This is Kirtland! 2010

"This is Kirtland!" has opened for the 2010 season.  We opened last night and had our second performance tonight.  There is one more performance tomorrow night followed by 4 more next week and three the following. So far things have gone pretty well.  There are still a few things that need to be worked on and tweaked, but for the most part it really can't get much better than it already is.

I am again playing Sidney Rigdon, marking the first time I've ever reprised a role in the five years I've been part of the show.  I've been part of this show in some form since it started back in 2004 and have been part of the cast since 2005 every year except 2008 when I was in graduate school (hard to believe it's been 2 years already since grad school!!).  Every year prior I've been a different part: 2005 I was more or less a flexible role having lines as John Johnson but being credited on the cast picture board as Titus Billings.  In 2006 I played Professor Seixas and was a general member of the mens chorus; I also didn't dance that year.  I played N.K. Whitney in 2007.  I came back last year and got the role of Sidney Rigdon and also got put not only in the men's dance numbers but also the couples' dance.  This year, already being familiar with the Sidney Rigdon part, rehearsals were pretty easy as I didn't have to spend much time learning lines or music.  Basically all I had to do this year was learn some slightly new blocking and new dance moves for two of the dances I do in the big feast scene.

Once the run is over July 17, I'll probably blog a little more about my overall experience.  For the most part I've enjoyed it again, mostly because of the people I work with; they're tons of fun to be around.  We've definitely had some challenges this year with the changes that were made and with all the new people.  I'll admit I was pretty bummed when I saw how many people from last year weren't coming back.  Last year was so special for me for so many reasons; if I could replicate it I would, though I wouldn't trade this year's cast away either.  For anyone interested, more information can be found at www.thisiskirtland.com.  Doors open at 6:30 PM every night and the show starts at 7:30.  We have comment cards in every program, so if you do come, please fill out the cards even if you just do so anonymously.  I'm anxious to read some of these comments as the show progresses.  Hopefully we'll have some bigger crowds too.  Opening night was half full or less and tonight wasn't a whole lot bigger.

This article was in the Record-Courier today.  There was also an online version which used the full picture I sent and didn't crop it.  My dad took the picture during last year's run and I liked it.  Since I'm the same character and have pretty much the exact same costume this year I figured I might as well use it.  No one in the background, though, is in the show this year ironically enough!

Silver lining

I was saddened as a fan of history to find out the Arvin Olin house was torn down yesterday by the city of Akron. The Arvin Olin house was built in 1834-1835 an was a listing on the National Register of Historic Places. It was located at the corner of Ravenna Road and Diagonal Road in Franklin Township just north of Kent. It had been included on the NRHP in 1995 mostly because of its age and as a rare example of the late Federal style of architecture it was. Even when nominated in 1995 it was already not being used, so that's pretty much the state it's been in since then so you can imagine what kind of shape the house was in. I took pictures of the exterior last May to include on Wikipedia and there were already places where bricks had fallen off. It was a sad sight to see then, so the demolition doesn't surprise me.

I first even noticed the house probably in 2005 or 2006 while I was working at Geauga Lake. I drove past it going to and from Aurora as Ravenna Road makes an excellent bypass around the northeast side of Kent. I'm not sure when I first really started liking the 1830s style for a house, but I really liked what I saw the first time I saw the Olin house and always hoped it would get restored or would last until I could do it myself. I actually didn't know it was on the National Register of Historic Places until recently, probably last year. I'm glad I had the time to get some pictures of it last year!

Of course the question comes up that since it is in Franklin Township, why did the city of Akron own it? Well, just a few thousand feet down Ravenna Road is the Akron Water Treatment plant and Lake Rockwell, so Akron acquired the land under the reasoning of protecting the water supply. According to the Record-Courier article, they bought it in 1990 and briefly used it to house employees of the plant. The article makes it sound like Akron really tried their best to save the structure by working with the Kent Historical Society and a descendant of Arvin Olin, but I'm pretty skeptical. Moving the house was pretty much out of the question as it was made almost completely of brick, so it weighs a lot more than a typical house. Because it had been abandoned for so long (at least 15 years, probably much longer) it was deteriorating more and more. If Akron really cared, why did they buy it in the first place? Does having someone living there really pose a threat to the water supply? Why invest money in a property like that if you don't intend to remove the house? This is just the latest example of Akron owning waaaaay too much land here. Akron owns all of the land around Lakes Rockwell and Pippen-- not just immediately around the lakes but a significant distance away from them-- so I'd estimate it owns close to 1/4 of Franklin Township. Not only does Akron prohibit any kind of recreation on Lake Rockwell, but they also restrict any use of Lake Pippen even though it is not used as part of the water supply and is actually completely separate from Lake Rockwell. That's on top of the land prevented from any kind of development due to it being near the water supply or occupied by Lake Rockwell, a man-made reservoir built in 1912. What a way for one city to control and limit the development of another. And Akron's not alone in Franklin Township; both Kent and Stow also own land and have their respective wells in the township. Thus, Franklin Township supplies water for three different cities on top of the residents who all have wells of their own.

The silver lining for me was getting a call yesterday from Roger Di Paolo, the editor of the local Record-Courier newspaper asking if he could use a picture I had uploaded last May of the house. Of course I said yes since that's why I took and uploaded them to the Wikimedia Commons (a sister project of Wikipedia) in the first place. In doing that, I gave them a Creative Commons-Attribute license meaning people are free to use the photo for anything, but just give credit to me as the author. Below is the front page and the continuation that I pasted together from the PDF. You can see my credit just below the lower picture on the right.

Poor article

Current mood: contemplative

So I wrote a blog about this about a week ago, but as I went to post it, the system said I wasn't logged on so it deleted it. Oh well...it was a pretty long post, so I guess I just wasn't meant to be! In any case, I still want to write about it! Here's the article in question. I was in the January 11, 2008 Record-Courier in Kent, Ohio:

Now, of course I have MAJOR issues with the content and claims made by this so-called professor from Washington state. I'm sorry...it's hard to really take a professor seriously who's teaching at a community college. I could write (and did) a LONG blog about the issues here (and even why is this guy still a member of the church?). BUT, my main issue has to do with the reporter because this is a terribly biased and unbalanced article as well as incorrect.

For background, this is about the latest editions of the Book of Mormon, more specifically the introduction, and how the new editions have a slight rewording in them in regards to the Lamanites (a major group in the Book of Mormon) and how they are connected to today's American Indian tribes. In my opinion, the change (discussed later) is not that big of a deal and is a clarification rather than a change in doctrine. The introduction itself has only been around since 1981 and is really just that: an introduction to give readers an idea of what they're about to read and why it's important. But as I said, my main issues for this blog are with the reporter and how the article was written and presented.

For starters, look at how much space is devoted to the Church's position that the change is no big deal. Hard to find? It's a two-sentence paragraph in the second column: "What's the big deal? Church defenders say there is nothing important in the change." That's it. No official comments from Church representatives or even something like "the church declined comment" or even a pro-church statement. Now, check out how much of the article is devoted to the professor's antagonistic view of the church and the change. Yep...over two and a half complete columns, some two-thirds of the article. Are you kidding me? This is nowhere NEAR good journalism or even good reporting! Every story has two sides, right? While the opposition gets most pf the article, the defense is limited to one sentence that's not even a quote at that.

My second issue is that the change the article talks about isn't even quoted right. In the paragraph before the church's "defense" is stated it says this: "In previous editions, the phrase was "are the ancestors." Actually, for those of us who have and have actually READ the Book of Mormon, the phrase is: "are the principal ancestors..." (Book of Mormon introduction, emphasis added). The new 2006 editions now state "they are among the ancestors." (emphasis added). When you leave out one of the words, it makes a HUGE difference, now doesn't it? Like I said earlier in the blog, this is a clarification and a good one in my opinion. However, it doesn't affect what's in the book itself and whether it is true or not.

Of course I don't want to think that this AP reporter has some ax to grind against the church or is doing this on purpose, but after reading this, it definitely makes me wonder if there are not alterior motives here. What better way to make the church and its leaders and supporters look like old-fashioned, mindless religious people who ignore reality and science than to extensively quote a college professor, ESPECIALLY one who is LDS and has been antagonistic towards the church? I do seriously wonder why this guy is even LDS still since he obviously thinks that some of our core beliefs are myths and that the leadership of the church is ignoring that. Why be part of an organization that you think that way of? The article and this professor also ignore the scholarly reasearch that has been made in regards to the historocity of the Book of Mormon. There are many great sites that deal with this, one of which is http://farms.byu.edu. As much as I enjoy the archeological evidence and study of the Book of Mormon, it's not why I believe it's true, nor is archeological evidence why I believe in the Bible. Archeological evidence can only prove that certain places existed, but it cannot prove that certain miracles or extraordinary events took place there. That knowledge and understanding can only come from God himself.

Seriously, the best way to find out what the Book of Mormon is all about is to read it. Yes, it has it's slower parts, but really it's a fascinating story whether you want to take it as a literal history like I and other Latter-day Saints do or just as something Joseph Smith wrote with a third-grade frontier farmer's education. It's SO EASY to get a free Book of Mormon...you can get them from missionaries, from members of the Church, or online at www.mormon.org and click on basic beliefs. You can also read it online there or at www.lds.org in the Gospel Library. Sorry to turn this into an ad, but really the best defense for the Book of Mormon is itself.

UPDATE!!!!

Current mood: excited

OK, so first to update on my letter to the editor, it was published in the Record-Courier today. Yesterday I got an e-mail from Roger Di Paulo basically thanking me for the support and explaining why he writes historical columns. Here is the text of that e-mail for those interested:

Mr. Ridinger:

Your letter, with the correction you noted, will appear in
Thursday's R-C.

Thanks for your support. I walked a very fine line when
writing this column (especially given the fact that
descendants of some of the members of the lynch mob are
very much alive and among my readership) and did my best to
put the incident into an historical perspective. I have no
problem when my work is criticized, but I thought the
letter writer's remark casting asperions on Joseph Smith's
revelations was especially offensive.

I learn something every time I write a history piece, and
in this case, I think what I most appreciated is that many
people are not fully aware of the importance of Portage
County, and especially the Johnson Farm site, to the
history of this worldwide religion. I hope that I helped to
"educate" people a bit with what I wrote.

Again, thanks for writing.

Roger Di Paolo

It was cool to get that note. I also heard from my sister Becky that a co-worker of hers told her that she (the co-worker) thought my response was very professional. ANYWAY, today I also took my last final EVER at BYU-Idaho and then just completed my last assignment for one of my classes that I'd been putting off. SO, my semester is OVER!!! For now I'm packing up my room and am planning on leaving tomorrow morning for Utah before beginning my trip home Saturday morning. I am SO EXCITED to be coming home and to be FREE of the semester and DONE with Rexburg. YEAH!!! And in case you're wondering, all of my finals went GREAT! I even surprised myself!

Here's what my letter looked like in the paper...it was the only letter published today.

Letter to the editor

Current mood: productive

Well, I did finally write a letter to the editor of the Record-Courier, but it ended up being about something else instead of the recent acts of vandalism and cries of racism at Roosevelt High School. In fact, it was about my religion. On Saturday, March 25, the Record-Courier ran a great article by Roger DiPaolo in his "Portage Pathways" section about the tarring and feathering (and near lynching) of Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon in Hiram, Ohio in 1832. The article was very objective and I felt it was very accurate. Most people don't even know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) was headquartered in Ohio for seven years (1831-1838) and a few of those years were headquartered in Portage County at the John Johnson farm in Hiram. Anyway, some lady named Dianne Centa sent a letter to the editor that was published in today's (April 3) paper which was very negative about the Church and basically seemed to justify what this mob did back in 1832. Well, I have about three things I could write the newspaper about, but my own religion always takes precedence, especially at home. Well, I just sent my letter in, so it probably won't be published for a few days, but here's what I wrote. My mom helped with some editing too =). Here is her letter and below it is my response.

Response to Column
"I'd like to make a few comments about the Portage Pathways column of March 25, in which Mr. DiPaolo writes about the attack on Mormon leaders in Hiram in 1832. He mentions "theological differences" as the basis of the dispute between Smith and Rigdon and the local community. However, the cause of the mob action was more specific than that. Joseph Smith had (in the words of his biographer Fawn Brodie) begun to find monogamy "an intolerably circumscribed way of
life." He was frequently attracted to women other than his wife Emma. While staying with the Johnson family in Hiram Township, Joseph had purportedly "bedded" their 15-year-old daughter Marinda. This is why the mob had been set on castrating — not just tarring and feathering — Smith. The column also says the Johnson home is a shrine because "(Smith) received 16 revelations there." Let us be clear: what should have been said is that Smith claimed to have received revelations there. He no more actually received revelations than did any of the other so-called prophets scattered through our history."

Dianne Centa
Kent

"In response to the letter by Dianne Centa ("Response to Column," 3 April 2007), the basis for Roger DiPaolo's well-written and objective article was to point out the significance of an historical event in our county's history and to show where intolerance and hatred can lead. It was not to make a Mormon doctrinal statement or support Latter-day Saint theology in any way. Further, there are many biographies written on the life of Joseph Smith. Fawn Brodie's should not in any way be considered authoritive. Her book is noted for its antagonism towards Smith and the history of the LDS Church and her scholarship is questionable. I advise anyone trying to learn about someone or something not to rely solely on a source that is biased against the subject, but to research a variety of sources with a mind to fairness and balance.

Ms. Centa's letter seems to suggest that the mobs were justified in their near lynching of Joseph Smith and Sydney Rigdon. I agree with Mr. DiPaolo when he said this was a dark period of our county's history. Mob rule makes it too easy for emotions to rule and for fairness, truth, and justice to be completely ignored. It is, in essence, lawlessness. There is no justification for Portage County residents taking the law into their own hands, either then or now.

As for the John Johnson farm in Hiram being considered a "shrine," Mr. DiPaolo simply stated a fact: the house is considered an important and significant religious site for some 13 million members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, roughly 12 thousand of whom reside right here in Northeast Ohio. Hundreds of thousands of people visit the site each year. Your personal feelings on Joseph Smith and whether or not he received revelations are irrelevant to that fact."

JON RIDINGER
Franklin Township

In other news, I got my placement for student teaching today. I'll be student teaching at Bennion Junior High School in Taylorsville, Utah this fall. I'm very relieved to know where I'm teaching, but I still need to resolve my housing. The University is almost insisting that I live in their "approved" housing in Draper, Utah despite the fact that it's $1500 for just over three months with a shared bedroom (by comparison, I paid about $1900 total for two semesters in my current apartment and I have my own bedroom). I have to fill out this "request" to not live in "approved" housing and hope it gets approved. I'm sorry, I just have a problem with the fact that as a 25 year old I have to have permission from my university to live in housing I choose myself. Worse, if I were married, this wouldn't even be an issue (married students aren't required to live in approved housing even here at school; only single students are regardless of age). Talking with the one guy in charge of distant placement student teaching was pretty worthless. It was basically, "well, you can apply, but we don't usually approve requests." ARG...I CAN'T WAIT TO BE DONE WITH THIS SCHOOL FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comments

LDS Drama Queen (Becky); April 4, 2007

The only thing that isn't right is her name. You spelled it correctly when copying her letter but wrong in your own...it is Dianne, with two "n"s. ANYWAY, other than that, GREAT letter, it is exactly what I would have said!! You should be proud, it was NICE.

As far as student teaching goes, hang in there...BYU-I is dumb but hey, you only have to deal for a little while longer. Trust me, I'm at Kent State. Don't you think I've got a countdown of hours???

HAHAHAHA...seriously, great article. See you soon!

Dorese; April 4, 2007

Great article! And congratulations on getting your placement for student teaching! And if your request gets denied, just know that Draper is a ritzy area and 1500 for 3 months doesn't really sound too bad. And remember, it's only 3 months, so even if things get on your nerves, it will all be over fast! Good luck with everything, Jon, and keep your chin up! Again, great job on the article. It was very well written!