D&C 89:1 refers to the WoW as: AWord OF Wisdom, for the benefit of the council of high priests, assembled in Kirtland, and the church, and also the saints in Zion—To be sent greeting; not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days—Given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints.
Huh? What was the point of the Word of Wisdom? How can we really reap its benefits? Continue reading…
Most people who are aware of the LDS Church are aware that we have “general authorities” and that they share some characteristics, but in my experience, they don’t really understand what General Authorities are or what the term means. I’m going to skip what the phrase means and discuss what they are.
General Authorities (”G.A.”s) tend to share the following characteristics:
Last week, I graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems. In an attempt to make this post more than a self-congratulatory indulgence, I’d like to take a moment to represent myself as the “token BYU student” here at Mormon Matters, and offer my thoughts and perspectives about my BYU experience.
I took a fairly typical course: I lived in the dorms (Deseret Towers) as a freshman, took two years off for a mission, came back, got serious about a Major program, and finished it up in 3 additional years (plus some spring and summer classes.)
Overall, I am very pleased with my BYU experience, and look upon it in overwhelmingly positive light. If I may, I’d like to highlight a few of the outstanding parts. Continue reading…
If you haven’t heard by now, Senator McCain has chosen Sarah Palin, sitting Governor of Alaska, as his VP running mate. Her bio is linked here. She defeated an incumbent governor in the primary and a former governor in the general election. She currently has an 80% approval rating in Alaska. I just like the irony of typing “she” when talking about a Republican VP candidate.
Discuss, if you so choose. Ignore, if you don’t care.
19 For the anaturalbman is an cenemy to God, and has been from the dfall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he eyields to the enticings of the Holy fSpirit, and gputteth off the hnaturalman and becometh a isaint through the atonement of Christ the Lord…
Most of us old guys saw Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid. A question that kept coming up as they were being chased was: “Who are those guys?” In our church I wonder “who are those guys” all the time! Anyway take the below quiz. I’m not sure the answers, but was hoping you could help me!
[NOTE: This post is slightly longer than normal, since I am commenting on multiple phrases and words throughout the verse in question. Please pardon the length; I couldn't shorten it any more than I did - except to delete this disclaimer. *grin*]
Perhaps the most reviled verse among non-Mormon Christians in the entire Mormon scriptural canon is Joseph Smith History 1:19 – the words of Jesus to Joseph Smith at the beginning of the First Vision regarding why he should not join any church. This single verse encapsulates the reason why many call Mormonism arrogant and offensive and blind – and the misinterpretations of this verse by Mormons themselves only add fuel to this fire. So, I am breaking out my parser’s pen and dissecting what Jesus actually said and did not say: word-by-word, sentence-by-sentence, concept-by-concept. It was a fascinating endeavor when I first undertook it, and it changed my perspective on The Restoration greatly.
What is the Gift of the Holy Ghost? We have a lesson or two about this each year in our Church classes. People have lots of great ideas, but I sometimes feel it doesn’t quite pin down what I observe when I look around me in life. I’m not saying our Mormon answer is wrong, but I think there is more to it than the short answers we discuss skimming the surface of this topic. Continue reading…
The term “apologist” is often used derisively like the terms “lawyer,” “statistician,” or “telemarketer.” Why are apologists so derided? Is it warranted or just a bum rap? Continue reading…
Today’s post is from an anonymous guest blogger. The critics of the church like to point the finger at Joseph Smith, citing polygamy, concealing polygamy, the Kirtland Bank failure, etc. Could Moses withstand the same scrutiny? Let’s take a look. Continue reading…
Do taxes rob people of their free agency and subvert the Great Plan of Happiness?
Some quotes from members around the web:
“[Forcing] me to pay for the upkeep of another is simply the application of Satan’s plan here on earth.” Continue reading…
In a June of 2006 speech, Barak Obama spoke honestly about the uncertainties of belief. “Faith doesn’t mean that you don’t have doubts,” Obama declared. “You need to come to church in the first place precisely because you are first of this world, not apart from it.” Senator Obama laid down principles for how to discuss faith in a pluralistic society, including the need for religious people to translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values during public debate. Continue reading…
When I started attending school at BYU, political correctness was still recently taking hold in American culture. In high school my English teacher, Mrs. Summers, specifically taught us that if the gender was unknown, we were to use “he” or “his” as the pronoun as these signified both genders. For example:
“Each student in the class opened his book to the page specified.”
And back then we spoke of mailmen, chairmen, policemen, garbage men, etc. A person with a below average IQ was “mentally retarded” and someone that was overweight was “fat.” It was just the way things were.
Most bookstores in Utah have sold out of the new book on the Mountain Meadows massacre with a print run of 10,000 copies. Amazingly this happened in less than a week.
The buzz is that the book answers all the questions. This new openness, scholarly approach and availability for the most controversial subject in Mormon history is quite amazing.Continue reading…
I am an over-analyzer. As a musician I listen to music in a different way than a lot of folks. I pick apart each instrument and criticize the cleverness of lyrics (or lack thereof). I was briefly interested in screenwriting and read some books about it, and now I pick apart the plotlines of movies. Things that many people enjoy in a simple way become an exercise in academic frustration for me. This is the blessing and curse of humanity. We think.
Recently I heard Robert Kirby say, “Humans are the only species than can actually think themselves stupider.” Oh brother, you nailed me. Continue reading…
There is regular discussion among Mormon bloggers about the term “cafeteria Mormons” – those who pick and choose what they will and will not accept – who fill their plates with what they like to eat. I usually hate those discussions, since they nearly always are directed at judging what others choose to eat – labeling others as different and highlighting those differences.
I’d like to take a slightly different view of this term. Continue reading…
For my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding.
When I was a teenager, I had an angry, liberal, bisexual friend whom I loved. Not in a romantic sense, but in a sense that I truly understood her. She was incredibly creative and I wanted her to be successful in her musical and artistic endeavors. We once had a conversation that completely surprised me. She had seemed so anti-religion for as long as I had known her, so when she told me the following, I was completely shocked: “When I saw Tori Amos in concert for the first time, Arthur, I swear I felt something that I never have before. I think I believe in God now… when I saw Tori Amos I somehow knew that there must be a God out there somewhere.” Continue reading…
Recently someone noted that the covetous feel comfortable at church. Indeed, neo-Calvinists tend to embrace the doctrine that you don’t need to choose between God and Mammon — if you worship God he will deliver Mammon. They tend to think Christ was just a little bit befuddled. They often embrace a “style of their own” and complain if they are not fully welcomed outside of special clusters of believers who understand that, perhaps, if she is wealthy enough a young women’s advisor should be expected to wear trendy clothing, perhaps with see-through shirts and no bra, usually baring her midriff and diamond stud.
But what about those who do not feel comfortable at Church?
Finally, a lesson that really makes you think! This is probably my favorite JS lesson this year (no one dies or has to move to Missouri). For those who are teaching, you may also enjoy the excellent essay at Feast on the Word blog by joespencer. Continue reading…
As the tragedy and outrage of the September 11, 2001 attacks unfolded, we heard news reports about the tens of thousands of people that potentially lost their lives in the World Trade Center, Pentagon and on the airplanes. Estimates as high as 140,000 people came and went to the WTC buildings each day and so, high causalities were a real possibility.
On February 25th, 2000 — in the heat of the LDS Church’s Prop 22 efforts in California to ban same-sex marriage — a young LDS returned missionary named Stuart Matis drove to his local LDS chapel, pinned a “DO NOT RESUCITATE” sign to his shirt, and shot himself in the head. More of Stuart’s story can be read here and here. Also, to read one of Stuart’s last letters on the subject written weeks before his death — click here.
A few years ago I did some research on the topic, and discovered that Utah leads the nation in suicides for men from 18-24 years old, and that an estimated 1/3 of those suicides are tied to homosexuality.
Recently I had the opportunity to interview Bruce Rognan and his son Chris — about the suicide of their son/brother Curtis. I would like to share with you the following 4 clips from this multi-part interview:
First, here are the father and brother discussing how Curtis didn’t “fit into the mold” of Mormon culture, and how Bruce once felt inspired to discuss the issue of homosexuality with his son, but didn’t out of cultural/social fear…..
Second, here are Bruce and Chris talking about “the day” Curtis committed suicide….
I have long believed that the Church’s reliance on a lay clergy is both one of its strongest selling points, as well as one of its greatest weaknesses. On the hand, our DIY approach to religion results, among other things, in folks having a very personal stake in building the Kingdom, which is a plus. On the other hand, following a leader who is simply plucked from the congregation, without any formal training or indoctrination, can lead to the imposition of personal, non-doctrinal strictures (e.g., Stake Presidents banning beards and other such nonsense). This, of course, is too big a topic to cover well in a single post. So, I want to focus on one particular aspect of the lay clergy dynamic that has been on my mind lately — the role a member’s wealth (or lack thereof) can play on his/her worthiness to serve.
