Ex-Mormon apostle honors Joe Lieberman

Remember former U.S. Senator and failed presidential and vice-presidential candidate Joe Lieberman? For those whose memory is a little hazy, this is how the far-left Wikipedia summarizes his position on killing children:

Overall Lieberman has a pro-choice voting record, and in 2007 he received a grade of 100 from the abortion rights organization NARAL Pro-Choice America. While running in the Democratic primaries in the 2004 presidential election, Lieberman said that as president he would "follow a policy that makes abortion safe, rare and legal." He voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.

And on killing adults:

According to a 2003 article in the Boston Globe, Lieberman "initially supported the Vietnam War, then changed his mind in late 1967, when he decided it was 'the wrong place to be.' He has firmly backed every military action since then: Grenada, Libya, Panama, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and both Gulf wars." Since that time, he has repeatedly urged new American attacks against Iran, Syria and, most recently, action in Yemen against terrorists.

He was also an early advocate of turning YouTube into the censorship platform it has become today. This was in 2008, so before-it-was-cool that even the far-left New York Times was against him.

Lieberman "demanded that YouTube take down hundreds of videos produced by Islamist terrorist organizations or their supporters. YouTube reviewed the videos to determine whether they violated its guidelines, which prohibit hate speech and graphic or gratuitous violence. It took down 80 videos, but left others up. Mr. Lieberman said that was 'not enough,' and demanded that more come down." The New York Times reported that Lieberman was "trying to pressure YouTube to pull down videos he does not like" and wrote that "[w]hile it is fortunate that Mr. Lieberman does not have the power to tell YouTube that it must remove videos, it is profoundly disturbing that an influential senator would even consider telling a media company to shut down constitutionally protected speech."

Imagine the Times saying anything remotely like that today! The senator was truly a man ahead of his time.

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And here's what Ex-Mormon Apostle Quentin L. Cook is up to these days.

You can tell from his face that this guy just loves being allowed to hang out with celebrities. Here he is last year with a Harvard "African American studies" professor and a handsy archbishop.

I give Elder Cook a hard time, but he really was a prophet, at least once in his career.

What happened since then? James sums it up pretty well.

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God (James 4:4).

Quentin L. Cook on why religious freedom is important

Quentin L. Cook, a Harvard "African-American Studies" prof, and an Archbishop

Historically Mormon Apostle Quentin L. Cook (previously featured on this blog for his 2012 sermon "Don't Wear Masks") spoke at an interfaith summit at Notre Dame University on Monday. CJCLDS Church News summarizes his remarks thus:

Elder Cook noted how religion has moved religious people, such as William Wilberforce (Great Britain) and the Quakers (early America) to abolish slavery. He also pointed to the animating force of faith in people such as Martin Luther King Jr., who promoted civil rights in the United States in the 1960s.

Elder Cook said some people claim that upholding the principles embedded in the U.S. Constitution (such as religious freedom) does not square with protecting the rights of minority groups. He pushed back, saying that support of the Constitution and advocacy for “strong, peaceful efforts to overcome racial and social injustice are not opposites. Eliminating racism at all levels needs to be accomplished. And, historically, religious conviction has been one of the great forces in accomplishing that goal.”

Helping the world better recognize the good that people of faith do must be a joint project, Elder Cook said.

“My plea today is that all religions work together to defend faith and religious freedom in a manner that protects people of diverse faith as well as those of no faith,” the Apostle said.

Christianity is one potentially effective means (among others, including atheism) to the end of fighting "racism."

Genuinely prophetic counsel from then-Mormon Apostle Quentin L. Cook

In days of old, when Mormons roamed the land -- i.e., way back in 2012 -- Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles -- card-carrying prophet, seer, and revelator -- gave this prophetic address to young adults, with the straightforward title "Don't Wear Masks."

He begins thus:

As I have reflected on who you are, the feeling has come over me that you might not fully appreciate the significance of your generation. I believe you have the background and the foundation to be the best generation ever, particularly in advancing our Father in Heaven’s plan.

In view of the enormous potential for good that you possess, what are my concerns for your future? What counsel can I give you? There will be great pressure on each of you to act out of character—even to wear a mask—and become someone who doesn’t really reflect who you are or who you want to be.

To become, for example, a cringing, criminally gullible bootlicker begging for more totalitarianism please? This is prophecy. This man is -- or was in 2012 -- a prophet.

There follows a brief lapse -- a warning of things to come? -- in which Elder Cook cites Abraham Foxman (the leader of a prominent hate-police organization) as some sort of authority figure, ironically condemning in the same breath those who "appointed themselves as so-called moral watchdogs." Later he also quotes a New York Times policy with approval. Homer nods, but the talk as a whole remains solid.

While the (plausibly deniable) birdemic angle is what stands out the most when one reads Elder Cook's remarks in 2020, he also comes out against the very obviously harmful practice of Internet anonymity.

I do believe, in our day, when being anonymous is easier than ever, that there are important principles involved in not wearing a mask and being “true to the faith … for which martyrs have perished.”

One of your greatest protections against making bad choices is to not put on any mask of anonymity. If you ever find yourself wanting to do so, please know it is a serious sign of danger and one of the adversary’s tools to get you to do something you should not do.

Ironically, all the Mormon and historically-Mormon bloggers I read use pseudonyms.

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Note: It pains me to report that Mr. Cook no longer identifies as a Mormon and currently serves on the governing board of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Members of the Church of Jesus Christ. This is what he looks like today.

Utah is of course no longer a free state, and Mr. Cook has no choice but to wear a mask in public or face legal consequences. I can hardly blame him for not being a heroic martyr -- but I can and do blame him for not publicly repenting.

The spirit. Definitely the spirit.