Mormon Heretic’s blog post this week, Comparing Correlation with the Supreme Court, inspired me to find out, or try to find, exactly what the manuals and LDS leaders say about teaching lessons from the church-provided lesson manuals. A survey of the manuals and talks as well as the Sunday School website will lead one to the following conclusion: It’s not that clear. Surprised? I didn’t think so.
Since I was a teenager, I noticed when people discussed an issue or topic that was contentious and heated, the typical style was to attack the person and not the topic. This is called argumentum ad hominem. As I became slightly more sophisticated, I realized that, in many cases, one was not simply attacking the character of the other person but simply dismissing their side of the argument by considering that what they were arguing was just not right. In respond to this observation, I coined the phrase, “your opinion is wrong.” My friends and I began to use this…
For some reason, I was thinking about the structure of the New Testament Church after the ascension of the Savior. What is clear is that Peter is the Chief Apostle and the one left in charge by Christ. By LDS theology, Peter held the Keys of the Kingdom as “President of the Church” although two LDS Church Presidents, David O. McKay and Spencer W. Kimball, likened his position more as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. But who succeed Peter after his death? And as a second thought, what of all the doctrine taught by Paul? Did…
What have been your favorite and most difficult Callings you’ve had at Church? In some cases, they may be one and the same, but likely, they are different.
The seventh commandment, Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8) seems like a fairly simple statement on the surface. But, in practice, its interpretation is as wide as the Grand Canyon.
Lesson 17 of the Gospel Principles manual in use today for Priesthood and Relief Society is entitled “The Church of Jesus Christ Today.” Under the heading, “New Revelation from God” is this quote: “…Since that time [the First Vision] the heavens have not been closed. Revelation continues to this day through each of His chosen prophets. Joseph was to be the one to help restore the true gospel of Jesus Christ.” I do believe and accept the Church is receiving inspired counsel from on high. Not just the President, but at all levels down to families and individuals. However, it…
I admire faith
This past week, Judge Vaughn R. Walker in a U.S. District Court ruled California’s Proposition 8 was unconstitutional because it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment of the US Constitution in that “Proposition 8 harms the state’s interest in equality, because it mandates that men and women be treated differently based on antiquated and discredited notions of gender and that fundamental rights may not be submitted to a vote.” (Excerpts from the federal court decision, from the Los Angeles Times Website)
I recently read a piece by Jana Riess on Beliefnet.com “Why Are Mormon Church Meetings So Dull?”. I intended to write an extensive rebuttal on her piece because, frankly, I don’t agree with it. It’s not that I disagree with everything she wrote, it is the implications of some of her points I have a problem with. And, in a point I think is extremely critical to discuss: Is the meeting itself dull or the people who attend it making it dull for themselves? So, rather than a point by point rebuttal, I offer up a few of my own…
A lot has been written about the oppressive symbol of the white shirt in the Church. I wish to offer a more positive view of this article of clothing.
***Updated with Pictures*** This week, my wife and I took a short road trip while my youngest son was at Boy Scout Camp. We went into Wyoming and South Dakota, visiting the Mormon Handcart Visitor’s Center, Devil’s Tower, Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. Each place was impressive and awe-inspiring.
There was a time that each Church building, Meetinghouse, Stake Center and Temple was a unique structure, and, in many cases, very distinctive. For a while now, in order to save money, the Church has been using standard plans for its buildings. Caveat alert: Once you get outside of North America, all bets are off on building design. They seem to be more unique, even the newer ones. What’s interesting is that the leveraging of designs has really been going on since the 1950s. Prior to that, each building was designed and built from the ground up. Looking at the…
A set of random questions to aimlessly ponder on a Friday.
The Prophet Joseph Smith said “ … a prophet was a prophet only when he was acting as such.” (History of the Church, Volume 5:265). This simple statement, made to a “brother and sister from Michigan” has invoked much discussion about when a prophet speaks for the Lord and when he is simply offering good advice.
One thing that has always intrigued me about the English version of the Old Testament were how the names, the Hebrew names, were modified away from a Hebrew pronunciation. Sometimes the names are close and sometimes not even. The key to pronouncing a Hebrew name or any Hebrew word is that he accent is always syllable .
With every calling in the Church, a release comes at some point. With the exception of Apostles and Prophets, death is usually not the circumstance that warrants the release. There seems to be a time frame in some cases like Stake Presidents (9 years), Bishops (5 Years), and Mission and Temple Presidents (3 Years). Most are a few years or so. In the past, it was not usual that a clerk or Bishop might serve 25 years! Or that a Sister might have been in Primary for 50 years! But, nowadays, that is not the case.
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.
I remember when I starting attending Church that many members, mostly woman carried around large white cardboard tote boxes filled with materials, usually for primary or young women. I tried in vain to find a picture of one of these beauties, but they are no longer sold by the Church and nothing came up during my Internet searches. The men, on the other hand, carried authoritative-looking briefcases and not necessarily those in leadership positions. Just like at work. I can’t say that I ever saw a sister with a briefcase!
I wrote a post some time ago on whether they Pharisees were given a bad rap in the New Testament. It can be found here. One of the other bad raps against the Pharisees is that they were more concerned about the performance of the Law than the spiritual meaning of the Law. The story of the Pharisee and the Publican (Luke 18:10- 14) is meant to illustrate the point. Since modern Judaism is the outgrowth of Pharisaical Judaism, the same charge is made of the most observant Jews of our time. More on that a bit later.
To follow on with my post for the past two years, here is this year’s Nepotism in the Church installment. To find the original post, click here. The 2009 update is here.
