Before there were Young Men and Young Women, there were the Young Men’s and Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Associations. Before there were correlated lesson manuals and basketball and scouting and Young Womanhood awards and dancing-a-Book-of-Mormon’s-width-apart there were homemade programs.
Abdullah’s Bold Move in Faithful Education
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is building a university from the ground up. It is to be much less conservative than other Saudi institutions, but is explicitly based in Muslim values. This opens some very exciting possibilities.
Red
And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. Joel 2:30-31 (Photo: San Diego Fire Moon, originally uploaded by Tamara Hart, link via Exponent II)
Mothers Who Know: Homemaking
Note: this post begins a series of posts on President Beck’s recent conference talk. If you feel the need to vent your dislike of the talk, I imagine that you might possibly be able to find a thread somewhere in the Bloggernacle where you can do just that. But you can’t do it here.
A Walk into the Moon
I hope some of you grabbed your moon glasses and stepped outside to have a look at how that full moon lights up the world. Thirty thousand miles closer than usual and thirty percent brighter, tonight this lesser light has a chance to really shine.
Ten miles
We’re about ten miles from the danger zone, living in the shadow of the fire.
If I’m Not Alexander, I Must Be Diogenes
The textbook I used when I taught freshman comp at BYU contains an essay by Gilbert Highet titled “Diogenes and Alexander.†This well embellished tale recounts the legendary maybe-it-happened, maybe-it-didn’t visit that Alexander the Great paid to the notorious Cynic philosopher at Corinth.
The Morning Star
We don’t often refer to Christ as the morning star, although there’s good scriptural precedent for the metaphor, and several 16/17th century Lutheran hymns (my particular target of religious envy) make use of it.
The multitudinous family of Smith
Josiah Quincy famously wrote that, “Of the multitudinous family of Smith, from Adam down (Adam of the “Wealth of Nations,” I mean), none had so won human hearts and shaped human lives as this Joseph. His influence, whether for good or for evil, is potent today, and the end is not yet.” Was he right? And does this still hold true today? Where does Joseph rank, within the multitudinous family of Smith, in present-day influence?
Teaching the Net Generation
It’s easy to forget how much time LDS teenagers spend in LDS classrooms, roughly seven hours per week. Are they learning anything? That’s a fair question, as the “classroom model” that governs teaching hasn’t changed much over the years, but students have.
Evans Political Bull-Bear Political Indicator: October 2007
Here are today’s Evans Bull-Bear Political Indicators.
In case you’re here for that other Times and Seasons . . .
We get a fair number of visitors from the search string, “Times and Seasons.” I’m sure a portion of these are actually looking for the blog; and others may be after discussion of the general concept (which isn’t solely a Mormon idea). But I’m sure some of them are actually looking for an online version of the old Mormon periodical. Where do you go if you want to read the original Times and Seasons? Here (scanned-in pages; scroll down); here (description and search link); here (transcriptions). (All links via the amazing Ardis Parshall.) Any other questions?
Lorenzo’s exhortation
“A new century dawns upon the world today. The hundred years just completed were the most momentous in the history of man upon this planet. It would be impossible in a hundred days to make even a brief summary of the notable events, the marvelous developments, the grand achievements, and the beneficial inventions and discoveries, which mark the progress of the ten decades now left behind in the ceaseless march of humanity. The very mention of the nineteenth century suggests advancement, improvement, liberty, and light. Happy are we to have lived amidst its wonders and shared in the riches of its treasures of intelligence! The lessons of the past century should have prepared us for the duties and glories of the opening era. It ought to be the age of peace, of greater progress of the universal adoption of the golden rule.
Side Effects of Utah’s Voucher Program
I haven’t been watching this issue very closely, but if I understand correctly,
Books, Mormons, Interpretation
The topic of the 2008 conference of Mormon Scholars in the Humanities is “Interpretation: LDS Perspectives.” I won’t be there, unfortunately. But if I were to attend, I know what I would talk about.
Winter Food
The icy breath of winter descends. Yesterday reached a low of 59; the forecast for the next few days drops to a bone-chilling 55. (Don’t hate me because I live in paradise.) The seasons cause changes. Starting about now, I won’t be able to swim at the beach without a wetsuit. We’re packing away shorts — one or two pairs, maybe — and breaking out the sweater. Also, it’s time to look to winter foods and recipes once again.
Does Seminary Make Kids Fat and Stupid?
And, if so, what should we do about it?
Help out Harry Reid
When Harry Reid spoke at BYU last week, he brought up a topic he was uniquely suited to address. To paraphrase, how can you be a Mormon and a Democrat? Reid’s response was, well, deeply predictable in the outset but wildly unpredictable after that.
Thoughts As I Depart
My time is just about gone. Tomorrow, I return to the anonymity of the commenter – responding to posts that others have written, instead of wondering whether anyone will respond to mine.
Women Who Know
… grow tomatoes in their home garden, and lots of them. Men who know grow them, too.
On the Road for On the Road
I recently brought to a successful conclusion a one-month, eight-hundred-mile odyssey that had a simple and straightforward object: to purchase a copy of Richard L. Bushman’s On the Road with Joseph Smith: An Author’s Diary at Deseret Book. I didn’t think it would be such a challenge.
My Niece Died This Morning
She was 12 years old, and her death was totally unexpected.
Do some good this weekend!
Don’t forget: Get a jumpstart on your holiday shopping by supporting the Gifts Outreach book fair at all Utah Barnes and Noble bookstores, Saturday October 13.
What Do Utahns Google?
Original article here