Name: Hawkgrrrl
Posts by Hawkgrrrl:
Groupthink
June 30th, 2009
“Groupthink” is what naturally happens when a group becomes sedentary and sluggish. When change is introduced or new people are introduced, they challenge the “groupthink.” I’ve never seen the word groupthink (when used correctly) as a positive. Does the church suffer from groupthink or just unity (”being one,” and “if ye are not one, ye are not mine.”)? You decide. Read the rest of this entry “
The Genius of Mormonism: Missions
June 22nd, 2009I wanted to do a series of posts on aspects of the LDS church that I consider to be sheer religious genius. These are religous practices or concepts that have given Mormonism its staying power, and when compared to other religions are “best-in-class” (to borrow a term from business). The first practice I will address is full-time missions. Read the rest of this entry “
What is Revelation?
June 16th, 2009Family First?
June 13th, 2009What Makes People Good?
June 8th, 2009Taking the Fun Out of Funerals
June 2nd, 2009What do you want your funeral to be like? Do you care or do you figure you’ll be dead anyway? How do you feel about burial vs. cremation? Are you an organ donor? Read the rest of this entry “
Women are from Venus, Men are from Kolob
May 27th, 2009Bloggernacle Personality Survey
May 23rd, 2009The bloggernacle seems to attract a specific subset of Mormon culture, and as a result, opinions and comments are often different from those we hear expressed at church. One reason for this could be that some personality types thrive in organizations while others are prone to be disenfranchised. A popular metric to determine personality type is the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) or the simplified version of this, the Kiersey Temperament Sorter. These psychometrics are based on the psychology of Carl Jung. Many have already taken this instrument and know their MBTI type or their Kiersey Temperament. If not, you can click on this link and answer a series of short questions to find out your type. (Click the link first, then read on to share your results and find out more). Read the rest of this entry “
The Problem with Tolerance
May 19th, 2009The church has a history of high level leaders making sweeping pronouncements that are later deemed incorrect, speculative, or unauthorized, yet in each case, church leaders are reluctant to make public correction of those presumptions. This tolerance sometimes results in dogmatic voices flourishing, drowning out those same tolerant voices that have graciously granted them access to the open mic. Read the rest of this entry “
Mormon Masks
May 11th, 2009Often people have a hard time with intimacy (intimacy = “into me see”) because they feel vulnerable. They would rather deal with ideas than people, and they don’t want others to see who they are. They might feel insecure or care what others think of them. People who feel this way wear what we call social masks to hide who they are and present a facade instead of their true self to others. And sometimes, the mask people wear is the church. Read the rest of this entry “
Botched Hymns
May 7th, 2009We are all familiar with this phenomenon. You’re listening to a song you’ve heard many times, and you think you know the lyrics, but you don’t really. And often our mistaken lyrics radically change the meaning of the song. Read the rest of this entry “
April 2009 General Conference – Word Stats
May 3rd, 2009More Christ At Church
April 30th, 2009The mission of the church is to bring people to Christ (it is not the tri-fold mission of proclaim the gospel, perfect the saints and redeem the dead). Yet many members feel that the focus on Christ is missing in our weekly worship. So, what’s the best way to bring Christ back to the center of our Sundays? Read the rest of this entry “
Scripture Study: The Joy of My Countenance
April 22nd, 2009There is a strange parable in D&C 88 about workers digging in a field and their boss giving them the joy of his countenance for an hour during their shift. Read on to weigh in what you think this means. Read the rest of this entry “
Scripture Study: What’s Expedient?
April 14th, 2009I’d like to start a new feature showcasing stuff I read in the scriptures and getting your opinions on what the heck you think it means. Hope you like it. I just read D&C 88 and ran across an interesting passage we’ve all heard/read before in vv. 64 and 65 that begs the question: What’s expedient? Read the rest of this entry “
Faith vs. Doubt
April 9th, 2009“Faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other.” Read the rest of this entry “
The Problem with Whistleblowers
March 30th, 2009A whistleblower is someone internal to an organization who alleges misconduct. So, what if the organization is the church? Does the church handle whistleblowers effectively or not? If so, how? If not, why not? Read the rest of this entry “
Battlestar Galactica Series Finale Review: SPOILER ALERT
March 21st, 2009OK, I realize that the majority of our regular readership are probably not BSG watchers; however, since the reimagined series is based on the original late-1970s series created by Glen Larson, who used it as a vehicle for Mormon themes and theological musings, it’s likely that there are Mormons (beside me) who followed this much bleaker (and a gazillion times better) version. This post is ONLY for those who have seen the Series Finale; it not only contains spoilers but is incomprehensible if you haven’t followed the show or watched the finale. If this isn’t you, go rent the DVDs first, and we’ll see you in a few months. EXTREME SPOILER ALERT. Read the rest of this entry “
Strange Bedfellows
March 20th, 2009One aspect of the church that makes me nervous at times is the alliances we form when our interests coincide with other groups, whether this is in the political realm (as is often the case), or even at times in interfaith work we undertake. Read the rest of this entry “
Does Tom Hanks Hate Mormons?
March 11th, 2009Tom Hanks is a beloved actor to many Mormons for his family-friendly roles and everyman quality. Yet, his recent negative remarks (and hasty retraction) calling Mormons who supported Prop 8 “unAmerican,” and his role as executive producer on Big Love which is about to air the most sacred Mormon ritual on television begs the question: Does Tom Hanks hate Mormons? Read the rest of this entry “
Mormon Art – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
March 5th, 2009From the misguided and ill-conceived to the hurl-worthy, why is there so much bad Mormon Art? Do Mormons have worse artistic taste than non-Mormons? Or just on par? You be the judge. I’ve included various works of art below, all by Mormon artists. Some I like and some I don’t. See what you think. Read the rest of this entry “
Go to Church or Die!
March 2nd, 2009A recent article in Time discusses several studies about the correlation between faith and health. Does church attendance contribute to a healthier, longer life? Is Mormon culture more or less health-promoting than other faiths? Read the rest of this entry “
The Stories We Tell
February 25th, 2009Jesus for President!
February 18th, 2009Many view the Second Coming as a time when Jesus will personally and politically reign, not just host lamb & lion mixers. So what do you think? Will Jesus govern politically? Or is the notion that Jesus will govern politically more of the same wishful thinking that people had the first time around when they thought the Messiah would free them from political oppression by the Romans? (Weren’t they disappointed!) Read the rest of this entry “
Creeds of the Creedless
February 13th, 2009The restoration was essentially based on a rejection of the creeds of Christendom which were declared “an abomination” and “those professors were all corrupt; that: ‘they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.” So, are all creeds bad or just those specific creeds? Are there creeds in Mormonism or is it a creedless religion? Read the rest of this entry “
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