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Mormon Hunks Have Church Up in Arms
Maker of Mormon calendar excommunicated
By Matt Cantor
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Posted Apr 28, 09 1:09 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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An entrepreneur who says his aim was to improve the image of Mormons has been excommunicated by the church for publishing a calendar with photos of shirtless members of the faith. The “Men on a Mission” calendar doesn’t “tear down the beliefs of the church at all," Chad Hardy protests to the Los Angeles Times. It overcomes stereotypes. "Underneath, it makes people realize, 'Oh, they're sexy Mormons. They're real.’”
The Church of Latter Day Saints was not amused, perhaps because one picture features a man posed as a hero from the Book of Mormon, while another shows a man in front of a chalkboard diagramming the Mormon Plan of Salvation. “The material related to your calendars is offensive and disrespectful,” wrote a dean at Brigham Young University, which refused Hardy his degree. But Hardy’s not stopping: future works include “Mormon Muffins,” sexy pics of Mormon moms.