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22 responses
In Matthew 13, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed which, though tiny, grows into a tree in which the birds can nest. A verse later, Jesus compares the kingdom to yeast that the baker “hid” in a loaf of bread, causing the bread to rise. The comparisons seem to reflect quite different conceptions. In one, the kingdom is large and conspicuous, visibly structuring and supporting those who knowingly depend on it. In the other, the kingdom is a tiny and mostly imperceptible part of the mix. It is not and will never become a very substantial… Read More
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3 responses
To update what Craig wrote in 2010: Times and Seasons is happy to welcome as a guest blogger Steve Smith, who teaches and writes mainly about religious freedom, constitutional law, and jurisprudence. His most recent book is Pagans and Christians in the City (Eerdmans, 2018). Steve graduated from BYU in 1976 before studying law at Yale, and he has taught at various law schools including Notre Dame, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan (as a visiting professor), Virginia (as a visitor), and the University of San Diego, where he is currently employed. Steve’s wife Merina also attended BYU, and they have five children.… Read More
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10 responses
Throughout the twentieth century, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has seen several academic figures who had an impact on the collective thought of church members. Hugh Nibley and Eugene England are a couple examples of this group, but one other well-known academic figure in 20th century Mormonism that stands out is Truman G. Madsen. A philosopher and an educator, Truman G. Madsen is best known for his lectures on the Prophet Joseph Smith and some of his other works on Latter-day Saint theology, philosophy, and history, such as Eternal Man, Defender of the Faith: The B. H.… Read More
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10 responses
One of the more controversial aspects of Nephi’s vision of the tree of life is the great and abominable church or church of the devil. In his record, Nephi states that “there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil” (1 Nephi 14:10). At times, Church leaders and members have associated “the church of the devil” with specific organizations, such as the Roman Catholic Church, while at others, they have tried to use it as a metaphor for any organization that promotes evil. In… Read More
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We are now in the year 2020, which is 200 years after the date that Joseph Smith said that he was first visited by God the Father and Jesus the Christ. At the most recent general conference, President Russell M. Nelson noted this anniversary and invited us to “prepare for a unique conference that will commemorate the very foundations of the restored gospel.”[1] On New Year’s Day, he reiterated this, stating that: “I designated 2020 as a bicentennial period commemorating 200 years since God the Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph Smith in a vision.”[2] In… Read More
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Between reflecting on Mack Wilberg’s choral piece “The Tree of Life,” preparing for the Book of Mormon Come Follow Me curriculum, and studying the Revelation of John the Divine these past few weeks, the tree of life has been on my mind. I thought I might share some reflections on the subject by highlighting possible meanings of the tree of life and its fruit in a series of posts, including immortality and eternal life, the presence of God, and Jesus the Christ. Immortality and eternal life are two of the possible meanings of the tree of life. In the Hebrew… Read More
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26 responses
Yes. Should historians write about current events? Maybe not. But when they do, they shouldn’t do it like this. Read More
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22 responses
Do not ascribe to fear or compulsion what can be best explained by love. Read More
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One response
As I mentioned in my last post, I read Dickens’ novella, A Christmas Carol each year at this time. As a result of reading it and re-reading it, for me this story has passed from mere entertainment to something much more. In the story Dickens introduces us to Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited on Christmas Eve by the ghost of his business partner, Jacob Marley. Scrooge hears his approach as chains and weights rattling over the floor and on the stairs and sees Marley weighed down by chains when he appears. During their visit, Scrooge asks Marley where his chains comes from,… Read More
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4 responses
At Christmas time, one of my holiday customs is to read Dickens’ novella, A Christmas Carol. I may be a little obsessed with the story — I have three different audio versions on my phone, including one produced by members of my home ward. As a result of reading it and re-reading it, for me this story has passed from mere entertainment to something much more[1. I say “Gospel According to A Christmas Carol” not because I think A Christmas Carol is scripture, but because it is a view of what the gospel teaches — like each of the four… Read More
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16 responses
There are several hot topics that come up on a regular basis in the Church. One of those is women’s relationship with the priesthood in the Church. Concerns over equality in policy making, involvement in the life of the Church, and quite a few other things factor into this issue. Given that women comprise half (or more) of the membership of the Church, it is of huge importance to all members. One notable voice speaking about women and the priesthood is Wendy Ulrich, who recently published a book on the subject entitled Live Up to Our Privileges: Women, Power and… Read More
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4 responses
A couple of years ago I spent an afternoon digging weeds from my lawn, sweating into a soupy heat with podcasts for company. The talk-worn topics of online Latter-day Saint discussion skated past–power and privilege, margin and center, faithfulness and critique, one familiar beat after another. In a moment, it dawned on me that this guest was speaking with a rare candor and originality. On issue after issue, she delivered incisive analysis together with warm, but never sentimental, description of the immersive quality of a Latter-day Saint ward. I had never heard my own soul-grounding experience of lived religion articulated… Read More
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When I teach Revelation 1-11 to my youth Sunday School class, I’ll probably start off by saying something about gasoline. Read More
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11 responses
My sister recently sent the planned text for the sacrament meeting program in her ward (she is involved in the planning) to me and the rest of our siblings for our suggestions. It was fine, lovely even. It was full of Christmas hymns with brief introductory and concluding texts. Sound familiar? Other than this type of sacrament meeting dominated by Christmas hymns, the only other format I’ve seen is one or two Christmas talks supported by a few hymns — basically a normal Sacrament Meeting where the content is focused on Christmas. Is there room for something else? Read More
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Latter-day Saints in the United States of America have had an impact in the field of law. Attorney Brian Craig highlighted some of the most important Latter-day Saint Lawyers in a recent 10 questions interview with Kurt Manwaring, after publishing a book called Latter Day Lawyers. What follows here is a short summary of the 10 questions post, but the full interview can be read here. The basis of Brian Craig’s book is the idea that “a select group of lawyers and judges of a particular religion have influenced the constitutional and legal rights of all Americans under the backdrop… Read More
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33 responses
In the April 1997 General Conference Pres. Hinckley said everyone deserves “three things: a friend, a responsibility, and nurturing with ‘the good word of God’”[1. Gordon B. Hinckley, Converts and Young Men, General conference, April 1997]. If local leaders take this seriously, then: What responsibilities/callings can be given to someone who doesn’t think they are worthy? What responsibilities/callings can be given to someone who hasn’t resolved a serious sin? What responsibilities/callings can be given to someone who doesn’t wear garments? What responsibilities/callings can be given to someone who doesn’t pay their child support? What responsibilities/callings can be given to someone who… Read More
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The people of Hong Kong have delivered a spectacular message in Sunday’s elections, with a nearly total reversal of the 2015 election results. With a 71% turnout, and more than twice the votes cast compared with the last such election, there is no mistaking where the great majority of Hong Kong’s people stand on the direction of their society. This moment presents a vital opportunity for a shift to constructive engagement between pro-democracy activists and the government of Beijing-appointed Chief Executive Carrie Lam. Months of increasingly bold protests, met with increasingly aggressive government response, had created a tense standoff in… Read More
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This coming Sunday our neighborhood will hold its 6th annual Interfaith Thanksgiving celebration. As many as 500 members of Jewish, Protestant, Catholic and Mormon congregations will join together for a program giving thanks and blessing children, followed by a communal thanksgiving dinner[1. FWIW, the keynote speaker this year is Dr. Ruth Westheimer! who is a member of one of the congregations]. As I’ve participated in the planning for the celebration each year, I’ve been pleased that our congregations are able to agree on so much. The nature of the holiday helps, I think, because Thanksgiving is nearly a universal holiday Read More
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6 responses
Steven Smith (who has occasionally favored us with comments here at T&S) is not the first to describe our current cultural moment as a new conflict between pagans and Christians. As Smith describes at length in Pagans and Christians in the City, others, on both sides of the divide, have done so using the same language. Smith does argue quite convincingly, however, that this new conflict of pagan vs. Christian is not merely an apt metaphor, but a sober description of the American religious landscape. Read More
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Next year, we’ll be studying The Book of Mormon in the Come, Follow Me program for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During this year’s study of the New Testament, I’ve benefited from reading complementary material, such as — as I was reading Romans — Adam Miller’s excellent Grace Is Not God’s Backup Plan: An Urgent Paraphrase of Paul’s Letter to the Romans. What are your favorite books that you’ve read or that you are anticipating reading to accompany your study of the Book of Mormon? I’ll put some of mine in the comments below to get us… Read More
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The 7th Annual Summer Seminar on Latter-day Saint Theology “A Wrestle Before God: Reading Enos 1” Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Bordeaux, France June 22–July 4, 2020 Sponsored by the Latter-day Saint Theology Seminar in partnership with The Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies, The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, and the Wheatley Institution In the summer of 2020, the Latter-day Saint Theology Seminar, in partnership with the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies, the Neal A. Maxwell Institute at Brigham Young University, and the Wheatley Institution at Brigham Young University, will sponsor… Read More
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8 responses
One of the most common topics featured on the Church’s news sites this year has been interfaith outreach by Church leaders and members. A list of articles includes: January 17: “How BYU Is Creating an Environment of Respect and Understanding for Students of All Faiths” February 19: “Tennessee Young Women Build Interfaith Bonds with Muslim Friends by Holding a Ward ‘Hijab Drive’” March 3: “Latter-day Saints Join Other Faiths to Change Women’s Lives” March 9: “Prophet Meets Pope Francis at the Vatican” March 16: “Statement of Support for Muslim Communities and All Others Impacted by Christchurch Shootings” March 18: “Church… Read More
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30 responses
My brother-in-law called me last week to get my advice about a tithing question, in part, I think, because I have an accounting degree. He had inherited his parent’s home, and needed to pay tithing on it. But it would take time to sell the home, if he decided to do that, and the value of the home might change between the inheritance and when it sells. How should he decide what the home is worth in order to calculate how much tithing he should pay? I know that this type of question has been asked a lot—my brother-in-law is… Read More
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17 responses
In General Conference in 2015, President Russell M. Nelson stated, “We need women who have a bedrock understanding of the doctrine of Christ and who will use that understanding to teach and help raise a sin-resistant generation.” The following year, President Neill F. Marriott of the Young Women General Presidency taught, “The Lord’s Church needs Spirit-directed women who use their unique gifts to nurture, to speak up, and to defend gospel truth.” Women who teach! Women who speak up! I believe that one way young women — like my daughter — learn to do this is by hearing women teach… Read More
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47 responses
Elder B.H. Roberts of the Seventy once wrote that: So long as the truth respecting it is unbelieved {the Book of Mormon} will remain to the world an enigma, a veritable literary sphinx, challenging the inquiry and speculation of the learned. But to those who in simple faith will accept it for what it is, a revelation from God, it will minister spiritual consolation, and by its plainness and truth draw men into closer communion with God.[1] It can be difficult to pin down the Book of Mormon due to the many different things that can be used as evidence… Read More
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20 responses
I read with horror the news this week that 9 fundamentalist Mormons in Northern Mexico were murdered, as did many of you. But at first, no doubt like many church members, I thought that this news had nothing to do with me. After all, they aren’t members of the Church, as the public affairs statement made by the newsroom makes clear. Then I read the last name of several of those killed. Read More
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22 responses
Todd Rose starts his book The End of Average off with some really arresting stories that all make the same point: there’s no such thing as an average person. His most in-depth example is based on how the Air Force designed their cockpits in World War II and the years immediately following. They took the dimensions of hundreds of pilots (arm reach, chest circumference, leg length, you name it) and then used the average of those measurements as the template for their cockpit design. The idea was that an average-shaped pilot would fit perfectly. And, since most of the pilots… Read More
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Joseph Smith began his ministry with a wealth of visions and revelations. Many among these were what have been called dialogic revelations–answers given by God to Joseph Smith in response to questions or specific situations. Written documents phrased as God speaking through Joseph Smith have been treated with particular weight, both by early Latter Day Saints and their spiritual heirs today. For those of us in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, however, most of his successors to the presidency of the Church have not used the same method of giving voice to the will of God. With… Read More
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Mormon Scholars in the Humanities (MSH) invites proposals for its 2020 annual conference. The conference topic this year is Aesthetics, and papers or panels organized around the theme are encouraged. The deadline for submitting a proposal abstract is this Friday, November 1. The culture that surrounds the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has had mixed feelings about the body and the senses. While the “natural man” is an enemy to God, the spirit and the body are man’s soul. And while both scriptures may mean “men” as all human beings, there might be even more ambivalence about women’s bodies.… Read More