparently have a lot of anger and hate. They're basically ignorant and extremist in their views. They have free speech but their actions should be condemned.
The best thing mourners of President Hinckley can do is ignore the protesters and if anything, use their large numbers to block the line of sight of the protesters and give them as little media coverage as possible.
It is tragic that this pathetic group (Westboro Baptists) choose to abuse their free speech rights as they do. I am not Baptist nor am I Mormon. I believe that President Hinckley was a true Christian who lived an exemplary life of service to his church and to humanity at large. The wonderful outpouring of love in his final tribute is testimony to his life well lived and his humanity. Let us each be certain that when this Phelps person leaves the planet he will not be grieved or loved as President Hinckley has been. My grandmother used to say "The proof is in the pudding." I think President Hinckley's life of giving, selflessness and service is a perfect example of that and while his spirit will live on in the hearts of many, Pastor Phelps and the Westboro hate-mongers will not.
I think they are a decidedly more insidious group than what anyone has considered so far. As part of the various groups or cabals, if you will, that are vying for power in the current political arena, there is one such, that would like to turn American into a Christian-Fascist state. Personally, I think this is the radical edge of that movement, much like what is happening in the Muslim world. Hold on, I think we will be seeing a lot more of these radical, change-America-to-conform-to-the-Bible zealots in the future.
And I agree, President Hinckley lived his life with no double standard or scandal. He lived by example. He was a man of peace!
I have no political or religious affiliation and consider myself a true Independent.
Independent, the thing is, they aren't Christians and they don't live by what the Bible says. That's where the true danger lies. These people are sick.
On a positive note, I didn't hear that they actually showed up at either funeral, nor did they make it to Oz for Heath Ledger's service. That's a good thing. They've already had their asses sued off and claim not to be able to pay the settlement, so I don't know where there's getting the money to travel around protesting. I hope they get ripped a new one and have to shut down for good.
Also, I am curious about how they can call themselves a church of any sort and also why the Baptists allow them to parade around dirtying up their names.
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