As an outsider and newcomer, I must admit that there are just some things about the Bloggernacle that I cannot even begin to grasp. One of the things that I totally missed out on (but which I am slowly scratching the surface about) is the (dark) period of Bloggernacle history regarding the Banner of Heaven. I can’t even begin to comprehend it all, but I am fortunate for the glimpse and expose that Scott B is providing for it. One thing I can’t help but think about is the sheer artistic nature of this undertaking. It is literary,...
Monthly Archives: June 2010
Best and Worst of Mormonism: Primary Songs!
*Note: For my Best and Worst series, my intent is not to be negative for its own sake. Rather, I believe in balance, moderation, and critiquing personal sacred cows. Such is my love/cringe relationship with primary. I first heard the words “Janice Krapp Perry” in the MTC. Perry is the source of quite possibly the best and the worst of what the primary songbook has to offer. Having spent the majority of my post-mission years on the primary piano bench (and/or herding packs of sunbeams), I’m quite familiar with the songs. Here are some keepers… and some kick-to-the-curb-ers!
The Doctrine of Grace: After all we can Do?
The doctrine of grace is one of those things not very well understood within Christianity. While most traditional Christian denominations accept the doctrine of “Salvation by Grace Alone,” The LDS Church stands mostly by itself with a firm rejection of that doctrine. We believe that a combination of a belief in Jesus Christ as Savior, the knowledge and understanding of His Atonement and the resulting good works that emanate from that testimony are necessary for our complete salvation, to return to live with our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ throughout the eternities. Exaltation, we call it.
The Paradox of Organized Charity
Experimental ethics is an area that teaches lessons we may not expect. Some of the lessons make sense. Panhandlers working in front of a bakery are more successful than those next to an open sewer. Our peers affect what we will do. Someone standing around doing nothing makes it less likely someone else will get helped. Participating in organized charity makes people less charitable — it consumes their general allocation of charitable feelings rather than expanding them. That leads to the question of how to encourage kindness if organized activities are often counterproductive.
Patriarchal Hierarchy and the Kingship Model
OT SS Lesson #21 When we lived in Saudi Arabia a few years ago, I obtained a faculty position in the fairly newly-formed department of Health and P.E. at a university which was strictly segregated by gender. The women’s side of the university operated independently, with our own female custodians, technical staff, professors and administration, and very little oversight from the male president. Our department consisted of five women, and we made all decisions collectively, with no titular head. After the first semester I was there, one of our staff meetings was dedicated to the question of whether we...
A Control Freak’s Lament
I’m a control freak. Yep, both professionally, by training, and naturally. I like to be in control of machines, robots, airplanes, my life, my spirituality, my kids, my wife, etc. Some of this is healthy! Some if it is not. Yet, despite my proclivity to control I occassionally find myself in situations where I am not in control of my emotions, my spirituality, etc.
Mormon Therapist on Empty Nesting
Natasha Helfer Parker is a Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist and a member of the Church with 13 years of experience working with LDS members. Here she shares with us representative cases from her practice and insights she has gained from her work as a therapist. She blogs at mormontherapist.blogspot.com. Is it common for one to feel resentful of the other spouse when empty-nesting? All I see in my spouse now are all the wrongs I’ve ever felt. I’m having a really hard time getting over it.
A Schismatic End to the Mormon History Association meetings.
I attended the Mormon History Association meetings in Independence, Missouri this past week. I thought I’d share some pictures. If you’d like to read more about the conference, here are some links to my posts from Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3. CoC Independence Temple at Sunset
Eternal Progress vs. Eternal Increase: A Poll
One of the distinct LDS doctrines is that of eternal progression: the idea that we continue to grow and develop as individuals throughout eternity unless through our own choices we stop progressing. But there are two different interpretations of this doctrine that both seem to be supported by authoritative statements. Are both interpretations correct? Or is one correct and the other incorrect?
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