Not that this much is news, but American Family Association spokesperson Bryan Fischer is up in the night. Yesterday Fischer suggested that the mainstream Mormon church’s OK on gay boys becoming Boy Scouts is a ploy geared to pave the way toward the re-establishment of its prior practice of polygamy.

There is no evidence to suggest that the church is posturing for a return to polygamy. Fischer appears to have pulled this from his butt. (Irony intended.)

Besides allowing gay boys to become Boy Scouts (but not gay men to become Scout leaders), the LDS Church has “softened” its stance on the LGBT community only in two respects. Before a Salt Lake City Council meeting a year ago, it supported nondiscriminatory employment and housing practices; and nowadays it says a same-sex attraction isn’t sinful per se provided one doesn’t act on it.

The church still opposes same-sex marriage and marriage-like unions, and considers homosexuality—or, at least, homosexual acts—sinful.

Oh, and it opposes polygamy, too. We don’t expect to see that change anytime soon. As we observed in a blog post last week, the average octogenarian male can handle only so much.

To watch a video clip of nutcase Fischer and read more about him as reported in AMERICAblog, click here.

Opponents of same-sex marriage love to worry aloud that legalized polygamy is next, to be followed by legally marrying your dog. We suggest they look up “non sequitur.”

Either way, we’re fairly certain you won’t see the mainstream Mormon church seek to officially reinstate polygamy anytime soon. Why? Pure pragmatism. When founder Joseph Smith started polygamy, he was a libidinous young man in his 20s. Today you don’t get to be a Mormon prophet until you’re well into your 80s. Big difference in appeal, drive, stamina and, we suspect, capability.

The Mormon Church believes that God is married. And that Mrs. God is humankind’s Heavenly Mother.

Mormons avoid talking about her in public. The only official allusion to Heavenly Mother appears in the lyrics of the popular Mormon hymn O My Father, penned in 1845 by Eliza R. Snow (one of church founder Joseph Smith’s 30-50 polygamous wives). You can also infer the existence of Mrs. God from the fact that Mormon doctrine stipulates that a man must marry to attain godhood (the whole a-man-can-become-a-god thing is another topic Mormons avoid in public). Church leaders have alluded to Mrs. God over the pulpit, but if need be such can be dismissed as opinion-not-doctrine. This allows for plausible denial on an as-needed basis. If you happen to think the concept is cool, Mormons can proudly own it. If you happen to think it’s weird, they can disavow it.

Today’s edition of The Salt Lake Tribune features an interesting look at Mormondom’s Heavenly Mother. Click here to read.

Doubtless you have heard of Elizabeth Smart, who in 2003 was famously rescued from a dangerous, polygamist abductor-rapist-nutcase. (News of her rescue was what prompted the Vogue magazine to feature Joanne and her family in the wake of their own departure from the polygamist cult in Manti.)

After the ordeal, Smart returned to and served as a missionary for the mainstream Mormon Church. Actively participating Mormons are discouraged from contradicting the church’s official stances. This makes her recent statements at Johns Hopkins all the more courageous.

Smart suggested that human trafficking victims may not run away if they have been raised in conservative cultures that push abstinence-only education and emphasize sexual purity because they may feel worthless after being raped.

We cheer Ms. Smart’s insight and courage. To read more about her presentation as reported in ThinkProgress.org, click here.

“I loved reading your book. The title is so funny yet true. It was so entertaining and very well written. I could hardly put it down. It made me laugh and cry through the whole thing. I am so glad you were able to leave and share your story. I would love to go to one of your book signings. My husband actually heard you speak. He bought your book and brought it home for me to read. I live in Lindon, Utah. Email me and let me know if you are speaking again soon. Thanks.”—Jill N

Joanne replies: Thanks, Jill. I will post here as local speaking/signing events come up. If you belong to a group that would enjoy having me speak, please let me know (click here to contact me).

It’s not every day you get a review in a prestigious magazine like Free Inquiry. So to celebrate, we saved our pennies and placed an ad, shown above. Our thanks go to our friend and colleague the immensely talented Jeff Bacon for donating his design talents, and to the James Randi Educational Foundation’s Barbara Drescher for her kind words and her permission to use them. (Note to Mr. Flynn: If your review says nice things, a future ad will quote you, too. You have been warned.)

We’ll let you know when the issue hits newsstands and the mail. If the review appears online, we’ll also provide a link.