Twenty years ago, I held up one half of the largest sign at a student protest in response to the non-renewals of two BYU professors. Read more »
LDS Newsroom
- Concern Over Changes to Home Storage Centers Unnecessary June 17, 2013
- Social Media Gives New Twist to Tabernacle Choir’s 2013 Tour June 17, 2013
- Mormonism in Pictures: Temple Square Attracts Millions of Visitors | 14 June 2013 June 14, 2013
- Father's Day Video: Remember What It Takes to Be a Good Father June 12, 2013
- Church Providing Relief After Most Recent Oklahoma Tornadoes June 6, 2013
- VIDEO: Moore, Oklahoma, Woman Leaves For Mormon Mission in Wake of Tornado June 6, 2013
- Mormons Around the World: Country Newsroom Websites | 5 June June 5, 2013
- Mormon Tabernacle Choir to Donate Wisconsin Historical Marker June 5, 2013
- "On Faith" Column: Scouts Policy Should Be Seen for What It Is: A Reaffirmation of Core Values May 31, 2013
- Mormonism in the News: Getting It Right | 30 May 2013 May 30, 2013
The Great Expectations of Mormonism
I’m going to wander a little farther from familiar territory in this post. I hope you’ll willingly entertain some speculation and tentative analysis about the institutional nature of the Church in a changing society and indulge my focus primarily on American culture. I’m interested to see what others make... Read more »
Literary DCGD #24: Prejudice
I frequently hear claims that many church members are leaving the Church, that those who have been raised in the Church, or who have converted have become disillusioned. For a variety of reasons members do leave the Church, and it may be that they are leaving faster now than... Read more »
Advice on Teaching – Preparation
(This is the second post in a series. The first post is here.) Read more »
And shall not lead astray: the Church and ‘infallibility’
As Mormons we follow the prophet, we proclaim, lifting our right hand at many Church occasions, for ‘he shall not lead us astray’. Quite a few General Conference talks... Read more »
The Earliest New Testament
This is the third post (first, second) in a series on the New Testament. This post covers what should probably have been the first post: consideration of the seven... Read more »
Get with the program
For members and visitors alike, that little sheet of cheap white copy paper is invaluable when they need it. But usually, they don't. Read more »
Welcome to Walter van Beek
Times and Seasons is happy to announce that Walter E.A. van Beek accepted to join the team of permabloggers. Walter van Beek (his Dutch first name is Wouter, but... Read more »
King Noah’s Blues
I could see them before I crossed Michigan Avenue into Grant Park. There were probably five of them, holding big yellow signs with blocky letters, Bible verses. It seemed... Read more »
Zion Theatre Company’s Kickstarter Campaign
A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed Mahonri Stewart’s two plays The Fading Flower and Swallow the Sun. I liked them both. I’m also reading the anthology of plays... Read more »
Don’t Debate the Trinity
Against my better judgment, and to the detriment of my workday, I allowed myself to be temporarily pulled into a Facebook debate on Friday about Mormonism and orthodox Christianity.... Read more »
Literary Lorenzo Snow #12: The Christmas Tithing
It is nice to see our duties described in a way that makes clear their role in our communities. Take tithing, for example. Lorenzo Snow’s teachings in the current... Read more »
Literary DCGD #23: The Transformation
I occasionally see from both inside and outside of the Church those who suggest that Mormons are somehow against education. While there certainly have been some anti-intellectual ideas floating... Read more »
Advice on Teaching – Preliminaries
I’ve recently been involved in teacher training in my ward and have prepared some materials that I’m going to share across a few posts. Read more »
The Approaching Zion Project: Gifts
For the third (and, I hope, final) time, I read this chapter on an airplane, taking notes as I read it. And there are just a couple quick things... Read more »
Literary Lorenzo Snow #11: Father! Lead Me Out of Darkness
One of the most difficult concepts for many (perhaps even most) Church members in U.S. culture today is the idea that we should let the Lord direct our lives.... Read more »
Literary DCGD #22: Because We’re Mormons
The word of wisdom is strongly connected with who we are as Mormons—it has become as much an identifier as pork is for Jews and for Muslims. We emphasize... Read more »
The Philosophies of Men… Mingled with Monopoly (updated)
Something insidious infects our children from the moment they’re born. It’s unstoppable. It surrounds us, burrows in deep, far below our conscious minds, and like a computer virus, writes... Read more »
Damnable Terminology
I now genuinely regret my use of the term ‘violence’ in my recent post. My intention was to be completely candid and point out a phenomenon of our collective... Read more »
The Approaching Zion Project: Zeal Without Knowledge
For the second time, I read this chapter in an airport and on an airplane returning home. With that as my full preface, let's jump into this chapter: Read more »
Science as Friend or Foe
On a recent long drive, I listened to all 12 lectures of a Science and Religion audio book by Professor Lawrence Principe of Johns Hopkins. A topic of personal... Read more »
Damnable Defaults
A great deal of the discussion on women in the priesthood that I see happening right now concerns our efforts to control and propagate various narratives. Personally, I find... Read more »
Literary DCGD #21: Ere long the vail will rend in twain
When we think of the second coming of Christ and the things that will happen in the last days, frequently our focus is on the prophesied destruction and the... Read more »
“Opposition in All Things: Perspectives on the Fall”
The Mormon Theology Seminar will host a two-day conference, ”Opposition in All Things: Mormon Perspectives on the Fall,” at Utah Valley University on June 7-8, 2013. Read more »
Theoscatology
We need bodies to become like God. But bodies are organs of passing. Read more »
To LDS Seminary Teachers Everywhere
My husband and I are both graduates of LDS seminary. I, by the skin of my teeth after a lingering bout with mononucleosis and a pile of home study... Read more »
Review: The Fading Flower & Swallow the Sun
Mahonri Stewart recently released two of his plays–The Fading Flower and Swallow the Sun–together in a single volume. I found both of them to be so compelling, that I’m... Read more »
Revelation
My previous post on the upcoming BYU New Testament Commentary series was so well received I have decided to do some follow-up posts discussing individual books. I’ll start with... Read more »
Literary DCGD #20: From The Arcana of the Infinite
It seems like a few verses in the D&C are all we know about the life after this. Lesson 20 of the Gospel Doctrine manual covers D&C 76, 131,... Read more »
The Approaching Zion Project: What is Zion? A Distant View
Another confession: I had a really hard time with this chapter. And it's not just because I read it sitting in an airport waiting for a plane that was... Read more »
Conferences and Events
- LDS Semi-Annual General Conference
- Book of Mormon Lands Conference
- BYU Religious Education Student Symposium
- Reid L. Nielson: "The Latter-day Saints and the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair"
- Joseph and Marilyn Bentley: "Mormons and the Holy Land"
- Armand L. Mauss: "The Intellectual Journey of a Mormon Academic"
- Mormon Theology Seminar
- American Society of Church History Annual Meeting
- American Academy of Religion/Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting
- Communal Studies Association Annual Meeting