Taken from chapter 40, The Good Shepherd:
A shepherd takes care of his sheep. He helps them find food and water. he does not let them get lost or hurt. He knows them and he loves them and would give his life to save them.
Discuss.
- Aaron B.
- Aaron R.
- About BCC:
- Amri Brown
- BCC Papers
- BCC’s General Conference Portal
- BHodges
- Brad
- Cynthia L.
- Info & Contact
- J. Nelson-Seawright
- J. Stapley
- Jacob
- John C.
- John F.
- John Hamer
- Karen H.
- Kathryn Lynard Soper
- Kevin Barney
- Kristine
- Kyle M
- M Miles
- M. Norbert Kilmer
- Margaret Blair Young
- Mark Brown
- Matt Page
- Natalie B.
- Rebecca J.
- RJH
- Russell Arben Fox
- Sam MB
- Steve Evans
- Steve P.
- Sunny Smart
- The Emeriti
- Tracy M.
- W. V. Smith
About
Sideblog- Does this make it harder for women to work at BYU and for the church?
- Mormons: at least we are consistent in opposing both tattoos and homosexuality
- Nobody Knows: Documentary of Black LDS History DVD Release
- Jared* reviews Handley et al. Environment and Creation book
- And 1000s of RMs at BYU exclaim at once, "Fetch! Why didn't *I* think of that?!"
- What hardcore Mormon nerds do on weekends
- Surprising no one, McNaughton reveals he's a birther
- 48 Things That Will Make You Feel Old
- Connecticut temple pic.
- JSPP, J2 index now available (PDF).
God is Not a Puppeteer
May 22, 2012 — mmilesSeeing my son wheeled out of a complicated emergency surgery and intubated broke me. The nurses in the pediatric intensive care unit tried to assure us that intubation was hard for every parent, and that kids bounce back. It would be OK.
But it wasn’t.
My husband and I watched as child after child came and went from the PICU with ailments that seemed far worse than my own son’s, but drug-resistant pneumonia was killing him. His lungs looked like Swiss cheese. When the first chest tube draining puss was removed, air leaked into his chest cavity causing a pocket of his skin to breathe up and down like something out of an alien movie. Sometimes air would hiss out from beneath his bandages. His blood was frequently being tested to see if his white blood cell count was beginning to go down, or at least not going up. X-ray machines were drug to his bed at least twice-a-day. After endless complications, the head of pediatric surgery took us in a small room to have a heart-to-heart. Read the rest of this entry »
Poor Rich People
February 28, 2012 — mmilesHawkgrrl returns to grace us with her words.
This has been a crappy few years to be rich. There have been a few jerks who’ve really given wealth a bad name: Wall Streeters who traded in junk bonds, pyramid schemer Bernie Madoff, and “hot rabbit” and accused maid molester DSK. Many rich people are under water on their mortgage(s). Add to that a Democrat government that is unapologetically tone-deag to rich people and their needs. As Jesus said, “The poor ye have always with you.” Meaning, it’s always going to suck to be poor, but being rich is supposed to be awesome, right? Yet, thanks to a few bad apples and a little global economic peril, rich people are vilified and reviled, mocked openly for their very riches. There’s something wrong when 99% of people can threaten the well-being of the overwhelming minority, the 1%. It’s a good thing the rich can afford personal security and to serve in government.
And the hits keep coming. A recent study shows that (I am not making this up) rich people are more likely to take candy from babies.
First of all, depending on how old the babies are and the type of candy, babies should not be eating candy. It’s unsafe. Babies’ teeth may not be well developed enough for a nougat or a crunchy Heath bar. Another problem with babies eating candy is that they are often very messy with it. I have known a baby to take a caramel out of his drooling mouth multiple times before ultimately leaving it in the carpet, resulting in property damage. Should we really reward that kind of behavior? Also, with the childhood obesity problem in the US, the rich people may be providing a valuable service in preventing babies from becoming addicted to low-nutrition foods. Of course, the article did not make any of these valid points, instead implying that rich people are selfish bastards. Read the rest of this entry »
Mormon Blogging and the Good Ole Boys’ Club
February 1, 2012 — mmilesIn September 2006 NPR ran a story on a study of numbers of women in academia (or lack thereof), particularly science. Maria Zuber, commenting on the study, made good points that I think are also pertinent to the structure of the Bloggernacle and the conversations we have. Firstly, the tendency in academia is to, as Zuber put it, “stay close to shore.” Academics tend to recognize excellence if it looks like their own work. Likewise bloggers tend to read the kind of content and join the discussions they themselves like to produce, and think those are the best conversations to have.
Patrick Mason, Chair of Mormon Studies at Claremont, noted the problem this creates in his survey of graduate students in the Bloggernacle. Read the rest of this entry »
Teaching Investigators about Heavenly Parents
January 31, 2012 — mmilesIn November of last year The American Physical Society, a professional organization for physicists and other closely related fields, held a meeting in Salt Lake City close to temple square. Word got out quickly that there were free temple square tours and talk among the scientists of how quickly they were accosted by missionaries. Dr. B, a friend of ours, decided to go across the street and have a look. He wasn’t accosted, but walked around leisurely through the grounds and buildings, and was leaving the christus when he was finally approached. A two-hour discussion with the missionaries ensued. “I think I offended them twice,” he reported.
“How?” my husband asked.
“I told them I like to drink.”
“I don’t think that offended them.”
“One of the sisters asked, ‘Do you believe in God?’ And I said I think about it. I think God exists. God could even be a woman. Read the rest of this entry »
Poll: Home and Visiting Teaching edition
January 4, 2012 — mmilesIt’s that time of year again, vowing to lose ten pounds, read your scriptures daily, hold FHE, and become the ward’s world’s best home or visiting teacher! (poll below the fold) Read the rest of this entry »
Corpus Christi
December 22, 2011 — mmiles
I don’t think it’s insignificant that Mormons do not have religious holidays, even Christmas and Easter are drawn from western Christian traditions; and thus are usually celebrated by Mormons when the rest of Christendom celebrates them according to the region of the world they are in at the time of those holidays. For instance, Easter in Russia is celebrated by Mormons according to the Orthodox calendar, while Easter in Italy is celebrated by Mormons on the date accorded by Catholic tradition. Christmas in Russia slides by January 7th with little fanfare, culturally crushed by seventy years of Soviet thought. As I’ve mentioned before, while I don’t dislike Christmas, I don’t love it. What holidays offer me is what it means to be Christian as I flesh out day-to-day actions and interactions from all the celebratory traditions that can be overwhelming and at the same time feel meaningless.
In The Exponent II Winter 2011 Issue; Erica Eastley explores some of the practices of new Mormons with non-Christian backgrounds. She notes, “[The] culture of the LDS Church is heavily influenced by Protestant culture and practice. This isn’t surprising or necessarily a bad thing, but it does affect how the Church and its doctrines are received by people whose background isn’t Protestant.” Read the rest of this entry »
Twas the Morning of Finals
December 7, 2011 — mmiles
Twas the morning of finals, when all through the dorms
Freshmen were dressing, disguising their forms.
Sarah’s head scarf was tied round her with care,
In hopes that the boys wouldn’t notice her there.
Students filled desks, not snuggled in beds,
While visions of straight As danced in their heads.
And Sarah in head scarf, and I in my jeggings,
Had just cleansed our brains from the sight of men’s meggings. Read the rest of this entry »
OccuPie
November 24, 2011 — mmilesAn Open Letter to My Son
October 10, 2011 — mmiles
Dear A. ,
Fourteen years ago today your father and I were married. Not much the sealer said before the ceremony has stuck with me. However one thing has stayed with me, “Don’t fritter away your time.”
I’m proud of you. You worked really hard and saved to help buy your iPod. I notice you‘re pretty attached to it. Yesterday while inspecting it I noticed you recently added more games and other apps beyond Angry Birds. Read the rest of this entry »
Come, Join the Conversation
October 4, 2011 — mmiles
In language intonation refers to the rise and fall of a speaker’s voice in the course of a sentence or group of thoughts. In English, there are at least four identified tones. For instance, I can say “Nice to meet you,” and depending on the intonation of my voice it can come across as flirtatious, questioning, matter of fact, nonchalant or sarcastic.
Humans are used to their own speech patterns within the culture they live. This is good because it helps us interpret the thoughts and ideas people are trying to convey. However it poses a problem cross-culturally. Read the rest of this entry »
Establishing the Relief Society, Establishing the Church
September 15, 2011 — mmiles
In 1995 Leah and Kharine were baptized in Moscow, Russia. Leah was from the Republic of Georgia and Kharine was from rural Armenia. Each sister returned home to her native country soon after her baptism. Leah was the first and only Georgian member; Kharine, the first in her region. Leah and Kharine’s stories aren’t that unusual to other stories from around the globe. Because I am most familiar with Russia and Eurasia, for the sake of this discussion my examples will continue to be from that region of the world.
Though the church did have a presence in Armenia, Kharine did not read the dialect of Armenian excerpts of the Book of Mormon had been translated into, and could not easily maintain contact with members in Yerevan because of distance once she returned home. The church did not (and still does not to my knowledge) have an established presence in Georgia.
As membership grow in different regions of the globe, Area Presidencies formally organize the members into a Group—kind of the pre-cursor to a Branch. It is my understanding that this entails the presence of men as priesthood holders so there can be a designated ‘Group Leader’. However new converts are most often women. Sisters living far from the organized church are isolated, and often feel lonely and less important in the church. They may not be sure of their place in the church. Read the rest of this entry »
Do you want to find someone guilty? Whom do you want to accuse?
September 8, 2011 — mmilesThe history of ostracism can be traced to Athenian democracy. The word ostracism comes from the Greek ostraka (from ὄστρακον), or potsherds. Pieces of broken pottery served as scraps (like paper) on which to vote. Every year Athenians had the chance to cast someone out of society for up to ten years. But instead of finding fault with someone and thus casting the penalty on them, citizens were first asked; Do you wish to find someone guilty? Read the rest of this entry »
A Simple Thought Experiment
August 4, 2011 — mmilesI’m convinced religious pluralism is a good thing. When institutionalized religion has a monopoly on the faith, beliefs and practices of people in a society, unjust laws are often put into place and human rights are often curtailed. Religious ideology is sometimes unfairly marginalizing to those outside the status quo (please note the overuse of qualifiers—this isn’t a swipe at religion). As a member of a proselytizing faith, a religious tradition that I think is needed in the world, I often ponder the need for proselytizing (and indeed the commandment to proselytize) against the necessity of religious pluralism for a good and just society. I am convinced embracing and encouraging religious pluralism will not only will bring about the best outcomes for the future of our world, but will also help believers grow nearer to God as they learn from those outside of their own religious tradition and grow in understanding of who God is, how he works, and who we are as His children. So indulge me for a moment and consider the following. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s-too-hot-to-do-anything-but-take-this-poll Poll
June 14, 2011 — mmilesOk, so I’m in Arizona. Maybe it’s not that hot where you are, but we all know you have nothing better to do. Read the rest of this entry »
Mourning with Those that Mourn in an Internet Age
May 29, 2011 — mmilesI logged on to Facebook one afternoon to find my grandfather had died. A relative made the announcement via status update. It was not the way I wanted to find out of his passing. My aunt, his daughter, had not even been told. My relative meant well, and my grandmother, not knowing what Facebook is, thought a Facebook announcement would be fine.
In the past few years I’ve noticed other faux pas in the form of status updates, wall posts and emails sent out en masse. I’m not sure what it says about our culture; our lack of reverence for the dead or more likely our misguided yet unfeigned compassion towards those who lose loved ones. News media regularly refrains from revealing the names of those who have died until all family members have been notified. This can take days, or sometimes weeks. But news travels fast in wards and neighborhoods, especially in the age of the internet. It only takes one post on someone’s wall with the word Condolences to send ripples and waves that crash down on unsuspecting loved ones. Read the rest of this entry »
When Secrecy Nullifies Sanctity
May 23, 2011 — mmilesIt was no small miracle in my life that the Bishop was out of town that week. My mother picked up the phone, distraught in the summer of 1978. The first counselor on the other end simply said, “You’ve called the right person. Go down to the police station.” It was no small miracle in my life that the first counselor was also a detective, specializing in crimes against children. These were not the man next door’s first offenses. I’m sure they were not his last after his short stay in prison. Read the rest of this entry »
Spiritual History
May 9, 2011 — mmilesGeneral Relief Society President recently said at Women’s Conference in regards to the upcoming manual on the history of the Relief Society, “There are some things that have come out in that preparation that have delineated some themes for learning. It’s not so important to have a linear history in the Church, but it is important to know our spiritual heritage and history, what themes emerge in that spiritual heritage, and what the Lord wants us to accomplish.”
Is it possible to have a grasp on spiritual history without the context of linear history?
The One and Only Myth
May 5, 2011 — mmilesIn the early 1840s Joseph Smith proposed to Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner. Elizabeth recorded “Joseph said I was his before I came here and he said all the Devils in hell should never get me from him.” Joseph further told her, “I was created for him
before the foundation of the Earth was laid.” (Todd Compton. In Sacred Loneliness pg 212 italics added) This may have been the
early beginnings of a pre-existence forming in Joseph Smith cosmology. His words were similar to some of his other wives. For instance in 1841 Joseph made it known to Zina Diantha Jacobs (Huntington Young) that the Lord, “had made it known to him that Zina was to be his wife.” (Ibid. pg 80 italics added)
Perhaps these and other 19th century marriages helped plant the idea in the Mormon psyche that people met and fell
in love in heaven, promising to marry once on earth, foreordained if you will.
Holy Week
April 23, 2011 — mmiles
The dark of night lies everywhere.
So young the night around,
We see how vast with stars the sky,
Each star as radiant as day.
And if the earth could have its way,
It would sleep on– through Easter Day—
Lulled by the reading of the psalms.
The dark of night lies everywhere.
So young the night, the square seems like
Eternity form end to end
Where still a thousand years must wait
The dawn of day and light. Read the rest of this entry »
Friday Night I-have-nothing-better-to-do-than-this Poll
April 22, 2011 — mmilesWhat is Religious Persecution?
April 17, 2011 — mmilesDuring the Reformation, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs was chained together with the Bible in protestant churches. One of the tenets of Christianity has long been that believers are persecuted. Persecution somehow proves one is righteous. Today some churches still use stories from the martyrs in sermons, and Christian media outlets run news updates about the persecution of Christians worldwide.
I think we can agree that we, as Mormons, sometimes display a persecution complex. Like sects that cling to Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, we routinely use Our Heritage and stories from our history to illustrate times of persecution and the sacrifices made in behalf of our faith. I don’t think this is a bad thing, it is our history. One of the things it does for good and bad, is tie us together in the common cause of defending our faith against persecutors. But some members of the Church are always on the defense, with arrows aimed for any slight against Mormonism, firing often when no shot was fired at them.
The Book of Mormon Musical has been heralded by some as good publicity for us (which I believe in the end it will be); while in contrast, seen by others as a gross misrepresentation of our faith as a whole. Is making fun of us okay if it’s good for us in the end? Does it set a bad precedent in a cultural landscape where religious tolerance is supposed to be the rule? Is mockery an expression of intolerance, and is intolerance synonymous with persecution? When should we ignore, or even laugh along at ourselves, and when should we take a stand?
Reframing Parental Roles in the Proclamation on the Family
April 12, 2011 — mmilesAmong other ideas, The Family: A Proclamation to the World, emphasizes the importance or gender identity and roles. For the purpose of this post, I will focus on several sentences that relate to the responsibilities of parents within the family as they rear children.
Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. ‘Children are an heritage of the Lord’ (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations…By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation…
In 1990 Relief Society General President Elaine L. Jack and her counselors Chieko N. Okazaki and Aileen H. Clyde met to decide their priorities for Relief Society. They outlined five points that would become the hallmarks of their presidency. The fourth read:
Strengthen families. Many types of families are part of the church today. All families need strengthening.
Women of Covenant. Page 402 Read the rest of this entry »
The Improvement Era, May 1968
March 22, 2011 — mmilesSome things in the Church change, some things never will. Read the rest of this entry »
Oral Histories: Minding the Gaps
March 2, 2011 — mmilesSome of my favorite parts of Mormon history are the accounts and stories of rank and file members, tales from their lives that show the impact of the gospel and the culture around them. I like to see how people interpreted (or do interpret) their religion, and how their faith plays out in their lives. It’s not a secret that much of earlier Church history lacks firsthand accounts and stories from women. Read the rest of this entry »
How Redefining Beauty Campaigns Reinforce Our Notions of Women and Beauty (Part II)
February 16, 2011 — mmilesIn Part I I highlighted the fact that Salt Lake City has more plastic surgeons per capita than any other US city. I noted that this could be an indicator that either:
- Utah/Mormon culture makes girls and women more susceptible to media messages, or
- Mormon girls and women are receiving messages about what it means to be beautiful from influences besides media, or
- A combination of media influence and Mormon religious culture compound to make a bigger impact on girls and women about how to be beautiful and desirable.
- Or, as has been noted, it could mean nothing more than SLC has lots of plastic surgeons.
First, media influences play on the natural desires of women to want to be beautiful and attract male attention. Contrary to the idea put forth that advertisers are trying to get women to want to look a certain way, marketing techniques simply take advantage of women’s own existing vanity. Read the rest of this entry »
Why Redefining Beauty Campaigns Won’t Work (part I)
February 15, 2011 — mmilesIn the past several years there has been a growing backlash against Western media portrayals of women. Media outlets, and even actresses themselves, have not been remiss in pointing out digital nips and tucks. To counteract this barrage of picture perfect female forms, there is a trendy movement to redefine what beauty looks like. These movements vary from going without makeup, to daily self-affirmations of just how beautiful you are, to athleticism as beauty, to the well-known marketing campaign by Dove. Amazon and other book dealers carry many titles on the topic like Redefining Beautiful, Beauty Redefined, and Girls and Self-Esteem. Within the Mormon community this trend also promises to help women and girls feel more beautiful as they accept their bodies. Read the rest of this entry »
Approaching Zion: Solving the Problem of Malnutrition
January 27, 2011 — mmiles“There is probably no more fundamental way to eliminate poverty than to raise the development potential of children. Nutrition is one of the keys to their proper physical and cognitive development.
Tadeo Chino and Namanga Ngongi, Foreword to What Works? A review of the Efficacy and Effectiveness of Nutrition Interventions (Manila, Philippines: Asian Development Bank, 2001), page iii
Brad Walker is a public health physician in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is also a cofounder of the Liahona Children’s Foundation, a non-profit organization that works to solve the problem of malnutrition and illiteracy in the LDS community in parts of Ecuador and Guatemala. I spoke with him recently about the problem of nutrition, about the foundation, and about how fifty dollars a year can feed a child. Read the rest of this entry »
Short Skirt, Long Jacket
January 16, 2011 — mmilesI have a lot of hair. It has quite a bit of curl. It tends to get frizzy. It took me years to figure out how to take care of it and it’s still kind of tricky. At one point that involved a hairdryer on low with a diffuser. I bought a couple of electrical adapters suited for Eastern Europe and packed them into my luggage. It will come as no surprise to anyone with a little knowledge about voltage and electricity that an adapter isn’t going to save a hairdryer. However as a young missionary I lacked this knowledge and the thing blew the first or second time I turned it on. Read the rest of this entry »
Winter’s Majesty
December 25, 2010 — mmiles
*This cold winter
Moon spills the inhuman fire
Of jewels
Into my hands.
One December my parents hocked their wedding rings at a trashy pawn shop in Salt Lake City in hopes of scraping together enough cash for something small for at least the youngest children. Growing up, Christmas was an anxious time, my mother crying a lot, my dad working around the clock—hoping for a paycheck that wouldn’t bounce. But it was full of happy memories too, surrounded by family, good music, good food and much joy. People were often generous and our stockings usually weren’t empty. I don’t dislike Christmas, but I don’t love it.
My first December in Moscow I spent a p-day cutting up an ugly red plaid skirt that I was too embarrassed to wear and sewed it into makeshift stockings for all the missionaries in my zone. My companion and I stuffed them with candy and cards that said Happy New Year in Russian. A week later we all walked together beneath the light of the moon through a forest of evergreens. The quiet of the forest felt cleansing; white pillows of snow fell covering the dirt from snows past. It’s one my favorite memories of both winter and my mission. Read the rest of this entry »
- LDS Headlines
- Mormon group still using discredited 'gay cure' therapy - StandardNet
- Romney's Mormon mission partner recalls time in Paris - The Spokesman Review (blog)
- Obama-Romney: African-American vs. Mormon - USA TODAY
- Mormon Temple, Massachusetts Neighbors Live In Peace - Hartford Courant
- One in Four Say Having a Mormon President Would Cause Concerns - Wall Street Journal
- Mormon 'Helping Hands' at work - Times-Standard
- Mitt Romney's Mormon faith tangles with a quirk of Arkansas history - Washington Post
- Romney's Mormon faith runs silent but deep - Salt Lake Tribune
- Missionary positions: I'd rather you be a Mormon than an Atheist! - Tucson Citizen
- Mormon church girds for landmark political race, with Romney as prominent face ... - Washington Post
- Authors Elsewhere
- The Gift of Tongues: The Propagation of Sermon Texts in Mormonism WVS
- Watch a real scientific controversy SteveP
- The Gift of Tongues: The Propagation of Sermon Texts in Mormonism WVS
- I want to breathe without coughing madhousewife
- Ill Fares the Land of Kansas Russell Arben Fox
- New Volume of Jonathan Edwards Sermons WVS
- Glimpses into my children’s sex education madhousewife
- Five Reasons Why I Don't Feel Much Like Voting for Obama These Days Russell Arben Fox
The BCC Zeitcast
Subscribe in iTunes
Meta
