For some reason, I was thinking about the structure of the New Testament Church after the ascension of the Savior. What is clear is that Peter is the Chief Apostle and the one left in charge by Christ. By LDS theology, Peter held the Keys of the Kingdom as “President of the Church” although two LDS Church Presidents, David O. McKay and Spencer W. Kimball, likened his position more as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. But who succeed Peter after his death? And as a second thought, what of all the doctrine taught by Paul?...
Priesthood
Sunstone 2010 – A Feminist Recap
I really enjoyed the last day of Sunstone, since I was able to attend all day, rather than a session here or there. Don Bradley gave a presentation titled “Dating Fanny Alger”, a bit of a play on words. I remember he gave a funny line to the effect of “By all accounts, she was hot!” Anyway, Bradley tried to pin down when the “affair” happened. Apparently, Emma discovered Joseph and Fanny late at night in the barn. According to Bradley, Alger appeared pregnant. Emma threw a fit, and threw Alger out of the house. (Apparently Alger had been...
Patriarchal Hierarchy and the Kingship Model
OT SS Lesson #21 When we lived in Saudi Arabia a few years ago, I obtained a faculty position in the fairly newly-formed department of Health and P.E. at a university which was strictly segregated by gender. The women’s side of the university operated independently, with our own female custodians, technical staff, professors and administration, and very little oversight from the male president. Our department consisted of five women, and we made all decisions collectively, with no titular head. After the first semester I was there, one of our staff meetings was dedicated to the question of whether we...
After Action Report: The Community of Christ Did WHAT?
Headline in the Independence Examiner for Thursday, April 15, 2010: “Delegation Takes No Action on Human Sexuality Issues: Church Will Continue Dialogue.” Headline by John Hamer on BCC on Thursday, April 15, 2010: “Gay Rights Revelation Added to The Community of Christ D&C” ———- The two headlines above generally cover the spectrum of opinion about what happened at the Community of Christ World Conference as it completed the process of canonization of a new Section 164 for its D&C. The spectrum of opinions about whether what happened was a good thing or bad thing, of course, runs even more...
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.
Bombshell at the BYU Studies Symposium
A small crowd at the BYU Studies Symposium yesterday was on hand to receive Richard Holzapfel’s self-proclaimed Mormon history “bombshell.” He presented the morning plenary session on Wilford Woodruff’s 1897 recorded testimony, the first sound recording made of an LDS General Authority. The audience was treated to hearing parts of this recording, which is also available at the BYU Studies website.
Prophets, Seers and Bureaucrats
I listened recently to a Mormon Expression podcast with John Dehlin, in which he comments upon the difficult position the Church leaders face. He observes that their are times when they make particular decisions based upon a legalistic-bureaucratic framework that sometimes seem incomprehensible, even unchristian but that these decision are understandable. I would like to ask this question: Is there an alternative?
On Failed Patriarchal Blessings
Some time ago I spoke to someone I knew about a Patriarchal blessing they had received which seemed to have failed to come to pass. We discussed it at some length and I then asked them if I could have some time to think about the issue more. I tried to find reasons to explain the failure and then we discussed each one according to their circumstances, but I raised all as possibilities. I admit that I was trying to be both comforting and honest, which in this situation was not easy. The possible reasons I gave the person, as I wrote them...
On Being an Apostle but not in the Quorum
‘In 1866, at the age of only twenty-seven, Joseph F. Smith was ordained an Apostle by President Brigham Young, and served briefly as one of his special additional counselors. When a vacancy occurred in the Twelve the following year, Elder Smith was sustained as a member of that quorum’ . The date was Oct 8, 1867. This means Joseph F. Smith was an Apostle a year before he joined the Quorum of the twelve. Moreover, BY ordained Joseph F. Smith spontaneously without consultation of all members of the First presidency . Lest we think this is just another aberration of...
Canonizing Modern Revelation – A Tourist Guide
Over the past year or so, I’ve become blogging buddies with FireTag, a member of the Community of Christ. He has his own blog at The Fire Still Burning. Many of you should recognize FireTag, as he frequently comments here at Mormon Matters. He was part of my panel for the Interview with the Community of Christ. As some of you may know, the Community of Christ (formerly known as RLDS), canonizes revelations in their edition of the Doctrine and Covenants much more frequently than the LDS church does. There is an upcoming World Conference (similar to General Conference)...
The Single Mormon Girl and the Priesthood
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
Brother Brigham Brother Young
Recently 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...
Great Expectations: What Are Your Hopes and Predictions for General Conference?
“It’s the MOST WONderful TIIIME of the YEARRRRRR.” The leaves are starting to change color. The evenings and mornings are a bit crisper. Even the birds’ singing suddenly sounds sweeter than ever. General Conference must be coming this weekend.
A Case for Slavery
A few years ago, John Dehlin did a few podcasts about the Priesthood Ban. I wrote up a post which combined about 3 of John’s podcasts (and was nominated for a Niblet), which specifically addressed many of the historical aspects of slavery and the priesthood ban. I was quite surprised to learn that the Territory of Utah legalized slavery. In the podcasts, it was mentioned that one of the reasons was likely due to some of the slaveholding apostles. However, there is more to the slavery issue than just black slaves. Indian slavery was also legal, and I think...
Worship or Whine?
This post was inspired by David Stout’s series of posts on LDS Worship, Part II and Part III as well as HawkGrrrl’s post entitled “More Christ at Church.”
April 2009 General Conference – Word Stats
Based on word count, what was the focus of April 2009 General Conference? Before you scroll down, see if you can guess the top 3 words that were used.
Does the LDS Church claim to be “an exclusive conduit to God”?
Recently, a veritable Icon of the Bloggernacle, who for purposes of anonymity we shall call “Aloysius Miller”, published a post stating: “I don’t see the church as an exclusive conduit to God,” and “I reject the claims that the church is a sole avenue to God.” Aloysius further stated: “I realize that those claims are a standard part of Mormon theology, and so my rejection of them makes me heterodox in that sense.” Aloysius’ proclamation of self-declared hetrodoxy made me ask myself: Is he really at odds with Church doctrine in rejecting the notion that the LDS Church is...
The Untold Story of Black Mormons by Guest
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.
Memo To YW Leaders: Thanks, But No Thanks
In our current callings, my wife and I spend a lot of time digging through Church instruction manuals. I teach both the 12/13 year old Sunday School class (weekly) as well as Elders’ Quorum (once a month). My wife serves as the Laurels adviser, and is responsible for teaching at least a couple of lessons per month. Nearly everybody who has served in a teaching capacity can point to some instance in which they have viewed the correlated manual as lacking in some respect, be it too bland, too overly positive in its historical view, or just plain out...
Help Wanted: Predicting the Next Apostle
This Thursday or Friday, someone at the Church Office building will get a phone call and make the long walk to President Monson’s office. By the time he leaves, he will have traded in his current position for a lifetime calling as an apostle. We’ll find out Saturday who he is, but why “stand idly, looking on” when we can spend four days speculating?