Bishop Bill with a situation that happens to probably every bishop. Read on. Continue reading…
Tag Archive for 'religion'
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. Continue reading…
OT SS Lesson #11
Lesson 11 in the Old Testament manual employs several stories from Genesis 34-39 to develop the theme of sexual morality. Joseph’s actions embody the “Lord’s standards” for morality and are contrasted with the actions of Shechem, Reuben, and Judah. You may notice that the featured characters in the lesson are all male. What shall a woman do with a lesson like this? I think the idea is for women to identify with Joseph — to be virtuous when facing temptation. But Joseph is a man, his responses are male-oriented, and intentionally or not this approach will tend to render the women in your Sunday School classroom invisible. Consideration of the female archetypes found within these chapters may yield some surprising insights. Continue reading…
Bishop Bill again, folks. Now for one that has nothing to do with the ward. Continue reading…
OT SS Lesson #10
Though it’s only an “additional teaching idea” in Lesson 12, Jacob’s ladder has captured my imagination due to some conversations I’ve recently had with Christian evangelicals.
Jacob’s Dream woodcut, Lubeck Bible 1494 Continue reading…
OK, Bishop Bill here again with a really difficult situation. Continue reading…
There are those among the disaffected who would like to reap the benefits of the church as a community although they may no longer share the belief system that is the foundation of the church. For some, this works very well; for others, it’s an endless source of frustration. I recently read a great book called Connected: The Power of Social Networks that described how social networks work. As a result, I have drawn up 7 Rules (tips, really) for making church work as a social network. Continue reading…
According to Arrington and Bitton, “most individual responses of modern Mormons involve a kind of tie with the past”[1] . Hist
ory is central to the Latter-day Saint faith. Stories from Latter-day Saint history reverberate out from their local settings and have a global impact in the lives of many, for both good and ill. How and/or why does this happen? Continue reading…
OT SS Lesson #9
This story is so very, very familiar to us that I think it’s important to look at it with a fresh perspective. So in this post I am including some pieces from media and the arts that force us to think about Genesis 22. I promise you in advance that some of these might be disturbing to you. Probably you will disagree with the portrayal of Abraham’s sacrifice in at least one, if not all, of these pieces. I hope you will share your reactions in the comments. Continue reading…
Last month, one of the RS/PH lessons was about the nature of God. Since the lesson was only about a page and a half long, the discussion in RS ended up raising the question whether God is still progressing or whether, being God He has arrived and is no longer progressing. Read and and share your views. Continue reading…
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. Continue reading…
OT SS Lesson #7
Sod, seed, and salvation — it’s how I like to describe the Abrahamic Covenant. There were three promises in the covenant. The first was a land promise, where the Lord gave Abraham and his descendants the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession. The second was the promise of a great and numerous posterity. And the third was the blessing of the everlasting Gospel: the priesthood and the promise of exaltation, to come to the world through Abraham’s lineage. (see Genesis 17) But just look at how often the covenant was renewed! Continue reading…
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. Continue reading…
Mormons dig abstinence. Like many other highly committed Christians, we abstain from premarital sex. But, that’s not all; we also abstain from tobacco, alcohol, coffee, tea, profanity, R-rated movies, dating before age 16, fooling around prior to marriage, and shopping on Sundays. And some even like to add more abstinence on top of that! I had one college roommate who was determined to share her first ever kiss across the altar with her husband. Continue reading…
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 “bizarre”? Continue reading…
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