Category: Features

Sunday School lessons – Book Reviews – Interviews

Sunday School Lesson 23

Lesson 23: Doctrine and Covenants 88 Notice that section 87, on war, was given only a few days before this section, “an olive leaf [. . .] plucked from the Tree of Paradise, the Lord’s message of peace.” How is the message of section 88 one of peace to the Saints?

Sunday School Lesson 22

Lesson 22: Doctrine and Covenants 89 Notice that this is the first revelation given after the School of the Prophets was organized. Is there a connection between that organization and this revelation?

Book Review: David O. McKay: Beloved Prophet

I have mixed feelings about the very presence of Woodger’s David O. McKay: Beloved Prophet. On the one hand, as someone who wants to read biographies of all of the prophets of this dispensation, I’m always happy to see a new addition to the fold. While there are other biographies of President McKay, the pickings are pretty slim–and expensive (but see post below).

Book Review: David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism

Yes, I’m reviewing two books on David O. McKay. My original intention was to review them together (and explore the larger issue of writing faith-promoting as opposed to warts-and-all history), but I decided that wouldn’t be fair. It didn’t seem fair because David O. McKay: Beloved Prophet is a credible entry in the well-established subgenre of LDS biography. It does exactly what it is supposed to do. But David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism is a category killer.

12 (or so) Questions for Kathleen Flake

Back in November, we solicited questions for Kathleen Flake, author of the terrific book The Politics of American Religious Identity (2004). We are now pleased to present her responses. Thanks Professor Flake! 1. How have you negotiated the tension between focusing on Mormon studies versus the broader issues within your discipline? How have your faith and your interest in Mormon studies affected your career at Vanderbilt, if at all? My focus has not been on Mormonism as an end in itself. Rather, I have experimented with using Mormonism as a tool to understand the “broader issues.”

Book Review: Back to the Well: Women’s Encounters with Jesus in the Gospels

This statement from The Blog of Happiest Fun got a lot of links from other female bloggernaclites: I would like to spend more time discussing the lives of strong women in the scriptures. Women like Hannah, Deborah, Jael, or Anna the prophetess. There are so many women that I find interesting, and I don’t hear about them enough. I’d like to study their lives some more.

Sunday School Lesson 17

Lesson 17: Doctrine and Covenants 59:13-14, 21; Doctrine and Covenants 119; Doctrine and Covenants 120 Thought questions for D&C 59 were included in lesson 16, so I will not repeat them here.

Book Review: City Saints

The interaction of the LDS church and its members with New York City is a fascinating topic. Someday, that story will doubtless be the focus of one or more great works of Mormon regional history which will have truly broad appeal to members. And those works will in turn acknowledge City Saints: Mormons in the New York Metropolis (edited by Scott Tiffany) as an important step in the examination of church members in New York City. However, City Saints itself, while interesting, informative, and quite readable, suffers from conceptual flaws that undermine its impact and ultimately result in a whole that is less than the sum of its more impressive parts.

Book Review: Black and Mormon

Any etiquette book will tell you: there are certain topics you just don’t bring up in polite society. Any Mormon will tell you: we have a few topics of our own to add to that list. And one of them is the issue of blacks and the priesthood.

Sunday School Lesson 11

Lesson 11: Doctrine and Covenants 4, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 31, 33, 75 Since most of the other sections for this lesson repeat what we find in section 4, I will focus my questions on it.

12 Questions with Senator Robert F. Bennett

Our next installment of the 12 Questions series will be with Robert F. Bennett, the junior Senator from Utah. Senator Bennett, a Republican, was elected to the Senate in 1992. As Assitant Majority Whip, he is a member of the Republican leadership. Prior to his election, he was a business man, PR executive, lobbyist, and Congressional staffer. His own father, Wallace F. Bennett, served as Senator from Utah in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s. He served his mission in Scotland, is a former bishop, and currently attends the Arlington Ward of the McLean, Virginia Stake. Senator Bennett has agreed to discuss Mormonism and politics. Please post your questions.

Sunday School Lesson 10

Lesson 10: D&C 25 Verse 1: Christ is speaking here, rather than the Father. Why is it important for us to become his son or daughter rather than to be his brother or sister? He tells us that we become sons and daughters by receiving his gospel. How do we that? (Compare Mosiah 5:7.)

Sunday School Lesson 8

Lesson 8: D&C 13; D&C 20:38–67; D&C 27:12–13; D&C 84:6–30; D&C 107:1–20; D&C 110:11–16; Joseph Smith History 1:66- 73 This lesson is on the restoration of the priesthood. I will spend two weeks on this lesson, the first devoted to the Aaronic priesthood and its restoration, the second devoted to the Melchizedek priesthood. I’m including study questions for both lessons here for those who do not wish to divide the lesson into two.

Sunday School Lesson 7

Lesson 7: Various scriptures on the First Principles and Ordinances Before I offer some study questions, let me say why I object to this year’s way of organizing our Sunday School lessons.