Is it just my imagination, or are more missionaries returning home early? Seems like this used to be a rare event, spoken about in the same whispery voice people use to tell you someone has an embarrassing disease. Now, it happens with some regularity. In my stake in the past few years, seven or eight missionaries have returned early (and those are just the ones of which I’m aware). When I’ve asked around, my friends and relatives in other stakes report the same thing.
Monthly Archives: April 2008
Subliminal Battle for our Free Agency
If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, is it not possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing about it? The recent practice of propaganda has proved that it is possible, at least up to a certain point and within certain limits. – Bernays
A Testimony of the Devil
“I know that the Devil lives in outer darkness surrounded by concourses of ghastly minions amidst weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth”. Why don’t we hear this from the pulpit in LDS testimony meetings? It’s just as much an article of faith as the existence of God, right? There must needs be an opposition in all things, as Lehi said.
A Method to our Mormonism
As we know from JS-H 1: 8, Joseph Smith had attended various religious meetings and (in his own words) “In process of time my mind became somewhat partial to the Methodist sect, and I felt some desire to be united with them.” So, what did Joseph Smith (as a future Mormon) see in Methodism, and what practices in our faith correspond with the brand of Methodism Joseph experienced?
Men: The Weaker Sex?
There is a common belief among LDS that wonderful women are sometimes saddled with mediocre men or sometimes no man at all, which will result in a surplus of women in the Celestial Kingdom. So, are Mormon women really so much better than men?
The Parable of the Merciful Judge
I came up with the following parable to explain to a Born Again Christian friend why I felt his belief that our actions plays no role in salvation at all was setting up a false dichotomy between influence and merit. It floated like a lead balloon, of course. He didn’t even bother to comment back to me. I later reused it with a carpool of Mormons that all seemed to enjoy it quite a bit more. In case you are wondering, yes, it’s a true story too. (Note: because I’m getting questions about this, I’ll add this – this is...
God’s Hit List in the Book of Mormon
One of the most unseemly and disturbing images in the Book of Mormon is when Nephi is commanded to cut the head off of Laban who lies drunken at his feet. So, what did Laban do to get on God’s hit list? Did he deserve it? Was it necessary? And how did some of the other deserving baddies (such as Laman & Lemuel) escape with their heads intact?
What if Joseph Smith Published the Book of Mormon Last Year?
Many of you may have heard about a man named Joseph Smith that recently claimed to have found some plates of gold, shown to him by an angel no less, and then to have translated those plates “by the gift and power of God” into The Book of Mormon. This Book of Mormon purports to be a story about an ancient people living millennia ago. We at the New York Ages decided to do a review of this book with such an interesting back story. But we were disappointed to find the interesting stuff stops at the back story....
The Sun Never Sets on the Mormon Empire: Cultural Colonialism
I was talking with a French colleague at dinner about the differences between European politics and American politics, and he made a statement that left an impression. European politics are colored by their colonialist histories and how to balance a preservation of their culture while dealing with the other cultures they have essentially subordinated over time. For example, he mentioned the Muslims in France who demanded equal consideration of their separate cultural preferences in the very strict and isolationist French culture. The French people are very concerned with preserving their culture, values, and language (even governing the number of...
From the Great Wall to the Bloggernacle With Love
Clay Whipkey and I are in China — and visited the Great Wall 2 days ago. As we contemplated what to discuss on top of the wall — there was only one real option. We hope you enjoy. All the best to our long lost friends. We miss you.
Eating & Drinking in Church: A New Trend?
It might just be me, but I’ve noticed an upswing in eating and drinking during the three hour block. Now, I am not talking about cheerios, fishy crackers and sippy cups, but older kids and adults.
Laymen = Clergy: The Genius of Mormonism?
When the Church of Christ was organized on April 6, 1830, none of its members were professional clergy, but all its adult male members were endowed with “priesthood.” For millennia, Christians had wrestled with defining the roles of lay people and the clergy in expressing piety. If the sacraments were the preserve of the clergy, how should pious lay people channel their devotion to God? The Mormon answer to this question would be straightforward: in the restored church, laymen were the clergy.
Slandering the Lost Sheep
When I talk to Mormon friends, occasionally someone will mention a mutual friend or acquaintance who claims to have left the LDS Church because of theological differences or personal revelation. In those conversations, someone will usually say something like this: “He’s either cheating on his wife, addicted to porn, or gay.” There seems to be a strong presumption in Mormon culture that anyone who cites theological differences or personal revelation as their reason for leaving the Church is being insincere and dishonest, and that the real reason such a person leaves the Church is that he is guilty of...
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Why Hollywood Should Convert to Mormonism
Very few famous Hollywood actors are Mormon, even fewer are practicing Mormons. While there are some obvious disconnects (e.g. law of chastity, modesty, time commitments), there are some equally compelling connections between some of the basic values of Hollywood and Mormonism and other values that are close, if not quite aligned.
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