Tuesday, May 09, 2006

proclamation on the economy

brigham young knew what the real threats to the nation and family were. and it wasn't gay marriage.

i made a nice printable version of his proclamation on the economy that you can download here.

18 comments:

  1. What do you consider to be the most important parts of this proclamation?

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  2. This is great Loyd. You need to start distributing this in church ;)

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  3. Sorry, totally not related.
    I'm really interested in the religious conference you mentioned on my blog. When is it? I'd love to know more details about it. thanks!

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  4. russ... ummm the first and second paragraphs? i'm not exactly sure what you are asking for?

    joe... thanks. when you gonna e-mail me your paper?

    heather... i don't think a date has been finalized. i'll let you know when it is.

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  5. This is not even close to a counter-argument in behalf of gay marriage, but it is an interesting read. I'm sure if gay marriage was an issue in Brigham Young's time he would have had plenty to say about it...not supportively I might add. I do agree with Joe Vogel (even if he was kidding) that the LDS community needs to be reminded about these things. In fact, I was recently lectured by a well meaning RM about the righteousness of capitalism as opposed to the evils of communism (even in theory, he said.) In my experience this seems to be a typical view. By the way Loyd, I like that you're not shy about pointing out inconsistencies that you observe, but it is possible to be bold without being abrasive. (I meant that in reference to your "dropping the bomb" in Elders Quorum.)

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  6. Rebecca... are you Becca? Or some other Rebecca I know?

    Thanks. I can be a little abrasive at times. The "bomb" wasn't as abrasive as it may seem in print. The bomb wasn't something that caused damage, but was rather something that obviously hit people pretty deep. I have since had several people come and thank me for it.

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  7. Rebecca or Becca. How many do you know? I'm the one who works down the hall from you.

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  8. Becca? You still work there? I thought you were gone?

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  9. I'll be there for one more semester this fall. I thought you knew. By the way, I like your blog.

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  10. Thanks. I thought you were moving to Maryland or Seattle or one of those places that isn't here.

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  11. I change my mind a lot. I'll see you this fall.

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  12. so you aren't working this summer then. we need to play.

    if you use any messengers, add me

    msn = loydo38 at hotmail dot com
    yahoo = loydo38
    aim = onehellameanguy

    or e-mail me loydo38 at ericsonhome dot net

    or call me.

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  13. I'll e-mail.

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  14. As it turns out, the document was originally published in a pamphlet circa 1875, was NOT titled "Proclamation on the Economy" but was actually titled "The Economy," and lastly, significant amounts of the original text have been left out of, and altered in, this version.

    Being a socialist, and raised in the church, I was really excited when I stumbled upon this "proclamation," but unfortunately the context of this article is not portrayed accurately.

    In fact, this was actually an endorsement for ZCMI, which was run by the church.

    Oh, and I forgot to mention that it was never actually signed by Brigham Young or any of the other's at the bottom.

    A bit of a let-down, but it's still very interesting, and worth using in a Mormon debate on anti-capitalism hahah.

    Cheers!

    REED

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  15. Quite aware of the history of this and have confirmed the wording from at least Clark's messages of the first presidency... though I haven't yet found the Apostolic Circular where it was originally published.

    Much more than just an endorsement of ZCMI, it was an endorsement of the coops that were created to stand against the capitalism that Young and others feared. So regardless of the practical intent of their message, the principles behind it are true and just as prophetic as ever.

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  16. Loyd, I follow your comments as well as post so I saw this and read the original post. Very interesting. I see capitalism as a method that encourages personal initiative, but due to natural man tendencies we need things in place to prevent the negatives of greed and corruption. I don't know what BY taught on the subject though. I love to say that the UO is similar to communism in many ways b/c people are blind to that fact. So, all that being said, where do you fall and why?

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  17. Loyd, I found this in a book on the History of Salt Lake City published in 1886. It does show that it was signed by Brigham and everyone else. It's in the middle of the chapter in this book about the birth of ZCMI. After posting the Circular in its entirety, it says (a few paragraphs later) "It was George Q Cannon who wrote the encyclical letter published by the Church upon co-operation which is published in this chapter. Historically, it was a statement made by the Church relative to ZCMI as an *established* success of the Mormon people in co-operation, and to stimulate the community to perpetuate its existence." http://bit.ly/bFK4Co

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  18. This is a sham.

    http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700259567/Document-does-fine-on-its-own.html

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