I LOVE it when low-level ecclesiastical leaders are overruled (for the right reasons). And here’s the coverage from the SLTrib. From the Salt Lake Tribune: “We may never know the full story since the bishop does not wish to comment and the school is citing privacy to keep things quiet. Regardless, the entire episode may have some stereotypical ramifications on the national level. But at least it has been resolved in a manner that seems more reasonable for every party involved to minimize the damage. “ From the Deseret News: “Brigham Young University baseball star Kent Walton, who had...
Monthly Archives: February 2008
Breaking News: Romney Dropping Out
The wires are alive with the story that Romney is dropping out of the race. More as the story develops. See Breitbart, TIME and CNN for the story. Romney is quoted saying: This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose. My family, my friends and our supporters … many of you right here in this room … have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot at becoming president. If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America, and because I...
Neo-Fundamentalism Part 2 – Historical Millennialism*
Last time I discussed a sub-culture of the LDS church that is increasing as an influential force, especially given the current state of unease in America—that of neo-Fundamentalism. Semantically this is my term, because I want to peel it apart from what we typically think of as Fundamentalist LDS (those stuck in the pre 1890 church). A large part of NFLDS thought process is an eschatology of end-times. This conception is critical if you want to understand the intellectual underpinnings of NFLDS. NFLDS are betting on the end of faith—the vindication a realization of mystical actuality through a fulfillment...
“Theoconservativism” – Extremism under the Guise of Religion?
Being a latitudarian, I hold the separation of church and state as part of my sacrosanct liberality.
The Book of Mormon: Keystone
A few months ago I decided to try an experiment as part of my Sunday School lesson in Gospel Principles. This was a fairly advanced Gospel Principles group that had no new converts at the time. I came into class and issued the following challenge to the class. Challenge: You need to write a book that will introduce the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world in very plain and straight forward teachings. It must not be ambiguous like the Bible. You must accomplish all of the following: It must teach everything you need to know to enter the Celestial...
9 Mormons Who Ran for President
During this campaign season I’ve been helping Newell Bringhurst and Craig Foster edit their forthcoming book, The Mormon Quest for the Presidency. The book tells the fascinating story of 9 Mormons who ran for president prior to Mitt Romney’s bid and I thought I’d briefly share their stories while Mitt’s fate is being decided today… 1844 Joseph Smith Jr. (no party) — In an era when the separation of church and state were still absolute, Smith was the first clergyman to run for president. As such, he did not emphasize his role as a prophet or as president of the...
The Church is a “what”?
I’ve a friend who is a linguist who often addresses things by asking people to find metaphors for them. It is interesting to ask people just what the Church is, not descriptively, but metaphorically. Something that is extremely accurate, I’ve found, is to compare the Church to a flotilla of barges, being sailed to a destination. Slow, dependent on the wind, dealing with tides and currents, with turbulence issues around the edges.
Robert Millet & Krista Tippet Pt. 3: Robert Millet as a Budding “Sunstone” or “New Order” Mormon
As I’m sure you’ve discovered by now — my takeaways from this interview between Krista Tippet and LDS Theologian and BYU Religion Professor Robert Millet say much more about me than they do Brother Millet. That said — in part 3 of this series, I’m going to make my argument that within this interview, we can see yet further signs that both Robert Millet, and the LDS Church, are becoming more and more open/liberal/progressive/tolerant in their willingness to allow for a “Sunstone” or even a “New Order Mormon“-like perspective when it comes to an LDS belief/testimony. Here are the...
BYU Baseball Player Expelled for Not Attending Enough Church?
Apparently BYU (and the LDS church) have expelled BYU’s best baseball player for (allegedly) not attending church enough. Some questions for discussion…. What do we NOT know about the story that the church is not able to tell us? (we should always remember that possibility) What do you think about this statement, “They said he didn’t participate in the ward enough, hadn’t been to church enough and hadn’t gone in and asked for a calling,” What do you think about this statement, “All the stake president would say was, ‘I hope you...
Passage to Zarahemla: An Interview With Chris Heimerdinger
Anyone who has ever set foot in Deseret Book should recognize the name Chris Heimerdinger. His signature novel, “Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites,” was the first in what became a sizable collection of LDS fiction targeted primarily at a young Mormon market. Now, he steps into the film making arena with his new feature film: “Passage to Zarahemla.” Chris uses his time-tested narrative device of modern characters converging in one way or another with scriptural settings and events to tell the story of Kerra and Brock, two young people who somehow collide with a parallel universe which brings them...
The Power to Move Mountains and More!
I’ve been reading through a new compilation of early patriarchal blessings, given by the first Mormon Presiding Patriarchs: Joseph Smith Sr., Hyrum Smith and William Smith. These revelations can be mined for any number of treasures — enriching our understanding of the expectations and beliefs of our early Mormon ancestors. The early Latter Day Saints believed that Christ would return in their lifetimes to usher in the Millennium, so I was not surprised at all to see that so many of the blessings included the promise that the recipient would live to see that day. For example, Joseph Sr....
Deconstructing the Book of Mormon, Introduction
While in law school I had the chance to talk with Jack Welch about the kingmen in the Book of Mormon. From that discussion in 1980, I started to apply the tools of deconstruction to the text of the Book of Mormon. There is an amazing amount of perspective that can be found by taking the Book of Mormon as what it claims to be and then looking into the text to see what the text says for itself.
Reconstruction Part 1: Like a Wave, Driven and Tossed
Not so long ago I thought I knew certain things were true and wavering was a self-inflicted condition. I also really thought I was an independent thinker who had chosen to be a conservative Republican, and to believe that homosexuality was an illness, and that the priesthood ban was imposed by God for some reason we just couldn’t understand, and that polygamy was a holy practice when it was sanctioned, and that church leaders past and present were inspired in all things and represented the will of the Lord. I thought I chose those positions because they were simply...
How to Support
