Maria, a seventy-five-year-old widow, member of our tiny Mormon branch, had asked me to meet her at a Notary’s office. She wanted me to be the executor of her will. I reluctantly agreed, remembering the council of a friend to avoid that kind of responsibility. But since I was the branch president… Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
LDS Newsroom
- Church Working With Oklahoma Officials to Provide Support in Wake of Tornadoes May 21, 2013
- Funeral Services for Frances J. Monson Announced May 20, 2013
- Frances J. Monson, Wife of President Thomas S. Monson, Passes Away May 17, 2013
- Elder Dallin H. Oaks Honored for Championing Religious Freedom May 16, 2013
- Mormonism in the News: Getting It Right| 15 May 2013 May 15, 2013
- Rendering of Meridian Idaho Mormon Temple Now Public May 15, 2013
- Mormon Delegation Encourages Religious Dialogue at International Conference May 14, 2013
- Mormons Around the World: Country Newsroom Websites |14 May 2013 May 14, 2013
- Mormons Around the World: Country Newsroom Websites | May 9 May 9, 2013
- Church Donates More Than 1 Million Pounds of Food to Top Hunger-Relief Organization May 9, 2013
Blog Archives
The why and when of baptism
How prepared should a person be before being baptized? How long should this preparation take? Recently the permabloggers had a brief e-mail exchange on this topic. The participants found it interesting to submit it to our broader forum. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Earth Day and the Church
Today is Earth Day. A number of denominations have given their support to environmental issues, encouraging their members to be sensitive to the protection of the environment. This not only pertains to the major (and controversial) topic of climate change and global warming, but to all the small things people can do daily to save energy, sort waste, recycle, be attentive to what we purchase… Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
The organ
It was a historic day for our tiny Flemish branch when we replaced the old harmonium with a new electric organ. Nothing could better symbolize our progress, lift the morale of our handful of members, and prepare the way to convert the whole city. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
How quick we are to condemn
In Notes from all over a link was added to a news item claiming that the latest Dutch spelling reform requested that the name “Christ” be written with a lower-case “c”. That information was spread on various American news channels and blogs. Flurries of comments ensued. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
The unspeakable
It happened in the mid-seventies, one summer afternoon, in the Swiss Temple at Zollikofen. 1 person likes this post. Like Unlike Read more »
A temple session
Provo temple. The room is full, waiting for the session to start. Soothing silence in this sea of white. 1 person likes this post. Like Unlike Read more »
Martha’s Sacrament
Elisabeth’s post “I can’t, she said” reminded me of Martha. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Free speech versus respect for religion
The Islamic world is reacting angrily to the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad in a Danish newspaper. Demonstrations, threats, flag burning, forcible closure of Western offices — we know the scary pictures. In defense of free speech and to show support for the Danish editors, newspapers in France, Italy, Spain and Germany have also published the cartoons, exacerbating the wrath of Muslims. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
The right to believe
An Italian atheist, Luigi Cascioli, has started a lawsuit against a Catholic priest, claiming that the priest violates Italian law, which does not allow the abuse of popular belief. Such as when people are fraudulently deceived in believing falsehoods, namely, according to Cascioli, the historical existence of Jesus Christ. The lawsuit is drawing international attention. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
I can’t, he said
I have on my desk a primitive pen holder in ceramic, about four inches high. The figurine, crudely shaped, shiny in its warm terra cotta coat, represents a little man holding a tiny bucket in which a few pens and pencils can be stacked. Many years ago, an eleven-year-old girl kneaded and baked the clay in the children’s activity room of a hospital, during her long convalescence. She made the figurine for me. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Praying in another language
“How does one pray in French?” one of my BYU students, visiting in my office, asked. The question took me by surprise. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Tax control
The letter we received from the Tax Control Department was preprinted. Handwritten had been added a date, a number and the addressee: Kerk van Jezus Christus van de Heiligen der Laatste Dagen. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Wilfried: My conversion
I posted my conversion story before under the title Why I have a testimony. As part of “My conversion” week, I use it again here, adding a little introduction on my childhood. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Two coalminers
Their story would have made an agreeable Ensign article were it not for that later development that ruined its beauty. Oh, believe me, I was tempted to censor the second part. But it would feel like cheating. Besides, the aftermath carries the morale of the story. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Coffee
What do we know about the covert life of our members? Take Irma. 2 people like this post. Like Unlike Read more »
Remain in your homeland
In last General Conference, Elder Uchtdorf reiterated the 1999 counsel of the First Presidency, a counsel that has actually been given since the 1950s. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
The encounter
Saturday afternoon on a rainy day in Antwerp. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
The flute
Jessica is sad. 1 person likes this post. Like Unlike Read more »
The date
The phone call was innocent. Sister Walker, the mission president’s wife, wanted me to come over for dinner. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
They govern themselves
A busy downtown intersection. No traffic lights, no road markings, no speed limits, no sidewalks, no pedestrian crossings. Cars, cyclists, pedestrians, all move on the same street level, side by side, carefully merging. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Two priesthoods
There is a tiny village, on a remote hill in Burundi, Central Africa, committed to my memory as the place where two priesthoods, Catholic and Mormon, joined. 2 people like this post. Like Unlike Read more »
Cyril’s tie
Cyril doesn’t know how to dress, except for his tie. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
The dog
It happened in the back of the former living room we called our chapel. The church itself was an insignificant Flemish rowhouse. Thirty-six chairs crammed the room. Six rows of six. When half of them got filled, we boasted on the Church’s growth in our city. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Hiroshima
It happened. From pictures and testimonies we can grasp somehow what happened. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
No more foreigners
Our worldwide missionary effort is plurilingual. The Church has always been involved in outreach efforts to other tongues, now translating material into 185 languages. There are wards and branches, led in the local idiom, in 165 countries. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
When God became American
When God became American is the novelized biography of Joseph Smith by the French author Marc Chadourne: Quand Dieu se fit Americain. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Missionary work versus religious correctness
When the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake were being announced, I remember how in our priesthood meetings in Provo exciting plans were forged to turn the event into a massive missionary opportunity: we would fill the streets with members passing out copies of the Book of Mormon and taking referrals. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Why I have a testimony
In my Belgian environment, I’m an oddity. A university professor who is a Mormon. Colleagues and students whisper about it. They can’t place me in the normal spectrum of the centuries old allegiances to our society. They wonder: how can this scholar believe the rigmarole of that foreign cult? 4 people like this post. Like Unlike Read more »
Love and a fence
They were all to their love. A silent, suffering love, eyes staring into eyes. Standing at a few inches from each other, the fence between them. A huge fence, of strong wire-netting that would not let a hand get through. Both were barely twenty years old. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Conferences and Events
- American Society of Church History Annual Meeting
- American Academy of Religion/Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting
- Communal Studies Association Annual Meeting
- Society for the Scientific Study of Religion/Religious Research Association
- Western History Association Annual Conference
- Utah State Historical Society Annual Meeting
- Center for Studies on New Religions
- Mormon History Association
- European Mormon Studies Association Conference
- Sunstone Symposium