Mormon beefcake calendar leads to excommunication

It was bound to happen sooner or later.

The man behind the sexy beefcake calendar ‘Men on a Mission’ was excommunicated from the Mormon church over the weekend for what they considered to be an inappropriate representation of the church, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.   

Las Vegas resident Chad Hardy put out the 2008 calendar late last year featuring, as the official Website puts it, 12 returned Mormon missionaries who "have dared to pose bare-chested in a steamy national calendar."   

The calendar, which has sold close to 20,000 copies according to The Stranger, scored a ton of press upon its release last year, and rumblings of excommunication started almost immediately after its release.

'I felt like I spoke my truth," the 31-year-old entertainment entrepreneur told the Salt Lake Tribune.

"Bottom-line, they still felt the calendar is inappropriate and not the image that the church wants to have."   

According to the Tribune, some of the 12 shirtless models have been called to disciplinary meetings, though none have been formally punished.   

Hardy told to paper that his intention was never to disgrace to church but to step “outside the stereotypes and stepping outside of the image."

The sixth generation Mormon said he feels badly about how his excommunication will affect his parents, who live in Utah.

Hardy, who has been inactive in the church for the past six years, said he considered resigning his membership to avoid the hearing, but decided against it out of respect for his family.

According to Hardy, plans are already underway for a 2009 calendar.

Angela D'Amboise © 2008 GayWired.com; All Rights Reserved

Comments

[Martin - C of E Clergy Civil Partner]

Don't worry Chad, come to the church of England - there are loads of queens here, including a few in a subtle shade of purple, having a bit of a 'camp up' in Canterbury.