By Common Consent, a Mormon Blog

[Ed. note: mmiles continues to grace us with her guest presence]

A few months ago my friend called. Over the phone she said her husband had gone to the bishop to ask if he was still worthy, ready to surrender his temple recommend. The sole reason for his query? They were filing for bankruptcy.

*************

“Are your parents here?”

“No.”

“Well, don’t take these papers down.” And with two pounds of the staple gun, he was gone.

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE

The papers glared at me as I moved closer to read the small print, documents in a bundle my sixteen-year-old education couldn’t understand. A few hours later my mother’s cheeks were wet as she removed them. Breaking this law seemed small compared to the moral failing of filing for bankruptcy. Read the rest of this entry »

According to a certificate filed with the Utah Division of Corporations & Commercial Code and obtained by the LDSgroups Yahoo Group, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS Church) has called a new church President: Wendell Loy Nielson. (The FLDS Church is one of the two largest fundamentalist Mormon denominations, the other being the Apostolic United Brethren.)

President Nielson was formerly First Counselor in the FLDS First Presidency under the previous church President, Warren Steed Jeffs. Jeffs resigned his position on December 4, 2007, shortly after his sentence of ten years to life by a Utah court.

It is not yet clear whether Jeffs also resigned as Prophet of the FLDS Church or whether Nielson has been called to succeed him as Prophet. Read the rest of this entry »

Our good friend Chris H. returns for a discussion of religion and The Best Republican Ever.

In 1846 Abraham Lincoln wrote the following about his religious outlook:

To the Voters of the Seventh Congressional District.

FELLOW CITIZENS:
A charge having got into circulation in some of the neighborhoods of this District, in substance that I am an open scoffer at Christianity, I have by the advice of some friends concluded to notice the subject in this form. That I am not a member of any Christian Church, is true; but I have never denied the truth of the Scriptures; and I have never spoken with intentional disrespect of religion in general, or any denomination of Christians in particular. It is true that in early life I was inclined to believe in what I understand is called the “Doctrine of Necessity” — that is, that the human mind is impelled to action, or held in rest by some power, over which the mind itself has no control; and I have sometimes (with one, two or three, but never publicly) tried to maintain this opinion in argument. The habit of arguing thus however, I have, entirely left off for more than five years. And I add here, I have always understood this same opinion to be held by several of the Christian denominations. The foregoing, is the whole truth, briefly stated, in relation to myself, upon this subject.

I do not think I could myself, be brought to support a man for office, whom I knew to be an open enemy of, and scoffer at, religion. Leaving the higher matter of eternal consequences, between him and his Maker, I still do not think any man has the right thus to insult the feelings, and injure the morals, or the community in which he may live. If, then, I was guilty of such conduct, I should blame no man who should condemn me for it; but I do blame those, whoever they may be, who falsely put such a charge in circulation against me.

A. Lincoln

July 31, 1846

Read the rest of this entry »

I failed miserably in my Hometeaching duties this past month. Fortunately, I won’t receive an email soliciting my monthly stats until sometime next week, and as I see it, “early February” is the new “late January”, so all is not lost. Thus my scrambling around this morning between church meetings, cornering my hometeachees, and inquiring whether my companion and I could stop by this evening. Strangely, most of my hometeachees weren’t available. Something about already “having plans,” or “family visiting tonight” or “getting together with friends at that hour.” Granted this is short notice, but how odd that nobody was available today. Hmmmmm.
Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s face it: If we really need to survive a year on food storage, then I’m guessing we also ought to store ammunition to fend off the starving people.  However, this weekend my city was caught on the outskirts of the “epic” (by southern standards) snowfall. For the first time, I saw a glimpse of the panic that can ensue when people are unprepared for events that disrupt their communities on a wide scale.  The grocery store resembled a war zone: The bread was gone, eggs were thrown in random places, and the check out line extended around the store.  People were desperately trying to buy shovels, which were sold out everywhere. On the plus side, church was cancelled for us all to enjoy the snow day! Read the rest of this entry »

In the Sermon on the Mount as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gave his hearers a higher law.  In verses 22 and 23, we read (KJV): 

 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt  not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 

Then, a little later in verses 27 and 28, we read: 

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 

Read the rest of this entry »

MMiles is a long-time participant in the Bloggernacle and a participant at Segullah. We are honored to have her as our guest.

“Brandon says he’s learned the importance of serving others through his Church membership. He notes that giving meaningful service is one of the purposes of the Aaronic Priesthood. ‘Scouting is the activity arm of the priesthood,’ he says.”

The February New Era arrived today sporting a pristine boy scout, backpack and all, prepared for a hike and perched on a large boulder. It’s the cover for the feature story, “Scouting: A Pillar Supporting the Priesthood.” At the heart of the article is the third page, a showcasing of scouts of varying ages, explaining how they find scouting and the priesthood work together. The opposite page briefly details the history of how the church chose BSA as its match.

1911 Church leaders decide that Scouting, with its spiritual background and cultural ideals, has great appeal.

And so, in 1913 the Church and BSA were married. It’s like a match made in heaven! The boys learn to serve, how to be a missionary. They gain knowledge, and build camaraderie. But, as we all know, scouting has its drawbacks: the lawsuits, extraordinary expense, extraordinary amounts of time, and its failure to adapt to modern needs, arguably unlike the Young Women’s program (unless you count video gaming).

However its biggest failure is stated plainly in the article itself, ironically one of the very reasons for which it was chosen to be the lifelong partner with the church—cultural ideals. Read the rest of this entry »

UVU Religious Studies to host Helen Whitney for panel discussion on her film “The Mormons”

The UVU Religious Studies Program welcomes filmmaker Helen Whitney for a panel discussion on her groundbreaking documentary “The Mormons” on Friday, February 12, 2010 from 10:00-12:00 p.m. in the UVU Library Lakeview Room. Read the rest of this entry »

When I walked out of the movie I checked my cell and saw that my mother had tried to call me twice without leaving a message. This was not good. My mom never calls me out of the blue for chit chat; I sensed that it was bad news. I tried calling her back, but she didn’t pick up, and the more I tried to get ahold of her the more my imagination ran away with me. I was very concerned that someone had died. When I finally reached her, it turned out that it was bad news, though not so dire as a death. My older sister’s husband had lost his job in budget cuts. Read the rest of this entry »

A couple of weeks ago, I encountered something I never expected during the Sacrament: politesse. Read the rest of this entry »

In which our recurring guest, Chris H., finally throws away the shreds of pretense surrounding his pinko leanings.

In my earlier BCC guest post, I mentioned in the comments that I would further explain what I mean by socialism. Not sure if this will help, but it is what it is.

I refer to myself as a socialist for a number of reasons. In one sense, it is empirically accurate. In a discussion a few years back, I insisted that I was a liberal egalitarian and not a socialist. While this is technically the case, the difference is practically irrelevant. At least, that is what J. Nelson Seawright argued, and I have come to realize that he was correct. The philosopher Julius Sensat argues that socialism is an attitude and not so much a program. [1] It is an aversion against inequality. The political theorist Michael Walzer argues that socialism is essentially an argument for true democracy. Government, and economy, of the people, by the people, and for the people. Read the rest of this entry »

The scene: a second-hour Sunday school class, “Principles of Exaltation,” with the 12- and 13-year-olds, this past Sunday, the Rolling Hills ward, Wichita, Kansas. Read the rest of this entry »

Now that it has been confirmed that I will not be receiving a Niblet this year, it’s time to shift from the official BCC stance of indifference to my personal position of outright hatred. I hate you all. With the power of 1000 suns my rage burns within! I will crush you all, by means of blogpoll. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week there were several interesting posts in the bloggernacle about Adam and Eve, the garden of Eden, and the Fall.  Mormons have not only the Genesis account, but the Pearl of Great Price and the temple, and it is interesting to see how we harmonize the various versions.  I don’t have a background in ancient scripture and I go to the temple more to find peace of mind that doctrinal insight, so I have nothing to add to the discussion.  But I am interested to see that we LDS people want to believe strongly that the Fall wasn’t really a fall but a jump, or whatever you call it when you fall upwards.  I think this has led us to believe simultaneously in two different versions of the Fall.

Read the rest of this entry »

This is the place, trust me.

So you’ve decided to found your own Mormon church and you want to create a Nauvoo-style theocracy by taking control of a U.S. county.

Q: What is the most vulnerable county in the United States?
A: Loving County, Texas. Read the rest of this entry »

We have met the enemy and he is us.  In a religion which teaches us to be our brother’s and sister’s keepers, in which we at least theoretically bear one another’s burdens, and in which we share some communal responsibility for one another’s well-being, I wonder how much responsibility we bear for one another’s transgressions?  This question brings us to the matter at hand.

There is low-hanging fruit, and then there is Senator Chris Buttars.  Read the rest of this entry »

I made a career jump about four months ago, switching from the publishing world to the “dark side”—advertising. Despite the fact that my paycheck has always been furnished by ad dollars, part of me has felt all along that advertising is the main culprit behind the materialism, financial indiscretion, and covetousness we see so much of in our culture.

I felt good about making the career change though; it was a friend and member of my bishopric that recruited me for a job at his agency, and I’m working with a client whose products and services I genuinely believe in. So while I don’t take much pride in telling people I’m in advertising, at least I can sleep at night. (You lawyers know what I’m talking about, right? Right?)

I’ve been pondering on one of the stories from last week’s Gospel Doctrine lesson (the one Steve blogged about), and it’s made me think even more critically of my newly adopted industry. The lesson dealt with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and their first confrontation with Satan.

Read the rest of this entry »

In the quintessential Mormon story of the power of the scriptures, the troubled soul picks up her scriptures and the book falls open to the verse perfectly designed to address her current needs.  Enlightenment through the scriptures in this story does not come from work or study: God directs events and our impressions so that we are blessed with an inspired verse that seems to fall from the heavens onto our lap.  God gives liberally. Read the rest of this entry »

I often get the question of where “telestial” comes from. I thought it would be fun to put up here as much as I’ve been able to figure out/find on the subject, and then let the collective wisdom of the Bloggernacle add to it, so as to create a permanent record for future reference. Read the rest of this entry »

If you came to this post because the title led you to think this would be something cool about science by Steve P., you are out of luck.  Instead, it is a riff on John Crawford’s post from last week entitled The Black Hole. Crawford explains convincingly how our tendency to just throw up our hands when it comes to understanding male sexuality is unproductive. We apparently are content to stumble along thinking that every single man on earth is just a hunka hunka burnin’ lust, so what are ya gonna do about it?  It’s really no mystery why we continue to struggle with the same problems over and over, with no measurable progress.

Read the rest of this entry »

I hate running. Lots of people like it–they run races, they discover untapped strength and joy, they get in physical and spiritual shape, they have intense emotions and “runner’s high.”

But not me. Read the rest of this entry »

The garden is a foundational narrative to Christianity and Mormonism. It is also dynamic. I tend to agree with Ronan – as Mormons we have a particular relationship to the garden due to our temple liturgy. Beyond the fascinating insights that ancient near-eastern studies offer, beyond traditional biblical readings, Mormonism’s relationship to the garden is essentially extra-biblical. Read the rest of this entry »

The Tanner Humanities Center’s mission is to promote humanistic research and education at the University of Utah, in the state, and in the nation. The Center sponsors an annual competitive program which promotes research by University of Utah faculty and graduate students and research by independent scholars and faculty from other institutions. See http://www.thc.utah.edu for more information. Read the rest of this entry »

Many readers will remember my Back Row series on the Doctrine and Covenants. I wanted to continue writing about the scriptures connected with Sunday School, but the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament is far more complex than the Doctrine and Covenants, and I’m just an interested amateur. So I’m calling in reinforcements. This week, I’m joined by Kiskilili from Zelophehad’s Daughters, as well as Ronan, John C., and Kristine all from BCC. (Because the documents are all complicated and in some ways different, this series will focus on Hebrew Bible texts discussed in Sunday School, with Pearl of Great Price and JST texts referred to when they are of interest for the Hebrew Bible but not placed at the center of attention.)

JNS: This week’s Back Row discussion focuses on Genesis 2-3, the Hebrew Bible reading for the fourth Sunday School lesson this year.  Here, we’re asked to talk about one of the most-interpreted narratives in human history, the Adam and Eve narrative.  To get things started on the right note, I’d like to make the popular point that the narrative is about Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. Read the rest of this entry »

Taught the first part of Lesson 4 yesterday — I say the “first part,” because we had 10 minutes of class time (thanks, Ward Conference!), and this lesson is important enough to bump Lesson 5 forward. See here for an example of how class is supposed to be done. So, in our ten minutes, I covered the Council in Heaven, Satan’s fall and the serpent. Next week we’ll do the Fall and the redemption (if Aaron Brown shows up). At one point, we read Moses 4:5-6:

And now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which I, the Lord God, had made. And Satan put it into the heart of the serpent, (for he had drawn away many after him,) and he sought also to beguile Eve, for he knew not the mind of God, wherefore he sought to destroy the world.

There’s a lot to unpack in those verses, and we didn’t try in our time to talk about why Eve, or why Satan would not know the mind of God, etc. Best leave that for next week. Instead, I asked: “was there really a snake?” Read the rest of this entry »

LDS people place a lot of confidence in the scriptures.  We believe that the answers to most of our questions and challenges can be found in the pages of the canon.  If you are faltering in your faith, you need to read the scriptures more.  If you are struggling with temptation, read the scriptures more.  If you are experiencing difficulties of any kind in your life, you will find guidance in the holy scriptures.

Read the rest of this entry »

In the early 80s I spent a couple of years working as a teaching assistant to S. Kent Brown, then the director of ancient studies at BYU. My main job was grading OT papers, but Kent would occasionally give me research assignments. One project I did involved a palaeographic analysis of some Coptic ostraca (as I recall, my verdict was fourth to fifth century C.E.). Another involved researching everything I could find out about a particular Roman coin. That kind of project was tremendously fun, and it was amazing to me what one could learn from that little bit of metal. Read the rest of this entry »