Last year, BYU Studies announced that they were placing the Archive of Restoration Culture online. This database consists of statements from contemporaneous sources about doctrines that are now viewed as distinctly Mormon. If you’ve ever wondered, “Was anyone else discussing an idea like three degrees of glory, around the time Joseph Smith wrote?” — this is where you find your answer.
Author: Kaimi Wenger
Kaimi is a fellow who blogs every now and again, usually when he should be working.
The great T&S scavenger hunt (a.k.a. “Outsourcing”) *UPDATED
1. Each link in the current “Abbreviated link list” that points to an outdated URL: 4 points. (Please list correct URL in your comment).
Small Favors
I headed to the organ after choir practice. Twenty minutes till Sacrament meeting started — enough time to quickly run through the hymns and play some prelude. I knew what hymns we were singing (the music director e-mails me once a month), and none were too difficult. Suddenly the chorister approached me, with a worried look on her face. “There’s been a few changes to the music,” she began.
Born to Run/Walk
Okay, everyone. The race is on. Feel free to post comments, times, discussion, and links-to-pictures (if you’ve uploaded them to flickr or something). Or e-mail me pictures (kaimipono at gmail) and I’ll post them. Good luck, everyone.
Blacks and the Priesthood: What are the options?
Why were Blacks denied the Priesthood from the early days of the church until 1978? Of course, the official (and only really undisputable) answer is, “we don’t know.” But what are the options, really? Let’s go over the list of conceptually coherent potential reasons for the Priesthood ban.
A Brief Conversation About Belief
Sir Poach-a-Lot: Is belief objective, or subjective?
Praising the man
“No, we don’t worship Joseph Smith,” I explained to the investigator. “We respect him as a prophet.” “You mean, like Mohamed?” he asked. “No, more like Moses, or John the Baptist.”
A modest proposal
In order to prevent inadvertent exposure of nursing mothers’ breasts during church meetings to the bishopric, or to the deacons passing the sacrament — and the related possibility of those men having bad thoughts — scarves or blankets should definitely be used to conceal the nursing from male eyes. Thus, effective immediately, all deacons and bishopric members will wear scarves or blankets over their heads.
Of (pea!)nuts, nipples, and freedom: Imposing individual needs on the community
Kage (err, KAGE) over at Tales posted recently about nut-free schools. She strongly supports the idea, given the possibility of an allergic reaction in vulnerable kids. Commenters have been even more adamant
Dialogue about gay marriage
This month’s Dialogue prominently features a discussion of gay marriage. Surprise number one: The lead article, by Randolph Mulhestein, is one of the best articles against gay marriage that I’ve read.
Announcement: The Great Bloggernacle (sorta virtual) Marathon Relay
Each relay team will consist of 5 runners. Over the course of a 48-hour period, each team will, collectively, run and/or walk a marathon (26.2 miles). Here are the current (draft) rules. Feedback is welcome.
Larry Craig and the weird anti-Mormon commenters
There’s some discussion online about whether Idaho senator Larry Craig (recently in the news for lewd acts) is LDS. According to his official biography, he is not. For some anti-Mormons, this isn’t enough. Here’s a (real!) comment from one blog:
Nephrite and Jadeite
It was one of the last zone conferences I attended. President Gonzales paused in his talk, and then pulled out a small greenish-colored jade bracelet.
Mother’s Day
Another remarkable series is running at FMH: “How I became a mother.” Contributors have posted ten stories so far, many of them remarkable discussions of adoption, battles with infertility, emotional issues, family, and more. The series itself doesn’t yet seem to have a page (hint, hint!), but they’re all listed under FMH’s “Motherhood” category. This series — like Day in the Life before it — highlights why FMH is such a unique and vital part of the bloggernacle. Good work, Lisa and cohorts, and all of the series authors.
From the Archives: Anti-Gay Violence and Church Belief
We seem to discuss issues of homosexuality ad nausum around here. Surprisingly, one particular subtopic that hasn’t really come up in the past is the real problem of anti-gay violence.
From the Archives: Lessons on Sex and Morality, from the Book of Esther
The Old Testament gives us all sorts of strange stories. One that I’ve been thinking about lately is the delightfully wacky book of Esther. In particular, I’ve been wondering about the lessons on sex and morality that we can learn from this book. And I find the answers a little surprising, to say the least. We’ll start with lesson one from Esther: Use sex to get power.
Mesquite cooked
We left our hotel late Sunday morning, heading home from Utah. We weren’t sure whether we’d make a 2-day trip of it, stopping in St. George or Vegas, or whether we’d pull an all nighter. It would depend on how we felt.
Unlettered
“Our correspondences show us where our intimacies lie,” writes Terry Tempest Williams.
Very Serious Harry Potter Q&A
1. How does Harry Potter get from one room to another?
The Armor of God, version 1.0
Breastplate of righteousness? Check. Helmet of salvation? Check. Garments of vengeance and cloke of zeal? Check, and double check.
BYU Studies cinema
A message from Jack Welch and Gideon Burton: The upcoming issue of BYU Studies, volume 46, no. 2, will be a long-awaited, double-sized issue about Mormons and film.
(Language of) Memory of Feeling
Memory is a poor substitute for feeling, and language is a poor substitute for memory; yet it is through those dual prisms that we translate the ephemeral raw material of emotion into something more permanent. And it is only that language of memory of feeling — awful, inadequate substitute that it is — that can be preserved and recounted and ultimately woven into narratives about life.
Chains
We sometimes hear two related but distinct chains of reasoning about the consequences of what are perceived as womens’ natural tendencies. Chain One: Women are naturally more spiritual than men.
Three, Part One
Which Dialogue articles should the savvy blog-reader have hot-keyed and ready to go? What would the top three articles be, for useful citation in blog conversation?
Mail and Fee Mail
The postal rate for periodicals is expected to rise significantly this week, due to changes in the ways rates are calculated.
Women and Sacrament
On an intermittent but regular basis, women alone perform a portion of our Sacrament blessing.
Bloggerstone
Some familiar names appear in the preliminary program for the upcoming Sunstone symposium.
Snakes on the Plains
An article in the July Ensign provides a short list of dangerous threats to the home.
Cat Burritos
God wants us to be mean to animals. This is clearly the take-home point of the lesson I taught last week, which included a discussion about a camel:
The One-Room School
Snooty Elitist Kristine doesn’t think I should be writing this post, because I haven’t read enough books. I’m going to write it anyway.