Under Construction

As some of you may know, Cami and I spent the past 5 days in San Francisco-- well, it was actually 3 days, two days were spent driving. We had two reasons for the trip: 1) so that I could attend the American Anthropological Association Annual Conference; and 2) to have fun. Both those aims were accomplished. I did, in fact, attend the conference (at least a couple of times) and we did have a lot of fun.

Here's the problem, we had so much fun that it will take several installments of posts to adequately cover the fun we had. So, this post is mostly meant to say: Hold yer horses, more is on the way. We promise to have pictures up, stories, and general commentary on the trip.

There is one comment I would like to make about San Francisco before we dive into the really fun stuff about the trip. Many people expressed concern for our safety and well being before we embarked on this trip, and many warned of the Anti-Mormon sentiment that apparently gripped the residents of San Francisco. Although we appreciate the concern, we discovered that there was little need to be worried.

I am sure that there are parts of the city, and places in the Bay area where one should be wary to tread-- LDS or otherwise. Like good little tourists, we never visited those areas and stayed to the main areas of interest (Pier 39, Chinatown, Alcatraz, and Union Square). We didn't make the pilgrimage to Haight/Ashbury, nor did we try to find the red-light district. In fact, from our vantage point, we were pleasantly surprised with the charm and beauty of this historical coastal city. The people we met-- visitors and locals-- were generally quite nice. Aside from a few angry beggars, we never felt uncomfortable or in danger from any of the throngs of people who littered the streets and cable cars of San Francisco. But the question still looms heavy: what about them?

The them which some have asked about refers to the large population of homosexuals in the Bay area who have recently made of the LDS people their enemies. The fact of the matter is that they were there. You had to look for them, they weren't typically auspicious, nor were they in great abundance in the areas we visited. But, I did have an encounter with a gay man, who was from New York state, attending the AAA conference. This story may be instructive.

We met at a mentoring workshop on the Saturday session of the conference. His name was Michael. He was an undergraduate student from Syracuse University in NY. I'm not sure what tipped me off to the fact that he was gay: it could have been the fact that he was holding hands with another man as they walked in front of me down the hallway to the meeting room, or it could have been the fig leaf pendant, GP ring, or the way he crossed his legs. I'm not sure what it was, but I was a little nervous about the pending introduction.

He flung his arm out towards me and cocked his head slightly to the right "Hi! I'm Michael."

I offered my hand in return "Howdy. I'm Ty."

"So, where are you from, Ty?"

Although I was wearing a name tag, my home college was not readily discerned since it only read "BYU." I responded, "I'm from Utah." The word Utah fell like a lead balloon into the meeting room. It felt as though the room was still ringing from a bullhorn announcement that I was a Mormon. Michael didn't respond. He nodded, and turned away looking desperately for another soul with whom he could interact... the only problem was that we were both very early, and no one else had yet arrived.

To say that the following silence was uncomfortable would be a gross understatement. He picked at his fingernails, and I shifted in my seat-- a couple times. I began to prepare to defend the Church and myself from the pending accusations that were building in the silence between us. Finally he spoke.

"What is your field of interest?"

"Cultural Anthropology" I gulped. "And yours?"

"I'm interested in physical anthropology and body politics." He went on to explain his broad interests in queer studies, body control, sexuality studies, and other similar interests. He was all but waving the rainbow flag in my face. I sat quietly listening, a look of interest on my face (and panic in my eyes). He asked me a question.

"Pardon me?" I said, realizing that I had not been listening to him so much as I was pretending to listen as I held back the dread feelings of insecurity, and plead desperately for guidance.

"Have you done any fieldwork, yet?" He repeated.

"Oh, yes. I have. I was in a mortuary prep room for three months." I continued to give my rehearsed little blurb on my research. The recitation was comforting.

He was either a better actor than myself or he was beginning to show a genuine interest in what I was saying. From that point on there was little silence, and we continued to engage in a dialogue about our academic pursuits, goals, and plans. It became clear that, although with some lingering hesitation, we might actually get along.

I never mentioned the church. I'm not sure I even mentioned what school I was from. Not that I was afraid or ashamed, I just didn't feel that I needed to... my being from Utah said all of that for me, apparently. I did not, however, act in anyway that would suggest anything but that I was a Christian. Michael and I continued to have a good interaction throughout the workshop, and I felt a strong impression that some of his preconceived notions about Mormons changed.

I guess I relate this story because I feel that as members of the LDS church, we have been blessed with a knowledge of the Fullness of the Gospel, and how we use that knowledge will greatly influence the way we make a difference in this world. We can use it to change our fallen nature that we might become more Christlike, thus letting the light of Christ fill our whole selves being able to be felt by those we meet. Or we can carry it like a sword: detached from our hearts and wielded as a weapon of condemnation. I believe that we must let our lights so shine. If we are filled with the love of God towards all men, we can and will be beacons of Christianity to the world, even in the face of persecution, enmity, distrust, and sin.

Sorry to get preachy, but I felt it necessary to answer to the fear-mongering press that attempts to make us Mormons afraid to leave the confines of our homes because we stood behind a noble and important issue. Let us go forward with faith, relying on the word of the Spirit rather than the faithless reports of persecution and massive sinfulness.



This is all that I will say on this issue, from here on out we will only post the fun stuff (and pictures, too!)