The following is a modified excerpt from my presentation at Sunstone this summer. We live, not only in a capitalist, but a consumerist, society. Our society is all about spending, acquiring, cluttering, and replacing, not about maintaining, restoring, renewing, and protecting. It is cheaper to buy new than to repair old. We live in a disposable country, where everything is trash, if not now, then soon. How did we get here? One of the best explanations I’ve found is in the work of the social theorist Max Weber (1). He examined the correlation between the Protestant religious belief and... Read more »
LDS Newsroom
- Mormon Beliefs Explained at Washington D.C. Temple Visitors’ Center Exhibit May 25, 2012
- Star Valley Wyoming Temple Site Announced May 25, 2012
- Mormon Helping Hands Assist in Maryland Park Cleanup (Photo Essay) May 23, 2012
- Faith Leaders Gather in Pacific Over Freedom of Religion May 22, 2012
- Mormonism in the News: Getting It Right | May 21 May 21, 2012
- Church Honored in Spain for Blood Drive Promotion May 18, 2012
- Mormon Leaders Discuss Helping Hands Efforts With Connecticut Governor May 18, 2012
- British Singing Sensation Katherine Jenkins to Perform at Pioneer Day Concert May 17, 2012
- Like Jabari Parker, Thousands of Mormon Youth Attend Seminary May 17, 2012
- Connecticut and Indiana Mormon Temple Renderings Released May 16, 2012
Mormon Publications
Books of Interest to the LDS Nerd
A few of these are forthcoming, a few have appeared recently. I am compelled to read them all, as soon as I can get to them. Now Available Charles Harrel,“This Is My Doctrine”: The Development of Mormon Theology (Kofford Books) “In this first-of-its-kind comprehensive treatment of the development of Mormon theology, Charles Harrell traces the history of Latter-day Saint doctrines from the times of the Old Testament to the present.” I have my doubts that someone who does not equally control original Biblical sources and LDS history, as well as the vast amounts of secondary literature on historiography, exegesis,... Read more »
Confessions of a Shopping Mall Santa
Christmas Season, 1989. I was a freshman at the University of Utah, my first year away from home. As a poor student I was looking for extra holiday cash, and the Help Wanted ad for a shopping mall Santa seemed like just the thing. Despite my 18-year-oldness, the manager was desperate to fill the big chair, so I walked out of my short interview with a prosthetic belly, a red suit, a wig, and some bells. Christmas had lost its luster a decade before, the day I had gone searching for my swimming mask and snorkel in our... Read more »
The Nasty Side of Christian Ethics
The language of turning the other cheek and Christian ethics in general can really get quite nasty. 1 person likes this post. Like Unlike Read more »
Liveblogging Symposium – Stay-at-home Moms: On the Record
EDIT: Emily Jensen has a great article on this at Mormon Times, and offers a much better (and more readable) synopsis. See it at http://bit.ly/GOEdq Approximately 30 people in attendance, an engaging and personable panel: Moderator/ CAMILLE AAGARD, former account executive at a public relations agency; cleaned out her desk two days before giving birth to her first child in 1998 and began a new career at home rearing five children, ages one to 11 Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Tired-blogging from Sunstone, Day 3
It’s early, and I’m still recovering from karaoke, but I’m at the Sonia Johnson panel. I’m sad to miss Kristine singing this morning, but this panel has a distinct advantage — I can sit with a laptop and write my talk for next time. I’ll try to type up some notes on this session (and not get them mixed up with my talk). Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Live(ish)-blogging Sunstone, Day 2
I missed out on the morning, because I had to finish grading papers. I’m now at D’Arcy’s session on virginity. I’m not true live-blogging it, I’ll post some summary notes as we go along. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Liveblogging Sunstone, Day 1
I’m going to be live(ish) blogging Sunstone, at least some. The level of effectiveness will depend on a lot of factors, including access to wireless (which seems to be a little spotty). If you’re here (or just here in spirit), please weigh in in comments with your own thoughts. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Your favorite online resources (or, crowdsourcing my Sunstone talk)
Apparently, I’m speaking on a Sunstone panel about online resources for LDS teaching. (I’m not quite sure how this happened, but it’s probably Kristine’s fault.) The panel is populated with familiar faces from the blogs, and the abstract is this: Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Rainy Day Panels # 12 & 35
Oh, they’ll stone you when you speak about the blogs They’ll stone you over feminists and God They’ll stone you when you say “September Seven” Or if you talk about Mother in Heaven But, I would not feel so all alone Everybody must Sun Stone. Which panels are you looking forward to at Sunstone next month? Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Misguided faith?
There was a lot that I liked about this month’s Ensign; but one of the short articles bothered me. It was the tithing article where the writer, a single mother of six, compared utility and mortgage bills to tithing, and then stated that: I would rather lose the water source to my house than lose the living water offered by the Savior. I would rather have no food on our table than be without the Bread of Life. I would prefer to endure the darkness and discomfort of no electricity than to forfeit the Light of Christ in my life.... Read more »
Conferences and Events
- Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology Annual Meeting
- Duck Beach Mini-Conference
- Seminar on B.H. Roberts’ "Seventy’s Course in Theology"
- 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
Calls for Papers
- The Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology
- 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