Posts Tagged ‘ LDS ’

Enos Envy

July 23, 2009
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Enos Envy

Over my lifetime, I have offered all manner of prayers.  These range from earnest, well-intended pleas on behalf of others (“please comfort my sister as she deals with her MS diagnosis”) to mundane requests for undeserved assistance (“please help me pass my Spanish pop quiz”) to the downright inappropriate (“oh Lord, please let me be able to hold it until I get off this bus!”)* But now, after 36 years of practice, I’m rethinking prayer.  In the interest of full disclosure, let me say that I’m not a “lose the keys, pray for keys, find the keys” sort of guy by…

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Is Prayer About God?

July 22, 2009
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What does prayer mean? What is its purpose in our lives?  Today’s guest post is from jmb275.

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Science vs. Religion: A Poll

July 21, 2009
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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?

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The Doctor Is IN: An Interview with The Mormon Therapist

July 17, 2009
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Natasha Helfer Parker is a licensed therapist who has counseled the LDS community for 12 years.  In 2009, she began a blog called The Mormon Therapist, answering questions from readers from the standpoint of a faithful LDS therapist.  We were able to get her to answer a few questions about her site, issues Mormons face, and to get her sound advice.

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The Genius of Mormonism: Israel is Back, Baby! (POLL incl.)

July 13, 2009
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The Genius of Mormonism: Israel is Back, Baby! (POLL incl.)

One of the attractive components to Mormon theology was the notion that Mormons were a chosen people, and both figuratively and literally part of the House of Israel.  The Book of Mormon also offered the idea that Israel was all over the earth throughout time in various times and places and that they are always the chosen people.  Mormon youth (and adults) who receive a Patriarchal Blessing are personally informed of their own lineage as a member of the House of Israel.  So, how does this compare to other religions’ views of Israel and Judaism?

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Mormon Dating Sites – What the Heck?!?

July 9, 2009
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Mormon Dating Sites – What the Heck?!?

In a church that requires chastity but a world in which random hookups are the norm, what about the plight of single adults who are well past the average Mormon dating age?  Or even more difficult, what about those divorced members who are committed to the law of chastity, but also facing the dating scene again?  Today’s guest post is by Single Mormon Chick who also blogs at The Law of Chastity and the Modern Mormon Girl.

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I Have Seen the Axe

July 7, 2009
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Alice Walker, who wrote about the heartbreak of female genital mutilation quoted an African proverb in the beginning of her book Possessing the Secret of Joy:  “I have seen the axe, and the handle is one of us.”  Are women our own worst enemy when it comes to reinforcing stereotypes and norms that limit women?

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Voting — 2008 Niblet Awards

July 6, 2009
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And the nominees are . . .

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Groupthink

June 30, 2009
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“Groupthink” is what naturally happens when a group becomes sedentary and sluggish.  When change is introduced or new people are introduced, they challenge the “groupthink.” I’ve never seen the word groupthink (when used correctly) as a positive.  Does the church suffer from groupthink or just unity (“being one,” and “if ye are not one, ye are not mine.”)?  You decide.

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Bloggernacle Rankings: BCC is #1!

June 23, 2009
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According to alexa.com, By Common Consent is currently the top ranked site in the Bloggernacle.  Congratulations to our esteemed colleagues; you have earned the distinction of “top blog”!  Not to toot our own horn, but Mormon Matters is also on the rise in the Bloggernacle (at #3), coming in behind #2 bloggernacle perennial favorite Times & Seasons. 

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The Genius of Mormonism: Missions

June 22, 2009
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I wanted to do a series of posts on aspects of the LDS church that I consider to be sheer religious genius.  These are religous practices or concepts that have given Mormonism its staying power, and when compared to other religions are “best-in-class” (to borrow a term from business).  The first practice I will address is full-time missions.

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Spirituality, Rationality, Mentality, Duality

June 21, 2009
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Spirituality, Rationality, Mentality, Duality

Today’s guest post is by jmb275. In my first guest post, I talked about intellectualism and faith. A few of the commenters pointed out that I had somewhat assumed that we had dual natures – spiritual and rational. The point was mentioned that the term “spirituality” could be loosely defined to be many things – not necessarily religious in nature. In this post I would like to address these issues as I have been pondering it for quite some time.

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Looking Forward to the Good Life

June 18, 2009
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I’ve spent some time over the years thinking about questions that remain in regards to the logistics of the afterlife.

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What Bothers Me, and Why I Still Believe

June 3, 2009
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I am an active member of the church, and a believer. I am well aware of most of the controversial issues (Book of Abraham, DNA, Book of Mormon historicity, polyandry, etc.). Some of them occasionally bother me. Others do not. Although according to statistics I am very educated, I probably could not win an argument defending the church on any of those points. I could not support the church on Prop. 8, (if you want to specifically comment on that, please go here). I will probably never understand in this life why we are discouraged from praying to our Heavenly…

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Intellectualism and Faith: A Would-Be Marriage!

May 29, 2009
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Intellectualism and Faith: A Would-Be Marriage!

It is easy to think yourself out of a testimony.  It’s as simple as saying “well I can’t prove God exists, or doesn’t exist, therefore I am agnostic.”   Today’s guest post is by jmb275.

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MM Poll: Your Favorite Scriptures

May 19, 2009
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Mormon Matters has installed a new polling feature, so  thought I’d get the ball rolling with a fairly simple one, so here goes.

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Barack Obama’s Mother Has Been Baptized into the LDS Church! No joke!!!

May 5, 2009
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I’m not kidding.  Here’s the link to FamilySearch.org (Update: It appears as though the church has taken the record down…but you can find a screenshot here). It was, of course, in the temple (posthumously…via baptism for the dead)…but still!  Details below. Do you think President Obama minds?  Also, will this be a black eye for the church, or no big deal? Any bets as to whether or not the church pulls down this record? ========= President’s Late Mother Improperly, Posthumously, Baptized as a Mormon May 05, 2009 6:53 PM The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints confirmed Tuesday afternoon…

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Marie Osmond Supports Gay Marriage

May 5, 2009
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Wow.  Marie Osmond openly supports gay marriage. First Steve Young’s wife.  Now this. Will announcements like this eventually impact broader LDS opinion going forward (at least in the U.S.)?  Will it make some LDS members think twice, or feel emboldened to disagree w/ the mainstream church on this one issue? Should be interesting if this keeps happening.

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What Else Did God Say To Joseph?

April 16, 2009
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What Else Did God Say To Joseph?

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…

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Memo To YW Leaders: Thanks, But No Thanks

April 1, 2009
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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 of…

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