The first time the Rev. Scott Hayashi served Utah\u2019s Episcopal Church, he was puzzled by some parishioners\u2019 tendency to define themselves by what they weren\u2019t: Mormons.<\/p>\n
He even remembers pointing out the silliness in a sermon at Ogden\u2019s Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, where he was rector from 1989 to 1998.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked, \u201d\u02dcDoes this mean if the LDS people are against gambling, we should be for it? If the LDS people have the Mormon diet and believe whole grains, moderation in eating and getting exercise is what you should do, that means we should eat all high-fat foods and not exercise? If the LDS people are against smoking, that means we should all be smoking like chimneys? Does this make any sense?\u2019\u201d\u2030\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
The next bishop for Utah\u2019s 5,200 Episcopalians now frames the question this way: \u201cShouldn\u2019t we have an identity that is formed on the positive, as opposed to being against something?\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n