Last year, on November 2, I was still undecided about whether to cast a vote for George Bush.
Heder-day Night Live
Last night Jon Heder, star of Napoleon Dynamite, hosted “Saturday Night Live.” I caught a few of the sketches he played in, and one thing was pretty clear: the kid’s no Philip Seymor Hoffman. He’s amiable and sweet-faced, to be sure, but there’s a muddiness to his voice he can’t seem to clear, and his mouth, for all its soft pliability, is suprisingly unagile with dialogue. I haven’t seen his latest effort, a supporting role in the romantic comedy Just Like Heaven, but in my judgment he doesn’t have either the chops or the charisma to make a career of movie-acting. It’s too bad, because he seems like a genuinely good kid, and Napoleon earned him a ton of celebrity-capital among an important demographic; he might have been the really big, genuinely Mormon star we haven’t had yet. I just hope the boy has managed to keep clean in Hollywood and New York; those are pretty muddy straits for a squeaky-clean BYU boy.
Intelligences: Neo-platonic and Cartesian
“Intelligence” is one of those wonderfully ambiguous words in the scriptures.
Julie’s Homeschooling Manifesto
We’ve talked about homeschooling before, but once was Bryce’s baby and the other was a peripheral issue. Because people ask from time to time, I thought I’d set out my thoughts about homeschooling in a friendly Q-and-A format.
A Note of Grief (With a Thought on the Law)
This morning I attended the funeral of a young man, much too young to die.
Mormons Pick Nominees, Part II
First it was Ginsburg.
From the (off-site) Archives: Mormons and the ACLU
Over two years ago, I posted a series of posts on reasons to support the ACLU, and whether a Mormon could or should support the ACLU, on my personal blog. The discussion that ensued was one of the contributing factors to the formation of Times and Seasons. Given that the conversation around here turns to this topic from time to time, I thought it might be useful to move that set of posts over here. They are lightly edited for context and updating. (For the original posts, see here and here.)
The Nineteenth-Century Bloggernacle
I’ve been concerned, lately, that blogging encourages a kind of discourse that we wouldn’t otherwise see in the Saints. I was wrong.
The encounter
Saturday afternoon on a rainy day in Antwerp.
Claremont Conference on Joseph Smith
As part of our occasional series of announcements on important Mormon Studies events, we’re happy to publicize an academic conference entitled “Joseph Smith and the Prophetic Tradition,” sponsored by the School of Religion of the Claremont Graduate University and to be held on its Southern California campus on October 20 and 21.
Happy 5766!
Today is Rosh Hashanah, and everyone here at Times and Seasons wishes a happy new year to our Jewish friends. (Here are a few Jewish-themed posts from the past.) If there’s a synagogue here in Macomb, IL, I’m unaware of it, so there will be cultural dimension missing from our family celebrations tonight. Still, Melissa will make her chicken soup and challah bread, and we’ll share stories from the Old Testament with our children. I hope everyone reading this, both Jew and Gentile (and Mormon), does the same. Shana Tova, everyone!
Genesis 38
“Puzzling.” “Sordid.” “Audacious, provocative, and titillating.” Those descriptors might very well apply to this week’s box office sensation, but that’s not what this post is about. All of these terms (“Sordid” comes from the Institute Manual) were used to describe the tale told in Genesis 38.
GC Day Two: Fall Conference Open Thread
Keep up the good discussions, everyone. I, unfortunately, missed most of conference yesterday, so I very much appreciated the summaries of the afternoon and priesthood sessions.
GC Day One: Fall Conference Open Thread
Thoughts? Questions? Inspirations? Opinions? Please share them here.
Did Nephites ride horses?
In our recent tirades about the obvious evils of deer, it was noted , once again, that some scholars think that the horses mentioned in the Book of Mormon may not have been horses, but another hoofed animal. The common one that lives in the right place is similar to a deer. Unfortunately, such comments often are made in the context of how funny it is to think of riding deer into battle.
Deer are Evil
Deer, as far as I am concerned, are the spawn of Satan.
The horse you rode in on
I’m still trying to scrape my jaw off of the floor after reading some of Adam Greenwood’s comments over at, you know, that other other blog.
The Jurisprudence of Seer Stones
It is time for the long-anticipated post on the law, Mormonism, and seer stones.
Trading Places (A Roundtable)
Yesterday, four permabloggers here at Times and Seasons made internal announcements that there will be new little blogglings in their homes come next March. Hours before the flurry of “me-too” emails, I’d heard that my sister is also expecting. I was truly delighted to hear so much happy news at once. Along with my hearty congratulations to everyone, I responded with a couple of comments in an email which led to a much broader discussion. With everyone’s permission I am reposting some highlights here for your blogging pleasure. Please weigh in on the issues we raise. .
To Gladden the Tongue
Blackberries grow all along the edge of the woods outside the South Bend Stake Center. I am disappointed at how few Mormons seem interested in them. “Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart” (D&C 59:18)
From the Archives (Sort Of): Back to Primary
After a little over a month in our new ward, here in Macomb, IL, I’ve received a calling. It is the exact same calling I had in our last ward, right down to taking care of the Weblos. And I’m delighted. First, because I know the routine. Second, because it’s nice to know where you’re supposed to be–and for a bishopric that’s known me for only a few weeks to pray and then ask me to serve in basically the same area I’ve served in for most of my church-going adult life…well, that just gives me a sense of confirmation about my niche. I wrote about my return to Primary after a brief detour over a year ago; my feelings about Primary haven’t changed since then. So check out that post, and leave a comment there, if you’re so inclined. In meantime, wish me well–I’m free of elder’s quorum once more!
Barren
Let me describe to you what the grocery store was like today.
Of Gluttony and Gardens
The Seven Deadly Sins have fallen on hard times. Codified by Pope Gregory I in the sixth century, lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride enjoyed a robust career in the Middle Ages, inspiring countless works of art. In the current Cathechism of the Catholic Church, however, these seven sins warrant exactly one paragraph (out of nearly 3000). Which is just as well, I suppose–positive invocations of morality probably help a lot more than simply listing sins, which often only encourages further (often Pharasaical) list-making. Still, there is one good thing which can come from such explicit lists: they make it hard to rationalize away something that we ought to strive mightly to avoid. In my judgement, our church leaders do a good job at preventing us from forgetting about the perils of lust, greed, wrath, envy and pride. Sloth I’ll leave for another day. But gluttony? This, I fear, is one that’s been allowed to slip through the cracks.
Gene England and the Securities Act
The name of Eugene England is known among two different (if sometimes overlapping) population groups: Mormon studies scholars, and securities lawyers.