Author: Gordon Smith

I hope that each of us is praying and perhaps fasting for those who have been affected most directly by Katrina. As I thought about doing something more — specifically, donating to the relief effort — I wondered whether we could or should funnel donations through the Church. If not, what are the best options?…

When the topic turns to marriage, someone in Gospel Doctrine class inevitably refers with derision to that famous phrase from traditional marriage vows, “’til death do us part.” To paraphrase Inigo Montoya, “I do not think this [phrase] means what you think it means.”

So says the New York Times.

Sister Murdoch did not want to go on a mission, but she went anyway.

Several weeks back, I posted a short thing on Conglomerate and Blogcritics about my search for Harry Potter & The Half-blood Prince.

Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has presidential aspirations.

As many of you know, BYU’s football team has been in a bit of a slump for the past three seasons. I am very encouraged, therefore, by the new coaching staff’s innovative efforts to recruit new players. Watch out, Utes!

When I lived in Oregon, a member of my ward suggested a state-of-the-marriage litmus test for couples who had been married in the temple.

The discussion below under my post on Kim Clark is evolving toward this topic, which I have wondered about for a long time. During my short stint teaching at the MTC just after my mission, all of the MTC instructors were invited to a meeting with a General Authority. He asked us, “How many of…

Harvard Business School Dean Kim Clark is resigning to take over the Presidency at BYU-Idaho. See here and here. My impression from speaking to HBS faculty is that Clark has been a very effective dean, so this looks like great news for BYU-Idaho.

Quick, there’s still time before the next youth dance! Check it out! Hat tip to Metafilter.

In 3 Nephi 16:1-3, Jesus proclaims: And verily, verily, I say unto you that I have other sheep, which are not of this land, neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister. For they of whom I speak are they who have…

For me one of the enduring frustrations and perplexities of parenting children in public schools is the need to monitor sex education curricula. If you think that schools don’t need monitoring, you aren’t paying attention.

The pressure to give this book rave reviews is enormous. Everyone seems to love it (the Freakonomics website will lead you to plenty of positive reviews), and Steven Levitt is an undeniably brilliant economist — my hat’s off to anyone who wins the John Bates Clark Medal. But this is not a brilliant book. And…

I have a pretty simple understanding of the Gospel, and I rarely come across scriptures that can’t be accommodated to my existing world view (or dismissed as scrivener’s errors!). Recently, however, I read a verse in the Book of Mormon that stopped me in my tracks.

In the wake of all of these feel-good posts about mothers and motherhood (or parenthood), I thought someone should write something deflating. Happy to oblige.

This is a question from a friend who is looking for advice. He noticed that his teenage daughter had been spending a lot of time on a site called LiveJournal.com. When he checked the internet browser’s history, he discovered that she keeps an online journal. Should he read it?

Rewards programs are all around us. Use your credit card, get frequent flier miles. Stay at a hotel, earn travel points. Buy 10 pizzas, get the next one free. If we want more converts, why not create a rewards program for sharing the Gospel? Not just eternal or psychic rewards, but immediate, tangible, worldly rewards.…

I still remember the first time I heard Christian rock music in the early 1980s. I thought it was awful and vaguely sacrilegious. Of course, since that time, many Christian rock groups have crossed over into the mainstream market and became straightforwardly sacrilegious (tic, sort of). Now prepare yourselves for the arrival of Christian rock’s…

I have been thinking about Mother’s Day for weeks. This is not normal for me, but for some reason I have felt the urge to make this year something special. But what to do? Finally, today, inspiration came.

Cathy Young has a provocative editorial on the recent judicial confirmation kerfuffle. The quick primer: Democrats have been blocking President Bush’s judicial nominees at an unprecedented rate, and Republican Senators have begun to cry foul on grounds of religious bigotry.

I spent most of my morning in a very enjoyable Stake Conference. Many of you were probably there, too. After all, it included 61 stakes and one district covering nine Midwestern states.

I suppose it was inevitable. Today, during Stake Conference, I saw a member of our congregation taking notes on a laptop.

The Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005 has made its way through Congress and is now heading toward the White House for George Bush’s signature.

President Hinckley’s home teaching message for April is about symbols. It was prompted by that well-worn question: why don’t Mormons use the symbol of the cross?

My wife bought a basketball standard this winter. It was on sale, our oldest son had been asking for one for months, and my wife is a great basketball player. The only problem: assembly required.

Unlike last week’s sermon, this sermon is widely known among members of the Church, though usually under the designation, “Bruce R. McConkie’s Last Talk.”

I spend most of my waking hours studying some aspect of business law. I have a special interest in entrepreneurship. Does this have anything to do with Mormonism?

Just for fun, I googled “marking scriptures.” The first three results are Mormon sites. Result #4 does not have anything to do with scripture marking, but is a Bible site that encourages bookmarking. Then it’s back to the Mormon sites. Only one other site in the Top 10 results is from another denomination.

This post inaugurates a new series at Times & Seasons. We have decided to post discussions of and links to great sermons.