You just moved into this branch 3 months ago and last Sunday they made you the branch president. During the week sister X(*), a woman in the branch whom you barely know, made an appointment with you and shared some sad, shocking news: her husband has been unfaithful to her and broken his marriage vows. She offers as evidence the fact that she observed him entering a “house of ill repute” (her words) twice during the past week. She even has the dates and times written down.
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Triple Play, or How the Gospel Imitates Baseball
September 7, 2009 — Mark BrownOne of the really appealing things about the Mormon worldview is the way that it handles wrongdoing so adeptly. Our ideas about agency, transgression, redemption, and eternal progress combine to help us see things we do wrong as learning opportunities. We don’t think about cardinal sins or venial sins; we think about improving, and form Mutual Improvement Associations. We see bad choices and failure as necessary parts of mortality. Our restoration scriptures make it clear that the Fall was not an impediment to our salvation, but an important part of it. We must taste the bitter so that we may learn to prize the good. We are presented with a challenge and when we master it, all previous failures are forgotten. Christ’s grace is sufficient, and a loss becomes irrecoverable only when we make a fully conscious, fully informed, deliberate turning away from that grace. We believe we will be judged according to the true desires of our hearts, so it’s hard for Mormons to blunder their way into hell.
On Re-reading Scripture
August 16, 2009 — Mark BrownI recently read through the Book of Mormon again. I was interested in how the experience this time was different from other times, and also how it was the same. Perhaps you have also noticed some of these points in your own reading.
Especially For Glenson — Covered Wagon Feminism
June 7, 2009 — Mark BrownBrother Lars Glenson is a good, though misguided and simple-minded soul who shows up hereabouts from time to time. He holds the study of Mormon history in special disdain and refers to it as Mormon Minutiae. Our Christian duty requires us to bear with Lars in his difficulties and to shed as much light as possible on his darkened path. It is in this spirit that BCC announces it will provide from time to time a new feature as a public service called Especially For Glenson. This service will be carried out in the form of short, inspirational posts, much like the format of Especially For Mormons. However, the BCC iteration will be better because the stories will actually be true. Please enjoy our first feature, which we will call Covered Wagon Feminism.
Read the rest of this entry »
June 8: Reasoning and Repenting
June 6, 2009 — Mark BrownI once had a co-worker who was an alcoholic, although he claimed to be just a social drinker. It was only after two disastrous life events that he decided to face the truth, admit that he had a problem, and get help. As I worked in the office next to his for over a year, I often reflected on the the lesson I learned in Primary about the four R’s of repentance. The first step we need to take in order to reform ourselves and become better is to recognize that we have a problem. The second step is to feel sincere remorse for our actions.
Day of Service – Pictures!
April 26, 2009 — Mark BrownHundred of thousands of LD Saints across the United States participated in a day of service on April 25, 2009. You can read reports and see pictures below the fold.
Open thread – Day of Service
April 24, 2009 — Mark BrownAccording to the LDS Newsroom website, tomorrow is a day of service in eleven Southern states, but I have noticed that stakes in other areas are participating too. All in all, the church is mobilizing hundreds of thousands of volunteers to join with volunteers of other organizations for the purpose of community betterment. This thread is an invitation for you to share what is happening where you live. Please give as many details as you can and if you can take pictures, that’s even better. You can email them to bccservicephotos@gmail.com. Ronan, who serves as BCC photo editor, will gladly upload them to the thread.
Dusting Off My Feet
April 21, 2009 — Mark BrownIt is a good thing the church doesn’t publish instructions on how to perform this ordinance, because I would have probably done it about a hundred times by now to the church’s computer system.
Thoughts on Conference
April 19, 2009 — Mark BrownEven though conference was two weekends ago, I find that I am still thinking about it. There is something about this semi-annual gathering that is very meaningful to me.
Short Questions About Our Discourse on Gender
April 18, 2009 — Mark BrownOn my way to looking up other things, I found the current version of the BYU Honor Code online. Under the heading “Live a chaste and virtuous life” are seven items. This is what caught my eye:
Holy Sonnet X
April 12, 2009 — Mark Brownby John Donne
Death be not proud, though some have callèd thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think’st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better than thy stroake; why swell’st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.
The Kingdom of God is Within You
March 15, 2009 — Mark BrownI received the following message this week in my email inbox:
Read the rest of this entry »
Good Defense
March 12, 2009 — Mark BrownIn team sports, it is axiomatic that good defense beats good offense. A basketball team which plays tenacious D will disrupt its opponent’s plays, create turnovers, and get a lot of easy fast-break baskets. A football team that forces a lot of 3-and-outs gives itself an edge. The best example I have seen in my lifetime of pitching beating hitting was during the 1988 World Series, when the L.A. Dodgers pitching staff systematically dismantled Oakland’s heavily favored Bash Brothers.
Truth Claims
March 10, 2009 — Mark BrownThis post originally began as a comment on Natalie’s excellent thread, but I decided that a statement from the First Presidency deserves more than a blog comment.
Chastity
February 28, 2009 — Mark BrownLast week, Bristol Palin spoke publicly about the experience of becoming pregnant outside of marriage at a young age. Among other things, she said that motherhood is difficult, and that she is very thankful for a supportive family. She also said that abstinence from sex is an unrealistic universal standard. Read the rest of this entry »
Stake Meetings Cancelled
January 22, 2009 — Mark BrownWe could all probably come up with lots of good reasons to cancel a stake training meeting. Here is my list:
On Tradition
January 14, 2009 — Mark BrownThis letter appears in the diary of a man who served in the Mormon Batallion and pioneered in Utah and Nevada.
For Language Mavens
December 7, 2008 — Mark BrownWhat is the deal with the pronouncing guide in the back of the Book of Mormon?
Voluntary Segregation
December 6, 2008 — Mark BrownI saw this press release and thought the headline was both clumsy and provocative: Americans Claim to Love Diverse Communities but Do They Really? It is a report on recent work done by the Pew Research Center, and the article and its accompanying tables are worth a look.
Raspberry Pecan Crockpot Turkey
November 25, 2008 — Mark BrownThis is a good recipe if you are not serving a crowd. It keeps the turkey really moist, and it helps avoid the conflict between people who like cranberry sauce and those who don’t. And it is super easy.
Open Thread — The Future Begins Today
November 4, 2008 — Mark BrownOn such a momentous and important day, it is understandable that BCC participants will want to express their feelings about the decisions which are being made right now and which will influence the future for years and maybe even decades.
Kindly Step Down From That Rameumptom, Buddy
October 22, 2008 — Mark BrownIn late September, 1994 I enjoyed a very fun camping and fishing trip with my family. A week later in general conference, I heard Gordon B. Hinckley recommend that fathers should raise their children with the rod — the fishing rod. I was thrilled with this new evidence that God agreed with me, and the next month when the Ensign came out, I made an unbearable nuisance of myself to everybody I knew, first showing them the words from the Ensign, then showing them pictures of our vacation, proving, proving!, that I was indeed on the Lord’s errand. I basked in the warm glow of my own pride, while simultaneously claiming to be a humble follower of the Brethren. It was wonderful.
Read the rest of this entry »
The Arm of Flesh
October 14, 2008 — Mark BrownFor the past several months, my wife and I have been in the process of selecting a new insurance company. After study and comparison of ratings, we settled on a provider. Within a week after sending in a deposit for several hundred dollars, I opened the newspaper to read that the company I thought was solid and which was now holding my money was underwater and in need of a loan from the government in the amount of 85 billion dollars. The irony is that the company was running expensive ads touting it strength and promising to be there when we need it, right up until the day it wasn’t.
The first section of the Doctrine and Covenants says that part of the reason for the Restoration is to teach us not to trust in the arm of flesh. If I didn’t know that lesson a month ago, I have learned it now. Read the rest of this entry »
You Make the Call – Women in Priesthood Meeting (Gasp!)
September 25, 2008 — Mark BrownPrevious installments in this series have examined questions from the perspective of a priesthood leader. This post puts a wrinkle in the theme by asking a question about what a woman should do.
Pharisaism
September 4, 2008 — Mark BrownA member of my family is taking an institute class, and she came home last week with a handout. It attempted to describe the major sects of Judaism which existed during Jesus’ life, and this description of the Pharisees caught my eye:
Financing a Mission, 1849-Style
August 22, 2008 — Mark Brown
If you have ever been to Nauvoo, the chances are very good that you have visited the Scovil Bakery. The original owners were Lucius and Lucy Scovil (sometimes written as Scoville), and it is located on the west side of Main Street, south of the LDS visitor’s center. If you were lucky, the missionaries at the bakery gave you a gingerbread cookie. Read the rest of this entry »
Handcarts and Grecian Tragedy
August 7, 2008 — Mark BrownMost of the time when we talk about the handcart companies, we mean the two companies which were caught in the snow in Wyoming and had to be rescued. Their story started months before Winter set in, when they left Iowa City, IA, in the middle of July. I recently found this amazing website which draws on primary sources and provides a day by day account of the handcarts’ progress.
My Way or the Highway
August 3, 2008 — Mark BrownI recently helped the Internet fill the measure of its creation by making an ass of myself in a public forum.
The Last Wagon
July 20, 2008 — Mark BrownI am a huge fan of the Mormon pioneers. Our story of exodus is compelling, and you don’t have to live in Utah or be a descendant of the pioneers to appreciate them. This week, on Thursday, the 24th of July, Salt Lake City will remember the occasion as it always does, with the Days of ‘47 parade. If you are within 100 miles of SLC it is worth attending, if only to see President Monson wear a cowboy shirt with pearl snap buttons, a bolo tie, and a cowboy hat (white, of course).
LDS Headlines- LDS temple in heart of historic Philly - Salt Lake Tribune
- Davone Bess: Mormon, Badass - MVN.com
- Congrats to LDS - Salt Lake Tribune
- Mormon Support of Gay Rights Statute Draws Praise - New York Times
- Film documents Mormon role in gay marriage debate - The Associated Press
- Brothers sue Boy Scouts, Mormon Church over alleged abuse - 1590 KLIV Silicon Valley News
- The Mormon queen of the damned - New Zealand Herald
- Naming America's First Marijuana Cafe - Huffington Post (blog)
- LDS teen Tia Thomas 'performed well' in National Bible Bee - Deseret News
- Fmr. Church Bishop: I Was Aware of Burrel Mohler Jr. Sex Allegations - fox4kc.com
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