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Lesson 16: Numbers 22-24; 31:1-16* Read More
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Robert Aumann, a winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize for Economics, once published a paper in The Annals of Statistics titled “Agreeing to Disagree.” The basic idea of the paper is that two rational people should, by sharing their beliefs with each other, come to a common understanding about what is likely to be true. Read More
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The LDS Council for Mormon Studies, which has been involved with the creation of a chair in Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University, has issued the following press release: Read More
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The night before he was killed, Jesus ate the passover with his disciples. Read More
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This image was too good not to revive the Mormon Images feature of blessed memory. Read More
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We give many thanks and a fond farewell to both John Fowles and John Payne. We were happy to have them around and enjoyed their posts. In an effort to keep up our streak of powerful yet ubiquitous names, we welcome Ed Johnson as a guest blogger. Read More
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In some way, Jews and Mormons seem to be kin culturally, whatever the doctrine about our kinship. Read More
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With all the talk about missionaries around here lately, I have again pondered on something that concerned me both while a missionary and afterwards, teaching in the MTC and more generally as a non-full-time-missionary member of the Church. It is about the sheer inadequacy of our missionaries. Read More
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Over on Conglomerate, Elizabeth Brown links to an article about the “Scum of the Earth Church” as an example of niche marketing. Read More
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Lesson 15: Numbers 11-14; 21:1-9 Read More
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We’ve all heard the stories about intrepid missionaries who faced rejection door after door only to be let in at the final house that they contacted. Read More
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“If you don’t pay your tithing and serve in the Church, you give up your right to bitch,” Read More
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I like referring to non-Mormons as “Gentiles.” Read More
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On Tuesday, gay rights activists will, according to news reports, hold a rally on or near the BYU campus. How might you respond to this? Read More
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My song is love unknown, My Saviour’s love to me, Love to the loveless shown, That they might lovely be. O who am I, That for my sake, My Lord should take Frail flesh and die. Read More
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While reading Wilford Woodruff’s diaries recently, I discovered that I have been living in a cursed part of the country. What am I to make of this, and the more general phenomena of Mormon cursing? Read More
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I’ve heard lots of people discuss how their missions caused a spiritual crisis for them. So did mine. Read More
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The late Carlfred Broderick was a professor of Marriage and Family Therapy at USC as well as a Stake President. He may have been one of the most profound–not to mention funny–LDS thinkers of his generation. Read More
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Today’s headlines contain news of a new gospel: The Gospel of Judas. Read More
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Among Mormon History nerds, “Camelot” refers to the period of time in the 1970s and early 1980s when Leonard Arrington served as Church Historian. It is traditional to look back on it as a Golden Age that was tragically lost. Read More
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I’ve taken down the post titled “The Real Danger?” because it was pointed out to me that its impetus was unnecessarily divisive. This was certainly not my intent and so I considered deleting my first paragraph. Without a statement of that impetus, however, the post simply became a denunciation of pornography, which someone else pointed out was something everyone agrees with and someone else said was old news. Such a denunciation has been done much more effectively in the LDS context by President Monson in the recent General Conference and by President Hinckley in the Priesthood Session of the April… Read More
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Mormons have an ingrained habit of interpreting their history in the rosiest of all possible terms, even when — as a historical matter — a less rosy interpretation makes more sense. Read More
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Last year in Sunday School, as we were finishing up the Doctrine and Covenants, the teacher asked us what the spirit of Elijah meant to us. I immediately thought: “the spirit of adoption.” I’m not sure where that thought came from, but I have continued to think about it in the past few months. Read More
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In the past, I have suggested that the Mormon constitution is English, but of late I have wondered whether it might be Roman. Read More
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I’m very pleased to present the second Times & Seasons baby of the month, my daughter Mara Gwen. Read More
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Peggy Fletcher Stack’s recent Salt Lake Tribune article on the Church in Chile is definitely worth a read. Read More
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In Notes from all over a link was added to a news item claiming that the latest Dutch spelling reform requested that the name “Christ” be written with a lower-case “c”. That information was spread on various American news channels and blogs. Flurries of comments ensued. Read More
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Ok, here’s the last session for this General Conference. It’s been fun. Read More
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Welcome to the second day of General Conference. President Hinckley, President Faust, and Elders Oaks, Ballard, Wirthlin, Scott, Holland, and Uchtdorf have yet to address a general session this year, so there is a lot to look forward to today. Read More