[irrelig]The long-requested, long-withheld episode on Proposition 8 has finally arrived. We talk briefly about the history of California marriage law, and the seesawing legislation, voter initiatives, and court judgments revolving around gay marriage dating back to the 1970s. We discuss the (LDS-funded) campaign materials and commercials in favor of Proposition 8, which represent arguments made to the voters, and the complete rejection of those arguments in favor of totally different post-hoc arguments made by (LDS-funded) attorneys to the judge. Finally, we talk about the judge’s rejection of all of those arguments, pre- and post-hoc, to strike down Prop 8.

Also, zookeepers put the gay penguins’ gayness to the test.

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[irrelig]The dark times are over, the drought has receded, Irreligiosophy has finally returned from the clouds like one unto a son of man. In preparation for the One True Podcast on Proposition 8, we briefly highlight several past episodes of LDS political involvement, beginning with early clashes between the members of the LDS church and their neighbors, through the polygamy fiasco that almost destroyed it, and wind up with a newly emboldened church that nearly single-handedly defeats the ERA and Hawaii’s recent battle for gay marriage rights.

But go easy on our servers. It’s been a while.

[irrelig]For this episode, we cover the strange LDS practice of baptizing corpses just in case they change their mind and want to become Mormons in the afterlife. We cover the roots of the practice, why it’s done and what scriptural justification Mormons give for it, and the various controversies surrounding it. Also, we actually brought on a listener named Jessica to share her creepy experiences as a young Mormon dragged into the Temple to be baptized for two or three dead people by proxy.

Plus, more Skunk Dicks than you can shake a skunk at in episode 79.

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[irrelig]The second part of the interview strikes a more personal note. Find out more about the culture shock missionaries experience, how the LDS Church treats those who gave up two years of their life to serve it, and the exit interview experience. Once again, Mike comes to the rescue by editing our massive conversation down into a slightly less massive podcast. Thanks, Mike!

No Skunk Dicks this week but we did stick in something very special for the fans, right around the middle of the podcast.

[irrelig]Take a trip down missionary lane with everyone’s favorite ex-LDS brothers, Mike and Chris. Learn all about LDS indoctrination, patriarchal blessings, priesthood ordination, the Missionary Training Center, and early field experiences of a typical LDS missionary. And that’s just part one.

Huge kudos to Mike, who’s slaved away for the past week or so paring down the audio from some 5 or 6 hours of discussion into two 90 minute episodes because I was far too lazy to do it myself.

Check it out, along with an extended Skunk Dick segment, since, hey, we were running long anyway. Might as well bloat the thing out more.

[irrelig]Wherein we discuss the folly of Mormonism from the point of view of a female who lived through it. Britta engages us in a lively discussion about what it’s like to grow up Mormon while simultaneously being female, marry in the Temple, and then subsequently regain her mind and leave the church behind. If you enjoy this episode, you’ll enjoy her blog even more.

It’s all in episode 70, which wraps up Guest Month. Don’t worry, though, we have more guests in store, some already recorded, some waiting in the wings. We’ll just space them out a bit more from here on out. First up on deck: the Mormon Brothers from our LDS Temple episode.