Monthly Archives: April 2010

A Rational Theology Part 1: Scientists and Apologists

April 14, 2010
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A Rational Theology Part 1: Scientists and Apologists

While looking through the bookshelves of a close relative, I discovered a rather significant library of old Mormon books. Most of these books were published from around 1900-1950. As one who loves to read about all things Mormon related, I was the proverbial “kid in a candy shop.” One book that jumped out at me was “A Rational Theology” by John A. Widstoe. The full text of the book can be found here. I’d like to do a series of posts pulling interesting gems from this book and contrasting them with our modern conceptions in the church. Some of...

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Giving Back His Name

April 13, 2010
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Giving Back His Name

“Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be called at the last day; And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.” (3 Nephi 27:5-6)

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The Gospel of Mammon – Chapter One: Money Changers & the Great and Spacious Building

April 12, 2010
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A translation. Of an ancient record. Written by the hand of its author. CHAPTER 1 1. And now it came to pass that on the Sabbath the Lord of Mammon did go up towards the temple. And he did look upon all the money changers who were selling their goods in the region roundabout, and he was well pleased. 2. And now behold, when the money changers saw the Lord of Mammon approaching, they were sore afraid. For they...

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Mormon Vegetarianism

April 11, 2010
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Mormon Vegetarianism

Brett Wilcox lives in Sitka, Alaska, with his wife and their four children.  As a Licensed Professional Counselor, Brett works with Alaskan adolescents in an experiential based wilderness program. Brett suffers from the delusion that his forthcoming fantasy novel will propel him into fame, fortune, movie deals, and the White House. Contact Brett at: brett@vpp.com or befriend him on Facebook. The edited essay below can be viewed as it was originally published at vegsource.com. Sacrament meeting is definitely NOT the best place to come out of the closet. But by the time I made the announcement, I no longer...

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Sailing Single-Handed: A Navigation Guide for Single Latter-day Saints

April 9, 2010
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Sailing Single-Handed: A Navigation Guide for Single Latter-day Saints

The following is an excerpt from Sailing Single-Handed: A Navigation Guide for Single Latter-day Saints, by Christopher P. Halloran. Every four years, a small group of men and women gathers in the Vendée region of western France to begin a three-to-four month sailing race around the world. Each of them will make the voyage alone, single-handed, in a 60-foot-long monohull yacht.

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Guest: A Survey of Mormon Culture and Belief by Matt W.

April 8, 2010
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Matt W. from NCT has been working on a Survey of Mormon Culture and Belief.  He has agreed to guest post the survey here.  The final analysis will be over at www.newcoolthang.com so be sure to visit there to see the results.  Ok, so here is our new survey, which focuses on Mormon culture and beliefs. The triple focus of this survey is to measure faith commitment, church engagement, as well as cultural belief on a variety of topics. The survey is 60 questions in length, and so may take as long as 6 minutes to complete. Some of...

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The God of the OT vs. the Golden Calf

April 8, 2010
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The God of the OT vs. the Golden Calf

OT SS Lesson #14 Sometimes I have a hard time with the Jehovah of the Old Testament. I’m not always sure how much of the anger, retribution, and striking people dead for their sins came from Him, or from the interpretation of His will by the designated prophet.

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Joseph and Muhammad

April 7, 2010
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Joseph and Muhammad

I have been fascinated by other religions! The cultures, customs, and beliefs vary wildly from religion to religion, and yet, so many have common threads, stories, and ideals. I recently read a biography of Muhammad “Muhammad, A Prophet For Our Time” by Karen Armstrong. It was a fascinating read and I learned a great deal about this ancient prophet. I must admit that most of my thoughts while reading the book revolved around the parallels to Joseph Smith and the early saints. Frankly, I find the similarities startling in one sense, and yet unsurprising in another. On the one...

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Comparing Religious Observance: Mormons and Jews

April 6, 2010
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Comparing Religious Observance: Mormons and Jews

I thought it would be interesting to map the religious observance of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) and the Jews. I’ve recently heard some podcasts and read some posts talking around this issue, so I thought, since I have at least one foot in each religion, I might give it a try.

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Patience?

April 5, 2010
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I have been thinking of a friend’s sister recently.  She methodically broke every chair, save one, in her parent’s house.  She was very large, felt entitled to (a) sit in unbroken chairs and (b) not sit in the reinforced “fat” chair.  So, without any malice, but in accord with her feelings of entitlement and self fulfillment, she broke all the furniture, without apologies. Too often it seems that we do something similar, in search of our own fulfillment (as we define it).  We not only fail to endure well, we do not endure at all. Think about that the...

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Temple Recommend Assumptions

April 5, 2010
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Temple Recommend Assumptions

Maybe it was an upcoming family wedding.  Or maybe it came out some other way.  Have you ever been in a situation when you became aware that someone who had been endowed no longer had a Temple Recommend?

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If Easter Be Not True

April 4, 2010
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If Easter Be Not True

I’ve learned a few things from teaching swimming lessons to tiny children for over 30 years. One of the most obvious is that some kids have a screeching fear of being put on their back.  No matter how much you try to reassure them, they don’t trust the water (or their teacher, or even their mom!) to hold them up.  You can demonstrate, you can show them other kids who can do it, you can bribe, coerce, cajole.  But it takes a while for these skeptical ones to learn to relax, lay their head back, get their ears wet,...

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Conference Moments

April 3, 2010
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Conference Moments

To get you in the mood, I’m sending some of my favorite Conference Moments from the past, in no particular order.  Join me and share some of yours in the comments!

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Increased Civility in Our Conversations

April 2, 2010
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On this Good Friday, I want to make a request based on a wonderful post I read over at By Common Consent by one of my favorite writers, Russell Arben Fox.  It is entitled “Friday Reflections on Mormonism and the Cross” – and it can be read in its entirety at the following link: http://bycommonconsent.com/2010/04/02/friday-reflections-on-mormonism-and-the-cross/ I am going to include my own thoughts on that post – then take this post in a very different direction.

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Radical Retention

April 2, 2010
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Our guest poster, Jason M. Brown is a life-long ‘Niblian’ Mormon who grew up in Southern California. He served an LDS mission from 2001-2003 in the Dominican Republic, Santiago Mission. He attended Brigham Young University where he studied anthropology and international development. He is currently working on two master’s degrees at Yale University in Forestry and Theology. Jason is also regular contributor to The Mormon Worker Blog, www.themormonworker.wordpress.com and The Mormon Worker Newspaper, www.themormonworker.org. He can be reached at jason.brown@yale.edu I’ve been kicking this post around in my mind for a while now so it came as no surprise when...

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What makes a good home teacher?

April 1, 2010
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Nope, not April Fools. I have mixed feelings about my experiences with home teaching. My father taught me from an early age about visiting the widows, the less fortunate, those who did not fit in with the Saturday golf games. We probably went every month, and usually had a message, but we also spent a lot of time helping these people move, chopping up wood in backyards, and just talking. I watched my father care for these people. When a few members questioned his politics when he was called to be our bishop, I knew that politics had nothing...

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The Seder, Social Justice, and Leroy Jessop

April 1, 2010
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The Seder, Social Justice, and Leroy Jessop

OT SS Lesson #13 At a Passover Seder this week, President Barack Obama’s message to American Jews focused on social justice. Obama said that the message of the Exodus teaches of oppression to be fought and freedom to be won, and that we all have a responsibility to fight against suffering and discrimination wherever we find it. Some Jewish journalists discussing the remarks saw them as a veiled reprimand against Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory. Others heartily agreed that Jews should be particularly sensitive to oppression. The American Prospect’s Adam Serwer enthused: “I’ve viewed Passover as an opportunity not...

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