Okay, so our meetings are dull. Complaining about it is dull. I’ve been wondering though, what about the wards that have better meetings? What makes them better? Whenever this topic arises, people want to toss around blame. Either the church or the individual members are responsible. After all, if the church is run by God, if the meeting is boring it must be YOUR fault. I think there may be some truth to that.
accountability
The constraints of agency: Your neighbor and your neighborhood
Albert Bandura defines agency is “the capacity to exercise control over the nature and quality of one’s life.” We have freedom to make choices, and we are responsible for (the agent of) what we choose. Exactly how responsible are we for our actions? What influences to make decisions? Home life? Community influences? Abuse? Emotionally dismissive parenting? An unfortunate genetic tendency? Are we always (or ever) 100% responsible?
The Fallibility of Infallibility
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.
Limiting Revelation: The LDS Concept of Stewardship
OT SS Lesson #15 A scripture in the Doctrine & Covenants encourages us to “be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness.” But I’ve noticed that there is a concept that is widespread in the LDS Church which tends to limit our engagement in good causes and even, on occasion, the righteous seeking of revelation. This is the idea of stewardship.
Kudos to the Church!
We spend a lot of time in the bloggernacle analyzing, critiquing, and otherwise discussing the church and its culture. I think there is value in this for those of us who need this type of engagement. However, Mormonism (like many other religions) is a topic that few are able to dispassionately discuss. Some of us lean toward criticism, others toward apologizing. I do not know how those in the b’nacle (those who actually read what I write) perceive me, but my posts are not exactly oozing with praise most of the time!
White and Delightsome or Pure and Delightsome? (Cognitive dissonance 2)
I’m 1/16 th Chippewa and don’t even look a little Indian! I figure from my knee down is pure Chippewa and for whatever reason I am pretty proud of that. In the afterlife if possible I would like that section preserved if God sees fit. Below is my Great Grandmother and Grandmother — you can see even from one generation to the next how things change.
Top 10 Reasons for and Alternatives to Viewing Porn
Porn is a subject that irritates many members. Some wish it didn’t have to be discussed as much as it is, while others think it doesn’t have to be discussed as much as it is. (Maybe there are some who wish it was discussed more than it is, but that’s a completely separate issue.) I want to take a very different look at it by explaining the Top Ten Reasons I can think of to view it – and the Top Ten alternatives for me personally. This post is not primarily a religious one; rather, it is a practical...
A Marital Confession
A recent visit at FMH and John Dehlin’s Mormon Stories interview with fmhLisa (Butterworth) has made me realise something about myself that I am not very proud of. Therefore, in the spirit of a post I wrote for another blog, I want to confess something. I am sexist.
Interfaith Marriages by guest Madam Curie
A recent post by Cr@ig on Main Street Plaza caused me to reflect on the strength of interfaith marriages. I had hoped to generate a follow-up post on this topic at MSP. However, since the comments on the Cr@ig’s post devolved into a blame game of whether the believer or non-believer was more responsible for marital dissolution, I decided it was probably best to avoid a second opportunity for mud-slinging. Differences in religious belief can be the death knell to a marriage. For that reason, many organized religions strongly advocate against being “yoked with unbelievers”. This is not only...
Obedience or Natural Law?
There is an interesting character on Youtube who calls herself “The Non-Muslim Hijabi”. She wears a head scarf even though she’s not Muslim. I felt a kinship with her, since I’m a Non-Mormon Word of Wisdom follower, and generally live all the other commandments. (The lifestyle teachings, not the ordinances.) In one of her videos, the Non-Muslim Hijabi said something like, ‘Don’t just do something because the Koran says so. Find out the reasons for yourself and do it because you feel the benefits.’ One Muslim woman responded, ‘What is wrong with doing it only to show your obedience...
Is a “believing heart” really a positive attribute?
I would like to introduce Madam Curie which many of you know her by on her replies at Mormon Matters she also has her own blog Third Wave Mormon . She has shared with us what I think is a very interesting and thought provoking article. Is a “believing heart” really a positive attribute? “Blessed are those that have not seen, and yet have believed.” – John 20:29 “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” – Hebrews 11:1 Having a “faithful” or “believing” heart is greatly prized among the...
Temple Wedding Petition
A temple wedding petition to is being circulated to promote love and happiness in the family by changing the church’s stance on civil marriages preceding temple weddings. The petition requests that the leadership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints make it acceptable to have a civil marriage ceremony first, if desired, and then giving the couple the necessary time to attend the temple for the sealing ordinance as they do in those countries whose laws require it. (The petition is not endorsed by Mormon Matters; this information is being shared for discussion as a news item). In...
What is the Final Destination for Apostates and Ex-Mormons?
I’ve always taken it as a given that Mormonism’s view of the afterlife shuffle has always been more universalizing than most of the other alternatives. Our formulation of heaven intuitively accommodates for the varying levels of understanding people can achieve in this life and in the spirit world: instead of a binary — heaven and hell — we have glories of heaven. So, we can safely say that although most people aren’t Mormons, most people won’t go to “Hell,” or at least, not the kind of Hell that many non-LDS religious people want to posit for nonbelievers of their...
Vagueness as a Gospel Principle
“For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;” (D&C 58:26 – 27)
Liken All Scriptures: Matthew 7:1-2
Please explain your answer.
On Agency and Accountability: An Inter-dependent View
Jeff Spector wrote a post on Agency a few months ago which I enjoyed alot. The discussion led me down a slightly different path and I wanted to write a supplement to his ideas in light of some of my own thoughts on agency and how they relate to accountability. My major contention is that the notion of individual accountability is a fallacy, or, perhaps more accurately, it is not the whole story.
How Our Families Can Help Families Around the World Escape Poverty
A year ago my wife and I were struggling to find ways to teach our children the importance of helping those in need, and lamented the fact that despite our knowing there are millions of families around the world who need help, we felt virtually powerless to make any significant difference in their lives. And although we were grateful for the opportunity to make monetary donations to the Church’s humanitarian program, we felt that writing a check quite wasn’t enough to help our children understand the challenges so many of the world’s families face; nor did it allow our...
Mormons Doing Nasty Things
Are Mormons more often criminals than members of other similar religions? This is a question we will never answer with precision. After all, one’s religion is not asked when booked for a crime. For an accurate assessment of interreligious rates of criminality, such data would be a necessary condition to doing some per-member calculations. However, we might estimate an answer by examining court opinions arising from criminal prosecutions. This method is admittedly a soft proxy. Criminal opinions reflect only a small portion of all criminal prosecutions, and they refer to a defendant’s religion only when it is somehow injected...
The Grand Council in Heaven: Re-interpreting an Archetype
As a fan of Mormon Studies I value the opportunity to discuss and, sometimes, disagree. In this regard, I have been particularly inspired by the vision of J. Bonner Ritchie. He has repeatedly argued for openness and honesty regarding the Mormon Experience. However, I wonder whether Mormon thought really has space for this kind of openness when we retain the LDS version of the pre-mortal Grand Council as our archetypal council meeting?
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