The hero, Sean Binnie

Sean Binnie, a U.K. soldier from Northern Ireland, died in Afghanistan.  The Belfast Telegraph reports his funeral is at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel.   I rely on Lexis/Nexis here and haven't found it online.

Of course, such doesn't mean that he was a Mormon, but it does make it quite possible, indeed likely.  Many of the U.K. media reports gave, not surprisingly, glowing reviews of the life and service of the brave, young hero.  (As here.) None, evidently, have said whether he was Mormon.

Two thoughts:

1.  If this young man was a Mormon, then why isn't this part of the stories while the same U.K. press mentions regularly the religion of the man who invaded the home of the Burmese dissident?  Such suggests an anti-Mormon bias, I think.  (There is a slight case to be made in that Yettaw was supposedly researching a book on religion ...)

2. In all of my reading of news articles about the church, it is as true in media as it is in face-to-face life.  The best public relations the church has is through people who live the gospel fully.  Stories of our missionaries and of our volunteers  -- and of our brave soldiers like this young man appears to be -- are almost always the most positive stories about the church.  Let your light so shine remains true.  Let's hope the press picks up on the Mormon angle, insofar as they pick up on it for the Burmese story.

The Miviludes

An online publication, the Digital Journal, contains an article about one of the most troubling organizations in the Western World, France's Inter-ministerial Mission for Monitoring and Combating Cultic Deviancy.  

This influential organization monitors 50 groups, including Mormons, for their activities that may be deemed illegal -- certain kinds of proselytizing.  This year, the organization, called the Miviludes, issued a report critical of activities of these religions in their dealings with the United Nations -- not necessarily Mormons.

This organization remains a waste of taxpayer dollars.  France deserves all the scorn it can get for allowing this organization what influence it has.  Still, the State Department suggests that there as been little religious discrimination in practice as a result of this organization's work.  That Miviludes succeeds in marginalizing certain sects seems likely.  That it likely hinders Mormon proselytizing also seems likely.  (And if some sects are marginalized and threatened, the so-called dangers do grow more likely.)

Why there are fewer articles about this important organization than there are is a mystery to me.  Kudos to this international publication for trying to start this conversation anew.

Mormon Radio Launches

Without doubt, the launch this week of the Mormon Radio Channel is a visionary, dramatic use of new media by the church. It is a radio channel not broadcast over the air.  (I know of no similar approach by any organization, let alone religion.) Instead, it is an Internet site with an Apple iPhone app following soon so iPhone users can listen on their radios.  Don't be surprised if over-the-air stations ultimately pick it up.

It also looks to be solidly programmed -- thoughtful, uplifting content.

Producing 24-hours-a-day will be a challenge to fill, but it appears that they have done a great job in preparation -- not just a hodge-podge.

Such is just the latest in a series of relevant, thoughtful efforts by church leaders to embrace new media, including the Mormon Messages channel on YouTube and BYU-TV.  This is very exciting stuff.

I can hardly wait for what happens next.

Maybe a little moralizing

The Australian -- the leading newspaper in Australia -- had another article this week about a Mormon in trouble with the law.  The article asked whether the Mormon church profited from the member's alleged illegal scams.  The church accurately denied any reports.  The church never takes donations from corporations or from governments to run what it does -- so it can remain independent.

Let me moralize here.  Mormons are noticed, especially internationally.  As often as gracious papers like those in the American press, who chose not to report on the Burmese protester's religion, chose to ignore Mormon religion in their coverage of crime, there are still cases where the faith comes up.  

There is much to be said to being an example of the believers at all times and in all places.  As such, it can have a negative effect on the church when a person messes up.  Alas, the caravan moves on. 

More on Yettaw

Papers across Europe and around the world have been noting the fact that the man who landed Aung San Suu Kyi in so much trouble is a Mormon with a history of mental trauma and probable illness -- his ex-wife says, not surprisingly, that she thinks he suffers from bipolar disorder.

His Mormonism is almost never been mentioned in the American press that I can find -- save an important Associated Press article.

If it matters to anyone, Mormon doctrine says that Mormons should obey the law.  This is clearly a violation of the law and, therefore, this sad man is in violation of Mormon teaching.  

Beyond this, his strange stunt does little to help anyone with mental disabilities.

What a sad, sad story.  

The Nutty Mormon in the Guardian

As Massimo Introvigne so ably pointed out in the International Journal of Mormon Studies recently, the European Press does a poor job of evaluating Mormonism,  often getting their facts wrong and playing our faith as stereotype.

Today, London’s Guardian again framed Latter-day Saints as nut cases.  World-renowned Burmese peace activist Aung San Suu Kyi receive a visitor this week – a violation of her house arrest and a visit that appears that it will extend her tragic confinement. 

The visitor was John Yettaw, the Guardian reports, who was also arrested.  He had home-made flippers and swam about a mile across the lake that isolates her. 

Catch these stereotypes for strange people in the article:  He is a Vietnam vet.  He is from the Ozarks.  And, that’s right, he’s evidently a Mormon – supposedly working on a “faith-based” book on heroism.  He is even described as a “nutty fellow” in the article.

Credit, however, goes to The Washington Post.  Its much-more detailed, factual account of the event never brings up his faith – it isn’t relevant to the story.  So, when people say, "Why do reporters always bring up a Mormon’s faith in stories?" They don’t always know the times reporters don’t.

Here is a clear example of a media representative doing the right thing by not engaging in stereotype or bringing up a faith. 

Two very positive stories today

Two more stories worth reading:

The New York Times talks about the church approach to development in Downtown Salt Lake, one of the few major developments in the country that continues despite the downturn.  The reason, the church's debt-averse approach to finance.

The news room of the U.S. military's Southern Command, graciously talked much about the church's efforts to provide humanitarian assistance on the U.S.S. Comfort -- the Naval Hospital ship.