In Maine, Judge Clapp was not pleased. The sarcastic comment he made at an October 6, 1998 custody hearing would get him in trouble. He would ultimately face accusations that he harbored anti-Mormon animus. Well which church? There seems to be a lock on the Mormon Church in this case … which we all know has a lock on family values in the entire world.
Monthly Archives: September 2009
Great Expectations: What Are Your Hopes and Predictions for General Conference?
“It’s the MOST WONderful TIIIME of the YEARRRRRR.” The leaves are starting to change color. The evenings and mornings are a bit crisper. Even the birds’ singing suddenly sounds sweeter than ever. General Conference must be coming this weekend.
Nuclear Disarmament Meets Mormon Patriotism
Lately more and more Church members have begun to wonder why the Church is so supportive of the United States military. We’ve experienced a long tradition of this, beginning with the Mormon Battalion in 1846. When the U.S. Army requested 500 men to join the service in the conflict with Mexico, Brigham Young responded positively despite the fact that our people were in the middle of a forced exodus from the country. This story is proudly retold in our Church lessons and manuals, making it a seminal moment in the formation of our military philosophy. Isolation in the West...
Worthiness Interviews: A Poll
There has been a lot of discussion in the b’nacle about the worthiness interviews routinely conducted by members of the bishopric with the young men and young women. In general, there seems to be some hand-wringing about this practice. In your opinion, is it appropriate for an older man to be alone with a young woman asking her questions about her sexual activity?
In Praise of Elder Packer: ‘Let Them Govern Themselves’
It might just be the posts that I read, but Boyd K. Packer is not the most popular of Apostles in the Bloggernacle (or perhaps among liberal Mormons more generally). I acknowledge that this is a speculative impression. At the very least, I have heard Elder Packer criticised at Sunstone and on the Bloggernacle on a few occassions at least. I was therefore surprised to find one of his sermons published in full in an issue of Sunstone. The talk was insightful, challenging and thought-provoking. As a result I wanted to reproduce some of his comments here that I found most...
Trading Polygamy for Statehood
If one searches around the bloggernacle, you’ll find a snarky comment about how the church traded polygamy for statehood, or that the church just wimped-out on polygamy. Such comments don’t seem to take into account how much pressure the US government was putting on the church–it was literally trying to snuff it out if the church didn’t back down from polygamy. I’d like to get into some of these details leading up to the Manifesto. (This is a shorter version–more details are found here.) I talked about the Manifesto previously in the context of whether the prophet would ever...
The Church and the IRS
Thomas Vaughn Barlow really does not like the IRS. On June 8, 2007, he sent it a letter, which stated: This means that if you do not answer me lawfully and take my money or property or in any way continue to harass me or fail to assure me of my being secure in my persons, houses, papers and effects, that I’m justified in acts of war to balance your terrorism. Do you get it? I will kill any of your agents I can find. I will blow up your buildings. This is war. Barlow is a Mormon. Well,...
“Moderation in All Things”: A Poll
The phrase, “moderation in all things” is a euphemism usually (but not exclusively) associated (by Mormons at least)with the Word of Wisdom. It usually means that we should not go too far, one way or the other, in abstaining to the point of becoming an ascetic or in indulging to the point of becoming an addict. Of course, that leaves lots of room for interpretation and individual opinion, as well as plenty of opportunity for members to judge one another uncharitably.
A Personal Interpretation of Elder Hafen’s Remarks
At the Evergreen conference held September 18-19, 2009, Elder Bruce Hafen gave a talk regarding homosexuality. The talk was reprinted on the official LDS Church Newsroom website. I will not synopsize the talk here but I suggest reading it yourself. Within a very short time, for obvious reasons, the bloggernacle was dissecting and analyzing the speech. These actions generated some interesting discussions here, and one permablogger at FMH did a good job of challenging the less-than-spectacular research here.
‘I really think it would be best if you ended your remarks at this point?’
John Remy posted an interesting blog/video where a man, speaking about his concern with the Church’s practice and policy during the Prop 8 debate, was asked by the Bishop to stop. The man protested and was allowed to finish but the Microphone was turned off. What would make you ask someone to sit down?
Is The Church Sacrificing Principle for Profit With Hunting Preserves?
“To what degree should the principle of ‘respect for life” be extended to bird and animal creations? What do the scriptures, Joseph Smith, and other early Church leaders teach about the grand design and purposes of God’s non-human creations? Does having “dominion” over the kingdom of creatures mean we are their predators and exploiters or does it suggest a “stewardship” relationship in which we become their caretakers in order to help them “fulfill the full measure of their creation?” If the scriptures teach, “woe be unto man that sheddeth blood or wasteth flesh and have no need,” and “the...
The Growing Mormon Sex Abuse Scandal
The chagrin would be immediate from reading these words in a law book: For five years, in defendant’s capacity as a schoolteacher, neighbor, and secretary to the Bishop of the Mormon Church, defendant molested numerous boys in Santa Clara County. As charged in this case, he touched the private parts of four boys who knew him variously as a family friend from church, a teacher in kindergarten and grades two and three, and a home-school religion teacher. So starts People v. Harward . It’s no joke. This language, taken from a real court case, likely sent shivers down the...
Liken All Scriptures: Matthew 7:1-2
Please explain your answer.
LDS Grass-Roots Interpretations of the Eve Archetype
Since Eve is one of the most powerful archetypes for women, it’s not surprising that this story is at the root of many discussions of womanhood. Feminists have generally been dissatisfied with how the biblical Eve story has affected values and attitudes toward women over the centuries. Early exegesis of the creation story became the rationale for rules and regulations guiding women’s behavior. Because Eve was regarded as a source of sin, there was a perceived need to harness the dangerous energy represented by woman. LDS theology has attempted to redefine the symbolic Eve by picturing her as a...
Lessons from the BYU Women’s Conference
Some people know that my wife spoke one year at the conference. What they usually don’t know is that they found my wife because the person in charge knew us from the BYU law school, where the person in charge was an assistant dean. She was kind enough to spend time talking with us about the process, the conference and President Hinckley’s goals. I’ll discuss his most significant goal first.
On Agency and Accountability: An Inter-dependent View
Jeff Spector wrote a post on Agency a few months ago which I enjoyed alot. The discussion led me down a slightly different path and I wanted to write a supplement to his ideas in light of some of my own thoughts on agency and how they relate to accountability. My major contention is that the notion of individual accountability is a fallacy, or, perhaps more accurately, it is not the whole story.
Bringing Out The Delusional
As I am hardly the model of mental health myself, I am generally loathe to describe others as crazy. However, one cannot read all of the American court opinions involving the Mormon Church – as I have been doing over the last year or so – without being struck by how many of them involve individuals who seem a little off. Judging just by the four corners of the written opinions, either these people have problems, or they are getting advice from some very bad lawyers. It raises the question that might be difficult for some Mormons to face:...
“Ich Bin Ein Pioneer”
This post was originally scheduled to appear on Pioneer Day, but I had a bit of an accident and had knee surgery the day before, so I was not able to post it. Since we’ve been discussing pioneers in Sunday School the last couple of weeks, it is, at least, timely for that reason.
LaJauna on Life – Lesson #1: Deserving Charity
Today’s guest post is by LaJauna. Hiya there folks, please allow me to formally introduce myself to you all: My name is LaJauna L. Jentsen, and I’m currently serving as the second-counselor in the Relief Society Presidentcy of the BYU 69th ward. I got wind that Mormon Matters was looking for female authors who could write from a faithful LDS perspective, and I responded to the call because I think I can certainly fit the bill. Not only am I a female, but I also come from a long, long line of pioneer stock that goes all the way...
What Mormon Prisoners Want
In an earlier mormonmatters post (here), I examined the rise of Mormons as criminal defendants in court opinions. Not surprisingly, most LDS criminals do not give up their religious affiliation once they go behind the wall. Instead, they find themselves with plenty of time on their hands. They often use that time to act as their own lawyers. What are the deprivations over which Mormon prisoners have gone to court? How do they compare with other similar American religions?