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21 responses
I studied philosophy in college. I enjoyed law school. I work when I can as an appellate lawyer. I read few novels but a lot of philosophy and legal theory. I enjoy the clean, crisp flow of well-honed arguments and get a kind of goofy joy at watching the interplay of concepts and abstraction. By temperament, I am a theorist, but I, alas, live in world where as often as not stories hold sway. Read More
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20 responses
I still remember the first time I heard Christian rock music in the early 1980s. I thought it was awful and vaguely sacrilegious. Of course, since that time, many Christian rock groups have crossed over into the mainstream market and became straightforwardly sacrilegious (tic, sort of). Now prepare yourselves for the arrival of Christian rock’s answer to The Archies. Read More
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At the request of a father, we have taken down the two other posts that were here earlier today so that his daughter can be the center of attention on her birthday. The posts will be back up tomorrow. Read More
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Lesson 19: Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-19; 76:40-42, 96-112; 88:14-16; 138:55-56 Read More
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8 responses
I have been thinking about Mother’s Day for weeks. This is not normal for me, but for some reason I have felt the urge to make this year something special. But what to do? Finally, today, inspiration came. Read More
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7 responses
are being made. Read More
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46 responses
In most of the ways that matter, I grew up in a fairly typical Salt Lake City Mormon home. What this means is that I went through most of the various Mormon rites of passage right on schedule in an environment that looked very much like an photograph from the Ensign: baptism in the basement of the Salt Lake Tabernacle, priesthood ordinations by a faithful father surrounded by family, and all the rest. Coming home from my mission, however, was slightly different. Read More
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34 responses
Sixteen years ago today, May 2, 1989, was a Tuesday. I got up and went to school that morning, along with my three other school-age siblings; I was fourteen, in ninth grade, an everting adolescent just starting to worry about my weight, thinking about my first AP exam in a few weeks. My mother probably stayed in most of that day, occupied with our new two-month-old, Abraham, and the three other home-age children. My dad went to work, and then to a school board meeting that evening. My grandma was in town, too, visiting for a few weeks. Read More
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43 responses
Anyone and everyone interested in Mormon Studies should read this book. Read More
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11 responses
I just had an interesting discussion with my Catholic friend, “C.” The topic: What are the boundaries of suicide? In particular, when does acquiescence to harm, or deliberate participation in likely-death acts, become suicide? Read More
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30 responses
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16 responses
I’m happy to introduce our latest guest blogger: Elisabeth Calvert Smith. Elisabeth is an attorney for the Massachusetts Department of Labor. (The astute reader may realize that T & S seems to be returning to its law roots, with attorneys now constituting the past two guests, three of the past four, and four of the past six). She graduated from Utah State University with a bachelor’s degree in Economics and a master’s degree in Political Science, and earned her law degree from Boston University. She currently teaches legal research and writing part-time to first year law students at Boston University.… Read More
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27 responses
I’m hosting a bloggernacle party this Friday night to coincide with the Joseph Smith conference at the Library of Congress. All bloggern are welcome. Read More
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34 responses
Over at Volokh.com, there’s a fun little contest going on: Name the highest political figure of various minority groups. Thus, Eugene writes: Who are now the highest-ranked, and who have been the highest-ranked [minority groups listed] in U.S. government positions, federal or state, appointed or elected. For our purposes, though, let’s say that the rank of an office is generally inversely proportional to the number of people who hold that sort of office, so the President (1) beats U.S. Supreme Court Justices (9) who beat Cabinet officials (15) who beat Governors (50) who beat U.S. Senators (100) who beat state… Read More
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23 responses
There’s an interesting discussion over at M* about how an LDS health-care worker ought to handle a request by a patient for an abortion. The issues are similar to those that arise when discussing how to treat conscientious objectors in wartime. Read More
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98 responses
I am sorry to say that I think that King Benjamin’s great sermon has badly distorted the way that Latter-day Saints think about charity, the treatment of the poor, and the redistribution of wealth. Read More
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26 responses
Deep in the mountainside . . . Okay, so the idea that the Golden Plates weren’t really made of gold, but rather out of a lighter alloy called tumbaga has now been kicking around for almost 40 years. To what effect, I wonder. Is this a theory which you accept, constant reader? A theory which you dispute? One that you cheerfully ignore? (One that you’ve never heard of, maybe?) And are Mormons in general subscribing to the tumbaga theory? Rejecting it? Have you ever heard the word “tumbaga” used during Sunday School? (How does one pronounce it, anyway?) Used during… Read More
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12 responses
Back in November, we solicited questions for Kathleen Flake, author of the terrific book The Politics of American Religious Identity (2004). We are now pleased to present her responses. Thanks Professor Flake! 1. How have you negotiated the tension between focusing on Mormon studies versus the broader issues within your discipline? How have your faith and your interest in Mormon studies affected your career at Vanderbilt, if at all? My focus has not been on Mormonism as an end in itself. Rather, I have experimented with using Mormonism as a tool to understand the “broader issues.” Read More
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205 responses
In 1987 I published the theory of the Book of Mormon as a Modern Expansion of an Ancient Source. I wrote the article as a bit of apologetics to show that assumptions made by both believers and critics lead to unwarranted conclusions. Read More
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67 responses
There have been three new rules in the Church in the last year that have really angered and saddened me. Especially since, if I were in a position to do so, I would have made the same rules. Read More
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137 responses
Raise your hand if you’ve ever sneezed at church, only to have a church member suggest some sort of herbal remedy. Echinacea, goldenseal, St. John’s Wort, chapparal, clover honey, ginsing . . . you name it, and it’s been offered to me at some point by a church member. Along with suggestions for magnetic treatment, and intestine cleansing, and acupuncture. Have you ever had your LDS friend’s mother ask you, with a straight face, “How many bowel movements do you have each day?” I have. (I dodged the question; she told me that anything less than three was unhealthy). And… Read More
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7 responses
There has been a very interesting and vigorous discussion on Blake’s thread on “raising the bar” for missionary service. I’d like to pick up a theme from early in that thread that I think needs more attention: what sort of spiritual development should we be hoping missionary service will provoke in the missionary? Read More
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57 responses
Cathy Young has a provocative editorial on the recent judicial confirmation kerfuffle. The quick primer: Democrats have been blocking President Bush’s judicial nominees at an unprecedented rate, and Republican Senators have begun to cry foul on grounds of religious bigotry. Read More
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52 responses
I had severe and prolonged postpartum depression with my first child, moderate PPD with the second, and none at all with the third. While I’m by no means an expert, I wanted to sketch out some things that I thought might be helpful to those experiencing PPD and those who are in a position to help them (husbands, visiting teachers, ward leaders, etc.). Read More
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Blake’s post prompts me to share some information I culled while listening to conference last month. First up are the raw numbers of missionaries and converts. Read More
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27 responses
My discussion of belief and practice has in its background a larger discussion concerning what it means to be religious. Read More
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7 responses
I have been carrying on an argument with Nate on one of his posts (## 5 and 7) and in his responses to one of Blake’s posts ( #23) –sort of. Read More
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30 responses
I spent most of my morning in a very enjoyable Stake Conference. Many of you were probably there, too. After all, it included 61 stakes and one district covering nine Midwestern states. Read More
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19 responses
I suppose it was inevitable. Today, during Stake Conference, I saw a member of our congregation taking notes on a laptop. Read More
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176 responses
The number of missionaries is down about 15,000 from its peak. The number of convert baptisms is down about 20% per missionary. Retention rates are also down. There are numbers of young men who would be willing to serve missions who are not allowed to because of sins that would not have barred them from missionary service previously. Is there a link here? Read More