The following is the second part of the series written for us by David Stout, Disciples of Christ minister, about his perception of LDS worship. The first post can be read here. Again, thank you, David. The second reason (I am interested in the possibility of returning a bit of the former fire of earlier Mormonism to the current church) lifts the service I attended from the background of Mormon history and sets it against the backdrop of the LDS future. As I mentioned parenthetically in my previous post, one of the talks used in the Sacrament Meeting I...
Monthly Archives: April 2009
Mainstream acceptance of the Mormons’ Easter Story?
Around Easter 2004, National Geographic produced a documentary titled In Search of Easter. The producers interviewed a wide range of scholars about the Resurrection story of the Easter celebration. It is an interesting insight into various Resurrection stories found in the Bible. I am always interested in scholarly opinions on religious topics, and nearly fell off the couch when I heard the following on the DVD.
Interesting Observation: Nephi the Socialist
Ever since reading Believing History, I’ve been looking at the Book of Mormon and relating what it says to what it is closest to. Which is why it becomes pretty obvious that Nephi is closest to the socialists.
Symbolism Of the Passover Points to Jesus Christ
The traditional Jewish celebration of the Passover, which started Thursday night, can illustrate the rich symbolism found in the Old Testament and show how the symbolism of the Passover points directly to Jesus Christ. Please note that the original Passover observance is described in Exodus, chapters twelve and thirteen. The modern Seder evolved from this Old Testament event.
Quals or quants?
Today’s post is by The Chorister. I’m an education professor. In academic research, we talk about quantitative research and qualitative research. In order to avoid boring you to death, I offer a simplistic definition of each to explain the difference. Quantitative research is about statistics; it’s about cold hard facts (of course, there’s no such thing, but that’s a discussion for another day). Quantitative researchers use test scores, statistics and surveys to explore research questions. Qualitative research is about words, stories, narratives, meaning, and context. Qualitative researchers use case studies, observations, and interviews to explore research questions. I often...
Is the Gospel really good news?
I receive a daily mailing from a fundie Protestant pastor that details every story that day that he feels is important for Christians to know about. Today’s mailing included such items as: Earthquake Shakes Chile’s Capital, Dengue outbreak in Argentina now ‘epidemic’, Mother kills son with a bullet to back of head at Florida shooting range, and, to my surprise, Gay marriage’ in Iowa more damaging than a 500-year flood! Pretty grim stuff. The pastor calls his daily post All The Good News OF Bible Prophecy. Huh??? Why is any of this stuff good news? I guess, from the...
Faith vs. Doubt
“Faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other.”
Could Life be Inherently Just? The Significance of the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man
It seems like a silly question. We all know life isn’t fair. Its cliché, isn’t it? There is a long time “proof” that God does not exist that goes like this: “If there is a God, how could there be such injustice and evil in the world?” What they really mean is that they can’t rationally fathom the possibility that all the evil and injustice in the world could somehow be part of a greater justice or morality. Without this further explanation, the “proof” is meaningless.
LDS Worship
David Stout, Disciples of Christ minister who wrote a very thought-provoking post for us a few weeks ago, has agreed to write a short series of posts on LDS worship as seen from the outside looking in. This is the first of that series. Thank you, David. Last summer I had the opportunity to attend Sunday services with my girlfriend at her branch. I very much enjoyed myself and found the experience quite reminiscent of my days in evangelical congregations before the mega church phenomenon. The people were very welcoming, they clearly enjoyed being together, and the service and...
Families Forver Naked and Not Ashamed
Mormon Matters Motto is Exploring Mormon culture in a balanced way- so bare with me on this one (excuse the pun).
What’s your position on Euthanasia?
First, we need to go over some definitions, because different organizations have different definitions. The 2 most interesting definitions for me are the LDS church’s definition, and Stanford University’s definition. Let’s look at them.
General Conference Open Thread
Impressions and reactions welcome. Just keep it civil.
The Untold Story of Black Mormons by Guest
When I served a mission in eastern Canada in the early 90s, there were many things I was grateful for (warm boots, wool suits, fairly normal food). But above all, I was grateful that I was sent to a region with very few black people, as I was not looking forward to having to defend something in the Church’s past that had deeply troubled even a relatively immature teenager with a limited knowledge of Church history and doctrine.
Memo To YW Leaders: Thanks, But No Thanks
In our current callings, my wife and I spend a lot of time digging through Church instruction manuals. I teach both the 12/13 year old Sunday School class (weekly) as well as Elders’ Quorum (once a month). My wife serves as the Laurels adviser, and is responsible for teaching at least a couple of lessons per month. Nearly everybody who has served in a teaching capacity can point to some instance in which they have viewed the correlated manual as lacking in some respect, be it too bland, too overly positive in its historical view, or just plain out...
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