Archive for 2004

The prophets have never forbidden us to mingle the poetry of men with scripture. Far from it. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I would imagine that I know less about the Doctrine and Covenants than your average seminary student. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

You know the feeling. You’re visiting a blog, you like the post, and you want to add something in the comments. You want to come across as hip and well-read, but also down-to-earth and folksy. What to do? 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Since the first Sunday of 2005 is almost upon us, let’s take a good look at ourselves and consider our Sunday attire. More specifically, let’s look at who’s wearing pants in your chapel. If you hadn’t already noticed, it’s mostly men. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Among other reasons that I like living in Washington DC is the Washington Post. It is on occasion of course a partisan rag, but, hey, it is my partisan rag. It is certainly much better than the trash that they read in some city farther up the coast. The world might... Read More »

Over at A Bird’s Eye View, I’ve been having a conversation in comments with John Fowles. In one comment, John castigates a student who made a remark that he viewed as derogatory towards Mormons. John writes: “If she is ‘liberal’ doesn’t that mean she is supposed to be ’sensitive’? Or... Read More »

The patron saint of the New Mormon History – Leonard Arrington – started his academic life as an economist, but interestingly economists have been on the whole absent from Mormon studies. Given the presence of philosophers, sociologists, and – of course – gobs of historians, the lack of followers of the dismal science... Read More »

Belgium, December 29, 2004. For days now I have been confronted with TV-images of bloated and rotting bodies littered along shores, of parents crying over the corpses of their children, of living children staring dumbfounded into a camera and holding up a note with their name and the question “Seen parents?” – while it... Read More »

As a father of two teenagers with three more children in the pipeline, I have received — and continue to receive — plenty of parenting advice. One bit of advice that I hear over and over is this: pick your battles. Standing in the middle of this experience, I haven’t yet decided whether this... Read More »

Here is an empirical claim for which I have no support, other than my own observations: many Mormons inappropriately mystify revelation. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Judge Richard Posner — one of the most influential judges of the past several decades — is guest blogging on professor Brian Leiter’s blog. His first post deals with faith-based morality and how this affects public policy. (A topic that T & S readers will recognize as familiar — we discuss it... Read More »

If we remember that the Father already knows our needs and desires, then the idea of prayer is strange. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

In case you haven’t heard, President Hinckley will appear on Larry King Live tonight. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

We watched Mr. Krueger’s Christmas a few nights ago. It’s not half bad. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Very little regarding Christmas happens in the Smith household without my wife’s instigation. Although I enjoy our Christmas traditions, I too often free-ride on her efforts. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

One of the great advantages of blogging is that you can ramble on regardless of whether or not what you are saying is of any interest to anyone else. Hence this post. I feel it is time that we had the discussion that you have all be waiting for: The one on... Read More »

After you try your hand at composing a haiku, take a chance on writing a Christmas story. All you have to do is supply the ending: a crotchety old cop is assigned to supervise a Christmas shopping trip for two needy kids, and after grudgingly performing the act of service he finds himself 0... Read More »

A couple of weeks ago, the mail man braught me my long awaited copy of the first volume of B.H. Roberts’s Seventies’ Course in Theology. As you can imagine, it has been a heady time around the Oman household. In reading it, I came across what I am sure would be Aaron... Read More »

No one writes enough haiku. And we want to know why? Haiku are like the potato chip of poetry—you can’t have just one. They’re clean, simple, economic, easy to read, and easy to write, provided you don’t take yourself too seriously. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Occasionally, the contented boredom of Sunday School classes is broken up by disagreements and strained but mild-mannered arguments over the fate of the sons of perdition, spirit fluid, and the like. It used to get a bit more heated. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past twenty years, you’ve probably heard of Orson Scott Card. He’s a Mormon author who primarily writes science fiction. And he’s a very good author — to this day, his best work, Ender’s Game (which won Hugo and Nebula awards) is considered one... Read More »

In this time of the year, we hear lots of Christmas songs. There’s one song in particular that I’ve come to enjoy hearing around Christmas, though at one time I never thought this would be possible. The song is “Navidad Sin Ti” by the Ranchera music group (essentially country music in Spanish)... Read More »

I cannot remember when Brother H. came to our branch for the first time. Somewhere in the late seventies or early eighties. A middle-aged man, single, not too tall, graying hair, with lips drawn between an angelic and an ironic smile. Was he brought in by the missionaries or did he find us? I... Read More »

We often speak of being worthy. We pray that we may be worthy. We urge each other to be worthy. Sometimes we recognize that we are not worthy. But what do we mean by “worthy”? 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

The Ukraine’s Orange Revolution has managed to be both Western/reformist/urban professional/liberalizing and God-fearing. Remarkable. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Ours is was broken. Now it’s better. Thanks, as usual, to Bryce for able assistance. If anyone continues to have problems with the RSS feed, please make a note in comments, or send an e-mail. Thanks. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I just noticed (via A Soft Answer) a new bloggernacle aggregation blog — Planet LDS, at KZION. The site includes feeds from almost 50 bloggernaclites, including Times and Seasons. Techies will note that this aggregation is identical to what anyone can do with an aggregator (for example, the free one at Bloglines).... Read More »

Every birth is a nativity for the family involved. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

This does not sound like fun. Then again, that’s to be expected at the ward Christmas party. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

It’s time to get rid of the old fat guy in the red suit. I have five good reasons why Santa has to go. One: Santa is a big fat lie. Let’s face it. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I want to thank Times and Seasons for the opportunity to blog over the past two weeks. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Lesson 48: Mormon 7-8, 10 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

On an earlier thread, someone opined that I am precisely the sort of snob for whom it is impossible to select a musical gift that will be appreciated. I want to report that two brilliant, generous and very thoughtful friends have actually done it, even without reference to an Amazon wish list.... Read More »

We’ve already discussed our moral obligations to the very very young. Now I’d like to talk about our obligations to the very very old. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Speaking of Mormon masculinity, once-Mormon playwright Neil Labute premiered his new play this week, Fat Pig. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

One of the great benefits of having Nate Oman and Frank McIntyre as regular bloggers here at T&S is that they can rapidly and thoroughly devastate the flakey assumptions which underlie my repetetive calls for social arrangements which prioritize public goods and community maintenance over individual choice and economic growth. This is a good... Read More »

Well . . . not you. Not me either. I’m thinking of Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes fame. And he’s just a fictional character, or at least he used to be. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

If you’ve never heard of Jay or Jay’s Journal let me explain. Jay’s Journal is a slim volume, published in 1979 and edited by adolescent psychologist and Provo resident Dr. Beatrice Sparks. It’s a series of journal entries that detail a sixteen year-old Mormon boy’s descent into the occult, culminating with his... Read More »

On a recent post, Kristine was wondering about the number of Mormon women who work*. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Is secular knowledge a spiritual distraction? 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Today I heard a well-known Christmas carol, and it occurred to me that the carol’s underlying story was incredibly ahistorical. In fact, it is roughly the opposite of what we know happened. Or rather, it is roughly the opposite of what most Christians know happened. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

The church seems to have replaced the tribe as God’s pattern for organizing his people–or has it? When God covenanted with Abraham, the covenant was with Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 17:7-8+). This covenant was to be fulfilled in part through Abraham’s righteous leadership as a father 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Ryan Bell has just posted about some fishy virus-containing e-mails that he received, allegedly from Greg Call, Nate Oman, Daniel Bartholomew. It looks like there is a virus somewhere in the bloggernacle. This could be as simple as a bloggernacle participant using an infected machine that is sending virus e-mails with false... Read More »

Over at some other blog there is an interesting thread on thrift that got me thinking of my own family’s tortured relationship to the Mormon thrift ethic. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

My first two posts were mostly devoted to large-scale pieces; this one is for miniatures, carol collections, and other minor or miscellaneous loveliness. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

No, we’re not talking about the journal Dialogue—we’re talking about lines of dialogue from film, television, or books that creep their way into our homes and stick around for years, much like food supplies from the cannery. The lines that resonate with us can reveal a lot about ourselves and our families. ... Read More »

It’s time for the post that I am sure you have all been waiting for on that perrenial hot-button issue of the Mormon intelligensia: the relationship of the Gospel to welfare economics. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Well, perhaps now we’ll see if, as discussed at length on this site, there is anything particular a Mormon can offer to discussions of stem-cell research or family welfare policies. President Bush has just nominated former Utah governor Mike Leavitt to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. My guess: don’t expect to see Mormon... Read More »

We’re pleased to introduce Shannon Keeley and Brian Gibson, our newest guest bloggers and our first co-blogging team. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Along with all the glorious choral music of the season, which we’ve praised recently at T&S, Christmas is also a time of gift-giving. We make long lists of presents to give to those we love, trying hard to fulfill everyone’s Christmas wishes. Lots of toys, clothes, CDs, books and flannel pajamas... Read More »

Check your 72-hour kits, everyone. Over the weekend I bought and started reading a book because Adam linked to a positive review of it in the National Review. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Last year at this time I posted on the topic of “Tithing Settlement.” Although I strive to avoid repetitive posting, I trust that most of our current readers were not around at the time, and I never received an answer to my question. So I am trying again. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Jed W.’s term as a guest blogger has come to a close, and I am sure that I speak for all us in thanking him for his insightful and provocative posts. I learned in Church today that Jed and his wife Shauna are expecting their first child next summer. The current debate in the... Read More »

I am particularly fond of an old Jewish folk story called Esperanza’s Bread. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Yesterday I mentioned Ralph Vaughan Williams’ ‘Hodie’, but did not rhapsodize about it. Allow me to rhapsodize: 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

This year, on an impulse, I picked up a menorah and candles, and we’re trying out a new (at least, for my family) tradition — Hanukkah. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I want to thank you all for your very generous and interesting comments over the last two weeks during my time in the guest blogger’s chair. Everyone has been most congenial and welcoming. I hope to come back for the guest blogger’s reunion. For my last post, I’d like to 0 people like... Read More »

And now for a very serious topic. Which T & S bloggers are like which types of cheese? 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I suspect that when many people think about how God created humans, they have a subconscious image of Him carefully designing each system and part, essentially the same way a human engineer would. But increasingly that’s not how human engineers work. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I witnessed a very powerful illustration of the vanity of the pride of the world the other day, or at least I witnessed it until I realized that I was probably wrong. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

So, umm, I sort of dimly know what Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby sound like, but the voice that means Christmas for me is John Shirley-Quirks’s. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

A couple of days ago, Bob Caswell reposted at BCC a wonderful old post of his, dealing primarily with the complications of missionary work in an area (in this case, Bulgaria) where there are significant racial, social, and economic factors which get in the way of preaching the gospel to everyone equally. In the... Read More »

Are Mormons a “myopicâ€? people? The historian Richard Poll first suggested the possibility in an article on Mormon personality published many years ago. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

To prove that engineers have a sense of humor, I send the following to my family every year at Christmas. I wish I could say I wrote it, but I didn’t, and don’t know who did. Perhaps you’ve seen it before. If not, enjoy. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Yesterday the W$J ran a story on “microinequities” — “the subtle putdowns, snubs, dismissive gestures and sarcastic tones that can sap motivation.” Life is full of microinequities, and Church life is not a safe haven. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

We are soon approaching the year when we’ll celebrate the 200th anniversary of Joseph Smith’s birth. As we do so, we should also reflect back on the 100th anniversary of his birth, and the legacy of that extraordinarily chaotic period. In The Politics of American Religious Identity, Kathleen Flake vividly illustrates that... Read More »

Recent news reports indicate that former CES instructor Grant Palmer will be facing church discipline. Any time that church discipline comes into the news, the conversation inevitably turns to the secretive Strengthening Church Members Committee which is said to maintain files on church members suspected of intellectual improprities. In a recent and... Read More »

John Hatch is leaving Sunstone to go to school. Over at BCC, he has a lengthy and interesting further discussion of his own life and faith. It’s a powerful, personal statement that makes fascinating reading (and if you want controversy, well, it has parts that may be likely to offend almost everyone... Read More »

Drawing on some existing discussion, Jeff Lindsay suggests that the “swords” of the Book of Mormon may have actually been spiked wooden war clubs. This idea seems problematic for several reasons: 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

An exercise in historical imagination, if you please: you’re sitting in the tabernacle on a hot Sunday afternoon, Brother Brigham at the pulpit. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

So I often hear from my “intellectual” Mormon friends how they feel this crushing weight of isolation and judgemental pressure from their fellow Saints. I don’t really get it. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Since Lavell Edwards retired, BYU’s football program has entered the arms race that is major college football. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

My post begins with a pointed question: Are higher education and the scriptural ideal of Zion at odds? The question had never occurred to me until a few years ago while living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

“Go forth and marvel not,” the angels said. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Until recently I had the good fortune to be a member of Matt Evans’ Elder’s Quorum class. Matt asked me a question once that I couldn’t answer, and still can’t. I’m hoping T&S can help (and I hope Matt doesn’t mind!) 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

By adding Wilfried as a permablogger a few weeks ago, we not only gained an interesting colleague, but extended Times & Seasons beyond the borders of the United States. Over the past 24 hours, I have been tracking traffic at Times & Seasons to get a glimpse at our readership around the world. Here... Read More »

The last left side pew in our buildings is cut short, so people in wheelchairs can sit next to their families 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Married, but only one of the partners is Mormon. In the “mission field” such part-Mormon couples are numerous, probably more than in area’s where Mormons have lived for generations. Sociologists study this phenomenon among various affiliations. “Religious intermarriage”, “religious homogamy / heterogamy”, “interchurch / interfaith marriages” are some of the key words of this... Read More »

I want to ask a question within the genre of scriptural exegesis. When our church leaders commend us to seek education, they often quote 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

In our house, we have a box full of picture books that comes out on the first Sunday in Advent, and I’m always on the lookout for new Christmas books. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I really only have one real complaint about the Church, and it has to do, of course, with women’s fashion. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

In her brilliant book Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition (Uillinois, 1985), Jan Shipps suggests that the Word of Wisdom replaced polygamy as “boundary maintenanceâ€? between the church and the world. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

My wife Angela is a veterinarian. She’s also apparently a really good Relief Society enrichment teacher (I’m not allowed to go to these things, but I have this on good authority). A few weeks ago the enrichment lesson subject was “A House of Order”, from Doctrine and Covenants 88:119: “Organize yourselves; prepare every needful... Read More »

It’s shockingly easy to make confessions on the internet, and I can’t resist making one of my own: 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

For the next two weeks, Times and Seasons will be delighted to play host to the rigorous questions and thoughtful musings of one Carl Glen Henshaw, an old friend and a bona fide science geek. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

The new missionary manual is out and available for browsing. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I was just reading a new blog for Mormon teens called “The Greenies,” and LJ used “Old Nick” as an alternative appellation for Satan. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I have decided to forgo the Christmas tree ritual this year. For the first time in my life I won’t have a sweet scented evergreen in my front room during the holidays. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

The utterly fascinating comments about rock concerts confirm one of my theories about BYU and Provo. I want to pass it by T&S readers for critique, criticism, comment. My theory is 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Our inlaws surprised us with a quick visit from Seattle. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Nobel Laureate David Baltimore, currently President of Caltech, abhors the balanced life. He thinks it is destroying America. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Has anyone ever attended a rock concert at BYU? You may have noticed that they dried up in the mid-1980s, and I am trying to figure out why. In the 1970s artists such as Elton John, America, 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

The not-surprising Evangelical backlash against Rev. Muow’s we-have-sinned-against-the-Mormons comments in the tabranacle has produced one of the least plausible interpretations of Mormon action that I have read in some time. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Aaargh–’tis the season for those yuletide roundups of the activities of everyone’s perfect families and overachieving children. A couple of years ago, I decided to fight back with this parody, which I mailed on April Fools’ Day: 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I told Gordon that I’ve been doing some writing about the relationship between Provo and BYU, and if you don’t mind I’d like to enlist the assistance of T&S in helping me solve a few riddles. For those who have never lived in Provo, please pardon the indulgence. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

The demographics of Church growth suggest that our days as a lilly-white, Moutain-West denomination are limited, if they are not in fact already finished. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I was just reading over Logan’s (re)post at BCC, and I recalled a familiar line about faith and doubt, from Tennyson’s In Memoriam. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

CBS and NBC have refused to air an ad from the United Church of Christ on grounds that it is “too controversial.” The message of the advertisement is one that I hope we would embrace, but I am not so sanguine about that. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I want to start a discussion using one of Rosalynde’s comments as a launching point. In a comment on my first post, Rosalynde reminded us that we in the church often talk about the Protestant Reformers as though they helped lay the groundwork for the Restoration. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

What’s going on in some other blogs: Lisa at Feminist Mormon Housewives wants to know how we can reconcile the Plan of Salvation with a world that allows thousands of children to be sold into sex slavery. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Here are my suggestions for everyone on your Christmas list: 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Greetings, Times and Seasons bloggers! I have been enjoying the discussion on T&S for months, reading here and there in between my own coursework, looking on from behind the glass as many of the visitors to T&S inevitably do. When Gordon invited me to guest blog, 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

It’s been five months since my family moved from the edge of the country to the middle, and I’ve never felt so out of place. The change of season is to blame, of course: it happened quite quickly, here, on the day before Thanksgiving, when the low sky let fall flurries of snow and... Read More »

Lesson 47: Moroni 1-6 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Everyone was excited to talk about International Cinema at BYU. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

The streak is over: Ahead by $4,400 going into “Final Jeopardy,” Final Jeopardy!, Jennings stumbled on this Business and Industry clue: Most of this firm’s 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year. Jennings wrongly answered, “What is FedEx?” real estate agent Nancy Zerg of Ventura, Calif., responded, “What is H&R Block?” making... Read More »

It has been over a month since we’ve had a post mentioning Bob Dylan. I’ll happily fix that problem. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I recently had dinner with a good friend, who, according to his former doctor, is going to hell. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

King Benjamin teaches us that we “should not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition . . . in vain.â€? This is not merely passing advice we can choose whether to follow or ignore without consequence. In fact, Benjamin warns that those who stay their hand in the face of such requests... Read More »

I am very pleased to introduce our newest guest blogger, Jed W. Besides being the Scoutmaster in my ward, Jed is a third-year doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin, where he is studying the history of education on his way to a dual degree in American history and educational policy. He is originally... Read More »

The Thanksgiving holiday distracted us from thanking Clark Goble for his guest-blogging stint. It was a honor to have Clark join us at the same time we celebrated our first anniversary; his blog, Mormon Metaphysics, has long been and remains one of the very finest in the whole Bloggernacle, and the man himself is... Read More »

One last post, before my non-philosophical blogging stint is done. One thing I’ve thought of with recent events in the middle east was the parallels to the Book of Mormon. I know that’s not exactly an original point to make, but I think the Book of Mormon has a lot of parallels... Read More »

In my class on Law & Entrepreneurship, I teach a section that focuses on franchise agreements. We just completed that section last week, and it occurred to me that the Church is a lot like McDonald’s. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

It’s one of my favorites, and particularly applicable during the Thanksgiving season (so of course I didn’t think to post it until now): 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

As I sit another day in my office, feeling strangely detached from the world — a feeling that I seem to have more often these days — a verse from the book of Jacob comes to mind. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Her name was Sister Pooters. Petite, energetic, single. She was around seventy when I, a young convert, met her at our local Mormon branch. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

As part of my on-going attempt to convince myself that my chess reading is not a complete waste of time (even for my chess-playing ability!), I offer the following thoughts on the important relationship between chess strategy, computers, and spiritual knowledge. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Over the past few days, I have been engaged in some much-needed family immersion. Among other things, I rediscovered the joys of eating jello pudding with children, playing an impromptu “turkey bowl” football game (with players ranging in age from eight to forty-something), and whipping some teenagers at the board game Risk. 0 people... Read More »

BYU must stop checking temple recommends at the door to the football coach’s office. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Now that I finally have a child, one of my enjoyable activities with him is to read to him before bed. The one problem I face is not in selecting poetry I want to read, but learning how to read it properly aloud. I’ve scanned Google for some suggestions. They all... Read More »

Following a string of spam attacks, I’m tinkering with the settings to try to allow it to catch more spam. I’ve tightened a few controls to “wait list” comments that might be spam. (These aren’t deleted, but they’re kept in a queue until they can be individually approved). I’m trying to... Read More »

Yes, it’s that time of year again: Time to figure out what to do with half a turkey, a big pan of stuffing, and a lot of surplus pumpkin pie. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Yesterday the lovely one and I were in the middle of some pleasurable criticism of some people we like. I had struck a particularly rich vein, when she stopped me. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

In the switch to WP, certain threads lost some comments. I’ve just fixed all of the threads that lost any comments. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

What I’m not good at is keeping a journal. What I am good at is writing down in my planner the funny things that my kids say and then printing them up to put in our Christmas card each year: 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

First, Luke Skywalker chopped off Darth Vader’s hand. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I confess, having grown up in Canada that I still have a hard time thinking of this week as Thanksgiving. To me it was back in October. (That’s Columbus Day for you Yanks) Since my parents lived way out in Nova Scotia I never went home for the US Thanksgiving either.... Read More »

I’m a little behind — I just saw this fascinating article (via Speak Up For Truth). The title of the story alone (on BeliefNet) speaks volumes: “‘We Have Sinned Against You’: A leading evangelical speaks at the Mormon Tabernacle and says evangelicals have spread lies about LDS beliefs.” 0 people like... Read More »

Last year, at this time, I shared my favorite Thanksgiving hymn. This time around, let’s go with a much humbler song, but one no less appropriate to the day: 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

When I was younger, I used to entertain fantasies of forcing my children to listen to all of Milton’s Ode on the Morning of Christ’s Nativity before letting them open their presents. I’ve never done it, but I do make them listen to a paragraph of a John Donne sermon before Thanksgiving dinner: ... Read More »

I think that there are basically three ways in which law and Mormonism can shed light on one another. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

It’s “as though millions dozens of voices cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced.” Yes, I’m talking about the radical changes at everyone’s favorite blog-child, By Common Consent. The changes are said to be “massive.” They are: (more…) 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

With many other Christian traditions, we share the admonition to plainness in speech and other aspects of life: “Let all thy garments be plain, and their beauty the beauty of the work of thine own hand” (D&C 42:40) 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Lesson 46: Ether 7-15 These notes will concentrate on Ether 12. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

So my visiting teachers came over today. I love them; they take good care of me. One of them told me that they were asked on Sunday (I wasn’t in Church this week: sniffly kids) to check in with their visiting teachees and see how they are doing in meeting the... Read More »

I’m not usually this speculative in my interpretation of scripture, but I thought I’d send this out as something of a trial balloon. I am intrigued by this idea but not necessarily convinced by it. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

A recent story (yes, it’s safe for work, home, etc) highlights what is apparently a problem for online p0rn* retailers: Their “product” is a bundle of ones and zeroes, and other parties (such as search engines) often make the same “product” available for free. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

When Samuel anointed Saul, he anointed a man of kingly stature, handsome and tall, but who thought of himself as the least important man of Israel. Saul said, “Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

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In response to Gordon’s post below, I am going to sketch out some of my thoughts on how one might bring Mormonism and legal thought together. The first step, I think, is to become aware of the attempts that have already been made to do so. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Lesson 45: Ether 1-6 Chapter 1 Though things are complicated by the fact that Mosiah (which one?) withheld the Book of Ether from his people (Ether 4:1), it is plausible to think of the book as being like a Book of Mormon for the people of the Book of Mormon. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I thought I’d put up a slightly different kind of post and get at a pet peeve of mine from back in the days when I was single. (i.e. only a year and a half ago) The big question is, outside of Church, where does a single Mormon go to socialize? ... Read More »

Today’s NYT features a story on law schools that promote a religious perspective on law. Not surprisingly, BYU isn’t mentioned. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

We are pleased to announce that Kathleen Flake is the next participant in our 12 Questions series. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Well, it must be autumn again. Not only is my house threatening to sail away in a sea of leaves (mostly ugly brown oak, sadly), but I’ve been asked to teach a mini-class on literacy at Enrichment. The rhythm of the schoolyear is hard to resist, and almost every fall I’m asked to... Read More »

I know it’s the weekend and blog activity drops way down on weekends. However I thought some might find this discussion interesting. I’ve been blogging about it on my website the past few days, but have primarily been focusing on abstract phenomenological and semiotic aspects of the problem. The basic issue gets back... Read More »

(As if there weren’t already enough navel-gazing around here today…) Boston area Bloggernaclites should come see the New England Latter-day Saint Choir (from the Cambridge YSA Wards) concert of Wilbergiana on Sunday night, featuring ME playing 2nd fiddle (not being modest, I really am playing Violin II). The concert is at First... Read More »

My background within the Mormon “intellectual” community is primarily within the science community. Even now, most of my friends have ties to the science community and despite the “personae” I might convey as a philosopher-geek, I’m really much more of a physics-geek in my own mind. One thing that I’ve long wondered... Read More »

One nice thing about blogging here is that I can talk about topics I don’t get to on my blog – specifically politics. However what I find interesting is what Mormonism can bring to the political arena. One thing that has long been on my mind are the lessons of our... Read More »

A retrospective, an announcement (or two), and a thank you. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Times and Seasons has turned the searching glare of its inquiry onto itself. We don’t know exactly the question that was asked, but whether the answers are self-parody or just self-indulgence is up to you. Enjoy. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

At a recent conference, I was klatsching with law professors, mostly from my school, when a young law professor in the group related how she was being pursued by another conference attendee. “I always attract married men,” she lamented. “Of course, they all say that they have a bad marriage, but this one is... Read More »

I am all sure that you have been waiting in hideous agonies of suspense about the fate of the “National Day of the Horse” resolution that I refered to yesterday. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I’ve decided to fight the forgetfulness of a blog by resurrecting a couple of old posts in time for the anniversary. In this April post, I admit that social pressures against sinful behavior are painful and unmerciful to the repentant sinner and unjust to the person who acts from pathology and not from... Read More »

We believe in prophets and have them in great abundance, but do we take all of them equally seriously? 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

This afternoon, one of my secret contacts on Capitol Hill (secret because he likes his current job and doesn’t want to lose it and return to K street) sent me the following message. I think it speaks for itself: 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Louis Midgley seems to think it is. My own feeling is that it probably depends on one’s reading of the phrase “anti-Mormon.” 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

First thanks to everyone for actually allowing me to write on topics unrelated to my blog. Hopefully I can live up to some of the excellent guest bloggers from over the past year. (Damon Linker was among my favorites.) One thing I’ve noticed of late is that my favorite series on... Read More »

It’s again time to rotate our guest bloggers. We offer many thanks to Ryan Bell for his thoughtful posts. Given that I graduated in the bottom 10% of my high school class, his provocatively titled post questioning the value of a good education was especially welcome. We are pleased to announce... Read More »

Blogs have archives but no memory. Perhaps our Very Special Anniversary Announcement will be special enough to change even that. I’m not taking any chances. I’ve decided to revive a few old posts from the first half of the blog. I’ve enjoyed doing it. “Time,” as James Lileks says,... Read More »

One of the more interesting aspects of Mormon theology is the basic ambiguity that it sets up about our ultimate origins. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Joe Spencer, Blake Ostler, Larry, and Ivan Wolfe have started talking about the interpretation of scripture on the thread on pride. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Things have been a little heavy around here lately . . . But not too heavy for MISTER . . . INCREDIBLE . . . to lift! Er, yes. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

In the fall of 1995 I enrolled in a critical theories seminar; first out of the block was feminism. One afternoon in September, I sat at a carrel in the old reading room on the south side of the HBLL and wrote on the inside cover of my reader a personal manifesto of sorts:... Read More »

In Book X of Confessions (chapter 39), Augustine writes about various ways of being proud. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Lesson 44: Mormon 7-9 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I’ve never seen the Disney version of “Pinocchio,â€? but I’ve absorbed by cultural osmosis the image of Jiminy Cricket cheerfully chirping, “Always let your conscience be your guide.â€? Our banal present-day version of conscience—and our uncritical acceptance of the concept as a stable psycho-spiritual category–belies the treacherous history of the idea. 0 people... Read More »

About 10 minutes after my first positive pregnancy test, I was at the bookstore, perusing the shelves of parenting titles, a pastime I’ve continued with some regularity for nearly a decade now. One of my favorite of these books is called 10 Principles of Spiritual Parenting. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

In one week, on November 19th, Times and Seasons will turn one year old. As part of our anniversary celebration…expect something big. Something huge! Something MASSIVE!! Well, big, anyway. Stay tuned. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I have to admit that I have a soft spot for what I think of as the virtues of commercialism. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

There are a lot of interesting things I ought to take the time to blog about, but instead I’d just like to ask our BYU audience a quick question: what’s the story behind this? What kind of changes have there been in the International Cinema program? 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

This afternoon at lunch, my angelic three-year-old daughter said causally to her quesadilla, “I’m going to kill you by plunging my spoon into your heart.” 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Because I’m hopelessly behind in everything I do, I hadn’t realized that I neglected to post a thank-you for our guest blogger Daniel Bartholomew. Yes, the Westchester invasion is officially over (whew!). But seriously, it was great having him on board for two weeks. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I can’t claim to have an explicit link to LDS life with this post, but I think it’s topical nonetheless. There have been several discussions on this site about education– the various pros and cons of homeschooling, pre-schooling, small private colleges, etc. So here’s my little contribution: Why does it matter? ... Read More »

A Deseret News article reports a recent devotional by Elder Oaks where he expresses concern over some recent social trends. Discuss. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

What is the well-dressed office worker reading on the evening train this season? The Economist. The Economist? Yes. An article on family businesses. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I’ve been witness to many discussions, in and out of the bloggernacle, questioning the importance of some of the stories in the Book of Mormon. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Although he goes to nursery in the Wakefield Ward each Sunday, my son attends pre-school twice a week at the Braddock Baptist Church in Annandale, Virginia. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

It was late spring in London, and just as the weather outside started warming up, things inside started heating up, too. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

(Now updated!) We’re very happy to announce our newest guest blogger: Rosalynde Welch. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

OK. I’m not sure if that title bears exactly directly on what this post is about, but as an R&B fan I had to use it before my time runs out. I’m a guest-blogger, which means I’m only supposed to get two weeks. I’m not sure if today is my last... Read More »

We lawyers have several disadvantages in trying to live the gospel. For one, everyone seems to hate us. However, there is one perk that almost offsets all the drawbacks of being a lawyer/disciple. That is that we have greater access to legal metaphors for the atonement. 0 people like this... Read More »

We LDS like to refer to ourselves as a peculiar people. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

This map, from the New Historical Atlas of Religion in America, shows the largest religious denomination in each US county. This does not mean that the majority of the county belongs to the denomination, only that no other denomination is larger. My guess is that Hancock County, Illinois (Nauvoo) will be... Read More »

Paul Morphy was a New Orleans born chess genius who wowed the world (or at least that small and geeky portion of it that cares about chess) with his aggressive and imaginative play in the decade before the Civil War. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

If you’ve spent five minutes in the bloggernacle, you’ve heard a liberal-leaning Latter-day Saint bemoan the constant conservative harping among members of the church. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I was feeling a little jealous of all of these Bloggernacle get-togethers, so I flew to Washington D.C. to meet Matt, Nate, and Kaimi. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I’m not a big fan of much of David Brooks’s writings, as he is often too Manichean to be useful (here’s a good parody). But in the opening pages of Bobos in Paradise, Brooks does a nice job of describing the shift in American culture from a class structure based on lineage or money... Read More »

Times and Seasons is my main way of wasting time these days, but I do have other vices, one of them being chess. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. (Psalms 122:6) News reports are rampant with rumors that Yasir Arafat is either dead, in a coma or on life support. What seems certain is that Arafat’s end is nigh. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

What next for supporters of traditional marriage? 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

This is off-topic, but I thought I’d put in a word for the 9/11 Commission Report. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

George W. Bush, in my mind, is very much like Bill Clinton. Both men seem to have the ability to make otherwise sane people on the other side of the political fence become nutcases. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Well, we have ourselves a new president. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. A week or two ago, Brandy Siegfried mentioned Ron Suskind’s article “Faith, Certainty, and the Presidency.” I didn’t read the article, but I heard Suskind talk about it on NPR, and found it very interesting.... Read More »

I have generally avoided posting on same-sex marriage, and I am not attempting to initiate another debate on the merits. But I believe that one of the huge stories of the presidential election will be the importance of this issue. While most people I know thought this election would be a referendum on the... Read More »

One of the so-far-untold stories of the election is that Mormon Senator Harry Reid will almost certainly assume leadership of the Democratic Party in the United States Senate. Senator Tom Daschle appears to be going down in South Dakota, thus providing an opening for Reid. Of course, the Democrats are a minority in the... Read More »

Not that anyone needs any more suspense tonight, but I’ll be keeping a curious eye on Utah’s election results. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Our internet host is having some problems keeping up with traffic on this incredibly busy day. The problem is exacerbated since they’re also hosting some official election supervisor sites in Florida. We’ve had one hiccough so far today — about an hour and a half of down time — and we may... Read More »

Nate’s post on the Sabbath returns me to some thoughts on the Sabbath I’ve been kicking around for a while. Earlier this fall, as I was looking for music for my ward choir to do, I considered Healey Willan’s setting of “O Quanta Qualia.” The text is as follows: Oh, what their... Read More »

We’ve been getting a ton of spam lately from a new batch of spammers using new .info sites. So I just added a general moderation rule for any .info sites. I also added a specific unblock for danithew’s site — his posts should go through okay. I don’t think we have... Read More »

Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. (Phillipians 4:5) We have often heard the saying “moderation in all things.” But the words moderate, moderation and moderately only appear sparingly in the scriptures and the phrase “moderation in all things” does not appear at all. Then... Read More »

One of the points of contention between believers and skeptics has to do with the question of morality. Roughly speaking, the exchange goes something like this: Believer: God is the source of morality. Without a belief in God one cannot have a belief in morality. Therefore skeptics are immoral. QED. Skeptic: Nonsense!... Read More »

Lesson 43: Mormon 1-6, Moroni 9 Since I’m putting these together between conferences all over North America, the last lesson and this are not as complete as I would like. My apologies. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Thank you, Adam, for the intro, and T&S for the guest-spot. It’s a sacrifice for my other little blog, but I can really use the extra income. Today i’m thinking about my job and what it’s doing to me. I work on the tenth floor of a not very big building... Read More »

Greg Call links to Dave’s Mormon Inquiry on whether Church accomodation has led to slower Church growth. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

If a demographer drew a line around the Salt Lake City area and then filtered out all but the LDS attorneys with a beautiful wife and two kids, he’d still have quite a crowd. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Bryce Inouye’s two weeks have come to an end. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

We had an excellent discussion of reverence in our combined Priesthood-Relief Society meeting yesterday. At the end of the meeting, I made a comment which provoked mixed reactions after the meeting, and now I am wondering about that comment. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

“Are you pregnant?” In the past two weeks, for some reason I have had four people ask me this question and variations on it: “Are you and Kristen expecting another?” “Are you going to have another baby?” “When is the next baby coming?” 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Is there anything more fun than a casting game? You know, “who would be the perfect actor to play Joseph Smith?” or “who would be some good actors for a Book of Mormon movie“? And now, ladies and gents, we have new fuel for the fire. You’ve all seen the pictures... Read More »

The metaphor of a marriage is often used to describe the relationship between the Savior and His Church. The Savior is the Bridegroom and the Church is the Bride. This metaphor is useful because the Church can instruct husbands that they should love their wives with all their hearts; to be willing... Read More »

Thanks to the macinations of the plaintiff’s attorneys, I am spending most of my sabbath today ensconsed in my office with the Bankruptcy Code. For better or for worse, I have a job where Sundays at work are hardly unexpected and although I do my best to avoid them, it isn’t really possible... Read More »

7YO: What if Korihor was a talking bat? Me: (Trying not to laugh) Umm, what? 7YO: He would die! Me: Oh? 7YO: Yep — because bats see with their ears, and they have to use sonar. And so Korihor couldn’t use any more sonar after he got cursed. Can’t argue with that,... Read More »

The blog party at D’s was a great success. It was quite interesting to put faces to names. (Kristine’s reaction when Steve Evans introduced himself: “No you’re not!”). We had a lot of people there: D, Kristine, Steve and Sumer, Mat and Gigi Parke, Logan and Amy Bobo, Bob... Read More »

This afternoon, renowned historian (and former T & S guest-blogger) Richard Bushman was the speaker at a meeting of the J Reuben Clark society in New York. The event was held at a reputable law firm in midtown. Brother Bushman discussed Joseph Smith and how politics was viewed in the early church.... Read More »

Last night on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer there was a segment with Tom Frank, the author of What’s the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America. Frank argues that conservatives have successfully used cultural issues to con the lower and middle classes into voting against what Frank believes to... Read More »

NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AUSTIN, Texas – October 28, 2004 – Smith Industries LLC today proudly announces the release of their latest product, Child 3.0. Also known as “Truman Michael Smith,â€? Child 3.0 has been under development for nine months and arrives just in time for the holiday season. 0 people like... Read More »

I’m sure many of you have wondered how things work here at Times and Seasons. The crack legal minds here have managed to thwart all attempts by independent journalists to obtain documents via the Freedom of Information Act, but for some reason they’ve allowed a relative unknown in their midst without performing a... Read More »

I grew up in a home where politics were never discussed. It’s not as though we didn’t have fascinating and stimulating dinnertime conversations (the most heated ones were always about English usage). We just never talked about the issues of the day. Consequently, I had little understanding of the political landscape... Read More »

I was given an assignment in a Hebrew class years ago to write an essay about the topic of nostalgia. Feeling slightly rebellious I decided to bend the rules a little and write a poem instead. I don’t have the Hebrew original in my possession anymore but from memory and with a... Read More »

A previous post may have led you to believe that Julie Smith would be parading around on Halloween as the old lady who swallowed a fly, or the whale who swallowed Jonah, but a recent inquiry reveals that she’s decided on going as a proud new mother. In other words, her scheduled delivery date was... Read More »

I will handle this topic as gently as I can. In this post I wonder whether Mormons who choose to leave the church are disproportionately likely to lean left politically. As most of you know, I’m a political conservative, so I’m afraid this topic will make some readers defensive. ... Read More »

I wrote my thesis on Mark 14:3-9, so there’s a lot that I want to say about it, but for now, I’m only going to talk about its relationship to Mark 12:38-44. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Tonight is a lunar eclipse. Don’t miss it. Next up in the series: Is Nate Oman really a space alien? New evidence and panel discussion, followed by a grape-juice and cheese reception. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Recent posts at Wump and Birds Eye discuss the blog party which took place last week in Salt Lake. (Are there any more reports I’ve missed?). The consensus seems to be, in Monsonian terms: Blogging was discussed; cheese was eaten; fun was had. And in case anyone has missed the... Read More »

Over at We Win, They Lose, Brent argues that Amendment 3 opponents are being disingenuous to suggest that the amendment could have a negative effect on unmarried couples. Brent suggests that this is not the case, writing that “I can draft a will leaving property to whomever I like. . . . Furthermore,... Read More »

A couple of months ago I got a call from a member of the bishopric in which he asked me if I would consider being the early-morning seminary teacher for our ward. My wife and I had just made the decision to sign our oldest daughter up for a swim team that would... Read More »

Though I have never been on a formal mission, my first five years in the Church were closely tied to missionaries. I was their age, I worked intensely with them. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Lesson 42: 3 Nephi 27-30 and 4 Nephi Chapter 27 Verse 6: What does it mean to take Christ’s name upon us? (What sermon in the book of Mormon has the most to say about that?) When we are told to endure to the end, what are we to endure? 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

As readers of this blog already know, I have a tendency to whine a great deal about the quality Mormon discussions. I have even been accused of being boring on the subject, which is no doubt a fair enough criticism. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Brother Decoo’s On the Left: Our Pioneer Ancestors . . . has become a peaceful forum for people who want the saints to be more progressive politically (except for the abortionist libertine part). I have no complaints. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I was surfing around some of my favorite blogs for something to post about, and there were a couple of interesting posts, none of which I am going to link to. Rather, I am going to muse for a few minutes about the pernicious effect of democracy on blogging. 0 people like this... Read More »

Regional conference last Sunday was a broadcast from Salt Lake City. We and all the other stakes in Oregon had our own opening prayer, song, speaker, and announcements. Then the Packers and the Tingeys and Brother McAllister addressed us on the big screen. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

It’s completely off-topic, but we can use a few excursions to the off-topic every now and then, in between our discussions of abortion, gay marriage, and the evils of Sunstone. Besides, it’s a fun mental exercise, and it’s also fun to see other people’s musical tastes. So here are the rules: ... Read More »

Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful, and the end of that mirth is heaviness. (Proverbs 14:13) 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I write this as a room full of nursery-aged children jump and dance to The Wiggles. The reason is that for Family Home Evening tonight, a group of our friends has gathered at the home of another friend whose mother died in an accident this weekend. While the family is away at... Read More »

Still in Alabama, at a hotel which has only one public internet connection. Not good. In any case, waiting around to get on-line in the evenings, I’ve been reading bits from the most recent Atlantic (magazine). Two things caught my eye: first, an article on Yale, describing how their student food... Read More »

Recently, I’ve noticed a bit of bloggernacle discussion over a question of burning importance: How to pronounce “Kaimi.” Here’s the short answer: Ka-EE-mee. It has three syllables, you stress the middle one, and Hawaiian pronounces its vowels more-or-less identical to Spanish. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

A new week brings with it a new guest blogger. We’re very happy to have as a guest someone whose name most regular T & S readers will recognize: bloggernacker and frequent comment participator Daniel H. Bartholomew, aka Danithew. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

William Blake wrote two poems that are usually studied together. These two poems, titled “The Lamb” and “The Tyger” explore the idea that as the Lord God created these animals, He isolated his own (seemingly contradictory) characteristics of meekness and ferocity and imbued each of these creatures with one of them. William... Read More »

To continue with the international perspective I was asked to give, here is one post that opens the door to some political debate… I hope it will not deviate too much from the questions asked at the end! Two items to set the perspective: 1) First, the vast majority of Mormon pioneers who came from Europe... Read More »

BMS: The People of Ammon MBM: Anti-Nephi-Lehies 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Yes, it’s that time of year again. Primary programs all around. I have mixed feelings on these. Some of them are clearly disastrous. But some can be a fun experience for kids, and not too awful for adults either. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Our former guest-blogger, the intrepid Claudia Bushman, has alerted me to the party of the year. It is (of course) the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the New York, New York stake. (What, didn’t you all know?) She writes: A special commemorative meeting of music, talks, and film will celebrate the... Read More »

Some of you know by reading my posts here that my wife and I homeschool our children. Actually, my wife Kristen does most of the teaching, although I like to be as involved as I can. I really like talking about homeschooling. Jaymie, our oldest daughter, is 6, followed by Julia... Read More »

God sometimes speaks in a terrible voice. Hear this: I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

One of the more amusing things about this campaign season has been the struggle of politicians and the mainstream media to come to grips with the blogosphere. They try to define it, contain it, co-opt it, manipulate it, yet despite their best efforts, it keeps slipping away. I laughed out loud when... Read More »

The missionaries found me when I was 17. That was back in 1964 in Antwerp, Belgium. I read Joseph Smith’s history and Moroni’s promise. I knew it was true. Immediately, fully. The Gospel unfolded like the rising sun. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

For some, it was a modern-day miracle. For others, it was one of the disasters foretold for the last days. And whatever one’s religious affiliation, it is almost certainly a sign of the Apocalypse. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I’m going to tip-toe a bit through this post since I don’t want to break the rule against criticizing individuals, etc. So bear with me for a moment of generalization. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Lesson 41: 3 Nephi 22-26 I’ll be out of town for each of the next three weekends, but I will try to keep up on the study materials for Gospel Doctrine class. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Now that I no longer teach Seminary, one of my biggest challenges is getting my daughter to Seminary on time. She has a driver’s license and would be happy to go on her own, but we can’t spare the car. So I am up at 5:30 (or so) every morning, just like last year.... Read More »

No one else has commented on the recent First Presidency statement on Same-Gender marriage, so I’ll venture something. Forgive me if this has been hashed out before — I haven’t read all of the gargantuan threads in the archives. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

This should be a blog administrator post, but I’m not blog administrator. Anyway, I tracked down the bug in the comment code. Please let me know if you have any unexpected problems posting now by replying to this comment. Of course, if you are having problems posting, you might not be able to... Read More »

A year ago I met a French philosopher, Michel Juffé, at a conference on Levinas and psychology at Seattle University. In August of this year, I took part in a conference on loss that he sponsored at Cerisy-la-Salle, in Normandy. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Second question (go here for the first): This question is more philosophical. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Sartre once remarked that “hell is other people.â€? The remark, I think, is revealing. In a sense the brand of existentialism pushed by Sartre represents the apotheosis of individualism. In the end, he offers nothing beyond the authenticity of personal choice, which becomes the ultimate source of meaning and value. ... Read More »

Seinfeld fans will remember this memorable speech by George Costanza, contemplating the impending meeting of his fiancee Susan and his friend Elaine: George: You have no idea of the magnitude of this thing. If she is allowed to infiltrate this world then George Costanza as you know him ceases to exist. You see, right... Read More »

I first had the title “We love the Mormonettes!”, but that would have covered only a tiny piece of my long text. But if you want to get to the Mormonettes, read on! Are you Mormon or LDS? In Utah, but also elsewhere in the U.S., the shift towards the use of LDS is inescapable.... Read More »

Rusty at Nine Moons has recently offered a tri-partite model of nudity: P0rnography: nudity with the intent to arouse (Playb0y, p0rn sites, p0rn movies, etc.). Nudity: lack-of-clothing with the intent to display beauty, non-beauty, or nature (Manet, Rodin, fine art photography, etc.). Lack-of-clothing: no clothing with no intent except utilitarian purposes (breast feeding, showering, sex, etc.). 0... Read More »

Last night, after helping get the kids to bed, I went to a Bob Dylan concert. I’ve never been to a rock concert on a Sunday before, but I made an exception for Dylan. I’ve had to pass up seeing him on several other prior occasions because of finals, work, or because... Read More »

Ok, so it doesn’t work as well as the Lennon/McCartney original. Still. Consider this a more or less open thread on the topic of serving “senior missions” (has the church settled on a specific nomenclature yet?). Some months ago, after listening to a talk at a stake conference, or perhaps a general conference address,... Read More »

I had occasion to reflect upon 3 Ne. 11 recently in preparation for a Gospel Doctrine lesson. As I tried to imagine what it would have been like to have lived through the calamities that were a part of the sign of Christ’s death in the Americas, I was struck again by the... Read More »

In a prior thread, Aaron suggested that we make a blogger family tree and Bryce gave his own information. It’s a fun question — who knows who, and how, outside of the loose cluster of LDS blogs that we call the bloggernacle? 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

(awkward pause) (waits expectantly) 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

One of the odder bits of Mormon interpretation is the strange life of “hot drinks.â€? These are the actual beverages forbidden by the Word of Wisdom. As we all know they have come to mean coffee and tea with hot chocolate and Diet Coke forming border cases for some, and no one... Read More »

Bryce Inouye is a computer science maven at Duke. He has three children, an interest in homeschooling, in English, in linguistics, in history, in Nobel Prize winners, one-term Secretaries of State, the Moh’s scale, and, in short, in everything. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

There seems to be a minor bug in one of the comment scripts, which is causing error messages when people enter comments. As usual, our crack team of elite experts (hah!) is investigating. In the meantime, as far as we can tell, all comments are going through just fine — it’s just... Read More »

Thank you, I feel honored to be a guest here! As a “foreigner”, I have been asked to add a Mormon international perspective. That means… non-American. Strange already that in our World Church the perspective continues to be U.S.-centered, with the rest of the world sensed as a large peripheral circle, referred to as... Read More »

Today I’m thinking about John 8:1-11, commonly called ‘The Woman Taken in Adultery.’ 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

MBM: A New Convert BMS: Aaron Teaches King Lamoni’s Father 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Today brings to an end Jana’s stint as a guest blogger. Thank you, Jana, for sharing a slice of your very interesting life and for your thoughtful posts. We wish you well in your writing projects. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Professor Decoo, a Belgian convert to the Church in 1964 (hah! I beat him by two years), is a professor of French in the French and Italian Department of BYU, where he has been since 1999. However, he continues also to work in Belgium, during Spring and Summer terms, at the University of Antwerp,... Read More »

It’s amazing the amount of time and energy we put into commenting or posting on the blog, interacting with people who we’ve never seen. And isn’t this a little like faith? I’m not sure; sometimes I think it is. I’ve never met Jim Faulconer, but I have faith that someone called... Read More »

I was discussing the Word of Wisdom with my wife Mardell, and she came up with a really good question. One of the things which surprises many members who look at all into church history is the discovery that the current Word of Wisdom was not strictly followed by early church leaders.... Read More »

That’s what this story says: Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will do Halloween things on Saturday, Arizona spokesman Don Evans said. “When a holiday such as this falls on Sunday, we automatically celebrate on the previous day,” he said. “One of the Ten Commandments is to keep the Sabbath holy.” Interesting.... Read More »

Hi all, Sorry I’ve been quiet; we had a bit of a family medical emergency here that took up much of my energy. Sometime late last week, my five-year-old daughter injured her knee, and with each day that passed it seemed to worsen. By Tuesday her knee was a huge, red swollen mass... Read More »

I’m neither a Nietzsche-ologist nor a Longfellow-ologist, and it’s likely that this association has been made by others. Still, it’s something that I personally had never noticed till this morning, when it suddenly occurred to me: Nietzsche’s famous charge has already been answered (in a sense) by Longfellow — and the answer... Read More »

Our lesson in elders’ quorum last Sunday was on the importance of scripture study. I shared a story that I frequently share when called upon to say something about studying the scriptures. As I was retelling it this Sunday, however, I had an epiphany: I was being a Jim Faulconer poseur. 0... Read More »

Professor Royal Skousen has gone far beyond what we asked of him and provided a full and fascinating response to our twelve questions. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Any other GD teachers out there? I’ve been in this calling for just over two years now, and it’s the second-favorite calling I’ve had in the Church. (I love teaching, but nothing compares to working with the youth.) I’ve been reflecting lately on what works, and what doesn’t, in my Gospel... Read More »

One of my more prized possessions is a small chunk of limestone. It is about 8 inches long, roughly the size of two fists. Its value lies in the fact that is is a piece of one of the shattered sunstones of the original Nauvoo temple. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Hello, everyone. I appreciate the invitation to blog a bit with you, and apologize for starting later than planned. I took some time last night to look over some of your recent conversation, and was taken with something Jim said recently. Watching someone play a hymn on the piano, he writes... Read More »

I’m wondering why I am being so defensive of Derrida on the thread on my post about his death and on Russell’s—and in the hallway at BYU today when I accosted a poor student who was going on about deconstruction and Derrida in a remarkably uninformed way. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I went to Nauvoo this weekend and found this, which reminded me of all of you. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I don’t know much about the live temple sessions. I’ve never been through one before. Is there live music that accompanies it? 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Did you know that you can add a name to the Salt Lake Temple prayer roll by calling an 800 number? Our priesthood instructor mentioned this today, and it started me thinking again about the nature of prayer. And I admit, I am stumped by the prayer roll. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Lesson 40: 3 Nephi 16, 20-21 Chapter 16 Verses 8-10, especially 10: Who are the Gentiles? Look at each condition for when these things will happen. What does each mean? 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Fans of Brandie Siegfried, please be patient. She intended to start blogging last Monday or Tuesday, but as sometimes happens even to professors and bloggers, life got in the way. You can expect her any day now. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Derrida’s passing is probably of interest to almost no one here, and the number of people who will be able to come up with a connection between Derrida and Mormonism is no doubt even fewer. (That is, I think there’s only one: Jim.) Still, though Derrida was ultimately not that important to me either... Read More »

Perhaps no philosopher of the 20th century caused more of an uproar in the U.S. than Jacques Derrida. Though he was not religious in any standard sense, he understood a great deal about what it means to be religious. Though he was often described in the English-speaking press as arrogant, he was in fact... Read More »

In the last few weeks, Chris Bigelow and I have been putting the finishing touches on MORMONISM FOR DUMMIES, which is part of the ubiquitous yellow-and-black Dummies series. It’s been a serious challenge to write a book like this, which aims to present the faith in an accessible, entertaining format whille remaining reverent... Read More »

A few goings-on in the bloggernacle of late: I just found two new Mormon blogs (via Grasshopper, the creator of the bloggernacle). One is Outer Boroughs, written by a bishop in Brooklyn. (Side note: There are sure a lot of New York bloggernackers. There’s me (Bronx), Logan (Bronx), Nine... Read More »

With luck we should soon be hearing from Professor Royal Skousen, who is the mastermind of the critical text of the Book of Mormon. There is another critical text edition that I would like to see: A critical text of the Doctrine and Covenants. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

The Lord reveals through many prophets, “By small and simple things are great things brought to pass.” He does not reveal that by great things are great things brought to pass. He doesn’t need to. We already know. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Thank you all so much for your insightful comments on the question of inclusion vs. exclusion in Mormon theology, and your helpful references to sources and talks. I might have to come to this site for assistance every time I am asked to speak somewhere! As some of you know, this issue... Read More »

President Faust told an interesting story about a ward that lost most of its Melchizedek priesthood holders (a military ward, perhaps?). The priests were left to run things. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

This topic has come up in recent posts around the bloggernacle. For example, Rusty at Nine Moons discusses an instance where a bishop committed all of the men in the ward to “1) To never watch an R-rated movie ever again. Also, to never watch a PG-13 rated movie without his wife’s permission.... Read More »

I’ve been asked to speak at an interfaith gathering next month, and I’d love your help as I prepare my remarks. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I sometimes have a beef with religious art because of the assumptions that the artist must make about the scriptures in order to complete her/his work. This is an interesting corrective. I have a poster-size version of it, framed, and I like it. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Professor Brandie Siegfried has agreed to take time from her busy writing schedule to guest blog for a couple of weeks. She is a professor in the English Department at BYU, teaching Renaissance literature, early modern women writers, gender studies, and Irish literary history. She did her Ph.D. work at Brandies University and has... Read More »

Further proof that some at BYU need serious help in figuring out what is offensive and what isn’t. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

There has been a great series of posts at Mirror of Justice about whether Catholics should create, or demand, their own political party — one that incorporates Catholic ideas and rejects the baggage that both major parties bring to the Catholic voter’s table. The discussion starts here with a discussion of Catholic politics... Read More »

Having a Greek word in the title is designed to give this post an auro of intelligence that it doesn’t deserve, but it also points toward an interesting question: Why do we care for the poor? Over at Aurochs and Angels (by the way, what is an auroch?), AA suggests that the alms... Read More »

Hello friends, Does anyone else TiVo General Conference, and if so, how much of it do you watch and which parts do you skip? I ask because I just enjoyed the sybaritic pleasure of watching GC from home in my yoga duds, and I must say there’s no comparison between that experience and having... Read More »

President Hinkley was pretty sober at the Priesthood session when he spoke about p0rn. He read a hard letter from an afflicted wife. He grieved the 57 billion dollars spent on p0rn worldwide (57 billion dollars gone down the devil’s rat-hole). He mourned for the women who love the men who... Read More »

Reader Jeff Cook writes in to suggest that we mention Wikipedia. That’s a good idea. Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia which is edited by its readers. For example, if you think that the page on Mormons is inaccurate, you can edit it yourself. Or if you think that something... Read More »

BMS: Alma’s Mission MBM: Alma’s Mission 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

We’re excited to have Jana onboard for the next few weeks. Here’s her bio: Jana Riess is the Religion Book Review Editor for Publishers Weekly magazine, and is also the author of The Spiritual Traveler: Boston and New England and What Would Buffy Do?: The Vampire Slayer as Spiritual Guide. She is currently co-writing Mormonism for... Read More »

Hello friends, I hope you’ll be patient with me, as this is my first foray into the nebulous world of blogging. I tend toward the Luddite end of the technology spectrum (and am married to a science guy who is currently getting a doctorate in engineering!), so I’ve shied away from anything more demanding... Read More »

I am not proud of this, but I have to confess that a very substantial part of my entire self-worth is tied up with how many comments my posts get on Times and Seasons. Unfortunately, I just don’t get it. By what criteria do the commenting bloggernaclites choose one post over another.... Read More »

Someone needs to write an etiquette book for members of the Church. I’m not up to writing it, but I’m willing to make some of the first contributions. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I cleaned the church building the other day, with the other High Priests. My job was to vacuum the chapel. As I was doing so, the organist came in to practice. She plays well, and she played hymns that I like, so it was pleasant. But as she began to play “Jesus, Lover of... Read More »

Lesson 39: 3 Nephi 17-19 Chapter 17 Verses 1-3: Does the Savior think what he has said is easy to understand? Are the things he has taught “plain and simpleâ€?? Why haven’t the Nephites understood him well? In what ways are they weak? What does it mean to ponder something? What does it mean to ask... Read More »

I’m a little behind here because we took a break from our regularly scheduled Book of Mormon FHEs to have one on using kind words. (Care to imagine why?) 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I have a unique opportunity and I need some help taking full advantage of it. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Want to discuss General Conference? Use this thread, but please remember that the T&S Comment Policies still apply. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Dieter F. Uchtdorf and David A. Bednar (President of BYU Idaho) were just called as the new apostles. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Here’s Luke 11:27-28: And it came to pass, as spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of... Read More »

The relatively new LDS blog Nine Moons continues to roll, as Amy discusses the ethical and spiritual issues with Mormons who accept the financial benefits of government “loopholes.” She suggests that this behavior may be particularly common among church members. (I won’t way that she’s wrong). It’s a very interesting question:... Read More »

It’s General Conference time, which means it’s also the time for mission reunions in Utah. There’s no rule which says you can’t have a reunion at some other time or some other place, of course, but this seems to be the custom which has evolved. More power to it, I say. That is, in... Read More »

We believe that we were created by God, in His image (or the image of Heavenly Mother, for women). And we believe that our physical bodies are an important part of our eternal progress, a part that will be with us for eternity. As pointed out in an earlier thread, we have... Read More »

Royal Skousen, Professor of Linguistics at BYU, is important for at least two reasons. First, he has developed a unique theory of language learning and use based on analogy (see his Analogical Modeling of Language, Analogy and Structure, and Analogical Modeling: An exemplar-based approach to language). Skousen’s work is important because it gives... Read More »

The House of Representatives today voted on a Federal Marriage Amendment. A large majority of representatives voted in favor of the amendment, but it did not receive the 2/3 majority necessary to amend the Constitution. In a textbook example of media bias, the AP story on the vote begins, “The House... Read More »

I love the Ensign art shows. They are in themselves a kind of art, greater, as the saying goes, than the sum of their parts. I do not love the missionary art show in the October 2004 Ensign. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

The newest Ensign is pretty simple. It’s plain stories and conventional exhortation. I like that. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Authority is a central concept in Mormon theology and practice. It is an issue that anyone thinking about Mormonism must come to grips with. The well-worn criticism that Mormonism is overly authoritarian or that Mormons place “too muchâ€? faith in their leaders misses the point. Mormonism is inherently authoritarian. Concepts... Read More »

Andrew Florence, a friend of mine doing an ER residency, emailed a journal entry to some of his friends. He has given me permission to post it here: This morning I cried for the second time during residency. Neither time has been in the ER. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I’ve been trying not to post much since I have entered the Mentally Incoherent state of pregnancy (as evidenced by the fact that I somehow deleted this post after writing 80% of it–this is take two), but the comments from Ashleigh and others about women in the scriptures have tempted me beyond that which... Read More »

Sure, we like to engage in good-natured ribbing with our beloved minor-league affiliate, (umm, like this post?) but every once in a while, I have to admit that, in the best Crash Davis style, they do hit some dingers over there.* Recent posts of note discuss the difficulty of church attendance, the problem... Read More »

Quite possibly the single most annoying thing about blogger/blogspot blogs is the lack of a “Recent Comments” function. Recent comments greatly facilitates comment discussions. And until now, it hasn’t been possible for blogspot blogs.* That’s why Ebenezer’s new Recent Comments script is such good news. It’s now up and running at some... Read More »

During this election season in the U.S., I have been troubled repeatedly by the tone of political discourse among my friends, in my community, on the internet, and in the mainstream media. I have been astonished by the extent to which the dominant motivation for political action has become hate. Most people I know... Read More »

The first part of this post is taken from a comment that I posted just after Elder Maxwell’s death. The story that follows those thoughts is new. During my mission, while serving in the office, I found notes of a talk that Elder Maxwell had delivered to missionaries in Vienna about a decade before. The... Read More »

Today’s New York Times has a discussion of two ancient silver scrolls found in Israel in 1979. New analysis confirms that the scrolls date “from the period just before the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.” and contain fragments from the Book of Numbers. Is that a fun data point, or what? ... Read More »

What is it? Well, it’s: A) a wonderful, groovy (and, well, yes, “dirty,” but in a good way, if you know what I mean) soul tune by the late, great R&B and pop artist, Marvin Gaye; B) an essential gospel principle. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

We’ve all read about the first vision, and the negative reaction that many contemporaries had to Joseph Smith’s account. We read in the prophet’s words: Some few days after I had this vision, I happened to be in company with one of the Methodist preachers, who was very active in the before mentioned religious... Read More »

I stepped down the hall to a naturalization ceremony. It was a moving affair, a lot like a baptism in many ways. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Several years ago I found myself at a restuarant in Berkeley, California with some of my elders. They were bright, friendly, and very kind to me. I enjoyed the evening, and I am glad that I was invited. During the course of the conversation one of the interlocutors, a disillusioned returned-missionary... Read More »

Jeff Lindsay has some spot-on commentary at Mormanity: Boy, am I ever grateful that Genesis was NOT part of the Book of Mormon. If Genesis were introduced to the world as restored scripture from the Mormons, the critics would have attacks ten times as powerful as anything they’ve levied against Joseph Smith and the Book... Read More »

The bloggernacle likes to talk about dating. We already know that JL over at Celibate in the City provides the bloggernacle’s version of reality TV, with adventures in dating 24/7. Now, the (sane?) folk over at Let Your Mind Alone are tackling the subject too. Chris Potter wonders about the prevalence... Read More »

Everyone’s favorite (or tied-for-favorite) LDS serviceman (formerly) in Iraq, Chief Wiggles, is looking for help save an Iraqi girl who needs lifesaving medical care that she can only receive in the United States. She’s nine months old and not likely to live much longer without surgery, which will almost certainly allow her to... Read More »

We have been infected with spyware. I’m working on eradicating it. It’s gone. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I know we believe in a God of hurricanes, but this is starting to get ridiculous. (Link via Froomkin). 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

During the course of its history the Church has spawned more than its share of schismatic organizations. During the Nauvoo period William Law and others disaffected with Joseph over polygamy, temple ordinances, the political Kingdom of God, and radical teachings about the nature of God formed the New Church, which was meant to... Read More »

For any who doubt that Sunstone at time struggles for new ideas, check out Nadine Hansen’s “The Garden of My Faith” . The essay was originally delivered as a “Pillars of My Faith” lecture at a Sunstone Symposium. As near as I can tell, the “Pillars of My Faith” lecture is sort of like... Read More »

I don’t know about you, but of all of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve, Richard G. Scott has always struck me as the sweetest and most patient. I have no personal experiences or special information to back this up. It is just my impression. I wonder if this... Read More »

Yes, that’s T & S blogger Matt Evans in the New York Times (all the news that’s fit to print), talking about his business, Baby Insight. (Alert reader Matt Horlacher was the first to point it out to me). Matt’s business allows customers to take voluntary, often very high-definition ultrasound images of... Read More »

I followed Adam’s link in the sidebar to an article in Meridian Magazine, by their film critic Kieth no I did not spell that wrong Merrill. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Jason Knapp over at Let Your Mind Alone is looking into the possibility of establishing a student-edited journal of Mormon studies, possibly in conjunction with BYU Studies (he mentions informal discussions with Jack Welch). It all sounds very tentative and gestational at the moment, but it sounds like a potentially interesting development. ... Read More »

Sometime T & S and BCC commenter Jim Lucas points out this interesting story. Daniel Arkell, an LDS student at Washburn University Law School in Kansas, joined the Christian Legal Society. When the group decided to start a Bible study program, he was one of the volunteers to lead the study. ... Read More »

Just how PoMo is the celibate one? Here’s a sample from her post on the topic: Because of my internet blogging activities I ‘meet’ other people online. We have no real life interaction, just email and blogging comments. Then, one reader of my blog-about-dates invites me on a real date with one of his... Read More »

The most recent issue of the FARMS Review has arrived, and it finally contains my article, “‘Secret Combinations’: A Legal Analysis”. I actually wrote this article two years ago, so it has been a while in coming. It is fun to finally see it in print. The article is essentially apologetic.... Read More »

A few weels ago I finished my stint at the public trough and left the service of the federal courts. I know work for the law firm of Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood in Washington, DC. The identity of the firm is significant only because this is the firm (and office) where... Read More »

I am not a connoisseur of music, I am an omnivore, and I think I recall Nietzsche pointing out that a person who will eat anything is a person who has no taste. That’s me. There are few kinds of music that I don’t enjoy. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Lesson 38: 3 Nephi 12-15 This will be one of the longer sets of notes. I would apologize for their length, but even at this length I have left a great deal unexplored. Though I will continue to post following lessons, I will spend more than one week on this material in my class. There... Read More »

Here is a very simple question on which I have no priors: is there a difference between withdrawing from the Spirit and having the Spirit withdrawn? On the former, see Mosiah 2:36. On the latter, see Helaman 13:8. I can visualize us withdrawing from God, but I have a harder time visualizing the circumstances... Read More »

MBM: Alma BMS: Alma Teaches and Baptizes 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Lesson 37: 3 Nephi 8-11 Chapter 8 Verses 1-23: Why might there have been so much destruction in this hemisphere at the time of the crucifixion and so little destruction in the other? 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I lurk on LDS-Phil. Mainly I read the discussions with that faint air of incomprehending condescension and superiority one feels when smarter and more educated people get passionate about something. But a recent discussion caught my interest. Why, the question was posed, don’t we Saints get more help in understanding the... Read More »

We’re going to the Temple tomorrow, three hours away, and I was sitting here pondering where we might eat lunch (I’m extremely pregnant and pretty much living from one feeding to the next.) in a city I don’t know that well. So, I went to Yahoo! maps, typed in the address of the... Read More »

Over the next little while, I’m going to be trying to implement the new blogroll feature from WordPress. There will be a bit of lag time as we get our blogroll moved over. During this lag, the new blogroll will only be partially complete. However, it should load a lot faster... Read More »

Apologies to all who have tried to comment this morning. Kaimi was messing with comment moderation settings (where we can put “questionable” comments into a queue for individual approval) and accidentally added an extra blank line to the list of questionable comment flags. The software apparently interpreted this as a blank space,... Read More »

The thing is: we don’t eat the kinds of foods that one can store. A large chunk of our grocery purchases consist of fresh fruit, frozen vegetables (not the square carrots!), and cheese. Whenever I feel all penitent and motivated to store more food, I always hit a wall due to... Read More »

Over at my own blog, I’ve posted some (as is my wont, lengthy) reflections on the importance of celebrating holidays, even those that aren’t, strictly speaking, one’s own. The occasion, of course, is that today is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. (Actually it began last night at sundown, but the formal holiday is... Read More »

What are the root causes of terrorism? Poverty (problem: most terrorists seem to come from middle class or upper middle class Middle Eastern families). U.S. hegemony (at least in part). Embarrassment and rage at the decline of Islamic civilization (almost certainly). Another recent candidate has emerged: Chastity. 0 people like... Read More »

I was just thinking that I keep stumbling across LDS creative outlets, and that it might be useful to put a list of these in one place. Here are a few that I’m aware of; please let me know, by comments, of any others that I’m missing and they’ll be added to the... Read More »