[I’m reposting my conversion story here to round out our week of conversion stories.]
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.
Gina’s Conversion Story
[After I posted my conversion story, Gina sent me hers. I thought it was wonderful and asked her permission to share it with our readers. With her gracious permission, here is Gina’s story.–Julie]
The Four Types of Mormons
So my very bright friend in Wisconsin has come up with something that should get us light years beyond the tired old Liahona-Iron Rod business. Here it is, in his words, not mine.
Nonfiction Books for Children
Most people don’t appreciate the wonderful world of children’s nonfiction books.
Sunday School Lesson #42
Here are my notes. I decided to focus on OD-2.
After the Fall
If you are tired of reading about bannergate, don’t click here:
My Conversion Story
The reason that I don’t like to tell my conversion story is that it is boring. If I were to appropriate the famous Joseph Smith line, I would have to modify it thusly: “No man knows my history. . . . I don’t blame any one for not staying awake through my history. If I had not experienced what I have, I could not have stayed awake through it myself.” So don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Platinum Wedding Bells
The Saints are pretty good at spotting blatant attacks on the family. But, recently, I realized that I had been completely unaware of a subtle yet profound attack on marriage and family.
In the -Hoods: Are Motherhood and Priesthood Equivalent?
Julie: This dialogue is the outgrowth of a few comments at one of those other blogs that Rosalynde suggested might make an interesting discussion.
Book Review: Lengthen Your Stride: The Presidency of Spencer W. Kimball
If you liked the recent President McKay biography, you are going to love the new biography of President Kimball.
Julie’s Homeschooling Manifesto
We’ve talked about homeschooling before, but once was Bryce’s baby and the other was a peripheral issue. Because people ask from time to time, I thought I’d set out my thoughts about homeschooling in a friendly Q-and-A format.
The Nineteenth-Century Bloggernacle
I’ve been concerned, lately, that blogging encourages a kind of discourse that we wouldn’t otherwise see in the Saints. I was wrong.
Genesis 38
“Puzzling.” “Sordid.” “Audacious, provocative, and titillating.” Those descriptors might very well apply to this week’s box office sensation, but that’s not what this post is about. All of these terms (“Sordid” comes from the Institute Manual) were used to describe the tale told in Genesis 38.
The horse you rode in on
I’m still trying to scrape my jaw off of the floor after reading some of Adam Greenwood’s comments over at, you know, that other other blog.
Barren
Let me describe to you what the grocery store was like today.
Report on Incident #C40859
REPORT OF THE SPECIAL JOINT TASK FORCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS AND THE UNITED NATIONS WAR CRIMES COMMITTEE
Health Care: What to Do?
This from a new report by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research Educational Trust: “The average cost of health insurance for a family of four has soared past $10,800 — exceeding the annual income of a minimum-wage earner, according to a survey released Wednesday.”
Quail and the Superdome
I will frankly admit that I have been sickened by the lack of compassion for those victimized by Hurricane Katrina that I’ve seen in some corners of the Bloggernacle.
Book Review: I Love Mormons: A New Way to Share Christ with Latter-day Saints
The techniques that Evangelicals use to convert Mormons to ‘traditional Christianity’ do not work. The same cannot be said for the method proposed by David L. Rowe in his new book. .
Thinking With Katrina
While my brother and his family are safe in Texas, it appears that all of their possessions and their home in New Orleans will be under water soon. What I am hearing now is that about half of ‘well-contructed homes’ will be destroyed and the city will not be habitable for weeks. One million may be left homeless.
A Letter to Emma Ray
While David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism is nearly perfect in every way, one thing it doesn’t do is provide an intimate portrait of President McKay. That lacuna is partially filled by Heart Petals: The Personal Correspondence of David Oman McKay to Emma Ray McKay.
Book Review: The Parenting Breakthrough
You just gotta love any book that has a picture of a seven-year-old boy cleaning a toilet on the cover.
Welcome Gregory Prince
We are excited to welcome Gregory Prince, coauthor of David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism (published March 2005 and already in its third printing; reviewed here). Welcome, Greg!
Book Review: The Book: A History of the Bible
I should warn potential readers: there’s a real danger that you will drool on the pages of Christopher de Hamel’s new book.
Thank You, Kirsten
It’s time to say goodbye to Kirsten and thank her for being an oustanding guest blogger. I appreciate the way that she formulated potentially-explosive and oft-discussed topics in a fresh, creative way that led to great discussions. Thanks, Kirsten, and we hope you’ll continue to stop by and comment.
Blood on the Doorposts
Let’s call her Sister Jones. We both taught seminary in Northern California a few years ago. I liked her from day one: faithful, funny, and willing to lend out anything from her complete collection of Sunstone back issues. (This was in the days before full Internet access, you see.)
Flannel Board Lust
Who knew when I started reading salon.com’s new column ‘Object Lust’ that I would fall victim to this deadly sin? Who could have predicted that the object of my attraction would be a flannel board?
Guest Blogger: Kirsten M. Christensen
I’m pleased to introduce Kirsten M. Christensen as our newest guest blogger. Kirsten has a PhD in Germanic Studies from UT-Austin and has taught at Mount Holyoke College and Notre Dame and is now at Pacific Lutheran University. She’s married to Ted Warren (who may have the most interesting job of anyone I know) and she has two adorable, smart, precious boys, Grayson and Hal.
HFPE
Griping about endless crafts at Home, Family, and Personal Enrichment Meeting is a Bloggernacle staple. I’d like to try something different.
Book Review: A Feminist Introduction to Paul
Here’s a sentence I wouldn’t have expected to find in a Deseret Book: If Emerson was right that a stubborn insistence on consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, then Paul’s place among the larger intellects of Western thought must be reckoned as secure.