After a too-long hiatus, T&S is happy to announce that our guest-blogging machinery is slowly creaking back to life….
Two coalminers
Their story would have made an agreeable Ensign article were it not for that later development that ruined its beauty. Oh, believe me, I was tempted to censor the second part. But it would feel like cheating. Besides, the aftermath carries the morale of the story.
Go See “States of Grace”!
Dutcher captures the wrenching beauty of the struggle to follow Christ. “States of Grace: God’s Army 2” is really good. Go.
Priestcraft.com
As we move further into the information age, the possibilities for priestcraft multiply.
Is Mormonism Romantic?
A couple of excellent articles on C.S. Lewis’s life and work have appeared over the past few days–all part of the build-up to the release of the upcoming movie of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, of course, but still good articles nonetheless. In particular, the New Yorker piece, brought to my attention by Ronan Head, provides opportunity to think again about Lewis’s very magical, very romantic sense of the divine, and our own.
BYU and the Advancement of Mormon Studies
Should up-and-coming Mormon scholars go to work at BYU, if they are interested in doing some of their work in Mormon Studies? I can think of a few young and mobile people a lot of us would like to see teaching there. But there are pros and cons.
Where does the Bloggernacle live?
Bryce Inouye has created a bloggernacle Frappr page that shows you where our bloggernacle community lives. If you’re willing to share your zip code, add yourself! (Note that Frappr requires you to leave a short comment in the “shoutout” box. )
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten
Clearly, were there to be a famine, a one year food supply in the basement would look really good. What may be slightly less obvious is that the presence of food storage, even if nobody ever uses any of it for an emergency, can stop a famine from ever actually happening.
Out of the mouth of Mormon children
“I planted some [popcorn kernels] in the back yard, so we can have apricots.” Kace Wenger, age 6.
Mark Your Calenders!
The Third Annual LDS Law Students conference is coming up. The organizers have already put together a very slick looking website with lots of information about the conference. The scheduled speakers include Harry Reid (Senate Minority Leader), Thomas B. Griffith (U.S. Court of Appeals Judge), Robert F. Drinan, S.J. (Professor of Law at Georgetown and ordained Jesuit priest), Richard Bushman (Professor emeritus of History at Columbia), and others. There will also be panels on corporate law, public interest law, women and the law, and much much more. I attended the conference last year at Columbia and loved it. Interesting presenters, smart students, good times. The conference will be held February 17th & 18th at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC.
Holiday Books for Children
Continuing our series, I thought it might be nice to briefly bring up some favorite children’s holiday books of mine, as well as beg for additional suggestions.
Theology and Idolatry
Let me present a sketch–though only a sketch and a very broad one at that–of how one might think about theology, both about a problem with it and one of the possible responses to that problem.
The Geography of Mormon Monotheism
I don’t think that it is an accident that monotheism first come out of the desert. It is, I think, an issue of scale.
Nonfiction Books for Children
Most people don’t appreciate the wonderful world of children’s nonfiction books.
Fiction Books for Children
Despite appearances to the contrary, we here at Times and Seasons do not spend all our time debating the finer points of church doctrine, history, culture and theology. A lot of the time, we talk about our kids. And since raising kids–and in particular, finding good books to read to them and with them–is something a lot of our readers can relate to, we thought we’d open the blog up to some discussion and recommendations of that topic. First up, a guest post from my wife, Melissa Madsen Fox, who besides being a great consumer and critic of youth fiction, also maintains a blog where she reviews much of the same. Take it away, Melissa!
Theology and Early Childhood Education
Based on our theology, Mormons should lead the world in early childhood education. Why? Here’s one basic line of argument.
Sunday School Lesson #42
Here are my notes. I decided to focus on OD-2.
Sunday School Lessons
Those who may have been using my notes for Sunday School lessons deserve an explanation, though a late explanation, to be sure.
Transfermations
So my sister Rachel, having graduated the MTC, has just had her first real transfer.
Weeping, Singing, Remembering–A November Homily
This is the text of a talk I gave in Sacrament Meeting around this time last year. Warning: it’s LONG, and it quite predictably incorporates the John Donne quote I force upon everyone every Thanksgiving.
Seasons Change
Contrary to what some people think, the bloggernacle isn’t a long-running magazine like Sunstone or Dialogue, with a steady cast of characters and articles. It’s more like a student ward; blink and you’ll miss it. Enjoy the interactions now, because tomorrow half of the participants will be gone, and today’s particular mix of participants will never again be recreated. The moving finger writes awfully fast on the internet.
WordPress 1.5
WordPress 1.5 appears to be running. We’ll probably have to make little tweaks in the next few days, but I don’t anticipate any major changes.
Technical Note
I’m going to be doing a few things on the back end. I’ll try not to crash the site. At least, not for too long of a time. (And no, RJ, we’re not upgrading to slashcode. Sorry. I know, you’re going to give this post a -1).
The Greatest Mormon Halloween Costume Ever
Via frequent T&S commenter, former guest-blogger, and all-around well-connected guy Jonathan Green, comes this, a priceless document of what happens when Mormonism collides with modern American Halloween festivities. The man in the costume is Brother Bill Atkinson, and the costume itself…well, see for yourself. And enjoy.