In this episode of the BCC Zeitcast, Scott B. is joined by Kyle M, a professional from the world of advertising and marketing, for a conversation about the recently publicity campaign the LDS Church has undertaken through Mormon.org. Download this episode here or subscribe to the BCC Zeitcast in iTunes. (And don’t forget to leave a rating/review in iTunes!)
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What Nate said.
(I’m considering just saying “what Nate said” when it is my turn to present.)
Mentioning the Nauvoo Legion often conjures images of a uniformed Lieutenant General Joseph Smith, bicorne chapeau, golden epaulettes, and perhaps drawn sword. The conflated roles of religious leader, civil governor, and military commander have been a source of fear and antagonism for 170 years. This new volume, authored by three BYU professors, is billed as a revisionist history, a new look at the old Legion and an effort to see the regional army in terms of its real context.
Jerry is schizophrenic.* He is able to live on his own when things are going well, although he is unable to hold a job or do much more than manage a daily routine. He is medicated and regularly spends time in a facility. He is a member of the church and for many years I was his home teacher.
One day at church, another ward member said that if Jerry prayed and fasted he might be cured. With enough faith, he said, we could do anything. This young man offered to give Jerry a blessing, which frightened Jerry. Jerry agreed to a blessing if I would give it. The other man suggested an anointing and blessing for the healing of the sick, but after having his options explained, Jerry elected for a blessing of comfort instead. My blessing was a plea for calm and peace in Jerry’s soul as I felt spiritually directed.
My first reaction was to be angry. It seemed to me that this young guy, long on abstract faith but short on actual experience with suffering, had planted a seed of false hope and possibly self-incrimination in the heart of a very sick man. Aside from that, my experience had taught me that a belief in the unseen was a tricky subject for Jerry because of his condition. And yet there was nothing really wrong with what this man had said. It was factually true. In theory, I did believe in the power of faith, that Christ made the lame walk and the blind see. Was my anger a manifestation of my weak faith? Read the rest of this entry »
Todd Compton is an independent historian, having published many articles and books. He is perhaps best known for writing In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith. He has two forthcoming volumes; the first, co-authored with Leland Gentry is due out soon: Fire and the Sword: A History of the Latter-Day Saints in Northern Missouri from 1836 to 1839 (Kofford Books). The second volume is a biography of Jacob Hamblin. This review was originally given by him at Sunstone West, March 27, 2010.
The Fall issue of Dialogue is up on the website, and should be arriving in your mailbox soon. (You are a subscriber, right?)
As luck would have it, this issue includes an essay by Chase Kimball on the difficulties of lived Mormonism in China, which coincides rather nicely with this amazing announcement from the Newsroom. It’s hard to know exactly what “regularize” might mean, but I hope it will mean that Chase and his friend John can worship together someday.
There’s lots more, of course–some beautiful essays on responding to climate change by Ed and Carrol Firmage, a solid smackdown of Intelligent Design Theory by SB2′s brilliant dad, an exhaustively-researched piece on C.S. Lewis by Blair Hodges of Life on Gold Plates, and one of my favorite sermons yet.
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It is perhaps well known that we sometimes use language that isn’t readily comprehended by those outside of our faith. Some of that results from anachronism. For example, while some other Christians during the Second Great Awakening called the Lord’s Supper “the Sacrament” and called sacraments “ordinances” they generally outgrew the practice while we kept the terms. So too with words like “proselyting,” though now I think it is generally viewed as incorrect (proselytize is the correct verb). One curious example of Mormon vocabulary is the verb “to tract,” by which we mean to knock on people’s doors in order to proselytize.
This is the second in a series from BCC Guest Nicholas S., known to many of you as Latter-day Guy. Part 1 can be found here.
Iuste iudex ultionis, Donum fac remissionis Ante diem rationis.[6]
The sun is bright for the graveside service, and most of us are melting. Beneath the layers of cotton and wool, my body attempts––unsuccessfully––to cool itself. Whatever heavenly engineer thought up the idea of perspiration must not have considered the effects of high-humidity. The discomfort is not entirely bad though. Like attending a Portuguese Mass with my Spanish-speaking ears, it has a certain blunting effect. I make brief eye-contact with some of the familiar faces around me; a few offer wan smiles. Several of us are surprised that the graves will not be dedicated, but the cemetery is owned by the parish. Their turf, their rules. A brother tells me in a near whisper that the dedication will happen later, very discreetly. The revelation is strangely (and inappropriately) amusing. There is something gothic and Van Helsing-esque about the thought of this genial, balding elder’s quorum member breaking into a graveyard to exercise his ninja priesthood in the dead of night, dispatching a zombie for good measure on the way to a home teaching appointment. Like sawdust on running water, the crowd moves away en masse, slowly separating into smaller and smaller companies. One of the more gregarious young women (her dad used to be our ward mission leader) greets me and Elder Latu, and we talk for a moment. All I can remember now is her confidence that God would mete out justice, and the hard set to her jaw and the gun-metal glint in her eye that this conviction gave her. She is probably right, but the thought is not comforting. Despite the heat, something inside feels cold.
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We wander forward moment to moment in an act of construction. All the conscious feel of experience, all that bubbles up into the world is massaged and bent. Mixed with memories. Fashioned anew out of the old. Brought forth as an act of creation. We do not see ‘as is,’ nor an ‘out there’ in the world except that it is fashioned from who and what we are—from whatever self we have constructed since birth. Read the rest of this entry »
I saw Ardis’s post about the upcoming Utah State History Conference and noticed a number of interesting papers, including Gary Bergera’s presentation on the BYU Spy Ring (which I understand is quite good and forthcoming in the UHQ). I had the pleasure of responding to Gary, LaJean Carruth and Lavina Fielding Anderson at the MHA conference last spring and I thought I could translate my response into something of interest for those who did not attend.
Beginnings new recently discussed possible revisions to the Young Women’s manual and what commenters think should be included. Some people suggested updating the lessons to deal with issues that current young women face, such as saturation with electronic media. The prospect of updating these sorely out of date manuals is exciting and much needed. But the problem, I think, is that unless we continue to update these manuals constantly, any new issues and anecdotes will also inevitably become dated. [Note: I noticed after writing this post that commenters on the Beginnings new thread already made the same point! ] Read the rest of this entry »
Does the Park51 Islamic Community Center in Lower Manhattan (also known by the misnomer “Ground Zero Mosque”) present an opportunity for Mitt Romney to assume and evince leadership in the Republican Party, possibly even ousting populist Tea Party Anti-Federalist demagogues based on fundamental Federalist principles in the process? Read the rest of this entry »
Feast your eyes upon the artwork below, and then tell us: Which one evokes the most powerful spiritual feelings.
I recently heard from an LDS friend who has moved to a new city. He and his wife were careful in their selections of neighborhoods and school districts, and were very happy to find a house they liked in the area they wanted. The house was just right, budget-wise, and the new neighbors are terrific. There are four homes on their cul-de-sac, and the other three families are residents of long-standing who have developed strong friendships with one another. My friend reports that they have been welcomed and feel very much at home already. Both he and his wife think it might be the best place they have ever lived.
Ardis’s recent post, which included some interesting bits on Latter-day Saint liturgy got me digging through some of my files. I have a long term study of Mormon liturgy and ritual brewing and at one point I sat down to sketch out the evolution of authority within the church over time. I came across these Venn diagrams, which some might find interesting.
Just really quickly, because posts like this make some people feel awkward: multiple sclerosis is terrible. Like last year, I’m doing a charity bike ride to raise funds to fight MS, and I welcome your donations. I promised a bunch of stuff to donors last year, and I repeat those promises now (and if I didn’t follow through with any of you last year, let me know and I’ll make amends). So, give some money if you can – here’s the link. It will make you feel quite a bit better about yourself.
The BCC Zeitcast returns from a short summer vacation! In this episode, Scott B. is joined by DKL and a random John for a discussion of too many topics to list, including Glenn Beck, Church block programs, thinking evil of your fellow saints, chocolate, and a fractured [BLEEP]. Download this episode here or subscribe to the BCC Zeitcast in iTunes. (And don’t forget to leave a rating/review in iTunes!)
Links for your convenience:
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Anyone who has listened to Handel’s Messiah will be familiar with this commonly used prooftext of a physical resurrection from Job 19:25-26: Read the rest of this entry »
This post comes from BCC Guest mmiles.
I was sixteen when Mr. Zeeman assigned our journalism class to interview another student. “Lisa” was in the class with me, and I could interview her while we waited our turn in typing class. Lisa was “on placement.” She was from an Indian reservation and was assigned to live with a foster family for the school year. She had been a participant for a few years already. Read the rest of this entry »
The deadline is fast approaching to submit papers for next year’s conference focused on “War and Peace in Our Time: Mormon Perspectives.” The conference is jointly sponsored by the Latter-day Saint Council on Mormon Studies, and the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. It will be held at Claremont March 18-19, 2011. The CFP is below. Note the September 1 deadline: Read the rest of this entry »
When Mormon women are asked how they can protect their families from pornography, a common reply is that the computer should be placed in the center of the room. The strategy is essentially that of Foucault’s panopticon. The assumption seems to be that the best way to protect families from pornography is to live in a bubble. But while placing a computer in the center of a room might have prevented children from going to certain websites ten years ago, we now live in the age of handheld devices. Read the rest of this entry »
Everyone has been talking lately about whether or not President Obama is a Muslim or a Christian, or at least talking about what other people think he is. While his beliefs may influence his actions behind the scenes, it’s my understanding that President Obama doesn’t regularly attend church anyway, on the grounds that to do so would be disruptive. This seems like a pretty good reason to me, and I understand that President Reagan didn’t attend church during his terms either.[1]
My question is, what would a hypothetical President Romney do? Wouldn’t it be pretty disruptive if he did attend a DC ward?
The interwebs have been all abuzz as of late with reviews both positive and negative regarding the new Mormon.org ad campaign. Not being a fan of egregious animal cruelty, I don’t want to beat this dead horse, but I think there’s a side to this whole thing that’s been largely (if not entirely) ignored: The seeming inability of actual Mormons to abide the message of diversity and acceptance the ads imply.
Anyone within a mile of the Bloggernacle already knows that the most glaring complaint about the new ads stems from what many see as a disconnect between the lifestyles featured in the ads and the over-the-pulpit direction church members actually receive. One area of controversy concerns the videos feature working moms. This is problematic for some because they feel the church is not openly supportive of mothers working or pursuing interests outside the home. As disconcerting as this duplicitous message may seem, what is more troubling is the lack of understanding and support offered by general members of the church to other members whose lifestyle choices fall into the realm of “diverse”. Read the rest of this entry »
I’m pressed for time but wanted to draw your attention to a very interesting number of the New England Journal of Medicine, the top medical journal in the country. There are three fascinating features.
First, it turns out you can get, I kid you not, anthrax, from using animal-hide drums made in the developing world. Overpowered by funk, indeed. (old spores are liberated by the banging on the drum and then inhaled or swallowed.)
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Recently a friend expressed some anxiety over the possibility that his daughters might serve missions for the LDS Church. He was concerned that such an experience might lead them to internalize too much of the intensely sexist rhetoric and behaviour that is observable among some LDS missionaries. The following day, while meandering on Temple Square, two sister missionaries intercepted me and began trying to obtain a referral. In that conversation I learned something so obvious that I am ashamed it had never occurred to me before, but which I think could influence the ‘missionary culture’ if it was universally adopted: Sister missionaries, in that mission, hold leadership positions. Read the rest of this entry »
I stumbled across Ecclesiastes because of a reference in a novel about a year ago, and I’ve read it from front to back several times since. It reminds me of a TS Eliot poem, whirling around with its repetitive motifs and images, asking questions without answers, providing what seem to be contradictions. The pessimistic tone, the positions it takes which approach a sort of existentialism, these speak to me. Since the book only got a passing reference in Sunday School last week, here’s a few favorite passages for people to comment on:
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. (1:2) Read the rest of this entry »
W V Smith of BOAP.org fame returns with some reflections on great thinking and the dangers of libraries.
Years ago, I spent a little time at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. The Institute was founded in 1930 and is probably most famous for taking in the great thinkers fleeing what was happening in Germany. It was criticized by some as a kind of drowning pool for intellect because of the designed isolation.
Anyway, you heard stories. This may have circulated and I just haven’t heard about it. It was from an acquaintance who was a number theorist and invited to the Institute by Einstein. Since Einstein died in 1955, the story was old when I heard it. Einstein of course was a physicist and my friend wondered why Einstein would ask him to come there. Einstein of course was just doing the guy a favor, giving him a job until he could get on his feet (having just come over from the old country). Read the rest of this entry »
I don’t think that I like the notion of “Sunday School Answers.” Which isn’t to say that I don’t like prayer, scripture, and church attendance (the clear winner of last week’s poll), but rather I worry that the too frequent repetition of that triptych turns it into vain recitation, rather than a sincere attempt to seek and know the word of God. Read the rest of this entry »
LDS Headlines Authors Elsewhere
