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Mormons mortified by missionary positions
Unfortunately, 31-year-old Chad Hardy found this out the hard way. The lifelong Mormon has been excommunicated from the church after producing a calendar that featured 12 Mormon missionaries in various state of undress. His ‘Men on a Mission’ calendar has sold more than 10,000 copies since last year, so some people obviously liked it – but unfortunately, the Mormon authorities don’t seem to be among them…
On his MySpace page, Hardy protests that his calendar was simply ‘a message of religious and cultural tolerance with a sense of humor’ and insists he was merely trying to ‘step outside the status quo of the stereotypes surrounding being a Mormon’. And he certainly managed that – it’s the first time we’ve ever seen a calendar of semi-naked full-time Mormon missionaries (even if they look more like male models than bookish clerics). ‘This calendar has created a really cool phenomenon,’ says Hardy. ‘It has created interfaith dialog all over the world, and [the models] have exposed their stories of service and love, as well as their perfect abs.’
But although the calendar has been flying off the shelves, it hasn’t exactly improved Hardy’s standing in the Mormon community. Apparently he’s received ‘the most appalling hate mail’ from other believers (plus a few born-again Christians), and has now been excommunicated, while his 12 models have also been hauled across the coals (although they appear to have escaped the same fate). The Church’s answer to Hardy’s heartfelt plea – ‘Can't we all just be more tolerant of each other?’ – appears to be: ‘Not really, no’…
So as an entrepreneurial venture, the calendar’s been a mixed success. It may have generated about $150,000, but Hardy seems to have alienated a large part of his core constituency in the process – which could make the business unsustainable in the long term. Although like every good entrepreneur, Hardy is refusing to give up easily – apparently the 2009 edition goes on sale on September 1. You just can't keep a good missionary down...
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Mormons mortified by missionary positions
Comments
bloo it - 17-Jul-08
I hope that someone finally gets this story right. THESE ARE NOT MORMON MISSIONARIES. They did at one time serve missions, but they are not missionaries. Second, we do not know why he was excommunicated. He can say what he wants, but there is likely much more to this story.
Doug Bowen - 18-Jul-08
The Mormon church has long promoted the motto: "Every member a missionary." Bloo it's comment is therefore a distinction without much difference, and a typical knee-jerk apologist reaction--a loyalist trying to defend his organization. If there is a difference, it is that since these young men are no longer serving active missions, they are not breaking any church rules. The LD Church shot itself in the foot with this excommunication.
J M - 18-Jul-08
I am a member of the church and ordered my own calendar. These guys are still missionaries though they are not serving a fulltime mission right now. There may be more to this calendar creators story and we aren't to judge but he is an entrepreneur at heart and I am happy to donate to the causes they choose. I will be enjoying a healthy creations of God that have also served two year missions. The church can be a bit prudish but I believe in the restoration of this Gospel of Jesus Christ.
bloo it - 18-Jul-08
You know - it's funny, I knew someone would throw in that "every member a missionary" line to justify the fact that this article is a deliberate distortion. (Notice it says "full time missionaries"). No knee-jerk reaction there. These are not full-time missionaries, period.
Apologist?
Thank you for the compliment!
Doug Bowen - 19-Jul-08
bloo it doesn't "get it." Whether the young men portrayed are full time, part time or past time missionaries isn't important to anyone but him--as I said, it's a distinction without a difference. So the (non-Mormon) writer of the article made a mistake. Big deal. The fact that they are no longer full-time missionaries just makes the brou-ha-ha stirred up by the LDS Church that much more bizarre. Since there are no church rules prohibiting photography of topless males, the discipline given to Mr Hardy is arbitrary and wholly unjustified. The publicity surrounding Hardy's excommunication will just sell more calendars and make the church look foolish.
The dark suggestion that "there is likely much more to this story" is another predictable tactic of those who would defend the indefensible--smear the excommunicant with innuendo if you don't have further facts. bloo it, enjoy your cult. Just pray it doesn't turn on you someday.
bloo it - 20-Jul-08
Doug:
You dismiss my argument because I defend my faith. At the same time you say the truth is no "big deal." You say there is no church rule specifically prohibiting topless males in pictures (supporting my contention that we may not have all the facts), but then assert that you do in fact have all the facts and the 'confidential' excommunication was "arbitrary and wholly unjustified." You then label my faith a cult.
Remind me again, who is having a "knee jerk reaction"?
Roger Pack - 21-Jul-08
I think he was mostly excommunicated for the calendar. For what it was selling. Apparently this is a "not for sale item." :)
In reality he was probably excommunicated for continuing to publish it when it was deemed "bad" and he was asked not to.
But that's just my $0.02.
:)
=R
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