Author: Julie M. Smith
I live in Austin, Texas, with my husband, Derrick, an electrical engineer. We have three boys: Simon ('98), Nathan ('01), and Truman ('04). We are a homeschooling family and I also teach at the LDS Institute here in Austin. I have a BA in English from UT Austin and an MA in Biblical Studies (Theology) from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, where I specialized in the study of women in the New Testament. I wrote my thesis on Mark 14:3-9, which I explored from literary and feminist perspectives to determine how the story teaches the audience about Jesus's identity. I wrote a book, Search, Ponder, and Pray: A Guide to the Gospels. It contains 4,000 questions (no answers) designed to get the LDS reader to really think about the scriptures and to introduce the major findings of biblical studies to the general reader. I like to read, buy books, and go out for ethnic food.
Book Review: People of Paradox: A History of Mormon Culture
People of Paradox is unusual: Givens sets out four major paradoxes in Mormon thought and then shows how various aspects of Mormon culture (the life of the mind, architecture, visual art, dance, film, etc.), at various moments in history, negotiate those dilemmas.
Children Are Not Optional
Several women I know and like recently signed on to an anti-President-Beck’s-talk statement.
Publicizing Good Works
Go read this. Then return and report.
Paradigms Lost and Found
Ben called my attention to this discussion. David Bokovoy, who is working on a PhD in Hebrew Bible at Brandeis and is the CES director in Boston, sets out this argument:
Patron Saints, Mormon Edition
I’m tired of waiting around for Mormonism to develop the rich extra-biblical tradition of our Christian friends. Let’s get the ball rolling!
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.
Side Effects of Utah’s Voucher Program
I haven’t been watching this issue very closely, but if I understand correctly,
Does Seminary Make Kids Fat and Stupid?
And, if so, what should we do about it?
What Do Utahns Google?
Original article here
Three Book Reviews
Some new books:
Elder Eyring on Decision Making
Go to BYU.tv and set the date to Saturday Oct. 6th. Then click on LDS General Conference 10am. Go to 2:55 (that’s two hours and 55 minutes) into the program and listen to Elder Eyring talk about decision making by the Quorum of the Twelve.
What President Beck Didn’t Say
She didn’t say that you should keep your home as clean as the temple.
Last Meal
So let’s just say that one day you find yourself sitting on death row and
Scheduling the Primary Program
I don’t wish to detract from Adam’s lovely post, but after reading the comments, I am surprised at how common the late September Primary Program is.
President Monson Goes FMH
President Monson told the following joke at the General Relief Society meeting:
Mormon Film Series at the University of Chicago
From Frank Bednarz, “a programmer with a student film society at the University of Chicago, Doc Films:”
In Defense of Commentaries
Let’s say that you learned to cook by watching others and that you’ve never picked up a cookbook or seen a cooking show. Could you become an excellent cook?
Book Review: Setting the Record Straight: Blacks and Mormon Priesthood
Millennial Press has a new series of short books on controversial topics.
What I Did Today
1. Four loads of laundry.
Dialogue Flood Article
I have a vague recollection of President Benson telling a story about how (not) to do missionary work: he compared it to trying to convince a young girl to replace the doll she had with the doll you were offering her. He pointed out that ripping the head off of her doll to reveal its inferior contents may not be the most successful approach; you would be far better off in extolling the virtues of the doll you wanted her to play with. Good advice. I wish White and Thomas had followed it in their recent Dialogue article.
A Public Service Announcement
Stumble–because the world needs more ways to waste time online.
Are Women More Spiritual Than Men?
A reader writes:
Who’s the Bad Guy?
The writer of the gospel of John worked really, really hard to make it clear that no one suspected Judas:
Family Service
On Matt’s thread, Jordon F. wrote, “I should add that I think children are particularly quick at grasping and enjoying the opportunity of rendering service as a family. “
The Language of God
There’s something interesting in the current Deseret Book catalog.
Personal Purity
When I was in high school, I had a friend whose family always struggled to make ends meet.
Book Review: Head Start with the Book of Mormon
When I think about the curricula available to evangelical homeschoolers, I instantly become guilty of several of the deadly sins. Oh, if I were a young earth creationist, the riches that would be mine!
The Hafens on Equality
ECS wrote about this article over at FMH [1]; I’d like to take a different perspective on it–I want to tell you what I liked about it. [2]
Another Pew Study
See here.