Two men pull up to a house they’ve never been to before. It’s dark, but a few lights appear on. They slowly get out, not saying much and walk up the walk to the door. One reaches out and rings the doorbell. Soon, a woman appears and opens the door.
One says: “Are you Sister Smith?”
When Paul writes of “through a glass, darkly” he is writing about seeing the world in a mirror, rather than seeing it through a dirty or occluded windowpane. “The original Greek text has dia spektrou, or by means of a mirror, but Greek mirrors were made of highly polished brass which have a weak and imperfect mirror-image … “
I thought I would write about how it is possible that that we fail to get very far in thinking about spiritual things because we stop at the surface much too often.
I’m jumping us back into the shark pool. Please no derogative, homophobic comments, or personal attacks on me—just a warning—I’ll delete you. I’m assuming that most homosexual are true believers in the concept of equality in love. I’m also assuming that many people against gay marriage are not homophobic or anti-gay, but truly believe that the structure of the gay marriage movement is an attack on the family as well as freedom of religion. I think this is at the heart of why the Church is against the gay marriage movement, which unknowingly or untold has its foundations in Marxian Critical Theory. If you want to understand why this is so important to the Church, you have to connect the dots here. The foundation of this fight is steeped in a scriptural culture of conspiracy, and its recent 50-year history of anti-communism and the rich tradition of skepticism of government in the Church courtesy of its own history and Helaman’s Gadiantion stories. Continue reading…
Apparently the debate will go forward, despite McCain’s earlier statement that he would be spending time working on the economy instead, and Obama rejoinder that he is capable of focusing on more than one thing at a time.
Let’s discuss the debate as it unfolds, who scores points, who is the ultimate winner and loser in this all important initial presidential debate. Listen for points to be scored on:
Let the games begin.
If you say something true about Jesus, but your Jesus is a different Jesus, is what you said about the first Jesus still true?
What if you’re singing it? Continue reading…
Mormons often joke about the 14th Article of Faith, and it often is quoted somewhat like this:
We believe in holding meetings, and in asking all members to attend these meetings; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We schedule all meetings, we plan all meetings, we have endured many meetings, and hope to be able to endure all meetings. If there is any reason to hold a meeting, we seek after these things.
Not so long ago, when I would hear about someone who didn’t go to church at all or have any interest in returning would refer to themselves as Mormon, I would be annoyed that they still identified themselves that way. I used to see being Mormon as a choice, as a religious path, and if you aren’t choosing it then you only make a bad name for the rest of us… or so I felt at that time. Yet, it seems there is something deeply cultural about being Mormon, especially those raised or at least members from a young age. How much does your activity in church determine how “Mormon” you really are? Continue reading…
There are some interesting parallels between the first family of the Book of Mormon and the first family of the Restoration (the Smiths). Coincidence? Or was Joseph Smith writing about his own family (vs. translating the story of another family)?
Following Running on Empty, I am going to write about how even with the Spirit and everything else, we still see “through a glass, darkly.” The reasons that even when we hear God, we do not have as clear an understanding as we think are many. An example from my own life might help.
There are many positions on which century the Book of Mormon originated in, but most seem to fall into two general camps: the book was largely produced in the fifth century by Moroni, or in the nineteenth century by Joseph Smith.
There is a third view: the text was largely produced in the 20th century by committees of LDS Church employees.
On January 23, 1833 in Kirtland Ohio, Joseph Smith met for the first time with a select group of members in what he termed the “School of the Prophets.” It was an attempt to improve both theological and secular learning and included such teachings as the Lectures on Faith and Hebrew lessons by a paid Jewish scholar. There was another branch of this school in Independence, MO under the direction of Parley P. Pratt, and several schools of the Prophets were organized by Brigham Young during the time that he was President of the Church. These were held in Salt Lake City, Provo, Logan, Brigham City, Spanish Fork, Nephi, Ephraim, American Fork, and Ogden.
It’s extremely unfortunate that this early emphasis on theological study was discontinued in the Church. Latter-day Saints are quick to brag that they have no paid ministry, but they have no trained ministry, either. Let us take a quick look at the opportunities for religious education offered by the Church. Continue reading…
I revisit an old topic that is becoming increasingly relevant, especially in a culture where not only is bad called good and vice versa, but where neither is called anything. Indeed, we see this same element in part within our own theology where, as Joseph taught, “some things that are right under one circumstance might be wrong in another.” Our theology needs (and fortunately, has) a set of “inner controls” to keep its wild force in check and therefore, retain its usefulness to the world. Continue reading…
Witness the almost meltdown of Bear Stearns a few months ago, the nationalization of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the new meltdowns of Lehman Bros. and Merrill Lynch, the bailout of insurance giant AIG? I have a little training in economics so for those of you that need a clear explanation, here it is—this was caused by greedy people who loosened rules to get more money, and expected the taxpayer to bail them out if there was any trouble.
What we have is another classic Book of Mormon last days parallel as pointed out by Samuel in Helaman 13. Continue reading…
The following article is interesting and asks a fascinating question.
Coincidently, the following is excerpted from a post I wrote independent of the above article on my own blog two weeks ago (September 6), entitled “Becoming More Chaste in Thought and Deed“.
Relying on, seeking, finding and responding to the Spirit is much like weightlifting. Not only is it a process that takes a great deal of effort and practice to learn and strengthen in, it also appears to exhaust people, much like hard physical labor exhausts the physical body, or hard mental work exhausts the mind.
Most people have limits to the Spiritual strength and energy they can bring to bear and the amount of time they can bring that energy to bear. This process and a lack of appreciation for it leads to issues and habits:
We all attend church for various reasons, and in reality, no church can be all things to all people. Plus, what you get out of church is what you put into it. So, the purpose of this post is to ask: What’s most important to you? Continue reading…
Here is an idea that has been kicking around in my head for many years. I thought I would 
see if I could really articulate it and get some feedback.
Premise: Feeling guilt is an excuse for not repenting. Continue reading…
What do Superman and Spiderman have to do with Mormon history? Nothing at all. But maybe something about the two characters relates to the way people look at historical figures. Continue reading…
Here’s how the bedtime ritual usually goes at my house. After baths are finished, hair is combed and teeth are brushed, my family gathers for evening prayers. Each of my daughters takes a turn, with the oldest (7 years old) usually volunteering to go first. Without fail, her short prayers contain the following elements: (i) expressions of gratitude for “this day” and “our friends,” (ii) a request for a blessing that she have a “good night’s sleep,” (iii) a request that the Lord help us “find a new house” (we’re house hunting at the moment), and (iv) pleading that she and her sisters finally get a dog (FWIW — no deity is powerful enough to make me want a dog). Then strategy kicks in . . .
I served my mission in Quebec in the mid 1970’s and hate to admit it but spent more time studying Church history and doctrine than I did teaching the Gospel. I was a lousy missionary. Our Mission President was Wayne Owens a Neal Maxwell protégé who was very lax with rules and our work regimen. Incidentally my companion during those years was Lyn Jacobs who was to become an associate of Mark Hoffman. Jacobs acted as front man for Hoffman in the 1980’s and was the individual who sold the Church the Salamander Letter so as to deflect attention from Hoffman. He has always claimed he knew nothing of the forgeries Continue reading…
Believers and non-believers. The faithful and the doubters. Religious conservatives and religious liberals. TBMs and NOMs. These are ways we describe the differences in our faith and activity in our religious tradition. These variations are not unique to Mormonism. The patterns of faith development have been documented across all religions and cultures. How does an institutional church serve and support both groups? How does it care for the ninety and nine, without neglecting the one? Can it go after the one without neglecting the ninety and nine?
So as one who utterly lacked a life, I did what most good, quality no-lifers do…go to graduate school. Traumatic. The structures that I had known all my life crumbled beneath my feet. Assumptions, core values, and folk beliefs were attacked at every turn by friend and foe alike. Before too long, I just didn’t know what to believe anymore…the earth was shaking underneath my feet… Continue reading…
This past Sunday, we attended a different ward for a relative’s baby blessing. This particular ward is located in a newer large development along the Wasatch Front, and was filled with young families and children (this one has three primaries. Three). There was a constant drone of babies and toddlers that very nearly drowned out anyone at the pulpit. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Continue reading…
This comment is from SilverRain. I found it here.
“Brainwashed” is probably ranked with the weakest possible arguments. If I say you’re brainwashed, I can ignore the chance that someone might be able to disagree with me and have a valid point. If I can relegate you to a pat little category, I don’t have to listen. A little wake-up call, folks: it could be easily said that we are all brainwashed. We are all products of our environment. Quit name-calling and try—just try—to understand another person’s point of view for once. You might find yourself stretching and growing. You might even find yourself becoming wise.
Two related comments: Continue reading…
