Archive for the 'Mormons' Category

Squaring the Circle, balance and ideals


squaring-the-circle-balance-and-ideals

Squaring the Circle is a geometry problem and a spiritual puzzle.  It dates back at least 4,000 years.  All of the great cultures that expressed advanced mathematics and philosophy approached this problem and had a mythology to give it meaning.  On one hand, it is a practical, geometric exercise exploring approximations of PI and Phi.  On the other hand, it is a philosophical puzzle to combine opposites and find the perfect balance.  Can a human find their way through the maze of different extremes that we encounter in our mortal experience?  We must navigate between light and darkness, health and sickness, pleasure and pain, life and death, good and evil.  The greatest minds in history have expressed pleasure and enlightenment from this geometry exercise.  A famous Greek philosopher included a statement in his work “On Exile” referring to one of his fellow countrymen who worked the squaring problem:

“There is no place that can take away the happiness of a man, nor yet his virtue or wisdom. Anaxagoras, indeed, wrote on the squaring of the circle while in prison.”

-Plutarch

Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
23 Comments

Think for yourself or not – that is the question .Cognitive Dissonance 1


Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
69 Comments

Chosen or Posin’ ? Abraham, Buffy, and Other Choice Spirits


Avatar-BiVOT SS Lesson #2
This was an interesting lesson to read after last year’s brou-ha-ha over an alleged “generals in the war in heaven” quote. On the 25th of February 2008, the Church issued an official statement from the Office of the First Presidency to all General Authorities, Area Seventies, Stake Presidents, Mission Presidents, District Presidents, Temple Presidents, Bishops and Branch Presidents which read:

A statement has been circulated that asserts in part that the youth of the Church today “were generals in the war in heaven . . . and someone will ask you, ‘Which of the prophet’s time did you live in?’ and when you say ‘Gordon B. Hinckley’ a hush will fall, . . . and all in attendance will bow at your presence. [You were held back six thousand years because you were the most talented, most obedient, most courageous, and most righteous.]”* Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
65 Comments

Did Mormon Influence Increase over the Decade?


My wife brought this to my attention while reading the front page of the Deseret News:  2000s: The First Decade-Mormon Church Influence Soars.  Without providing any sources, it says,

President Thomas S. Monson has been named the most influential 80-year-old in America and Joseph Smith and Brigham Young are listed among the most important 100 Americans in history

Other noteworthy items from the article include from the past decade: Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
76 Comments

Temple Wedding Petition


PetitionA 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 the following video which lasts about 2 minutes, Jean talks about the stigma some members may feel if they choose a civil wedding ceremony. The other preseding videos last approximately 2 minutes each.

Temple Wedding Petition 3 Here

Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
161 Comments

Have you ever received a Christmas card from the First Presidency?


have-you-ever-received-a-christmas-card-from-the-first-presidency

This year I received a Christmas card from the First Presidency.  I have heard that Church employees get one, but it has not been my experience so far.  Nor did it occur to me that I would get one.  I received it with a DVD for the youth of our ward.  I cannot tell whether it was to accompany the DVD or whether Bishops get Christmas cards every year (this is my first Christmas as a Bishop).

XMAS Card 1st Pres inside

  Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
16 Comments

Like a Virgin


Avatar-BiVThis post is a response to Aaron Shafovaloff over at Mormon Coffee. If you go to enjoy the lights on Temple Square, you are likely to see him striking up gospel conversations.

From viewing Aaron’s video of himself witnessing at Temple Square I’m getting the feeling that he wants us to believe that if something is miraculous, it has to be completely incomprehensible. But he doesn’t realize that concept doesn’t appeal to us. Mormons are likely to say that God does not defy law, but he works through physical laws, a fundamental principle of the universe. This in no way impedes our awe or sense of the wonder of Christmastime or the birth of the Savior.

A primary purpose of Joseph Smith’s vision in the grove was to reveal an embodied God. This conception of Deity has been vital to our doctrine from the early days of the Church to this day. Thomas S. Monson taught:

“This loving God who introduced his crucified and resurrected Son was not a God lacking in body, parts, or passions ­­ the God of a man-­made philosophy. Rather, God our Father has ears with which to hear our prayers. He has eyes with which to see our actions. He has a mouth with which to speak to us. He has a heart with which to feel compassion and love. He is real. He is living. We are his children made in his image. We look like him and he looks like us.” (Conference Report, April 1966, p.63)

But  if we believe in an embodied God, we have to think about what this might imply, including  the mechanics of how Mary was impregnated.  Aaron and other Christian evangelicals are bothered that LDS leaders have taught that the seed of our Father in Heaven produced Jesus Christ in a literal, physical fashion. Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
80 Comments

Brother Brigham Brother Young


corb lundRecently I drove up Little Cottonwood Canyon with my brother and nephew.  This is the canyon in which many of your ancestors pulled out  the granite for the construction of the salt lake temple. As soon as we passed the granite facings on the side of the canyon my nephew played a song on his iPod by Corb Lund Brother Brigham Brother Young and it brought mental flashes into my mind of men working on the side of the mountain blasting granite out of it.    It made me think of the struggles that men and women had even back then with the faith in many ways very similar to our day. From what I have read Mr Lund isn’t LDS but has relatives that are. Im assuming one of his relatives is a historian buff? Its probably safe to presume this song will never be played in a chapel :) but I can’t help liking it!  You can listen to his song Here Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
Comments

Perspective


Everybody blogs, right? Why not me? Looking for my niche, my angle, and the one thing that seemed to make me stand out in my corner of the world. I found it: Being single. And 40. And Mormon. In a family ward. In a town where EVERYONE is under 30, sealed in the temple and constantly reproducing. The best humor is found in our painful life experiences. Read about mine and laugh with me. Or at me. Whichever Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
14 Comments

Time to Study The Old Testament…Again – Part 2, The Books


time-to-study-the-old-testament-again-part-2-the-books

In this part 2 of the Studying the Old Testament series, we will discuss the books of the Old Testament, how they were organized, different books contained in different bibles, and extra-biblical books.

Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
Comments

To Those Struggling In Their Faith


Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

There are many within Mormonism who struggle daily with their faith. They have been exposed to historical information they were not aware of, they were torn in political battle, they dislike the culture, or in some other way awoke to a “reality” they had not known before. It can be a lonely place in a tight knit community with such strong beliefs. And when a person is in that frame of mind, it often feels like the solution is to crawl in a hole and disappear. To further throw salt in the wound, the church doesn’t have any sort of official support group, or weeknight class, or specially trained individuals to handle such a dilemma. They are alone, and desperate, as they watch the foundation of their life get blown apart like a bomb in the basement of a skyscraper! They are often told to have more faith, to wait, read the scriptures, fast, pray, etc. But these answers now feel empty and unpromising. My heart goes out to these people. I have been there, and sometimes revisit (though I try to make the visit short). Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
21 Comments

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 religions. Regardless of people’s disagreements with the particulars of exaltation for the celestial aspirants, things actually look pretty good for the rest of us non-celestial people.

That being said, we do know that there is a divider between the glories and the non-glories. We have that ominous concept: Outer Darkness. But what does it mean? Who is it for? Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
83 Comments

Vagueness as a Gospel Principle


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, SJ_Shoulder_Shrug_smalland do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;” (D&C 58:26 – 27) Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
23 Comments

It Is Possible to Effect Some Changes in Your Stake


I’ve enjoyed Andrew Ainsworth’s recent posts on (1) being a loving critic of the church, (2) in a way that doesn’t get you excommunicated.  I thought they were very insightful.  I also enjoyed Stephen Marsh’s post asking if we want to be an improver.  In Andrew’s 2nd post, he mentions the option of privately expressing concerns to a letter via letter or email.  I think it is difficult for many of us to express differences of opinion in a way that will not cause defensiveness in a church leader, so many of us never consider the option of writing a private letter to express a concern.

I must say that I am one of these people who believe that private communications don’t work very well.  However, I have tried hard to improve my communications (though I’m not always successful.)  A few months ago, I decided to give Andrew’s option #3 a test to see if it would do any good.  I was quite surprised at the positive result.

Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
15 Comments

How to Provide Critical Feedback to Church Leaders Church Without Getting Excommunicated


If you didn’t happen to read the February issue of Ensign Magazine in 1987, you missed some valuable instruction about how to provide critical feedback to Church leaders. Luckily for you, this post provides a second chance to get up to speed on what all would-be “improvers” in the Church should know about how to seek improving the Church without crossing any line that will forfeit your eternal exaltation and doom you to an eternity of teeth-gnashing with a TK smoothie. Continue reading…

  • Share/Bookmark
76 Comments