Monday, September 8, 2008

New found popularity

Yesterday (Sunday) I set a new record for the number of hits to my blog. Today (Monday) is already breaking that record. After all these years - I've finally become one of the cool kids!

So, where is all of this new traffic coming from?

www.bycommonconsent.com
openmormon.com
www.thefoyer.org
forum.newordermormon.org
www.postmormon.org

I must confess that I feel a bit naive as, before today, with the exception of bycommonconsent.com, I was unaware of the existence of these other sites.

It seems my post about the letter read by my bishop warning us of "Dale Callahan" is prompting all of this new found popularity. If you google "dale callahan mormon" or "dale callahan lds" then my blog is near the top of the results list linking to my post titled And they shall be ignored. (in other news, someone recently found my blog by googling "lds chili fest" - go figure)

In, possibly, related news, I also discovered that my blog (as well as other queerosphere blogs) is linked from the Mormon Blogosphere portal under the heading "Liberal/Fringe Elements".

Lest anyone start thinking that I'm becoming a fringe church hating liberal fag, I feel inclined to clarify my position.
I am an active member of the LDS church, I serve in the bishopric of my ward. I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon as a second testament of Jesus Christ. I support Thomas S. Monson as a prophet, seer, and revelator. I support my local church leaders.

I do not, however, believe in infallibility of our church leaders - a case in point, is the decision of the church to abandon it's normal position of political neutrality and encouraging the saints in California to donate of their time and means to help pass prop 8. Another prophet gave us the 11th article of faith - I feel we should live by that creed. I've explained my support for gay marriage here and here.

Oh, and I happen to be gay - does this make me a fringe church loving conservative fag?
And, for all of you new visitors - welcome to the Mormon queerosphere, a blogging community of gay Mormon's. Some of us are active members of the church. Others have left the church behind, but still have some affinity for their Mormon roots. Most are single, but a significant minority are married (both heterosexually and homosexually). A goodly number of us have children of our own. Most of us prefer to think of ourselves as 'gay', but a few prefer the more politically correct 'same sex attracted' or 'same gender attracted'. Most of us are male, but we do have some females in our ranks. We're all over the board in political and social issues. All in all, we're just like you - well, except for that gay thing.

If you feel so inclined, check out the blogs by other members of our little family (links in the right hand nav bar). If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me, a link to my email is in my blog profile. You're certainly more than welcome to join in our discussions, which range from the mundane to the interesting. We only ask that you play nice.

And, as you may expect, the topic of gay marriage is of great interest here in the queerosphere. But, so are other topics.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm listed under Liberal/Fringe elements on that site, too. When I mentioned this to someone (not gay) who reads my blog, he said, "Really? Your site is like the gay version of the Ensign."

Which. Was. Hilarious.

I'm actually fairly conservative, but apparently simply being gay makes me a fringy liberal.

Whatev.

Unknown said...

It seems like Mr. Callahan has found your blog according to one of those message boards :) Congrats!

Oh, and I would like to extend my welcome to all visitors, too... whomever may read this at least.

Abelard Enigma said...

apparently simply being gay makes me a fringy liberal.

Hmmm, that's kinda catchy. We could be the fringy liberal branch of the conservative movement. It makes about as much sense as being gay and Mormon.

Sean said...

I wish that I was popular like you... :( Oh Abelard! You have always been popular in my book!

PS I love the pic... it kind of reminds me of the Fonz from Happy Days! :)

Abelard Enigma said...

it kind of reminds me of the Fonz from Happy Days!

Actually, it's a picture I found of a guy doing his Fonzie impersonation.

Wait a sec - you weren't even born when Happy Days was on TV ... care to explain that? Hmmm

Bored in Vernal said...

Don't worry, guys, I too am listed under Liberal/Fringe elements--and I'm not gay AND I have a temple recommend. That column is definitely the cool place to be on Mormon Blogosphere.

And I was one of your stats BEFORE last weekend!!

Kevin Jackson said...

Jeez. What am I? If a Republican like you is a Liberal/Fringe, and I'm supporting Obama, what does that make me?

Unknown said...

Dear Abelard Enigma:

I am very happy for your new found popularity, and if I had any small part in it then I am pleased for that as well. As I mentioned on your other thread, I think it is important that you and other gay members speak out and not be forced into any closet.

At Signing for Something, http://www.signingforsomething.org we particularly like for gay and lesbian members of the church to tell why they oppose California's Prop 8. Two other sites have recently been established also, Mormons for Marriage and Understanding LDS Homosexuality that are additional places where the voices of gay and lesbian LDS members are welcomed

I applaud you for your straightforward way of discussing things. This is important education you are providing to the rest of us. Unfortunately, too many people see a label "gay" "Mormon" "straight" "Democrat" "Muslim" and automatically assume that anyone with that label has a certain set of traits and characteristics. Thank you for helping to show that not all gays think the same, act the same, or vote for the same political party.

Congratulations to you on your increased popularity. I encourage you to use your new found fame for good. You seem like a wonderful man, with his priorities in the right places.

Best wishes.

Beck said...

I can't believe I've been labeled as "liberal fringy". I have never been labeled as "liberal". "Fringy" maybe but "liberal fringy"? This is a whole new world for me.

Does that mean they think I'm on the path to hell, or the point of no return? I don't know whether to be flattered or hurt.

At least I'm with a lot of good company! :)

Anonymous said...

Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!