“The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health” (Add Health), Found that conservative and evangelical Christian teenagers are more sexually active than mainline Protestants, Jews, and even Mormons. On average, white evangelical Protestants begin having sex shortly after turning sixteen, which is sooner than most other groups.
We should gather all the good and true principles in the world and treasure them up, or we shall not come out true Mormons. Joseph Smith
How do we create and maintain unity at church while valuing diversity and avoiding conformity? Do we have to embrace the diversity of those who value conformity? Do we have to unify with those whose diversity gives us the heebie jeebies?
Mormonism has a focus on gaining knowledge that is unique in Christendom, largely due to the emphasis that Joseph Smith placed on learning. Joseph’s total open-mindedness to both revelation and all forms of learning are central to the Mormon religion; this open-mindedness had potential for both good and bad outcomes. The lesson discusses two main concepts: what is “knowledge,” and how do we gain it?
Who wrote this, and why wouldn’t the Correlation Committee allow it to be published today? Every teacher is obligated by his responsibility to others to become a scholar in the gospel.
BH Roberts predicted that if church leaders did not address the historical problems of church origins and possible anachronisms in the Book of Mormon, these problems would eventually undermine “the faith of the Youth of the Church.
Here’s another quote from a discarded Church manual predating Correlation. Who said it and why wouldn’t it fly in today’s Church?: The pragmatic or experimental view of life has penetrated widely into the educational program of America, in the form known as Progressive Education…Most teachers who accept some of these ideas would indignantly reject any suggestion that the universe is naturalistic or Godless, that there are no fundamental moral truths, or that man is really an animal in the ultimate sense.
What is the church to you? A family you must learn to love? A path you must follow? A checklist of items you must do to be saved? Today’s post talks about the church as a tool and is from guest poster Jordan Turner.
Are you ever nervous about turning your friends over to the missionaries? Do you fear you may be subjecting them to a high-pressure time-share sales presentation?
This post is another installment in my “5 Cool Things” series. Today I’m giving a list, again in no particular order, of some things I would love to see happen in the LDS Church (which I attend actively). I’m not presenting this list as a set of demands or to declare what is wrong with the church. Its just a handful of things I think would be pretty cool.
Hi everyone, Welcome to my new series where I provide you, the reader, with an excerpt from an LDS church manual, uncited, which I LIKE. That means no Journal of Discourses nonsense like blood atonement, racism, or Adam-God for starters. (Sorry to disappoint some of our readers with that caveat). You can guess if you want, such things as the author (the Church used to have individual authors stand behind their words), the title, the era, or which church program the lesson was used in. But that’s all trivia, really, compared to this: You get to list ALL THE...
What do you do when you learn about something shocking that you did not previously know in Church History? Freak out? Retreat into a stupor of thought? Pray for comfort? Shrug and say “who cares what happened to dead people over a hundred years ago”? Search anti-Mormon sites to get the “real deal”? Talk to your bishop? Call Ed Decker to see if he’s hiring? This post comes from guest blogger Matt.
On January 23, 1833 in Kirtland Ohio, Joseph Smith met for the first time with a select group of members in what he termed the “School of the Prophets.” It was an attempt to improve both theological and secular learning and included such teachings as the Lectures on Faith and Hebrew lessons by a paid Jewish scholar. There was another branch of this school in Independence, MO under the direction of Parley P. Pratt, and several schools of the Prophets were organized by Brigham Young during the time that he was President of the Church. These were held in...
