According to Arrington and Bitton, “most individual responses of modern Mormons involve a kind of tie with the past”[1] . History is central to the …
Are Mormon Academics Winning the Debate with Evangelicals?
I’ve been reading Terryl Givens book, By the Hand of Mormon. While acknowledging archaeological data isn’t as strong as other aspects of the Book of …
Grace vs. Works: An Oar With Your Name on It?
I just loved John Dehlin’s latest interview with Shawn McCraney. I’ve followed both of their work with great interest for years. They bring up the …
Bad, Worse and Worst
I would like to use Genesis 12 (and an interesting post by Aaron B from BCC) to examine the inverse of Elder Oak’s famous talk …
Putting an Edge on Abraham
OT SS Lesson #9 This story is so very, very familiar to us that I think it’s important to look at it with a fresh …
Wired World Views: Preserving the Other’s Truth
In a February 2, 2008, cover story in New Scientist, Jim Giles asked whether political leanings were genetic:
“Across the land, liberals and conservatives are slugging it out, trying to convince each other that their way of thinking is right. They may be wasting their breath.”
Is God Still Progressing? (Poll Included)
Last month, one of the RS/PH lessons was about the nature of God. Since the lesson was only about a page and a half long, …
Self-Esteem and Sexuality: Another approach to Chastity
I want to take a lead from Hawgrrrl, who recently posted on the value of Sex Education in trying to reduce the rate of unwanted pregnancies …
Home Teaching the Mentally Ill
I posted a longer version of this on my blog. Last month I had the most unusual experience I have ever had in regards to …
Sexual Transgression and the Limits of the Atonement- Guest Madam Curie
Before I was baptized LDS, I had a college boyfriend with whom I was sexually active. At the time, I was under enormous pressure from …
You’re the Bishop: Poll #3
Bishop Bill back with more. We’ve had fictionalized situations in the last two installments with a YW and a YM. Now, let’s have a situation …
The Problem of Unanswered Prayer
A large problem some people have is unanswered prayer. I got to thinking about it again when Jen was writing about someone she knew and …
Where the Lord Annihilates all the Gays
OT SS Lesson #8 “The Genesis passage is very clear, that the sin of Sodom that brought on the destruction of the city was indeed …
Being Grateful for Adversity
My House Burned Down. I Saw The Moon. (Buddhist Poem.) Last week I asked about perspectives on suffering and how they translate into culture. This …
‘God is not an enemy of Human Appetite’: The Church, the Lord and the M-Word
Disclaimer: This post, as you might expect, does contain some overtly sexual references to specific parts of the body that are prominent in human sexuality. …
A Tribute to Charity
My father had a stroke on Wednesday. The artery in his neck is 95% blocked, and he will have surgery to try to correct that …
A Plea To Mormons: Walk A Mile In Palestinian Shoes
Guest Post by Non-Arab Arab BiV’s recent post “Sod, Seed, Salvation: Abrahamic Covenant and the Claim to Palestine” brought me out of my normal lurking. …
Time to Study the Old Testament Again Part 6 – Symbols, Signs, Types and Shadows, and Tokens
“Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses …
Perspectives on Suffering
Why Does Suffering Exist, and How Does our Understanding of Suffering Translate into Our Culture? The desire to avoid suffering is probably one of the …
Sod, Seed, Salvation: Abrahamic Covenant and the Claim to Palestine
OT SS Lesson #7 Sod, seed, and salvation — it’s how I like to describe the Abrahamic Covenant. There were three promises in the covenant. …
The Sacred Made Real: Mormonism, Iconography and the Passion of Christ
A few weeks ago I attended an exhibition entitled ‘The Sacred made Real’ at the National Gallery in London. The collection was focussed on Spanish …
2009 Niblets Results — Analysis
There were 1058 ballots cast in this year’s Niblets voting (counting a ballot as an IP address from which at least one vote was received). …
Joseph Smith Didn’t Believe in Watchers
OT SS Lesson #6 Hidden in our scripture reading for this week is a strange little passage which many modern Biblical scholars say was originally …
You’re the Bishop: Poll #2
Bishop Bill back with your next installment of “You’re the Bishop.” Just to be clear, the examples I am using have been changed enough that …
Separating the Wheat from the Tares
In the parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43), the servant asked the master if the tares should be uprooted and removed. …
From Patriarchy to Eternity
I am going to put this as simply as possible, and let’s start with a definition. Patriarchy is a social system in which the father …
Unbridled Speculation Strikes Again — The Old Testament Series
In the classic Old Testament, Eve has her first child, then her second and one (Cain) kills the other (Able). Cain is cursed to wander. …
Abstainers vs. Indulgers
Mormons dig abstinence. Like many other highly committed Christians, we abstain from premarital sex. But, that’s not all; we also abstain from tobacco, alcohol, coffee, …
Niblets Winners 2009
Niblets voting has now concluded. We hope you have all enjoyed this year’s effort. Join us one week from today to view Ziff’s professional summary!! …