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9 responses
I was browsing through my mission journal a bit ago and decided to copy a few excerpts for your reading pleasure (or boredom). A few observations: 1) I was extremely moody/emotional. 2) The first half of my mission all I talked about was Shelley, my pre-mish girlfriend who I wanted to wait for me, who was there when I got back, who I didn’t marry. 3) 95% of what I wrote is embarrassing to read. 4) I was a little kid. 5) I grew a lot. 6) The mission isn’t nearly as romantic when you’re going through it as it… Read More
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70 responses
There is a classic Saturday Night Live skit (from back when it was funny) that perfectly captures one of my nagging anxieties about being Mormon. Read More
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35 responses
I’ve been arguing this point for years, but today a group made it in Federal court: laws imposing child support on fathers who didn’t want a child violate the father’s “reproductive freedom.” The group calls their cause Roe v. Wade for Men. According to their attorney, “The public is still dealing with the pre-Roe ethic when it comes to men, that if a man fathers a child, he should accept responsibility,” and they hope to change that. Read More
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3 responses
Yesterday, Akismet caught its 10,000th spam since its installation less than four months ago. Read More
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6 responses
I have been doing a bit of research on the drafting of the Utah State Constitution, reading the proceedings of the constitutional convention held in 1894. The delegates seem to have spent most of their time discussing furniture, stationary, and who got to be appointed official stenographer for the convention. Every so often, however, they would pause to actually consider possible constitutional issues. Read More
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35 responses
“…brothers and sisters, there is another matter of which I’d like to mention before we close this glorious conference. We live in a new age. A time where information surrounds us. The internet has grown to be a regular part of many people’s lives. Email makes it easier to communicate… but I’m not going to give you my email address (crowd erupts with laughter). Read More
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26 responses
Today, out of the blue, I got a query from a friend — a smart, competent, and female professional — who asked me this: What’s the right temperature for baked eggplant? My immediate (and correct, I might add) answer: 350. Read More
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91 responses
BYU is often ridiculed for its dress and grooming code. The basic argument is that it is silly. Read More
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52 responses
Go read this. Then return and report. Read More
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37 responses
One of the fun things about education is that you get all sorts of fun new toys, ideas that magically seem to cut through all sorts of Gordian knots and whose mere invocation has occult intellectual powers that liberate one from previous difficulties. Read More
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115 responses
A short while ago a recently reactivated member of our ward sang a solo for the musical number in Sacrament Meeting. You must understand that the man is a professional vocalist who has sung with Michael Jackson among others. The song he sang was absolutely gorgeous… but it wasn’t something you often (or ever) hear in a Sacrament Meeting. Rather it was a Spiritual. Now, I don’t know enough about music to fully appreciate this genre but I do know that I was genuinely touched by his performance. (But it also gave me a twinge of discomfort-by-proxy. I immediately wondered… Read More
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23 responses
I try (or at least I think that I try) to avoid posting on the bloggernacle as bloggernancle. Read More
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37 responses
Lesson 11: Genesis 34 and 37-39 Read More
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17 responses
DESERET EVENING NEWS Monday, March 5, 1888 ANOTHER MARTYR Elder John B. Johnson departed this life at the Utah Penitentiary at an early hour this morning (March 5th). Read More
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38 responses
At the upcoming slavery reparations conference at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, I will speak on the topic of reparations within the rule of law. Read More
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5 responses
There are many areas in which the “green” hymnal is superior to its predecesor. It has better indexes, lots of added information, and the mixed blessing of simpler, more playable hymns. However, in the vitally important category of hymn-texts-penned-by-parents-of-Supreme-Court-justices, it is sadly lacking. Read More
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16 responses
Polygamy created a bastardy problem for nineteenth-century Mormons. Read More
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2 responses
The 2006 Annual Meeting of the Society for Mormon Philosopy and Theology will be held March 17-18th at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah. The conference program now appears on the web, with further details on the location, parking, etc. The conference is free and open to the public. Read More
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12 responses
An announcement for people who may be in the Southern California area on March 24 or 25: Nate Oman, Caroline Kline, and Kaimi Wenger will be speaking as a panel at the Miller-Eccles group in Southern California, on the topic of LDS blogging. Read More
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116 responses
Short answer: There are no pictures of temples beautiful enough to hang on my walls. Read More
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60 responses
BYU announces that the Institute for the Preservation of Ancient Texts–the umbrella organization for FARMS, the Middle Eastern Texts Initiative, the Center for the Preservation of Ancient Texts, and other entities–has a new name: the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. I doubt that the general character of that name is an accident, and I like what it portends. Read More
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57 responses
Non-Utah Mormons like to complain about the supposed failing of Utah Mormons. Forgotten in this inevitable and highly stylized discussion, however, are the odd tics of Utah non-Mormons. I recently had a deja vu experience that reminded me of this strange breed. Read More
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28 responses
My Love, You’re probably surprised to get this letter from me after all these years. Communicating with you has always been a chore due to your aversion to technology (a characteristic I still find profoundly endearing) but I’m hopeful you may someday find this blog and know how I feel. I’ve been thinking about you lately and I miss you. Read More
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13 responses
Times and Seasons bids farewell with thanks to our most recent guestblogger, and is pleased to announce that next up is Rusty Clifton, proprietor of the fine blog, Nine Moons. Read More
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14 responses
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33 responses
Provo temple. The room is full, waiting for the session to start. Soothing silence in this sea of white. Read More
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22 responses
We begin with a quiz: How many book-length biographies of LDS women can you name? . . . Read More
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51 responses
Lesson 10: Genesis 24-29 Read More
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5 responses
Dr. Richard E. Bennett, Professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University, will be the featured speaker at the Miller-Eccles Study Group tonight, February 24, and tomorrow night, February 25, at two locations in Southern California on the topic of 19th Century American militias and Mormon militias. Read More