Posts Tagged ‘ Bloggernacle ’

55: Cult Claims and the Media

October 11, 2011
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55: Cult Claims and the Media

This week’s Mormon Matters episode discusses two stories from the past week: (1) The dust-up over and media slam-down of remarks made by Texas mega-church pastor and Governor Rick Perry supporter Robert Jeffress that Mormonism is a cult—does this episode represent a real shift in the tenor of the “Mormon Moment”?; and (2) the news that the LDS Church has recently sent out a survey that aims to understand how its members interact with today’s social media and view particular blogs, bloggers, and reporters—including two of this episode’s panel members, Joanna Brooks and McKay Coppins. The episode’s third panelist, Morris…

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Mormon.org FAQ: Political Parties

August 24, 2010
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We’ve explored a few of the mormon.org profiles’ answers to tough questions on polygamy and women & the priesthood.  Today let’s take a look at another topic not suitable for dinner conversation:  politics!

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Mormon.org FAQ: Women & Priesthood

August 17, 2010
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Last week we looked at some of the cool profiles on mormon.org that are part of a new effort to make members real and accessible for potential investigators.  And we talked about the difficulties of giving members an open mic on some of the tough questions.  This week let’s look at another tough topic:  Women and the priesthood.

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Why Do People Struggle? (With Poll!)

August 3, 2010
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Through my time in the church, I’ve known many who have left the church, many others who have seemingly never had an issue, and a vast majority who struggled with one aspect or another yet remained active (or resumed activity after a period of inactivity).  What’s your experience with struggling?

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Facebook Declarations

June 5, 2010
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Facebook Declarations

Today’s guest post is by Matthew Workman.  I lived a few blocks from Venice Beach for many years, so I thought I’d seen quite a few surprising things in my life. But nothing quite prepared me for this. A long-lost friend of my older sister put in a friend request on Facebook and I accepted because I’m fairly promiscuous that way.

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Eternal Progress vs. Eternal Increase: A Poll

June 1, 2010
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Eternal Progress vs. Eternal Increase: A Poll

One of the distinct LDS doctrines is that of eternal progression:  the idea that we continue to grow and develop as individuals throughout eternity unless through our own choices we stop progressing.  But there are two different interpretations of this doctrine that both seem to be supported by authoritative statements.  Are both interpretations correct?  Or is one correct and the other incorrect?

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Church History: Principles

May 18, 2010
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Church History: Principles

There has been a lot of discussion in the b’nacle about what the church can do from a practical standpoint to address the thorny issues in church history.  The current approach has been to: 1) keep the curriculum uplifting and free from controversy, 2) to never speak ill or contradict leaders of the past or present (even if they have been demonstrably wrong), 3) to let FAIR and FARMS apologetics address any tricky issues raised by external critics, and 4) to remind people that ”we simply don’t know” when it comes to conclusions about the trickiest issues.  With the internet and ready access to…

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Putting Things on a Shelf

April 29, 2010
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Putting Things on a Shelf

People like to talk about putting things that bother them about the church on a shelf.  Of course, the problem is that for some, the shelf gets pretty full and comes crashing down like Fibber McGee’s closet.  So what’s on your shelf, and is there a better model for dealing with problematic church doctrines?

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Buttprints in the Sand

April 23, 2010
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Buttprints in the Sand

Today’s guest post is from Glenn.  Some of you may have seen this before. I wish I could claim authorship, but no – it belongs to the impressive work of Anonymous. I came across this a few years ago when I was collecting material for my dissertation on Mormon Humor (which I never finished, by the way). It’s not uniquely “Mormon” in its message or application, but I love the way it critiques the traditional “Footprints In The Sand” poem, which has always left me with that uncomfortable feeling that I should have a little more sand between my toes. …

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Temple Recommend Assumptions

April 5, 2010
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Temple Recommend Assumptions

Maybe it was an upcoming family wedding.  Or maybe it came out some other way.  Have you ever been in a situation when you became aware that someone who had been endowed no longer had a Temple Recommend?

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Radical Retention

April 2, 2010
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Our guest poster, Jason M. Brown is a life-long ‘Niblian’ Mormon who grew up in Southern California. He served an LDS mission from 2001-2003 in the Dominican Republic, Santiago Mission. He attended Brigham Young University where he studied anthropology and international development. He is currently working on two master’s degrees at Yale University in Forestry and Theology. Jason is also regular contributor to The Mormon Worker Blog, www.themormonworker.wordpress.com and The Mormon Worker Newspaper, www.themormonworker.org. He can be reached at jason.brown@yale.edu I’ve been kicking this post around in my mind for a while now so it came as no surprise when I…

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You’re the Bishop #5 (Poll)

March 9, 2010
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You’re the Bishop #5 (Poll)

Bishop Bill again, folks.  Now for one that has nothing to do with the ward.

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You’re the Bishop #4 (Poll)

March 2, 2010
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You’re the Bishop #4 (Poll)

OK, Bishop Bill here again with a really difficult situation.

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You’re the Bishop: Poll #3

February 18, 2010
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You’re the Bishop: Poll #3

Bishop Bill back with more.  We’ve had fictionalized situations in the last two installments with a YW and a YM.  Now, let’s have a situation with an adult.

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You’re the Bishop: Poll #2

February 4, 2010
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You’re the Bishop: Poll #2

Bishop Bill back with your next installment of “You’re the Bishop.”  Just to be clear, the examples I am using have been changed enough that not even my wife or former counselors in the bishopric would recognize who I am talking about.

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True or Bizarre: A Poll

January 27, 2010
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True or Bizarre: A Poll

While there are moral truths that all religions tend to share (don’t kill, don’t steal, be nice to people, etc.), religions also include “bizarre” differentiators to distinguish each religious community (often in food prohibitions, clothing choices, or supernatural beliefs). These “bizarre” elements hedge up the community and create borders between the religious group and those not in the religion.  Without these “fences,” a church would cease to be a community.  But a negative byproduct of these “bizarre” elements is that they are indefensible on grounds of logic or “truth.”  So, what elements of Mormonism are “true” and which ones are merely…

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You’re the Bishop: Scenario #1

January 21, 2010
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You’re the Bishop: Scenario #1

Welcome to “You’re the Bishop,” a new installment at Mormon Matters.  My name is Bishop Bill.  Once every few weeks I’ll post a situation that I had while I was bishop, and let you decide how to handle it.  Everybody gets to play, even the ladies out there.  After a week, I’ll add a comment with what I did in the situation, and how it turned out.  Let’s play!

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Mormon Matters on Kindle

January 13, 2010
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Mormon Matters on Kindle

Just last week, Mormon Matters content became available to Kindle owners.  The only other b’naclers on Kindle are our buddies at By Common Consent.  So, here’s why you should get a Kindle and subscribe to MM!

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Mormon Blogs – What’s OK?

December 3, 2009
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What should be acceptable for a blog to be considered a “Mormon” blog?  All Mormon content?  Only that which is respectful to the church (not anti)?  Is hate speech allowed, and if so, how is it defined?  How would you decide something should not be considered a “Mormon” blog?

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Are You an Internet Addict?

October 14, 2009
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As church members, we have been cautioned about the internet:  ease of access to porn, its mind-numbing addictive qualities, the lack of high quality content, the need to monitor teen and child internet usage.  We have also been told to participate in online forums so that we can represent our own beliefs, and the internet has been likened favorably to a modern-day equivalent of a printing press.  So, when does internet use become internet addiction?

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