Thanksgiving is, IMO, the perfect holiday: good food, a day off work, and no presents to worry about. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I wanted to post 10 Things I’m Thankful for about the church and ask that each of you share what you are thankful for.
Mormons love to use the word “know.” We say we know God lives. We say we know that Jesus is the Christ. We say we know that families can be together forever. Some say that they know the church is true or that Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet (the middle initial makes him truer somehow). People say they “know” a lot of things. What does “know” mean in Mormonism? Has it been overused to the point that its meaning has changed or that is has become meaningless?
This photograph was taken by Sebastiao Salgado at a gold mine in Brazil. I first saw it in a room at the University I attend. As an idealistic and aspiring academic I felt moved by the raw power of the worker as he resisted the guard. Ever since then I have had a copy of this picture in my study areas. It reminds me that my life is not just about doing good, but that I have a moral duty to alleviate as much suffering in this world as I can. It reminds me that sometimes I need to resist those in…
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. singlemormonchick
The First Vision is often viewed as a literal visit from two Heavenly beings during Joseph Smith’s waking hours. Yet, he consistently refers to it as a vision. Often, visions in scripture are vivid dreams with meaning that is applied to the larger organization rather than just the individual. What if the First Vision is more like a dream, a foray into the subconscious mind of Joseph Smith?
At 10:00am on a brisk August morning in 1844 Sidney Rigdon addressed the Saints. Brigham Young spoke briefly before the break and at length in the afternoon, at which point they voted for a new leader. Arrington notes that the response was almost unanimous, but the subsequent disaffection from the Church shows that not all was well in Zion[1]. This experience raises interesting questions for me about the role of Common Consent in the Church. Seeing this is General Conference weekend (and we have just had a sustaining vote), I ask: Have we moved from a democracy to prophetocracy, and is…
These are just a few quick observations from today’s sessions, not every talk, though, nor every observation. I also want to direct attention to the excellent notes by Mme. Curie.
It might just be the posts that I read, but Boyd K. Packer is not the most popular of Apostles in the Bloggernacle (or perhaps among liberal Mormons more generally). I acknowledge that this is a speculative impression. At the very least, I have heard Elder Packer criticised at Sunstone and on the Bloggernacle on a few occassions at least. I was therefore surprised to find one of his sermons published in full in an issue of Sunstone. The talk was insightful, challenging and thought-provoking. As a result I wanted to reproduce some of his comments here that I found most interesting…
The phrase, “moderation in all things” is a euphemism usually (but not exclusively) associated (by Mormons at least)with the Word of Wisdom. It usually means that we should not go too far, one way or the other, in abstaining to the point of becoming an ascetic or in indulging to the point of becoming an addict. Of course, that leaves lots of room for interpretation and individual opinion, as well as plenty of opportunity for members to judge one another uncharitably.
At the Evergreen conference held September 18-19, 2009, Elder Bruce Hafen gave a talk regarding homosexuality. The talk was reprinted on the official LDS Church Newsroom website. I will not synopsize the talk here but I suggest reading it yourself. Within a very short time, for obvious reasons, the bloggernacle was dissecting and analyzing the speech. These actions generated some interesting discussions here, and one permablogger at FMH did a good job of challenging the less-than-spectacular research here.
John Remy posted an interesting blog/video where a man, speaking about his concern with the Church’s practice and policy during the Prop 8 debate, was asked by the Bishop to stop. The man protested and was allowed to finish but the Microphone was turned off. What would make you ask someone to sit down?
Jeff Spector wrote a post on Agency a few months ago which I enjoyed alot. The discussion led me down a slightly different path and I wanted to write a supplement to his ideas in light of some of my own thoughts on agency and how they relate to accountability. My major contention is that the notion of individual accountability is a fallacy, or, perhaps more accurately, it is not the whole story.
This is the next installment in my series about what gives Mormonism staying power and makes it an effective religion at winning and retaining adherents.
There was a great article in Newsweek called (Un)wired For God. It was a follow up on a prior article that had talked about the theory that people are hard-wired for religious belief (pre-disposed through our brain structure to believe in God, the supernatural, etc.)
When it comes to Mormonism, do you feel more like an insider or an outsider?
Which is more important – belief or action? Is faith without action better than action without faith? Is belief without action better than acting despite disbelief? Which leads to the better outcome or are both fraught with their own dangers?
Is the church growing or shrinking? Is it even possible to measure church growth accurately? Is this a case of statistical confirmation bias? Read on to find out more.
The Proclamation on the Family states: “Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.” What is meant by gender? One’s biological sex? One’s gender identity? The sexual stereotypes and cultural norms associated with one’s biological sex?
When there is a seeming conflict between science and religion, people tend to make a mental choice that either favors religion or science. Which is it for you?
