- RL on From Obscured to Omnipresent: Jennifer Champoux on the Evolution of Latter-day Saint Portraits of Jesus: “Officially approved art of this era is still kind of weird to me. IIRC there’s about 20 allowed art pieces in chapels. We borrow most of our most famous art and I’d pick others if that were my job. I do love Minerva art whenever I find it.” Sep 28, 20:45
- on How I taught Proverbs and Ecclesiastes (annotated edition): “I feel like you missed the important point of Ecclesiastes. Because “everything is meaningless” that is, doesn’t last, the “meaning” is in the potential goodness of each little thing you do for others and yourself. “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.” “So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 & 8:15 NIV Your lesson is an interesting take on the two books’ connections” Sep 28, 18:31
- on Judging in our Meetings (Or What Did Church Lead You to Think About Yesterday), 9/20: “Who are we to judge what is “unrighteously” or “unthinkingly”? I say, “Live and let live.”” Sep 28, 12:19
- on From Obscured to Omnipresent: Jennifer Champoux on the Evolution of Latter-day Saint Portraits of Jesus: “I realized many years ago that I do not like “portraits” of Jesus — Jesus never sat for a portrait. I only like Jesus art when the art tells a story from the scriptures.” Sep 28, 01:11
- on From Obscured to Omnipresent: Jennifer Champoux on the Evolution of Latter-day Saint Portraits of Jesus: “In one apartment on my mission I found a file box with a set of photocopied “discussions” for member visits. I got the impression that they dated to the previous mission president, so mid-to-late 1980s. One of them was titled “The Portrait Discussion” and went through the faith promoting rumors about the Del Parson portrait described in the interview–it was still pretty new at the time. The child was supposedly trapped for several hours after a car accident, and recognized the man in the portrait as the person who stayed with them the whole time. I’m sure whoever put it together meant well, apparently trying to convince members that Church leaders had seen Jesus and could describe him accurately. But we need to be more careful–teaching falsehoods doesn’t pay in the long run.” Sep 27, 15:17
- on Joseph Smith as a 19th Century L. Ron Hubbard: “Yes, we all know the soundbites. Even if you were to take the most uncharitable interpretation of polygamy (which again, Hubbard cleared before breakfast), all of Smith’s immediate family were believers in his mission and character, and Smith sincerely cared about his family, and that’s a fairly fundamental distinction with Hubbard, however much a particular angle on Smith-era polygamy might disgust some people.” Sep 27, 13:05
- on Judging in our Meetings (Or What Did Church Lead You to Think About Yesterday), 9/20: “Perhaps I am, Alma the Youngest. Am I judging unrighteously? Should we defend those who judge unthinkingly? I should add that a lot of this judgment is built into our culture — we all do it unthinkingly. I have been trying to remove a lot of this unintended judgment about things (describing things with the word “good” when I really mean “I like”, and its quite difficult. Its built into our normal conversational patterns. But I think a lot can be fixed by simply being aware of what we are doing.” Sep 27, 11:18
- on Joseph Smith as a 19th Century L. Ron Hubbard: “I would just like to echo everything Not a Cougar said. They are spot on.” Sep 27, 10:25
- on Judging in our Meetings (Or What Did Church Lead You to Think About Yesterday), 9/20: “It strikes me that you are judging those who judge. Instead of judging, maybe share what you learned from those judgments. As you can see, it is difficult to suspend judgment, and it is impossible for one to do it objectively. Our ancestors have survived due to judgment (safety, trustworthiness, etc), and we turn that off at our own peril.” Sep 27, 09:19
