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It will be seen by obituary notice in another column, that Sister Ursenbach died this morning. She was a lady of superior education and attainments, and true to her integrity in the work of the Lord. She leaves one son, who is now in New York, employed as a scenic artist at one of the leading theatres. She has also two daughters in St. Petersburg, Russia. Deceased was a native of Switzerland, but resided for some time in Russia. – Deseret News Weekly, February 27, 1878 Read More
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40 responses
I was in Mozambique. I felt safe. Read More
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Podcasts from the seminars sponsored by the Mormon Theology Seminar are now available online. Read More
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34 responses
Comment here on the Notes From All Over for the past week. Read More
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8 responses
A website with answers. That’s what Time Magazine calls the new religion website Patheos.com in “What Do Religions Believe? A Website with Answers.” The Time article describes the new site as one “that sets out to explain the differences among religions as well as illuminate the areas of common ground.” Just today the site unveiled its Mormon Gateway section, a menu of resources designed to complement the more detailed information presented in the Library section of the site. Read More
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13 responses
I learned earlier this week that the Church College of New Zealand is scheduled to close later this year, at the end of a 3-year-long process announced in June of 2006. What caught my attention, however, was a news report on opposition to the Church’s plan to dismantle the buildings that made up the school. Read More
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8 responses
Although Moroni was anxious about the Nephites’ “weakness in writing,” he does note that the Nephites were able to “speak much,” and that their spoken words were “powerful and great” (see Ether 12:23–27). Read More
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33 responses
Truman Madsen died earlier today. For those who don’t know, Madsen was a long-time professor of philosophy at BYU. His intellectual influence, I think, came in two forms. First, he produced a series of popular lectures on Joseph Smith and other gospel topics. These were not academically rigorous productions, but I think that they opened a window into a much broader and intellectually exciting vision of Mormon history and theology for many members. Madsen’s lectures were also a wonderful link back to an earlier, more oral Mormonism, one that placed a real premium on powerful preaching. He was a powerful… Read More
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21 responses
So Prop 8 has been upheld by the California Supreme Court, but it is largely Pyrrhic victory for Prop 8. Read More
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58 responses
When my wife and I talked with our missionary son recently, he said he was glad to be in Carson City, Nevada, instead of Las Vegas. When I asked why, he said: Gated Communities. Read More
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20 responses
Here is the last installment of our 12 Questions with Marvin Perkins, comprised of Brother Perkins’ responses to our last two questions. We’d like to thank Brother Perkins for the time and effort he’s put in to giving us a set of very substantive and thought-provoking responses. Read More
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16 responses
The Pew study has this awesome little database for comparing religious groups. Check it out. Did you know 7% of Mormons are Hispanic and 22% are Democrat or lean Democrat? And only 44% of Mormon adults are men? We need affirmative action!! Read More
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19 responses
Comment here on the Notes From All Over for the past week. Read More
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3 responses
Here is Part Three of our 12 Questions with Marvin Perkins, comprised of Brother Perkins’ responses to our next five questions. See Parts One, Two, and Four for our introduction of Brother Perkins and his responses to our other questions. Read More
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20 responses
The LDS Church’s Chief Information Officer, Joel Dehlin, called for help Wednesday in a post titled Mormon Open Source Open for Business. The project seeks help with a number of LDS Church projects, including, first on the list, a rewrite of the software that runs the Stake and Ward Websites. Read More
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14 responses
My paternal grandfather, Marc Ricks, is 98 years old. He was born in September 1910, just a few months after President Hinckley. Read More
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32 responses
From the court’s own website: The California Supreme Court has announced that it will issue an opinion in three cases challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8 at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 26, 2009. I’ve previously blogged some analysis of the case. Like most other observers, I expect that the court will reject both the revision/amendment challenge and the fundamental rights challenge, but will not retroactively nullify the 18,000 marriages that took place before November (thus grandfathering in those marriages). That would be, in effect, a partial victory for both sides. I guess we’ll find out one way or another… Read More
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54 responses
It’s not easy being a theologian in the 21st century. One of the main reasons is that science provides credible, non-theistic explanations for many of those “where did we come from?” questions that religion once had all to itself. Evolution seems to pose a particular challenge. John Haught, a professor of theology at Georgetown, tries to tackle the problem head-on in his book God After Darwin: A Theology of Evolution (Westview, 2000). Read More
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10 responses
Here is Part Two of our 12 Questions with Marvin Perkins, comprised of Brother Perkins’ responses to our next four questions. See Parts One, Three and Four for our introduction of Brother Perkins and his responses to our other questions. Read More
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73 responses
In General Conference of April 2009, Elder Russell M. Nelson reminded us: Read More
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8 responses
Times & Seasons is happy to introduce our next guest blogger, Robert Ricks. Read More
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Times & Seasons would like to thank guest bloggers Rory Swenson and Bruce Webster for their contributions over the last few weeks. We have more great guest bloggers in the works, so stay tuned. Read More
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2 responses
Here is an updated schedule for BYU’s upcoming conference on Sacred Space on June 3rd. This looks a really great line up if you are in Provo. Read More
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12 Questions, Church History, Cornucopia, General Doctrine, Latter-day Saint Thought, Mormon Studies
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32 responses
Marvin Perkins has graciously agreed to answer a few questions from Times & Seasons. Brother Perkins is a Latter-day Saint music producer who is currently the Public Affairs Co-chair for the Genesis Group and who has worked to nurture understanding between African Americans and Latter-day Saints and attack misconceptions. As part of this effort, he has appeared on CNN, among other places. In late 2007, Brother Perkins and former Genesis Group President Darius Gray put out a DVD entitled “Blacks in the Scriptures” that contains four lecture-style scriptural presentations on Blacks and the Bible, Skin Color, Curses, Equality, Priesthood and… Read More
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25 responses
One of my favorite hymns is not in the hymn book. No, it’s not “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” although that is one of my favorites as well. Rather, I am talking about the hymn “Jerusalem,” one of the great anthems of the Church of England when it gets low-churchy enough to sing hymns rather than letting the chior do all the work. The words are taken from a poem by William Blake: Read More
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14 responses
From the air, the German neighborhood where we lived until last year seems decidedly un-American Read More
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10 responses
You will all be delighted to know that youtube appears to be up and running on BYU campus again. Perhaps in part thanks to this. UPDATE: It’s blocked again. Read More
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51 responses
Comment here on the Notes From All Over for the past week. Read More
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One response
With the theme, “Upon All Nations—Religious Pluralism,” the Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology’s Sixth Annual Meeting begins this Thursday at 9am. SMPT’s largest conference program yet includes discussions of theological pluralism and interreligious dialogue; comparisons of Mormonism with Buddhism, Catholicism, and other strands of Christianity; and Read More
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17 responses
Are good manners gospel? I’m wondering Read More