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Photographer of Mormon beefcake
Tiffany Brown
Chad Hardy, creator of the “Men on a Mission” calendar, is working on the 2010 calendar with photographer Shane O’Neal, right, and Mormon models.
Monday, Dec. 22, 2008 | 2 a.m.
Beyond the Sun
Chad Hardy made a beefcake calendar — 12 months of returned Mormon missionaries, posing with smiles and without shirts. His “Men on a Mission” calendar sold 10,000 copies. Hardy made international headlines.
Then he was excommunicated. BYU withheld his college degree.
Hardy’s response? Make more calendars. The 32-year-old Las Vegas resident is now photographing 24 Mormon models for his 2010 calendars, including the first to feature women.
More calendars? Are you trying to antagonize the church, or do you just like punishment?
They sought me out and attacked me. I never once attacked the church. Now I feel like I have to fight back, and I am going to fight back by continuing my project.
You say the calendars are supposed to spark discussion. Does that discussion really go beyond, “Whoa, shirtless Mormons”?
Those who choose to see the deeper message will find it. They’ll discuss why others are so upset by this, and whether you have to look a certain way to have faith.
Aren’t you afraid your message gets buried by the beefcake humor?
That’s kind of the point. Get people laughing first and after that the discussion starts. It’s funny, and there’s nothing wrong with it. What’s worse, showing your human sensual side or withholding that from people and making it dirty?
Despite being excommunicated, do you still consider yourself Mormon?
I’ve questioned the church, the church tried to censor me, but I’m not out looking for another religion.
What’s your take on the LDS church’s financial backing of the campaign to outlaw gay marriage in California?
I’m really disturbed by what the church did. They say they are not anti-gay, then they pull a stunt like that, then they’re confused about why everybody points fingers at them. They say marriage is sacred. It’s sacred for gay couples as well.
Will you feel responsible if the church goes after the people who posed for your calendars?
They came to me. Some want to get out a positive message about the church, some want to give a message to the church.
There is so much pressure to conform, and it’s amazing how afraid the church is of sexuality. I grew up with such shame about my body and sex. I still deal with those issues.
Discussion: 21 comments so far…
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Mr. Hardy is hiding the truth. He did not get excommunicated for the calendars. The church cannot comment because of confidentiality.
His diploma was stopped during his excommunication and he tried to snake the university by taking online classes to finish the diploma.
He also needs to take his transcripts and transfer to another school and finish his diploma. He knew this months before graduation.
He just needs take responsibility for breaking the moral rules and move on with his life, with or without the church.
By the way, polygamist consider marriage to be sacred, does Mr. Hardy support them too? I hope not.
To Shelly Bean - You sound like another uninformed Mormon who takes everything on face value without researching the facts. If you actually did some research you would know that Mr. Hardy has asked the LDS church to publicly declare why they excommunicated him because of this very reason of people assuming he is "hiding the truth." You can read about all of this and see the letters to and from the church and BYU at his website at www.chadhardy.com
Another question for Shelly Bean is: Polygamy is sacred in the Bible so why isn't the church protecting it?
And another question for Shelly...
Why hasn't the church removed and repudiated celestial marriage from their canonized scripture.
Sure, they say they're against polygamy, but they still believe it is a correct practice and plan on plural wives in the afterlife.
When the LDS Church removes D&C 132 from their scripture, they can tell people what traditional marriage is.
Angelrize - the church will never publicly state a person's excommunication and Hardy knows that. He is playing this card. There are set reasons for excommunication, and printing half naked calendars are not on the list.
9ballguy - polygamy was sanctioned in the Bible and during the early days of the church because it was commanded by the Lord. If we were to practice it now, we would not be following the Lord. Polygamy is good under certain conditions. It would not work in our cultures today and the FLDS is good look at how it gets perverted when it is not sanctioned by God.
CaptJack - The section you want removed is not just for polygamy. Yes, we believe the highest kingdom will have an accommodation for those who had more than one wife, legally, in this life, but it is also a word about the importance of marriage (that it is required) for anyone in that level of the kingdom. Yes, there will be parts of the kingdom inhabited by singles, but they will not have eternal increase until they marry. The pattern has been set since the beginning of time and the scriptures validate that marriage, ordained by God, is only between a man and a woman for the purpose of eternal increase. Just as we are his "multiple" children throughout the corridors of time.
Shellybean--you state that the church will never publically state a person's excommmunication. This is not true Have you ever heard of Lyndon Lamborn? He is a Mesa, AZ man who was excommunicated and told that his excommunication would be announced throughout all the wards in his stake--from the pulpit during sacrament meeting. He short-circuited his stake president by giving an interview to the local paper and this interview appeared in that paper the morning of the planned announcement. The stake president withdrew his orders to try to publically humiliate Mr. Lamborn.
I guess that the rest of your knowledge of the mormon church is of the same ilk--whatever your leaders tell you to believe. Do a little studying of your own and you will find that you don't always get all the facts from your leaders.
Shellybean,
How utterly ignorant of you to make such assumptions and then publish them as if they were fact. As a close personal friend of Chad's and staying at his home the day the letter from BYU came, I can assure you that Chad had indeed completed the requirements for graduation prior to his church court and did not know that his diploma would be withheld, neither did his Advisor. In fact, when he called her (prior to receiving the letter), she did not know that the diploma was being held and had to "check into it" only to be told it had a "non-academic" hold. It was only after repeated calls to the BYU offices that the letter was finally sent - in mid-October. He walked for Graduation in August.
He was indeed excommunicated for producing the calendar as "conduct unbecoming a member of the church". The only other reasons stated were that he did not wear the temple garments and had not paid tithing, neither of which are ex-communicable offenses.
A little less judgment and a little more true Christianity would go a long way.
Tonip - In 50 years as a member, not once did I ever hear of a person's excommunication being announced. Remember, excommunication is not a "punishment". It is an act of love. It removes the individual from the covenants they made at baptism and in the temple, therefore, their immoral behavior is not mocking God. It is a chance for the individual to begin a repentance process when they are ready. I can't speak for the Lamborn situation because I have not heard of it, nor was there anything when I googled the name. It is not a practice used in the church. I have taught seminary, gospel doctrine and taken numerous church history courses and never have I heard of anything but complete confidentiality for an individual.
Jewelrygirl, I am very close to the Dean that is in charge of this situation. I can tell you, Chad did try to complete two classes online after he was given notice that his diploma would not be awarded. He broke the rules of the University, not because he was excommunicated. There are many non-memebers attending BYU.
I do not, however, know the reasons for his excommunication. If it was conduct unbecoming, then he obviously did not want to correct a wrong and no, refusing to pay tithing is not an offense for excommunication. There are numerous members who do not pay tithing.
I think Chad will be much happier away from the restriction and confines of the gospel for now considering the activities he wants to uphold. He really shouldn't try to shift the responsibility of his wrong doing onto the church when it is obvious he does not honor the priesthood he was ordained to. It's that simple. No one is "tied down" in the church, yet, there is no room for trouble makers either.
Comment removed by staff.
BYU won't give him his diploma for this?? While my son has a couple of years to decide I can say that BYU will NOT be on the list of schools he might attend. I consider them untrustworthy.
shellybean,
Chad's on-line courses were completed in June - a few weeks prior to his court. He has on-line documentation to prove it. I've seen it and was aware that he was taking the classes and had completed them prior to his even being called to attend a court.
If the Dean you are close to is telling you otherwise, he is miss-informed. Furthermore, I find it highly inappropriate that someone in his of position would break confidentiality and discuss such a matter with you or anyone not in a need to know position. If he has, shame on him. While it is the prerogative of Chad to discuss this matter with whomever he chooses, it is definitely not something the Dean should be discussing with anyone not directly involved, certainly not someone he is "close" to no matter how close.
Also, just because you have not had the experience of an excommunication being announced does not mean that it doesn't happen. I was personally present when the ex-communication of Mary Massung in Sandy was announced and we, as members were advised and warned to "avoid association" with her. We were told she had apostatized and was a "dangerous person".
My father was excommunicated in 1983 and his excommunication while not being announced in Sacrament meeting, was indeed announced in Priesthood meeting.
I suppose the matter of when the classes were completed will be made public soon enough.
Polygamy - just an excuse for pedophiles to take on younger and younger women - all in the name of religion. How to otherwise explain why each new 'wife' is younger than the last - a bunch of pigs - that's what they are - how bout a barnyard calendar next?
SHELLYBEAN
you've done and said all that needs to be said. From this point on you are casting pearls before swine. There are none so blind as those who will not see, nor so deaf as those who will not hear. They have come to the same point as Korihor did. And will most likely come to the same end. You can do no more for them.
you hear that? 'showme' is calling us pigs. or korihor even, (korihor was a really evil guy in the book of mormon). see that's what the church does to non-members, we instantly become pigs, evil misled tyrants. Mormons instantly think Chad committed some secret 'sin' and the calender is just a front. Nope, it actually is about the calender.
he wasn't excommunicated because he did something bad, he's bad because he was excommunicated.
chad hardy is Inviting them to tell what his "sin" was, but they still won't say! why not? because there was none!
Comment removed by staff.
Shelly,
The LDS Church has had no problem changing certain parts of scripture to meet the modern day acceptability. The Book of Mormon has been changed over 3,000 times. The temple cerimonies have been changed drastically since the days they were introduced -- as have the garments.
Heck, just recently they changed the online intro to the Book of Mormon to say Lamanites were SOME of the ancestors of Native Americans, rather than the PRINCIPLE ancestors as it once read (when DNA says the Native Americans came from Asia rather than Israel, as it was originally taught, just change your doctrine. Easy!)
And the idea that the intent of 132 was for plural marriage for people who only had more than one wife here on earth is simply foolish. It's an attempt at revisionist history, and simply incorrect when looked at rationally. But then, logic and reason are not traits that are encouraged in LDS meeting houses. Read the chapter!
But that's not the point. The point is that your church openly advocates and supports polygamy, plans on practicing it in the afterlife, and excommunicates members who follow the advice of the scriptures. Yet urges members to donate to a one man/one WOMAN campaign against gay marriage.
The church is foolish, hypocritical and should be ashamed of themselves.
What I think is so interesting about all of this is that some people are perfectly fine, living inside a box that someone else has designed, and some people are not. Chad is an individual, he is creative, he is a non conformist, he is the sweetest most kind hearted man that I know. There are people writing things about him, who DON'T even know him. Until you've walked the footsteps of a another, how do you truly ever know???
How can you honestly sit here writing comments about a situation YOU are NOT living, and call them valid??? How can you pass judgements on another person you've never met, or been around??
How? And truly the most important question here, is WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT??? Why would even bother, when you know nothing of the situation?? I have one sentence for you......
GET A LIFE!!!!!
Mr. Hardy was ex'd by the LDS church officials because he did not seek/or get approval for his venture from THEM. They are miffed, thus he is excommunicated.... Withholding his diploma from BYU is the ultimate example of what being 'LDS' controlled is all about. HE has earned the
credits and deserves the diploma...HOPEFULLY any and all investigators will keep their college-bound children as far away from this rigid, closed-minded, church run and controlled so-called 'institution of higher(?) learning'.
Remember the article about the female PhD on BYU faculty who had to get 'approval' from a MALE staff member before anything she wrote could be published????.....even if that MALE was from some other subject field? ....
WHOMEVER would want their kids in some place like
that?.......only a worthy, TR Mormon would.
"Polygamy - just an excuse for pedophiles to take on younger and younger women - all in the name of religion."
The only good thing about people like this posting opinions is letting them prove just how ignorant they really are.
For starters the strict definition of "pedophile" is anyone who loves children. So that will include just about everybody, especially parents and grandparents.
Under American common law girls can marry around age 12, boys around 14. In the last decade President Clinton gave an award to America's longest married couple. At the wedding he was 21, she was 13. Today he'd be a registered sex offender for life AFTER being released from prison. In much of the world today the age of consent is 12. Under Islamic law a girl can marry when menstruation begins. According to de Montesquieu's "The Spirit of Laws," a work which influenced our federal Constitution, some fathers married out their daughters as young as 8 to keep them from "falling into debauchery."
I am descended from polygamists and proud of who some of my ancestors are, Anson Call being probably the most well known. Polygamy, like any form of marriage or consensual union and its licensing, never was the state's legitimate business.
Chad, you rock!!
The Mormon Church has historically shown great talent at rewriting its canon of belief. Deciding to hold off marrying multiple wives until the afterlife, deciding to allow African-Americans into the priesthood(until the afterlife??). Could they do many of us a favor and put off their hatred and bigotry against Gay and Lesbian Americans until the afterlife? I promise that if they wind up in MY God's Paradise, I will let them hate me and be as predjudiced against me as God will allow them to be. Just leave us alone until we pass into the next life. I also promise not to bring up Mountain Meadows to the Lord Jesus when I am face to face with him.
One of the best things that can happen to someone is to be excommunicated from their church. God wont be found inside those walls. God is within you already, and the church should be helping you discover that. If not, pray for excommunication or leave on your own.
"See the world through God's eyes. Now, who is doing the seeing?"
- Rumi