Archive for April, 2007

Well . . . what did you think? 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

We have never suffered a shortage of outside experts who would explain us to ourselves and the world. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Bribery. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

That was me. Snapping. Wanna know why? 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

How much do ideas about modesty, decency, and obscenity depend on cultural context? Consider that recently, actor Richard Gere was widely criticized in India for publicly engaging in a vulgar, lewd, obscene, immodest, and indecent act. He was burned in effigy, and a warrant issued for his arrest; he was called a... Read More »

I haven’t a clue. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Only only time I’ve ever been arrested for civil disobedience, or held up a sign during a protest, or marched and chanted in the name of a political cause, was when I was an undergraduate at BYU. Go figure. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Is Nephi an eponymous ancestor? Well, clearly, yes. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

It may not have been the worst thing I ever did, but I regretted it the longest. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Diminishing Returns: Once things start going downhill, bail. Increasing Returns: It can only get better. 1 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Our hymnals show changing themes through time, and the themes in older hymnals are a window into the concerns of the age. One striking theme from older LDS hymnals is the large number of funeral hymns, including several hymns for bereaved parents. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Destination reading. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I recently had a theological epiphany while reading a case about conditions precedent in crop insurance contracts. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

In the article announcing the new Relief Society Presidency, the reporter writes that President Beck’s “primary concerns are the lack of self-worth and sense of identity that plague too many women, she said, adding that Relief Society functions under inspired leadership and can help counter such feelings.” 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I recently came across a talk delivered in church by a missionary in 1994 who was about to depart for Pusan, Korea via the MTC. It was interesting (and a little mortifying) to read the words of my past self. Here is what I said: 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

I recently ran across the “Education for Eternity” website put together by the BYU Faculty Center, which collects materials on Mormonism and higher education. It is not a bad collection, and given that William & Mary has no comperable collection, I appreciate that it is online. I couldn’t help but laughing, however,... Read More »

When Martha died, I had to arrange the funeral. “A joyful exit, she had asked, and have the children sing.” 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Two quotations on divorce, from church leaders of different eras: 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Perhaps Thomas Wolfe was right, but I’m skeptical. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Today we had stake conference. It was our turn for one of those newfangled and (I hope) still evolving “multistake conference broadcast” experiences; at least some of you living in the Midwest and Great Plains must have caught it also. I think this is the fourth time we’ve been part of one of these... Read More »

There was a time, during my senior year in high school, when I listened to the Doors and Pink Floyd for the sake of their lyrics, and memorized modern poetry, and read Kurt Vonnegut. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

“He had dedicated his life – his time, his energy, his talents – to the greatest cause of all, the work of God on earth.” The evaluation with which Davis Bitton closed his award-winning biography of George Q. Cannon tells us what Davis considered to be the highest and best use of a lifetime, and... Read More »

Called to serve—on YouTube. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

With fair regularity, one hears someone talking of efforts to buy less of some commercial product, either out of a desire for global conservation or because he doesn’t like how it is produced or whatever. Invariably, he comments that his own effect on the market is small, but he wishes to “send a... Read More »

Misinformation about Mormonism is nothing new, so the bloopers in Kenneth Woodward’s editorial about Mitt Romney’s upcoming speech at Regents University in today’s New York Times don’t disturb me much. What annoys me is Woodward’s argument about how Mormons should talk about themselves. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

WHEREAS, the living room contains Easter eggs (including eggs of the chocolate, caramel, and peanut butter varieties); and 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »

Gene England (1933-2001), Mormonism’s greatest personal essayist, wrote “Easter Weekend,” his greatest personal essay, twenty years ago. I reread it every Easter, usually on Holy Saturday. The following are only excerpts. It was originally printed in the Spring 1988 issue of Dialogue, was reprinted in the Autumn 2001 issue of Irreantum, and is available... Read More »

This will not be a commentary but a question. And I really do want some answers. I’m posting it on T&S, but I hope bloggers from all over will add insights. I want a deeper understanding and recognize that people like Jim Faulconer, Kevin Barney, Julie Smith, and others who have... Read More »

Once upon a time, three little trees stood in a forest high on a mountain, dreaming of what they would be when they were grown. 2 people like this post.Like  Read More »

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” The real problem with Holy Week celebrations, Kristine, isn’t Nate’s theory about high versus low church and liturgy and ritual. The real problem is falling deities. Just ask... Read More »

Kristine is trying to get everyone reved up for Holy Week over at BCC. I wish her well, but I suspect that she isn’t going to succeed on this one. 0 people like this post.Like  Read More »