KC Kern is a multi-generational Mormon and a current BYU student. He is studying Information Systems at the Marriott School of Management, and will be graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science degree this August. After graduation, he will be moving to the Bay Area in California to work as a systems analyst with Accenture, Ltd (formerly Arthur Andersen Consulting.) KC was born in Massachusetts, but spent nearly a decade growing up in Europe: 6 years in Belgium, 1 year in France, and 2 years in Germany. He spent his teenage years in Sandy Utah, and served a full-time mission in Seoul, Korea. He brings to the table an overall traditional, yet thoughtful, perspective on Mormonism, and a deep affinity for the Scriptures. His other internet-based project is BookofMormonOnline.Net, a technology-enhanced presentation of the Book of Mormon text. Author Profile: KC Kern
KC Kern is a multi-generational Mormon and a current BYU student. He is studying Information Systems at the Marriott School of Management, and will be graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science degree this August. After graduation, he will be moving to the Bay Area in California to work as a systems analyst with Accenture, Ltd (formerly Arthur Andersen Consulting.) KC was born in Massachusetts, but spent nearly a decade growing up in Europe: 6 years in Belgium, 1 year in France, and 2 years in Germany. He spent his teenage years in Sandy Utah, and served a full-time mission in Seoul, Korea. He brings to the table an overall traditional, yet thoughtful, perspective on Mormonism, and a deep affinity for the Scriptures. His other internet-based project is BookofMormonOnline.Net, a technology-enhanced presentation of the Book of Mormon text. Author Archive for KC Kern
Last week, I graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems. In an attempt to make this post more than a self-congratulatory indulgence, I’d like to take a moment to represent myself as the “token BYU student” here at Mormon Matters, and offer my thoughts and perspectives about my BYU experience.
I took a fairly typical course: I lived in the dorms (Deseret Towers) as a freshman, took two years off for a mission, came back, got serious about a Major program, and finished it up in 3 additional years (plus some spring and summer classes.)
Overall, I am very pleased with my BYU experience, and look upon it in overwhelmingly positive light. If I may, I’d like to highlight a few of the outstanding parts. Continue reading…
18 Comments
For many Utah latter-day saints, Olympic season brings with it a sense of deep nostalgia. It was six years ago that the world focused in on the Wasatch front, and that the Church began on what would become a path of increasing media attention. However, long before 2002, Mormons had already enjoyed some time in the Olympic spotlight. In 1984, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performed at the “Tribute to the Stars” gala preceding the summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. At those games, LDS church member Peter Vidmar earned two golds and a silver. Continue reading…
From the earliest days of primary, latter-day saints are taught that the proper pronouns to use while praying are “thee,” “thou,” “thy,” and “thine,” and that the common “you,” “your,” etc. are disrespectful and should be avoided. When we turn to the scriptures, we see that “thee” and “thou” are used freely, and we come to associate the words with religious settings and appeals to deity. Continue reading…
The seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew begins with:
“Judge not, that ye be not judged.”
Michelangelo, one of most prominent figures of the Renaissance’s A-List, is famous for his sculptures and his frescoes, nearly all of which depicted religious themes. The ceiling and walls of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican are possibly his most well known and celebrated works (perhaps rivaled only by The David.) Commissioned by and under the close supervision of Pope Julius II, Michelangelo was essentially acting as an agent of the Catholic Church. What I find most interesting though, is that when we carefully look at his art, we find depictions and representations of things that are *not* part of the theological tenants of Catholicism, but are in fact congruent with certain teachings and beliefs of Mormonism. Continue reading…
Ezra Taft Benson taught that “the Book of Mormon … was written for our day. The Nephites never had the book; neither did the Lamanites of ancient times. It was meant for us. … Each of the major writers of the Book of Mormon testified that he wrote for future generations. … If they saw our day and chose those things which would be of greatest worth to us, is not that how we should study the Book of Mormon? We should constantly ask ourselves, ‘Why did the Lord inspire Mormon (or Moroni or Alma) to include that in his record? What lesson can I learn from that to help me live in this day and age?’ ” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 5; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 6).
The Word of Wisdom has come to be a central and defining tenant of the Mormon faith. The phrase “don’t drink, don’t smoke” is almost universally included in a description of Mormon values or behaviors. Perhaps due to its clear-cut nature (or at least the clear cut nature of its prohibitions, not its recommendations) the Word of Wisdom has nearly been elevated to the status of the commandment of commandments.
But anyone who has actually bothered to read D&C 89 will know that the Word of Wisdom was given “not by commandment or constraint”, but as just what it claims to be—“a word of wisdom.” September 9, 1851 is usually cited as the day that it became a commandment, when Brigham Young declared it binding on the saints. What seems to have slipped the general membership’s body of conventional knowledge, however, is that the Word of Wisdom did not attain its status as the indispensable, orthodoxy-defining regulation that we now know it as until many decades later, under Heber J. Grant. Continue reading…
Ben Stein is prominently featured in an upcoming documentary called “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,” where he takes a stab a neo-darwinism, and seeks to bring increased legitimacy to the intelligent design camp. The creation vs. evolution debate is of course nothing new to Mormons, as the early and mid 20th century saw a good deal of postulation and debate on this matter among LDS Church leaders. Typically, Mormons seem generally untroubled by the issue, often finding resolution with “religion tells us why, science tells us how.” Mormons tend to be willing to accept the fossil record and the geological data all while acknowledging the role of a Creator, but without apologizing for the Genesis account. I perceive that latter-day saints figuratively sit back, munch on popcorn, and enjoy the show as the young-earth-creationist-evangelicals duke it out with the secular darwinists. Continue reading…
1 Kings Chapter 18 tells the story of Elijah and the priests of Baal. We read that Elijah and Ahab confront each other, and Elijah challenges Ahab’s new god, Baal, and his priests in showdown of divine power. After the priests are unable to summon Baal’s power to burn their scarified offering, Elijah succeeds in doing so by engaging the powers of heaven. Everyone learns a good lesson about not trusting in idols and the need to serve God, but a rather disconcerting detail about what Elijah does next is often overlooked. Continue reading…
Let’s play a little game. In order to be eligible to play, you MUST NOT be a current viewer of American Idol. If you are familiar with any of the contestants on season 7, consider yourself disqualified. This game is actually more of an experiment in cultural image identification. Consider these top 12 contestants on American Idol. Two of them are Mormon. Can you guess which ones?
The bloggernacle has seen a good deal of political chatter this past year. Mormons have typically been political active, and are usually pretty predictable voters. While the Church emphatically asserts its political neutrality, it is no secret that the Mormon political mold spells something along the lines of socially conservative Republican, with an aversion to those naughty “liberal democrats.” Given the apparent link between religion and political leanings, I find it very worthwhile to turn to the scriptures in order see what political directives we might find there.
Not too long ago I came across an interesting passage in the New Testament that caught my attention and gave me pause. It is found in the obscure book of Titus, chaper 1 verse 15, which reads: “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.”
I read it over a few times, trying to make sense of it…trying to see if it was saying what I thought it was saying. Continue reading…
This past wave of media attention on Mormonism has not been very kind. In a number of venues and outlets, ranging from national network news, to the mainstream newspapers, to blogs and Youtube, many Mormon beliefs have been lampooned for their oddities and eccentricities as they came to the forefront of public awareness. Often times the portayal was something to the effect of “Mormons are nice, hardworking ethical people, but their belief system is nothing more than a hodgepodge of 19th century fantasy mixed with some biblical overtones.”
However I recently came across a very interesting news spot from ABC News (thanks to templestudy.com for the lead) which featured a world-renowned Anglican Bishop and theologian named Tom Wright, who is a leading New Testament scholar. In it, Bishop Wright challenges the simplistic Christian idea of heaven and hell, and explains that he (and the New Testament) is much more concerned with what happens after the spiritual realm termed “heaven,” like a resurrection, and a renewal of the earth. Those familiar with Mormon theology will notice some uncanny parallels to his analysis, and it might give rise to the need to reassess how “kooky” Mormon beliefs are. You can watch the clip here (pardon the ad), or read the story here. Continue reading…
As a current BYU student, I am bound by the “honor code,” a document that all students are required to sign in order to enroll. (Link here) While BYU has stressed the importance of a wholesome environment since the Karl Mäser days, it wasn’t until the 1940’s that an official document was drafted, primarily with the goal of promoting academic honesty and curbing cheating on campus. At the time, it was sponsored by more or less a student club, but apparently it was successful enough that President Wilkinson saw fit to officially adopt it, and eventually it became applied more broadly, and its scope expanded to include regulations regarding chastity, ecclesiastical endorsement, dress, grooming, curfews, and substance consumption. Today the honor code is an intrinsic element of the BYU community, and all those who attend or are employed by BYU are expected to abide by it. Continue reading…
Continuing the disclosure of my musical hobbies, I enjoy playing the piano. I haven’t taken lessons for several years, but I’ve got a nice little Yamaha keyboard in my room, and I often load up an iTunes playlist and jam along. So when it comes to contemporary music, I tend to have a soft spot for artists who successfully use the piano as their lead instrument—the obvious examples being Billy Joel and Elton John. There has been a quiet alternative movement in the contemporary music scene that has developed into what is termed “piano rock,” led by such artists as Coldplay, Keane, Ben Folds, Something Corporate, and others. One such artist that has particularly caught my attention is John Ondrasik, who goes under the stage name “Five for Fighting.” His 2006 album called “Two Lights” features a single called “The Riddle.” This song’s lyrics (published at the bottom of this post) explore a number of ideas, all relating to the theme of discovering the purpose of life. As I carefully studied the lyrics and read along with the song, I became aware that it has some very profound spiritual overtones, and some implications that are strikingly congruent with Mormon theology.
Anyone who has ever set foot in Deseret Book should recognize the name Chris Heimerdinger. His signature novel, “Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites,” was the first in what became a sizable collection of LDS fiction targeted primarily at a young Mormon market.
Now, he steps into the film making arena with his new feature film: “Passage to Zarahemla.” Chris uses his time-tested narrative device of modern characters converging in one way or another with scriptural settings and events to tell the story of Kerra and Brock, two young people who somehow collide with a parallel universe which brings them into contact with the ancient world of the Nephites, Lamanites, and Gadianton Robbers. This movie seems to find its place in an as-of-yet unfilled void in the LDS film collection, as explained by Sean P. Means of the Salt Lake Tribune:
“Chris Heimerdinger breaks Mormon Cinema’s green Jell-O mold in ‘Passage to Zarahemla,’ ambitiously transposing settings from the Book of Mormon into a stimulating action-adventure drama.”
As a treat for us at Mormon Matters, Chris Heimerdinger agreed to record an interview, in which he tells his story, takes us through his time and experiences as a novelist, describes some of the processes he went through in producing this film, and gives us his take on how it fits within the scope of LDS cinema and culture. Throughout the interview, several noteworthy points come through: Continue reading…
In the latter part of the Book of Mormon, we see a resurgence of the name “Nephi.” First, we have Helaman’s son, Nephi (Helaman 3:21) This Nephi has a son, also named Nephi. (3 Nephi 1:2) He is the one present at the time of the ministry of Christ.
In 4th Nephi however, we’re faced with a tricky ambiguity. We learn that the Nephi here is the father of Amos (4 Nephi 1:19), and it would appear that he is the son of Nephi, the disciple. Our only real clue into who he is comes from the heading of 4th Nephi, which says: Continue reading…
The LDS Newsroom reports:
President Gordon B. Hinckley, who led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through twelve years of global expansion, has died at the age of 97.
President Hinckley was the 15th president in the 177-year history of the Church and had served as its president since 12 March 1995.
The Church president died at his apartment in downtown Salt Lake City at 7:00 p.m. Sunday night from cause’s incident to age. Member of his family were at his bedside. A successor is not expected to be formally chosen by the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles until after President Hinckley’s funeral within the next few days.
A couple Sundays ago in our singles ward, we were reminded on no uncertain terms that if we were not currently enrolled in a BYU religion class, then we should attend an institute class. I have finished all my BYU required religion credits, and as such, fell into the speaker’s target audience. I figured he was probably right and I could benefit from an institute class, so I looked around for what was available. Apparently there was a Stake institute held at the stake center, and also the Orem Institute, located on UVSC campus.
I was able to get a hold of an Orem Institute course catalog, and was surprised to see the variety of classes offered—this wasn’t just the Sunday school rotation curriculum, they had classes like “Dating and Courtship,” “History of the Church part 1 of 3,” “Women of Faith” (which specifically noted “Men Welcome”) and many others. I figured I would go check it out. Continue reading…
I count my enjoyment of film scores as my eccentric musical hobby. While others examine the credits of movie posters looking for actors or directors, I almost without fail look for the “Music By:” line. Some find instrumental or orchestral music terribly boring to listen to, but I feel that it grasps my imagination and makes me a part of the music in a way that typical radio tunes simply can’t.
I suppose that’s why I took such a liking to Brett Raymond’s album entitled “First Light: Scenes From the Restoration.” He explains that the album is is much like the soundtrack to a film—only without the film. It is rather the listener who is charged with the task of mentally generating the visuals to coincide with the sound. The 20 tracks follow the events of the early years of Joseph Smith’s ministry, track 1 beginning with a beautiful opening sequence where one might envision opening credits, and track 2 bringing us to a young Joseph on a quest for spiritual enlightenment. Track 3 continues with some poignant melodies that illustrate the “serious reflection” he went through as he pondered the words of James. Track by track, some in the form of songs, and others as simple instrumentals, this album paints a inspiring, powerful, and passionate picture of the ambiance and atmosphere of the early days of what we know as the restoration. Continue reading…
In 2004, the Church released the long-anticipated “Preach My Gospel” manual, replacing the six discussion manuals and the pink “Missionary Guide.” This was a major development that dramatically changed processes and procedures for full time missionaries. With it, there were many shifts in emphasis and priority, the authorized Missionary Library was altered, and in many aspects, the way missionaries study and obtain information was reformed.I think it is crucial that we understand the role that this manual will have in the Church’s future leaders. In about 10-15 years, the local leadership of the church will be filled with a wave of people who served, studied, and learned using “Preach My Gospel” as their guide. In 50 years, the same will go for the General Authorities. “Preach My Gospel” will have set the groundwork that will influence their interpretation and implementations of policy and doctrine, their concept of the place and purpose of the gospel and the Church, and their ideas of what the “right” ways to do things are. Continue reading…
