Published in Bloggernacle,
General Authorities,
LDS,
Leaders,
Logic,
Mormon,
Mormons,
accountability,
church,
diversity,
doubt,
faith,
history,
liberal,
love,
marriage,
mormon,
new order mormon,
obedience,
orthodox,
parables,
prophets,
questioning,
religion,
scripture,
spiritual progression,
spirituality,
symbols,
testimony and
thought .
There have been several attempts over the years to categorize Mormon “belief-styles”: Orthodox Mormon versus Liberal Mormon, Iron Rod Mormon versus Liahona Mormon, and so on. In the online world of LDS blogs commonly called “the Bloggernacle”, Mormons are often categorized as being TBMs (True Believing Mormons) or NOMs (New Order Mormons).
One evening when my wife and I had the opportunity to reflect on the timeless story of Adam and Eve, it struck me that their different responses to God’s commandments, and to Lucifer’s “temptation”, perfectly exemplified the different mindsets of TBMs and NOMs, and symbolically portrayed the age-old struggle between Orthodox and Liberal in any faith. And as I meditated on their dramatic dialog with Lucifer, with each other, and with God, it donned on me that Adam and Eve were the perfect TBM-NOM couple.
Continue reading…
One of the common complaints about and arguments against the Book of Mormon is the claim that it was written in “Reformed Egyptian” – a unique and obsolete language that was peculiar to the Nephites and could not be read by anyone else. There have been many things written about this issue over the years, some of which are merely skeptical and more of which are mocking. One of the common themes has been, “Well, that’s convenient. There’s no way to check any language for accuracy and veracity. Great con scheme.” What the people who wrote these things in the past and say them now didn’t and don’t realize is that there is a modern example of exactly such a language – one that is unique to its own people and, in many instances, cannot be read even by those from whom its written foundation was taken.
That example is modern Japanese. Continue reading…
Today’s guest post is by Kate from Myriad Mormon Musings. Here is a brief introduction, in her own words, followed by her post:
“My name is Kate. I was raised Catholic, but converted to the Mormon church in 1999 in a hippy branch at Cornell University. Since leaving that branch, I have struggled to find my voice within the LDS world. Where does a politically liberal, PhD-holding, working mom fit in? I created the Myriad Mormon Musings blog in an attempt to find my niche as I struggle with LDS culture versus doctrine.”
Continue reading…
A few weeks ago, here at Mormon Matters, I posted on My Perspective on Polygamy (with a longer version found on my blog.) I hinted that I wanted to talk about it some more, and this time I thought I would try a more “faithful” perspective. A commenter on my blog took exception to some “hearsay” I had been discussing. So, I wanted to see what Bushman had to say on these issues, as well as address some assertions by others regarding Joseph’s possibly nefarious motives for polygamy. Specifically, I want to address 3 controversial issues:
Continue reading…
With Memorial Day upon us, I wanted to highlight a person that people know a little about, Alexander Doniphan, who was known as one of the first “Jack Mormons.” Michael Quinn’s book The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power talks about many incidents which led to the “extermination order” by Missouri Governor Boggs. Doniphan served in the 1838 Mormon War of Missouri, as well as the Mexican-American War in 1846-7.
Continue reading…
A Zen Buddhist/Freemason friend of mine has put together some great posts of “Best and Worst Bible Verses.” I have been trying to convince him to make the series into one of those daily calendars. Would it not be great to wake up in the morning and read: “Happy shall they be who seize your infants and dashes them against the rocks!” (Psalms 137:9)? Continue reading…
Published in Bible,
LDS,
Mormon,
christianity,
history,
marriage,
polygamy,
questioning,
racism,
smith,
theology and
women .
I have long avoided talking about polygamy on my blog. It is a source of tremendous discomfort for me, but it keeps coming up, so I want to give my impressions about this early practice in Mormonism, as well as my beliefs and reconciliations.
Continue reading…
Published in Asides,
Beatitudes,
Culture,
General Conference,
Jesus,
LDS,
Leaders,
Mormon,
Mormons,
Sermon on the Mount,
christ,
christianity,
curiosity,
diversity,
faith,
history,
inter-faith,
mormon,
orthodox,
parables,
prayer,
questioning,
sacrament meeting,
scripture,
spirituality,
testimony and
theology .
The 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? Continue reading…
Published in Culture,
Discrimination,
Folklore,
General Authorities,
General Conference,
God,
Happiness,
Humor,
Jesus,
Logic,
Mormon,
Mormons,
abuse,
book of mormon,
burdens,
curiosity,
diversity,
doubt,
education,
eternity,
faith,
families,
fear,
general,
history,
joseph,
marriage,
mormon,
obedience,
orthodox,
prophets,
questioning,
religion,
resolutions,
salvation,
scripture,
sexuality,
smith,
spiritual progression,
spirituality,
tesimony,
theology,
thought and
women .
My home teacher (who is very cool) came by yesterday to drop off some starter cables for my car and as one does in that short interlude we discussed the celestial kingdom and being Gods after this life. He believed that those who don’t make it to the highest kingdom in the Celestial Kingdom won’t have any sexual relationships and if you don’t have sexual relationships their will be no need for sexual organs.
Continue reading…
Published in Charity,
Culture,
Government,
LDS,
Mormons,
book of mormon,
burdens,
christianity,
church,
history,
meekness,
politics,
prophets,
religion,
righteousness,
scripture and
spirituality .
This article by a guest blogger originally appeared at Gospel Doctrine Underground. We want to thank the author for allowing us to re-post it here.
The Law of Consecration offers a lot of interesting discussion topics and ideas. To me, a political junkie, one of the most interesting concepts tied up in consecration is the idea of equality. The Book of Mormon has some interesting passages regarding equality; I cannot help thinking that they got Joseph thinking about economics and righteousness. Or, the impact of temporal things upon righteousness, anyway. So, when the Lord gives the newly organized Church his Law, equality is a big issue. Continue reading…
Not too long ago, I sat through an Elders Quorum lesson about the First Vision. The teacher, who I like and who generally does a good job, was leading a paint-by-numbers sort of discussion (Q: “What do we learn from The First Vision”; A: “God has a body”). As usual for this topic, the lesson had its share of omissions (no mention of the other accounts) and historical missteps (”No one else in 1820 believed that God and Christ were separate beings”). All in all, it was a fairly typical meeting and, to be honest, I was zoning out.
But then, quite unexpectedly, the lesson took a decidedly more interesting turn. The instructor focused on one seemingly minor detail of Joseph’s account that, despite having read it dozens of times, came as a surprise to me: “He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time.” (JS-H 1:20).
To be honest, I had totally forgotten about Joseph’s private conversation with God. Of course, the notion of God forbidding his prophets from writing down something he has told or shown them is not new. But what makes this 15-word passage (which is not mentioned again in the History) particularly interesting is that Joseph never was shy about sharing what he felt had been revealed to him. Furthermore, as far as I know, he never revealed what “other things” God had told him during that experience.
The teacher then posed a question, which I now present for your consideration: what unwritten things do you think God said to Joseph at that moment?
Continue reading…
Published in Culture,
LDS,
Mormons,
christianity,
history,
inter-faith,
meetings,
missionary,
music,
orthodox,
prophets,
religion,
reverence,
sacrament meeting and
spirituality .
The following is the second part of the series written for us by David Stout, Disciples of Christ minister, about his perception of LDS worship. The first post can be read here. Again, thank you, David.
The second reason (I am interested in the possibility of returning a bit of the former fire of earlier Mormonism to the current church) lifts the service I attended from the background of Mormon history and sets it against the backdrop of the LDS future. As I mentioned parenthetically in my previous post, one of the talks used in the Sacrament Meeting I attended was one given originally by David McKay. As I understand it, President McKay was the prophet who set the LDS on its modern missionary explosion. Prior to his time Mormonism was largely confined to the mountain west. McKay, however, had a vision of a broader reach and that was the impetus for the current status of the LDS as a nascent worldwide religious community. Continue reading…
Around Easter 2004, National Geographic produced a documentary titled In Search of Easter. The producers interviewed a wide range of scholars about the Resurrection story of the Easter celebration. It is an interesting insight into various Resurrection stories found in the Bible. I am always interested in scholarly opinions on religious topics, and nearly fell off the couch when I heard the following on the DVD.
Continue reading…
Published in Culture,
General Authorities,
General Conference,
LDS,
Mormon,
christianity,
conference,
evangelicals,
history,
inter-faith,
meetings,
music,
prophets,
religion,
sacrament meeting and
spirituality .
David Stout, Disciples of Christ minister who wrote a very thought-provoking post for us a few weeks ago, has agreed to write a short series of posts on LDS worship as seen from the outside looking in. This is the first of that series. Thank you, David.
Last summer I had the opportunity to attend Sunday services with my girlfriend at her branch. I very much enjoyed myself and found the experience quite reminiscent of my days in evangelical congregations before the mega church phenomenon. The people were very welcoming, they clearly enjoyed being together, and the service and classes were easy to follow. Several individuals went out of their way to make me feel welcome, taking the time to talk with me, offer me a book so I could follow along in the priesthood meeting, and include me in their conversations. Continue reading…
Published in Anti-Mormon,
BYU,
Bible,
Bloggernacle,
Culture,
Happiness,
Mormon,
abuse,
adultery,
apostasy,
burdens,
children,
christ,
christianity,
church,
civil disobedience,
curiosity,
diversity,
education,
environment,
faith,
families,
fear,
general,
history,
religion,
righteousness,
sexuality,
theology,
thought and
women .
Mormon Matters Motto is Exploring Mormon culture in a balanced way- so bare with me on this one (excuse the pun). Continue reading…
Published in Anti-Mormon,
BYU,
Bible,
Bloggernacle,
Charity,
Culture,
Discrimination,
Folklore,
General Authorities,
LDS,
Logic,
Mormon,
Priesthood,
apologetics,
baptism,
blacks,
book of mormon,
books,
burdens,
christianity,
church,
cinema,
curiosity,
diversity,
doubt,
education,
evangelicals,
faith,
families,
fear,
history,
joseph,
liberal,
obedience,
prayer,
prophets,
questioning,
race,
racism,
religion,
resolutions,
restoration,
righteousness,
scripture,
tesimony and
theology .
When I served a mission in eastern Canada in the early 90s, there were many things I was grateful for (warm boots, wool suits, fairly normal food). But above all, I was grateful that I was sent to a region with very few black people, as I was not looking forward to having to defend something in the Church’s past that had deeply troubled even a relatively immature teenager with a limited knowledge of Church history and doctrine.
Continue reading…
Published in Asides,
Culture,
Folklore,
Mormon,
curiosity,
death,
history,
mormon,
movies,
surviving,
theology and
thought .
OK, 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. Continue reading…
Since today is St Patrick’s Day, I wanted to write a quick post about St Patrick. Few people know his story. I know that Mormons love to tell and listen to great missionary stories, and I think Patrick is an example of forgiveness, missionary work, and Christian service. I’ll keep it brief, but a longer version of this post can be found here.
Continue reading…
Much has been made of the LDS Church’s unflattering history regarding the priesthood ban. But there are some positive stories. I’d like to address some things that happened prior and during the ban that are more positive in nature to the church.
Continue reading…
Someone mentioned in a blog post that I read recently about how accessible materials and information about the Church are for us these days: blogs, books (official and unofficial), news, the internet in general. I couldn’t agree more. There’s a wealth of information about the Church at our fingertips and goodness knows that many of us spend hours reading, analyzing, discussing, and debating it all. I’m often surprised that more Mormons don’t take advantage of it.
There is one problem, however. This wealth of information is NOT equally available to members of the Church.
Continue reading…
I attended a few Mormon History Conferences last weekend. I gave a more detailed account on my blog, but wanted to see how Mormon Matters readers react to a few comments made at these conferences.
Continue reading…
Published in Charity,
Culture,
Logic,
Mormon,
christianity,
church,
faith,
history,
inter-faith,
meekness,
religion,
restoration and
testimony .
NOTE: This is a guest post by David Stout, Disciples of Christ minister.
I write from the perspective of a Disciples of Christ minister whose girlfriend is a devout Mormon. I am, therefore, very sympathetic and supportive of the LDS (I pray for your church daily) but embrace the theological position often known as Protestant Liberalism. In reading one of Mr. Nielson’s posts a while ago, two things jumped out at me. One is the issue of the relationship of Jesus and the Father and the other is the relationship of faith and logic. I will address the latter in this response and leave the former for another time. Continue reading…
