Monthly Archives: April 2008

Why Eugene England Still Matters

April 9, 2008

If you spend any time here in the Bloggernacle, or leafing through the pages of any number of “alternate voices,” you are bound to encounter Eugene England. A founder of Dialogue, England — a former Bishop, LDS missionary, and BYU Professor — is a patron saint of the Mormon intellectual community, oft-revered as “our greatest essayist.” But for all of our lip service, we — as a Church and as an Internet community — could still learn a thing or two by actually putting his more challenging philosophies into practice.

Meeting a New Earth-The First Pregnant Man Interviewed By Oprah

April 8, 2008

By Stephen Wellington

Here are 3 videos (all together about 30 minutes) from a recent Oprah episode where she interivews Thomas Beatie about being the worlds first pregnant man.

Mormon Persecution Complex

April 8, 2008

By Hawkgrrrl

Are Mormons really more persecuted than other faiths or do Mormons just perceive that because the criticism is aimed at us? Are there as many anti- as there are anti-Mormons? I decided to take a very cursory, unscientific, yet interesting look at this question.

Roadshows: Are They Gone Forever?

April 7, 2008

By guest

Today’s post is by Ghost Writer. Definitely Definitely Watch The Video Above – all will be explained later

“What Children Know”: A Children’s Rebuttal to Elder Ballard’s Conference Talk

April 7, 2008

By Andrew

“What Children Know”: A Children’s Rebuttal to Elder Ballard’s Conference Talk

Late last night as I was putting the finishing touches on my Monday morning blog post, I heard a faint knocking on the front door of my home. When I opened the door I saw no one there, but heard the pitter-patter of little feet fading off in the distance. Something caught my eye on the doorstep. It appeared to be a manifesto of sorts, scrawled on the blank insides of a flattened cereal box with crayons of assorted colors. I have no idea who wrote the message, but whoever did was pretty upset about the talk that Elder...

Open ‘Nacle Invitation: What were your favorite moments/quotes from General Conference?

April 6, 2008

By admin

An open ‘nacle invitation: What were your favorite moments/quotes from General Conference?

Mormons as Trinitarians

April 6, 2008

By Bruce Nielson

Mention the word “Trinity” to a group of Mormons and the response you’ll get probably will be “I don’t believe that false doctrine of Satan!” Mormons often even feel more kinship with religions like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who also reject the Trinity doctrine, than we do with orthodox Christians on this topic. But do we Mormons even understand what the doctrine of Trinity really is?

Life and Affliction (part two with another to come)

April 5, 2008

By Stephen Marsh

An older friend of mine remarked that time seems to fly by now. She quipped that it felt like she was changing the sheets every morning. As you close on eight years old, a month is about the same part of your life that a year is in your nineties. At her age, changing the sheets once a week really has become subjectively changing them every morning in the time frame of when she was younger. That comment made me think about the way time would dilate for me if I was a couple thousand years old. Or how...

Are More Missionaries Staying Native?

April 4, 2008

By Peter Brown

I know this is really anecdotal, but almost everyone I know is serving a stateside mission. I have wondering about this situation and wonder (if its true on the aggregate) why this is the case. It would only make sense when you think about it to keep missionaries native. As the church grows and expands, I think it’s probably inevitable. Undoubtedly there are benefits to sending Elder Junior to Africa or South America (important optimal Americanism, and multiculturizing the missionary), but there are some benefits to staying home as well. Here are a few:

The Amazing Adventures Of “The Mormon Answer Man”

April 4, 2008

By Shawn Larsen

The Amazing Adventures Of “The Mormon Answer Man”

Look up there . . . . who’s that emceeing the Ward Roadshow? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s the Mormon Answer Man!! Faster than a missionary speeding downhill towards a dinner appointment. Able to pull three heavy-laden handcarts at a time. Behold his breath-taking adventures after the jump, if you dare . . .

Deep in the Heart of Mormondom

April 3, 2008

By John Hamer

Outside of my own library and the virtual community I’m connected to through the internet, Mormondom has very little impact on my immediate environment in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The LDS Institute has a prominent place next to the university, but the LDS chapel is across the river in a part of town we rarely visit. The Community of Christ chapel is in the Old West Side historic district across the street from the home of our closest friends and there’s a Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) branch out past Target. Once every six months or so we have a...

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

April 2, 2008

By KC Kern

Ben Stein is prominently featured in an upcoming documentary called “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,” where he takes a stab a neo-darwinism, and seeks to bring increased legitimacy to the intelligent design camp. The creation vs. evolution debate is of course nothing new to Mormons, as the early and mid 20th century saw a good deal of postulation and debate on this matter among LDS Church leaders. Typically, Mormons seem generally untroubled by the issue, often finding resolution with “religion tells us why, science tells us how.” Mormons tend to be willing to accept the fossil record and the geological...

“The Whole Church is Under Condemnation”: The Talk that Changed the Church

April 2, 2008

By Bruce Nielson

April 1986: President Benson presides over his first General Conference. Did anyone listening to his humble little talk, called “Cleaning the Inner Vessel,” realize that it would send ripples through the Church and start a massive change in Church policy and doctrine?

My Top Ten Non-Mormon Lives

April 1, 2008

By John Nilsson

Not long ago I was watching a Tyler Perry movie and found myself applauding an action of one of the characters. This was an action which would draw condemnation from Mormons. From the viewer’s omniscient position, it was the right thing to do. This was a world in which Mormonism for all intents and purposes didn’t exist. It got me thinking about other worlds where Mormonism didn’t enter into the equation, and about what kind of lives I would gladly imagine myself living in them… 10. Glasgow, Scotland: A Catholic of Irish descent, I work for the Celtic Football...

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