For those hoping to find more economics in their scripture study… Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
LDS Newsroom
- Manaus Brazil Temple Opens To the Public May 16, 2012
- Ground Broken for Provo, Utah’s Second Temple May 12, 2012
- Released for Mother's Day: Bible Video Depicts Mary, Mother of Jesus May 11, 2012
- Pacific Mormon Helping Hands Come to the Aid of Their Neighbors May 11, 2012
- Mormon Story: Journalist Describes It Well May 10, 2012
- Church Preserving Legacy of Historic Buildings May 10, 2012
- “Stately and Magnificent” Mormon Kansas City Missouri Temple Dedicated May 6, 2012
- Mormonism in the News: Getting It Right | May 4 May 4, 2012
- Political Neutrality: Whiteboard Animation 'Draws Out' Church Position (VIDEO) May 3, 2012
- Mormon Helping Hands: Fix Up, Clean Up, Build It in California and Hawaii May 2, 2012
Liberal Arts
Economics – Law – Philosophy – etc.
Shortage and storage
With the recent spike in food prices, a three year old post demands new life. Here it is: Clearly, were there to be a famine, a one year food supply in the basement would look really good. What may be slightly less obvious is that the presence of food storage, even if nobody ever uses any of it for an emergency, can stop a famine from ever actually happening. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Coase on Abortion
Estimates suggest that, on average, Americans behave as if they value a year of their life at, more or less, $100,000. This would put an average American life at a “revealed preferred” value of somewhere around $7 million. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Religious Pragmatism
Oliver Wendell Holmes famously wrote, “The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience.” In various writings, he expanded that claim, contrasting a natural law approach to justifying legal and ethical rules of conduct with his own more modest approach rooted in history and experience and falling under the broad perspective labeled pragmatism. Since religion in general and Mormonism in particular have many rules of conduct for which a variety of justifications grounded in natural law, experience, and history are held out, Holmes’ approach may shed some light on how we do this. Be... Read more »
Coming of Age
Once upon a time, there really was a moment when a girl left behind an actual, old-fashioned childhood and embarked on a well-defined period of preparation for motherhood and marriage. Now, childhood ends earlier than ever, while adulthood in the traditional sense—of settling down and starting a family—begins much later, if at all. In the middle is a stretch of adolescence so extended—and so various, from teenage parenthood to perpetual studenthood—one hardly knows when coming of age should be celebrated, or why. –from a Slate review of a book on Quinceaneras. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Summer Seminar update
For those interested in the BYU summer seminar, I’ve revised the post, adding the titles of and abstracts for the papers. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
BYU Summer Seminar
The annual summer symposium, this year “Joseph Smith and His Times,” will be held on Thursday, August 9, 2007. The symposium will feature papers by twelve summer seminar fellows on the theme “Mormon Thinkers, 1890-1930,” covering topics ranging from the influence of Herbert Spencer on Mormon thought to Mormonism and Modernity. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Economics and the Vicious Dating Scene
Diminishing Returns: Once things start going downhill, bail. Increasing Returns: It can only get better. 3 people like this post. Like Unlike Read more »
Markets and Consumer Activism
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 »
Why a Second Coming?
It might seem that there are few Hegelians in the world today. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Preserving the Veil from Survey Data
Suppose I find that being Mormon raises income, makes your children nicer, and does all sorts of wonderful things. In fact, suppose God blessed every person who converted instantly and spectacularly with beautiful hair and perfect teeth. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Science and Nihilism
Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Santa-god and the Second Naivete
I spent all of September and a good part of October finishing an essay on community for a journal on the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, and it nearly killed me. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Fixing the Minimum Wage
It seems pretty clear that we are heading for a hike in the minimum wage. For the many of us who care about poverty reduction, which would be basically all of us, this could be a big deal. The problems with the minimum wage are that it: Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
The Opportunity Cost of Publishing
In this excellent post, Rosalynde talks about the gender differences in subject material among Deseret Book writers. This renews the discussion brought up by Taryn Nelson-Seawright on the same difference existing in other Mormon outlets. Explanations abound for this phenomena, ranging from differing preferences to piggy discrimination, but most of them are sort of boring. Here’s one that is at least slightly more interesting: Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Why Europeans look lazy
It is a well established fact that Europeans perform vastly less formal market work than Americans. A less known fact is that this is a recent development— in the late 50s, Europeans worked about 10% more hours, but this has been in steady decline for 40 years, until now they work about 30% fewer hours than Americans. 2 people like this post. Like Unlike Read more »
Camels, Needles, Heaven
Rich people who pay tithing are, by all accounts, still losers compared to the poor. Or, anyway, though their ten percent is a lot more money, it is money that had little effect on their life and so is not a very impressive sacrifice. Thus their salvation is put in jeapardy by diminishing marginal returns! How does the Kingdom deal with this? Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
How Wrong is it to Compare Yourself with Others?
A growing body of research (mine own included) in various social sciences finds that people report higher happiness levels when they do better than the people around them. 1 person likes this post. Like Unlike Read more »
O’Dea’s The Mormons Part II: The Edited Volume Retrospective
The Mormon Social Science Association, under the direction of editors John Hoffman, Cardell Jacobsen, and Tim Heaton of BYU’s Department of Sociology, is currently putting together a volume of essays that retrospectively assess O’Dea’s 1957 classic The Mormons. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
O’Dea’s The Mormons Part I: Strain and Conflict in the Church
Thomas F. O’Dea’s The Mormons (1957) is a classic text in Mormon studies. So much that the Mormon Social Science Association is currently putting together an edited volume Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Who took the LD out of LDS?
-or- What ever happened to the good ol’ last days? -or- Where have all the millennialists gone? Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
History and Scripture
Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Peak oil and taxes
On the Urban thread, Jonathan Green pointed out that the major issue with oil scarcity may not be how much oil we have in the ground, but how much we can pump in a given year. If we are maxed out on supply for a year, any oil disaster creates a huge crunch. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
The Real Danger?
Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Tomorrow morning, at 2 AM
Once a year, after enduring a grueling six hours of church in one day, I lay down to sleep knowing that during the wee hours of the night I will be robbed of one whole hour. It is time to forever abolish Daylight Saving Time. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Defining terrorism
By request, this morning I am going to talk about defining terrorism. The first important thing you need to realize is that there is no single widely accepted definition, either in academia or in the policy world. Everyone uses their own. So we’re going to talk about how you can build your own definition of terrorism. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Prophecy vs. History
Not too long ago, I stumbled across the PBS presentation of Jared Diamond’s book Guns, Germs, and Steel (2d ed. 1999). It reminded me of dealing with the book at college and enjoying the ideas presented and the sweeping take of world history that it offered. But while watching the presentation and contemplating the message of the book itself, I was reminded about how much Diamond’s whole analysis depends solely on inference from extremely scant historical evidence. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Market Dominant Minorities in the Book of Mormon
Market Dominant Minorities Read more »
And Justice for All
I apologize in advance for writing about a topic that is at least closely related to, if not the same as Nate’s. But it is his fault. He made me start thinking about the question of freedom and its relation to justice. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
The Mormon Bankrupt
Utah has a very high rate of bankruptcy. In 2000 it hovered at around 7 filings per thousand people– twice the national average. This lonely fact has launched a thousand explanations for why Mormons have such a problem with defaulting on their creditors. Clearly, the thinking seems to be, this shows some of the rot in the Kingdom. Just as clearly, this view has very little support in the data. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Conferences and Events
- Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR) Conference
- BYU Education Week
- BYU Idaho Education Week
- Sperry Symposium
- Utah State Historical Society Conference
- John Whitmer Historical Association Annual Meeting
- Association for Mormon Letters Annual Meeting
- LDS Semi-Annual General Conference
- Matthew Bowman: "Mormonism and American Progressivism"
- Samuel Morris Brown: "In Heaven as it is on Earth"
Calls for Papers
- Brazilian Mormon Studies Conference
- Colloque international sur le mormonisme (International Conference on Mormonism)
- LDS Association of Mormon Counselors and Psychotherapists
- Mormon Media Studies Symposium
- Sunstone Kirtland
- Sunstone West
- Sunstone Symposium: MORMONS AND MORMONISM AS A POLITICAL FORCE
- BYU Religious Education Student Symposium
- RESTORATION STUDIES SYMPOSIUM
- Claremont Mormon Studies Student Association