Today is my first son’s birthday. Last year on this day, I posted some recollections of our time with him. After reading Russell’s moving post about Tessa, I decided to bring my post out of the archives. You can find it here. My prayers go out to Tessa’s parents.
Author: Gordon Smith
Gordon blogged at Times and Seasons between 2003 and 2007. Further biographical information can be found here.
The Weekend With Morrie
In keeping with my general practice of coming very late to cultural phenomena, I finally read Tuesdays With Morrie last weekend.
Simple Testimony
Last week my bishop encouraged us to read M. Russell Ballard’s talk “Pure Testimony” from last General Conference. I did, and it has caused me to reevaluate how I share my own testimony.
The Purpose of the Church
Today in Priesthood we studied Lesson 3 in the Teachings of Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay. Rarely have I felt so out of sync with the lesson.
Should We Prefer Avarice to Piety in CEOs?
In an interesting editorial in today’s Chicago Tribune (reg. req’d), my friend Professor David Skeel of the University of Pennsylvania Law School discusses the use of faith as a defense to criminal charges by several prominent CEOs, including Bernard Ebbers of WorldCom Inc., Richard Scrushy of HealthSouth Corp., and Kenneth Lay of Enron Corp. David wonders, “How did it turn out that the leaders of three of the most scandal-ridden companies all publicly professed their faith?”
More on Media Bias
The topic of media bias comes up regularly on Times & Seasons.
Fat Tuesday & Lent
Mardi Gras is early this year. Now I am scrambling to find a King Cake in Madison. I lived in Louisiana for one year, and I was fascinated by the Christian calendar. So how many of you, besides Kristine, are looking forward to Lent?
Academic Freedom & the Search for Truth
The University of Wisconsin takes great pride in its tradition of academic freedom. As a new professor, I was told repeatedly the story of Professor Richard T. Ely (watch the video), a labor economist who was accused by Oliver E. Wells, Wisconsin’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction and a member of the Board of Regents, of providing a moral justification for strikes and boycotts.
The Iraq Elections
I was up late last night, watching the coverage of the Iraq elections. My favorite image from the elections is here. We have talked about the war in Iraq from time to time on T&S, but no matter what you think of the war, you have to be pleased for the Iraqi people, don’t you? I mean, even the New York Times smiled for a moment. UPDATE: If you want to see the upbeat paragraph that the New York Times took out of its story on the elections, read Instapundit. This is really disgraceful on the part of the Times, in my opinion. UPDATE: For the other side of the NYT story, see here.
The Disappearance of “Damn”
Should I have written that? Christine Hurt, my co-blogger at Conglomerate has begun to chronicle the disappearance of the word “damn” from several commercial ventures. See here and here. Apparently, it is a naughty word.
Boiling Frogs
You undoubtedly have heard this metaphor: if you throw a frog into boiling water, it will jump out, but if you place the frog into cold water and turn up the heat, it will become accustomed to the increasing heat and eventually get cooked. Gross!
Napoleon Dynamite
I am probably the last person here to have seen Napoleon Dynamite, but my daughter rented it on Friday, and I saw it twice over the weekend. I am still laughing.
Linger Longer
As of this writing, the average visitor to Times & Seasons spends 7 minutes and 28 seconds on the site. In blogtime, that is simply unparalleled.
Especially For Youth
Today is the first day of registration for Especially For Youth, and I am waiting in the queue: #276 of 325 people waiting in line.
Fast Offerings: Are Mormons Stingy?
People have been talking a lot about stinginess lately. With tithing settlement still fresh in my mind, I have been pondering the issue of Mormon generosity.
Happy New Year!
I was waiting for someone else to post the obligatory new year’s post, and to say something really clever.
Picking Battles: Reflections on Parenting
As a father of two teenagers with three more children in the pipeline, I have received — and continue to receive — plenty of parenting advice. One bit of advice that I hear over and over is this: pick your battles. Standing in the middle of this experience, I haven’t yet decided whether this advice is merely self-evident encouragement, truly insightful parenting counsel, or complete hogwash. I am leaning toward the hogwash hypothesis.
Demystifying Prophetic Counsel
Here is an empirical claim for which I have no support, other than my own observations: many Mormons inappropriately mystify revelation.
President Hinckley on Larry King “Live” Tonight!
In case you haven’t heard, President Hinckley will appear on Larry King Live tonight.
“December is run by women”
Very little regarding Christmas happens in the Smith household without my wife’s instigation. Although I enjoy our Christmas traditions, I too often free-ride on her efforts.
Ward Christmas Parties … Bah, Humbug!
This does not sound like fun. Then again, that’s to be expected at the ward Christmas party.
Tithing Settlement
Last year at this time I posted on the topic of “Tithing Settlement.” Although I strive to avoid repetitive posting, I trust that most of our current readers were not around at the time, and I never received an answer to my question. So I am trying again.
Thanks, Jed!
Jed W.’s term as a guest blogger has come to a close, and I am sure that I speak for all us in thanking him for his insightful and provocative posts. I learned in Church today that Jed and his wife Shauna are expecting their first child next summer. The current debate in the W. household is whether to discover their child’s gender before the birth. I am quite certain that Jed and Shauna would appreciate your insights on this issue. In the meantime, best of luck to Jed. We hope that you will not be a stranger.
Microinequities
Yesterday the W$J ran a story on “microinequities” — “the subtle putdowns, snubs, dismissive gestures and sarcastic tones that can sap motivation.” Life is full of microinequities, and Church life is not a safe haven.
BYU’s Pursuit of Football Excellence
Since Lavell Edwards retired, BYU’s football program has entered the arms race that is major college football.
Times & Seasons Around the World
By adding Wilfried as a permablogger a few weeks ago, we not only gained an interesting colleague, but extended Times & Seasons beyond the borders of the United States. Over the past 24 hours, I have been tracking traffic at Times & Seasons to get a glimpse at our readership around the world. Here is what I found.
“Old Nick”
I was just reading a new blog for Mormon teens called “The Greenies,” and LJ used “Old Nick” as an alternative appellation for Satan.
A Balanced Life is the Devil’s Workshop
Nobel Laureate David Baltimore, currently President of Caltech, abhors the balanced life. He thinks it is destroying America.
“Visitors Welcome”
CBS and NBC have refused to air an ad from the United Church of Christ on grounds that it is “too controversial.” The message of the advertisement is one that I hope we would embrace, but I am not so sanguine about that.
Ken Jennings Finally Stumbles
The streak is over: Ahead by $4,400 going into “Final Jeopardy,” Final Jeopardy!, Jennings stumbled on this Business and Industry clue: Most of this firm’s 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year. Jennings wrongly answered, “What is FedEx?” real estate agent Nancy Zerg of Ventura, Calif., responded, “What is H&R Block?” making her the new champ — and a likely future Jeopardy! answer. (She finished with $14,401; Jennings fell to $8,799.) Congratulations on a great run, Ken. For our 12 Questions with Ken, see here and here.