Monthly Archives: April 2007

“The Mormons” Open Thread

April 30, 2007 | 18 comments
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Well . . . what did you think? Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

“The Mormons” on PBS

April 29, 2007 | 228 comments
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We have never suffered a shortage of outside experts who would explain us to ourselves and the world. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

One possible solution, Julie

April 28, 2007 | 31 comments
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Bribery. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

–snap–

April 27, 2007 | 51 comments
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That was me. Snapping. Wanna know why? Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

Modesty and culture

April 26, 2007 | 75 comments
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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 sign of decaying morals, and of the erosion of values. What was his crime? He kissed a woman, on the cheek, in public. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

Essential texts in Mormon Studies by non-Mormon authors

April 26, 2007 | 44 comments
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I haven’t a clue. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

Protest Days

April 25, 2007 | 77 comments
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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. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

The Man Nephi

April 25, 2007 | 32 comments
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Is Nephi an eponymous ancestor? Well, clearly, yes. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

Justice for Peggy

April 24, 2007 | 52 comments
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It may not have been the worst thing I ever did, but I regretted it the longest. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

Economics and the Vicious Dating Scene

April 24, 2007 | 13 comments
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Diminishing Returns: Once things start going downhill, bail. Increasing Returns: It can only get better. 3 people like this post. Like Unlike Read more »

Arrayed in Light

April 23, 2007 | 50 comments
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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. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

Book Your Vacation

April 21, 2007 | 74 comments
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Destination reading. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

God in the Elements and God in the Market

April 20, 2007 | 31 comments
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I recently had a theological epiphany while reading a case about conditions precedent in crop insurance contracts. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

What Women Need

April 19, 2007 | 131 comments
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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.” Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

A Sermon from My Past

April 19, 2007 | 9 comments
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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: Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

Legal and Religious Irony on the BYU Website

April 18, 2007 | 12 comments
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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, when I clicked to the section on law only to find a picture of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. staring at me. Holmes is a rightly iconic figure in the law, and I assume that he was added to provide a bit of jurisprudential ambiance. On the other... Read more »

Martha’s funeral

April 18, 2007 | 21 comments
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When Martha died, I had to arrange the funeral. “A joyful exit, she had asked, and have the children sing.” Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

Two Quotations

April 17, 2007 | 23 comments
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Two quotations on divorce, from church leaders of different eras: Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

You Can Go Home Again—Maybe

April 16, 2007 | 23 comments
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Perhaps Thomas Wolfe was right, but I’m skeptical. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

The Stake Conference Experience

April 15, 2007 | 83 comments
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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 over the past five years or so in four different states. Of course, the language of our having “had” stake conference, or being “part” of it, is rather misleading; what I really mean is, we joined twenty or so others in a cacophonous side room,... Read more »

Kurt Vonnegut

April 14, 2007 | 46 comments
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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. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

Ronald Davis Bitton, 1930-2007 (Updated)

April 13, 2007 | 28 comments
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“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 it serves equally well as Davis’s own epitaph. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

Mission Call 2.0

April 13, 2007 | 21 comments
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Called to serve—on YouTube. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

Markets and Consumer Activism

April 11, 2007 | 56 comments
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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 message” or help along some broader movement. Within a plausible model of markets. there are easily understood conditions under which this small effect is actually zero, and remains zero even if he is joined by many like-minded individuals. At which point one wonders if the “message”... Read more »

Mitt Romney, commencement speaker

April 9, 2007 | 43 comments
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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. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

Paragraph Seven, Subpart J, Clause Twelve

April 8, 2007 | 33 comments
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WHEREAS, the living room contains Easter eggs (including eggs of the chocolate, caramel, and peanut butter varieties); and Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

Easter Weekend, by Eugene England

April 7, 2007 | 11 comments
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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 in full in The Quality of Mercy, a collection of his essays long out of print. I didn’t know Gene well. But even many of those who didn’t know him well miss him, and look forward to someday hearing his voice again. Be the first... Read more »

God’s “plaiting” of evil

April 7, 2007 | 32 comments
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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 studied the scriptures better than I and looked at the etymology of the words can help me understand. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

The Three Trees: a Folktale for Good Friday

April 6, 2007 | 11 comments
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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. 18 people like this post. Like Unlike Read more »

Fallen

April 4, 2007 | 24 comments
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“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 any resident of San Pablo. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

Holy Week v. Passover

April 4, 2007 | 45 comments
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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. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

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