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20 responses
It is surely one of the more unexpected voices to go to bat for Joseph Smith: Harold Bloom in his 1992 book The American Religion, which gave serious (if unconventional) consideration to Joseph Smith’s role as a religious figure and which famously described him as a “religious genius.” As sort of a post-script, in the March 2007 issue of Sunstone there was a two-page essay by Bloom entitled “Perspectivism and Joseph Smith.” I can’t say I follow every remark in the essay, but I do appreciate his continued interest in Joseph Smith. Here are a few points Bloom makes in… Read More
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18 responses
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. “ Read More
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100 responses
When asked why they aren’t more generous with their time or money, many people answer that if they gave more, it would be at the expense of their own children. Sure, the argument goes, it would be great if I could pay an extra $100 to provide immunizations for kids in Africa, but my first duty is to my family, and giving that $100 for immunizations would prevent me from taking my kids to the water park. Read More
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Church History, Comparative religion, Cornucopia, General Doctrine, Latter-day Saint Thought, Mormon Studies, Philosophy and Theology, Women in the Church
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For those interested in the BYU summer seminar, I’ve revised the post, adding the titles of and abstracts for the papers. Read More
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126 responses
For years I’ve been torn by the knowledge that there are thousands of orphaned or abandoned children desperate to be welcomed into a family like mine and our reasons for “passing by on the other side” when we see the “least of these.” Read More
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11 responses
Over time I’ve discussed various reasons to think that we’ll have the pleasure of raising kids in the Millennium. For convenience I’ve collected all those reasons and shortened them down, with links to the longer original versions. Read More
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40 responses
Warning: To write this post, I’ve had to get personal. I apologize in advance for that, but some points I make require grounding in my observations about personal experiences, many of which are highly charged. The stories and observations I report here in no way represent everything I think about these matters. More importantly, they don’t represent everything I will think; I’m not through turning over these events and ideas to see what else is there. If you’ve come to this post already feeling overwhelmed or bothered about something, you might want to skip reading this, because it might make… Read More
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Church History, Cornucopia, Latter-day Saint Thought, Life in the Church, Mormon Studies, Philosophy and Theology
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11 responses
The annual summer symposium, this year “Joseph Smith and His Times,” will be held on Thursday, August 9, 2007. The symposium will feature papers by twelve summer seminar fellows on the theme “Mormon Thinkers, 1890-1930,” covering topics ranging from the influence of Herbert Spencer on Mormon thought to Mormonism and Modernity. Read More
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15 responses
“Our correspondences show us where our intimacies lie,” writes Terry Tempest Williams. Read More
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29 responses
I just finished finished reading Karen Armstrong’s A Short History of Myth (2005). Almost everyone loves myth from a distance, as a conceptual springboard or reference, as long as it doesn’t get too close to one’s own beliefs or worldview. This book helps put myth in a more useful perspective, which I’d like to explore. But rather than spend several paragraphs defining or explaining what myths are or are not, I’ll just settle for a one-sentence definition [myths are stories about the world with cosmic significance, that talk about birth and death, love and pain, good and evil, earth and… Read More
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100 responses
There’s something interesting in the current Deseret Book catalog. Read More
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28 responses
For more than 200 years, my father’s family has lived in western New York, centered between Canandaigua and Palmyra. Whenever anyone publishes a description of Joseph Smith’s neighborhood and the neighbors who knew him or hired him or harassed him, I scour the writing for familiar names. Read More
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83 responses
1. How does Harry Potter get from one room to another? Read More
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61 responses
When I was in high school, I had a friend whose family always struggled to make ends meet. Read More
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11 responses
Breastplate of righteousness? Check. Helmet of salvation? Check. Garments of vengeance and cloke of zeal? Check, and double check. Read More
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8 responses
I keep telling myself this, but now I really mean it: It’s time for me to make a graceful exit. Thanks for a fun 10 days, everyone. I’ve appreciated all your comments (yes, all). If I’ve left any loose ends you want to call me on, or if you’d like to contact me for another reason, email me: kathryn (at) kathrynlynardsoper (dot) com. Cheers! Read More
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19 responses
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. Read More
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84 responses
In January 2007 the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued new guidelines recommending first-trimester Down syndrome screening for all pregnant women, regardless of age. That means this year, 4 million American women will be offered first-trimester screening for DS, and thousands will receive a positive prenatal diagnosis. This protocol is supposed to increase women’s reproductive freedom, but I fear it does just the opposite. Read More
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7 responses
Now working on my final guest post. Thought I’d toss a (non-related) bone in the meantime: Here are ten candid, insightful, courageous pieces from Segullah’s back issues. Enjoy! Read More
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38 responses
Brigham Young’s condemnation of novel reading during the last two decades of his life is a perfect example of a much-studied moment in the history of reading, the hypothesized “reading revolution” of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. But the peculiar trajectory of Brigham Young’s attitude, from wary tolerance of novel reading to blanket combination of it,[1] is unusual. Read More
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48 responses
I’ve just been called as Gospel Doctrine teacher. Read More
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83 responses
I heard today from a great-grandchild (one of 30) of the little girl in the story below Read More
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117 responses
…about the Church’s new pamphlet on same-sex attraction? Read More
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29 responses
This essay was recently published in Literary Mama. I’m posting it here as a precursor to my upcoming post about prenatal testing for Down syndrome. I. In the beginning You can tell a great deal about people by the way they react when you tell them you’re going to have a retarded child. Read More
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36 responses
Who I am is not enough. It is necessary to become more. May 3, 2007 Been out of action nearly a month due to injury from hiking in broken-down boots. Finally bought new boots. Two days ago I made it into the canyon and found it well awakened since my last visit: trees far along in their leaves and birds flying and lizards scuttling as if there’s been no winter hiatus. Also, birds sounded fit to burst with song. Read More
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30 responses
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! Read More
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99 responses
Summer, 2003: I was a wreck. Read More
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59 responses
Let not any man publish his own righteousness, for others can see that for him; sooner let him confess his sins, and then he will be forgiven and he will bring forth more fruit. (TPJS 194-195) Read More
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26 responses
Two years ago when Segullah made its debut I fielded lots of questions. The most frequent was this: Why a new journal? Read More
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42 responses
This is a talk I gave in Sacrament Meeting today. Read More
