Arriving in Salt Lake City in 1898, a young preacher named James Hart tested the generosity of the people among whom he had landed.
Nostalgia
My youngest daughter has discovered a trove of photos at her grandmother’s house, and she has been going through them
Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration–what did you do?
Over the past several days, I’ve attended some magnificent presentations at Utah Valley State College in commemoration on Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy. Besides asking myself the obvious (“Why aren’t we doing this kind of thing at BYU?â€), I have been taking notes and thinking about how my life can change because of the things I’ve heard and been engaged in.
Further Complications in Excommunicating the President of the Church
A couple of years ago, I wrote a post on the procedure for excommunicating the President of the Church. In doing a bit of research on the history of the church court system, I came across some interesting complications in the story.
The Conversation in My Head
You’re being greedy. You’re acting like Madame Blueberry before she gets religion.
The Institute for Mormon Studies
The various threads about the position at CGU has gotten me thinking about what Mormon scholarship needs, and I think that it is probably not a chaired position in Mormon studies, welcome as such a thing might be (especially if it allows a prolific scholar to churn out a lot of high quality work on Mormon studies). Rather, I think that Mormons ought to look to the libertarian wing of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy for models.
Primary Lesson #5 Supplement
Thanks from Afghanistan
Four months ago, I passed along my cousin Bob’s request for humanitarian donations as part of his work as a JAG officer in Afghanistan. His request has paid off: as the weeks have gone by, he and his fellow soldiers have received clothes, toys, shoes, hygeine kits, school supplies, blankets and much more from friends, family and numerous anonymous donors. To see his first post on the distribution of these donations, filled with some wonderful photographs, click here. (To see his post on how he successfully recruited Superman and Wonder Woman into the humanitarian cause, click here.) And to all of you who helped out–thank you!
Cars, Buses, and the Von Trapp Family Singers
Public transportation is a wonderful thing.
A knotty virtue
Imagine these questions in a worthiness interview: Are you honest? Yes. – Do you keep the Word of Wisdom? Yes. – Are you humble? …
Academic search for Mormon Studies chair at Claremont
The following comes via the search committee for the Howard W. Hunter Chair in Mormon Studies at the Claremont Graduate University School of Religion: The Claremont Graduate University School of Religion is soliciting qualified applicants to fill the newly-created Howard W. Hunter Chair in Mormon Studies.
Ward Shopping
We’re in the market for a new house. (If you want a home in North Austin that looks as if a pack of large dogs instead of a pack of small boys had been living in it for the past five years, please email me.)
Missionary Food
“Moulding Surprise” was a stomach-churning concoction of pasta, ketchup, shredded cheese, vinegar, and spices.
First day of class
Today is the first for my Winter semester class, and I’m excited.
I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go, Dear Lord
Last week I had dinner with three other people at a law professors’ conference in Washington DC. Two of the other people are Mormons. The third is a friend and former colleague, the daughter of two avowed atheists.
Orthoglossy
The people of Zion were of one heart and one mind and dwelt in righteousness. Our goal is to be like them. Are we? It’s hard to be sure, since we can’t easily know what’s in another person’s heart.
The Bushman Diaries
On the Road With Joseph Smith: An Author’s Diary by Richard Bushman is a very difficult book to get a hold of, which is unfortunate.
Primary Lesson #4 Supplement
John 20:12
John 20:12 is a rather curious verse:
Sunday School Lesson materials
Nothing exciting here, just an administrative note: I’ve been posting materials for studying the Sunday School lesson materials on Times and Seasons for a while. However,
Abigail Smith Abbott: Mormon Battalion “Widow”
Abigail Abbott’s life in 1847 was not unfolding as she had probably expected it to be.
A Really Long Post about Mitt Romney, Damon Linker, and Pope Pius V
In 1570, Pope Pius V issued his bull Regnans in Exelcis, a pontifical act that seems to be creating problems for Mitt Romney and the Mormons.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
I had a revelation in Gospel Doctrine class yesterday.