During 2015, BCC turned 10 11 years old. BCC is not a band–trust me when I say that it is NOT for lack of trying–but if it was, it would be time for a Greatest Hits album. Is much of what is found in the archives of this blog garbage? Probably. Are there some things that are worth remembering? Certainly. But this post is not about any of that stuff. No, this post is about the elite. The very best. The Posts Whose Calling and Election Has Been Made Internet Sure. The Only Comments With Which The Steve Is Well Pleased. My Internet Brothers and Sisters, we henceforth establish the By Common Consent Hall of Fame.
Here are the rules:
- What is eligible? Posts and Comments, basically. People are eligible only to the extent that they are synonymous with comments.
- Nominations for BCC HoF induction must be sustained by two additional commenters, or by a single perma/emeritus blogger at BCC.
- Nominations must be given with at least a bit of supporting evidence. This isn’t the place to just say, “I liked that one post that one time!” We will work on collecting additional evidence for some submissions, but help us out with the homework here. Paste appropriate links in the comments, send tweets to @ByCommonConsent, or email us.
- After a collection of initial nominees, we will post a vote. Nominees receiving 75% support will be inducted. Failure to receive the required amount will result in being cast into outer darkness.
Although the BCC HoF would almost certainly be perfect if Steve and I just authoritatively declared its inductees, we believe in democracy, and promise to only overrule results if we absolutely feel like it. For example, if Jason Wharton is not a first-ballot inductee, then the entire vote will be tossed.
Nominations are open, and will remain so until further notice.
By Common Consent, a Mormon Blog 
trick question; none of the above
“Come Ye Poets of the Bloggernacle.” Booyah, first comment about the the one that will win.
Shoot, second comment. Oh well, it’ll still win.
A worthy nominee, EmJen. Just to clarify, though–there is no competition _between_ nominees, EmJen. Each vote will be a simple “Yes or No” vote.
First ballot hall-of-famer, for sure: Jason Wharton dusting off his feet at BCC. https://bycommonconsent.com/2010/01/25/the-scriptures-wont-save-you/#comment-173545
EmJen, that was the first one that came to my mind as well! The post mighty and strong.
Also allowed for nominations: Behaviors that have become a tried and true practice at BCC, such as “Using BCC’s mission statement as a last-gasp attempt to prove that Steve is mean.”
Some favorite comments:
https://bycommonconsent.com/2007/09/27/ceasing-to-say-we-recovering-our-spiritual-agency/comment-page-1/#comment-96205
https://bycommonconsent.com/2007/09/12/review-mens-authorized-pattern-drilux-boxers/comment-page-1/#comment-37078
https://bycommonconsent.com/2007/09/18/mitt-romneys-prospects/comment-page-1/#comment-101966
https://bycommonconsent.com/2011/08/23/a-few-items-of-ward-business/comment-page-1/#comment-230538
https://bycommonconsent.com/2008/01/29/monsons-age-considered/comment-page-1/#comment-103033
https://bycommonconsent.com/2012/08/13/a-response-to-neylan-mcbaine/comment-page-1/#comment-266698
https://bycommonconsent.com/2014/02/18/feed-my-missionaries/comment-page-1/#comment-323574
More to come.
Comparative Charts , Dec 30 2009 by John Hamer. I have zoned out in so many SS lessons over the years thinking about this post any time a boat of any kind is mentioned. It was the first thing I thought about when I saw the latest episode of The Expanse. Great fun like this is one of things BCC does best.
This is what I think of when people ask “Are Mormons Christian?”
https://bycommonconsent.com/2012/05/23/to-see-face-to-face/
It’s hard got to beat this recently featured post:
https://bycommonconsent.com/2015/10/23/if-you-like-trunk-or-treats-you-probably-dont-have-a-testimony/
So funny.
The Illuminated Matsby
https://bycommonconsent.com/author/mattunderscorepage/
those Images of Faith and Devotion are priceless!
I also sustain Talon’s nomination of Hamer’s charts.
The author of the post which inspired Jason Wharton’s comment should immediately be awarded the BCC lifetime achievement award.
Comments with HTML links are often rejected by this blog, so check your reject pile frequently today if you want commenters to provide links.
In your 75% requirement for induction, I ask, 75% of what?
John, I don’t see anything in the pile.
Every single BYU Police Blotter. I’m not going to try to figure out which of those was best! Maybe a collective award?
And since someone has mentioned the dusting off the feet, how about the comment where the person confirmed that, no, he wasn’t being hyperbolic, he really did mean to say that Steve Evans was a servant of Satan? That may actually be “better” than the dusting, just because he was matter of fact about it. “Nope, I really did mean to be unbelievably insulting.”
https://bycommonconsent.com/2008/12/31/auld-lang-sin/
I nominate Russell’s Auld Lang Sin from December 31, 2008. This confession is raw, candid and informed by rare self-knowledge. All of us have weaknesses that are stronger than we are, some of them more acute and threatening than others. Few of us are able to describe the accompanying despair quite so perceptively. The most memorable BCC post for me.
Thomas Parkin’s comment here: https://bycommonconsent.com/2011/06/03/ron-paul-and-korihor-a-comparison/#comment-225188
That whole thread contains many classic crazy comments, but Thomas Parkin’s was sane enough and funny enough to be immortalized.
Love this BCC Hall of Fame push but didn’t BCC turn 10 in March of 2014? I guess I just wanted it for the record that BCC wasn’t a newby Bloggernacle startup from the 2005 period.
I sustain John C.’s nomination of Thomas Parkin’s Korihor comment. That was amazing.
Complain, complain! I didn’t see you jumping up last March to write this post, Johnny!!
I second Nepos on Police Beat Roundtable as a collective (if that’s allowable). Some of the funniest stuff I’ve ever read on the interwebz.
Just re-read the Jason Wharton thread. That was a highlight of an otherwise crappy year in my life. I provoked an anti-socialist rant…I am still not sure what that had to do with the post.
And apparently there was time when people responded to my comments. I apologize for being a jerk and ruining it.
I’ve revisited the post compiling the best of gst’s comments many, many times.
the March before last
I nominate Michael Austin’s post “Love the Banker, but Hate the Bank: A Plea for Tolerance and Understanding for Our Brothers and Sisters Involved in Usury” from this last July. Pointed satire, and it made me laugh really hard.
https://bycommonconsent.com/2015/07/02/57095/
Also, Cynthia L.’s remarks at Stanford convocation, “Such a Time as This,” where she encourages students, who will likely go on to serve in important and powerful positions, to be a voice for the voiceless as they do, performing a kind of proxy work for powerless people who cannot otherwise be heard.
https://bycommonconsent.com/2014/10/09/such-a-time-as-this-remarks-at-stanford-convocation/
Second Cynthia’s Stanford Convocation. I cry every time I read it.
I also nominate Kristine’s beautiful post from 2010 where she relates how she experienced the sacrament in a wholly new way while visiting her brother’s ward.
https://bycommonconsent.com/2010/12/27/holy-holy-holy/
Joe:
Once the nominees are collected, then I will put each nominee up for a simple Yes or No vote to the commenters and permas. 75% Yes means induction.
john f., you’re right. I updated the post–somehow I forgot how to add/subtract, apparently.
I also nominate Steve Taysom’s post “A Temple Heart” from early 2014. I love how he relates his experiences with the temple, and acknowledges that he knows that others of us have difficulty with the temple, and invites us to “rest on my temple heart.”
https://bycommonconsent.com/2014/02/26/a-temple-heart/
I nominate this post:
https://bycommonconsent.com/2013/09/18/thoughts-on-the-sacrament-part-3-the-law-of-consecration/
I often think of it while partaking the sacrament.
Ziff, I second your “love the banker” and “temple heart” nominations. Those are two of my very favorites.
This isn’t technically an “image of faith and devotion” but it is my very favorite Matsby: https://bycommonconsent.com/2012/03/19/jon-mcnaughtons-idea-journal/
I also nominate Tracy M’s excellent post where she talks about how joining the Church gave her a new (and warped) view on how to think about modesty.
https://bycommonconsent.com/2011/07/09/perverting-modesty/
Also, this post needs to be in the hall of fame, just given the fact that it has brought over 100 views to the blog every month since 2009. https://bycommonconsent.com/2007/10/24/best-mormon-missionary-story-ever-yep-its-about-enemas/
Truly, it was the golden age of Aaron B.
“He Will Find His Way Home” by Steve Taysom:
https://bycommonconsent.com/2014/03/03/he-will-find-his-way-home/
I get waves of chills every time I read it.
Perverting Modesty and Jon McNaughton’s Idea Journal seconded.
I really like Scott B.’s economics-informed explanation of the kind-of-a-rule-but-not-really-a-rule status of wearing white shirts to administer the sacrament. He argues that it’s a question of signaling, and making the rule more defined in either direction would stifle the signaling opportunity. It’s a great analysis, and I really like the title too.
https://bycommonconsent.com/2011/01/20/of-shirts-signals-and-sacraments/
https://bycommonconsent.com/2010/06/29/we-come-over-and-sit/
It is a great post in itself, but I also like how it teaches that one can find meaningful messages in all kind of things, such as the movie Lars and the Real Girl in this case.
I had not read this https://bycommonconsent.com/2014/03/03/he-will-find-his-way-home/ until Jessie mentioned it. I agree with her.
Yep, that one makes me cry, too. https://bycommonconsent.com/2014/03/03/he-will-find-his-way-home/
The Milk & Strippings Story, Thomas B. Marsh, and Brigham Young
July 1, 2009 by John Hamer
That has to be the one. It is well documented, making it an instrument for permanent change in the way that story is looked at in LDS history.
This one also—if I can nominate two. Logical and well presented argument for throwing out the Spaulding theory.
The Spaulding Fable
July 18, 2009 by John Hamer
July 2009 was a good month!
“He Will Find His Way Home” by Steve Taysom:
https://bycommonconsent.com/2014/03/03/he-will-find-his-way-home/
Yeah, I just started crying at the mention of that one. One of the most powerful things I have ever read. Ever.
I also really enjoyed SteveP’s “NotEs fRom a GrAmMAr aNarcHist” from last year. Here’s a sample:
“Worrying about spelling serves no useful purpose whatsoever as long as people understand what you mean. How you spelled it doesn’t matter. Wittgenstein has shown us that the medium is the message. Believe it and relax. My heavens we even have spell crackers. Just relax. And eat them. Or shoot them and leaves.”
https://bycommonconsent.com/2015/03/31/notes-from-a-grammar-anarchist/
Also, Angela C’s brilliantly hilarious “Mormon Jargon 2,” where she offers pointed and funny definitions of Mormon terms.
https://bycommonconsent.com/2014/07/24/mormon-jargon-2/
And Angela C’s post where she points out that the BYU Honor Code approach to having everyone police women’s clothing choices is teaching people to engage in what would be defined as hostile environment sexual harassment in other circumstances.
https://bycommonconsent.com/2013/06/17/byus-honor-code-hostile-environment-sexual-harassment/
I’ll nominate “My Primary Story” by Rebecca J. It made me cry.
https://bycommonconsent.com/2013/08/07/my-primary-story/
It’s been said, but “He Will Find His Way Home” by Steve Taysom is indescribably lovely.
I’ll second the “We Come Over And Sit” nomination. Its actually changed my behavior while others mourn. And that’s kind of the point of this churchy stuff right?
I second (or fifth, I guess, following a number of others) Jessie Jensen’s nom of Steve Taysom’s “He Will Find His Way Home”
https://bycommonconsent.com/2014/03/03/he-will-find-his-way-home/
As to the comment Hall of Fame, I second Steve’s pick:
https://bycommonconsent.com/2007/09/27/ceasing-to-say-we-recovering-our-spiritual-agency/#comment-96205
I mean…..that’s a real comment.
I nominate the series Correlation: An Uncorrelated History
The gendered GC infographics by Cynthia L. has become a classic and should be included in the Hall of Fame.
https://bycommonconsent.com/2012/05/01/general-conference-infographic-in-pink-and-blue/
https://bycommonconsent.com/2014/12/08/happy-birthday/
cjanekendrick shows us how to magnify one’s calling and what is the importance of seemingly unimportant small and simple things such as writing birthday cards to relief society sisters.
I have shared this post with a large number of people who struggle wearing garments and it still resonates with me today.
https://bycommonconsent.com/2005/05/06/coats-of-skins/
There are a number of reasons this post should be at least nominated:
1) It quote Malick’s Tree of Life.
2) It includes a Bruegel painting
3) It is a poignant reflection on what the fall means on a personal, day-to-day level, and helped me to become more accepting of my own weaknesses without giving up hope that I might change.
https://bycommonconsent.com/2011/09/28/the-fall/
Really surprised that Kristine’s “A Short Post About Equality” hasn’t been nominated yet: https://bycommonconsent.com/2011/04/21/a-short-post-about-brother-ottersons-post/#more-26014
I really liked J. Nelson-Seawright’s 2007 post where he thinks through dealing with disagreements with GAs.
https://bycommonconsent.com/2007/05/25/trusting-gas-more-than-ourselves/
Ziff, I’m expecting you to pull your weight around here with respect to nominating comments.
RebeccaJ and devil music
https://bycommonconsent.com/2013/10/24/dr-strangeglove-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-devil-music/#more-47258
Jacob: Mormonism’s Weeping God (Given’s/Sandy Hook)
https://bycommonconsent.com/2012/12/14/all-eternity-shakes-mormonisms-weeping-god/
Mark Brown: Cookies, lotteries, mission financing. Sounds like fiction on a Steve Peck level.
https://bycommonconsent.com/2008/08/22/financing-a-mission-1849-style/
Brad’s Uncorrelated History of Correlation. This is cheating because it’s nine entries long.
https://bycommonconsent.com/2010/04/02/correlation-an-uncorrelated-history-part-9-history-done-backwards/
I don’t remember this post, but the URL makes me think that it’s about burritos.
https://bycommonconsent.com/2007/05/25/trusting-gas-more-than-ourselves/
There are so many good things it will be hard to think of them all.
I second John Hamer’s takedown of the Spaulding theory, and submit the following:
Ronan and Brad’s
https://bycommonconsent.com/2010/08/12/collapsing-the-sacred-distance-between-man-and-man/
Ronan touches on it more detail in the fireside he gave in London, which is probably one of the best talks I have ever heard
https://bycommonconsent.com/2011/01/16/zeitcast-62/
Steve Evan’s mosaic metaphor for the church
https://bycommonconsent.com/2009/11/16/tesserae-of-my-faith/
Daymon Smith series on Correlation
https://bycommonconsent.com/2010/03/03/correlation-an-uncorrelated-history-part-1-the-mormon-underground/
I have several suggestions stuck in the mod queue, probably because of all the links
So. . .if I understand the rules correctly, we can’t nominate authors? Because if I we could, I would nominate Margaret Blair Young as the all-time best-ever thing to happen at BCC. On account of so much of what she writes makes me weep. But I guess that’s not what you’re looking for?
So I’ll offer this:
https://bycommonconsent.com/2012/11/04/temple-thoughts/
and this:
https://bycommonconsent.com/2012/01/04/hands/
and this:
https://bycommonconsent.com/2011/09/20/a-letter-to-a-lost-one-from-long-ago/
and finally this:
https://bycommonconsent.com/2009/08/02/for-my-son-on-his-18th-birthday/
for your consideration.
I also echo nominations for “He Will Find His Way Home.”
Sister Missionary: “I just have to know what your relationship is. Are you two married?”
Me: “It’s actually not so cryptic. She is my mom and Marty is my husband.” Then, as if it explained all, I added, “We’re from California!”
https://bycommonconsent.com/2009/10/28/falling-leaves/
Is there a prize?
I wish I could participate more this year, because I love y’all and it’s [usually] fun to look back over the journey. My real life intrudes. I’m sorry. Carry on.
I’m assuming nominations are still open since I haven’t seen anything stating otherwise. I’d like to second (third?) “We come over, and sit” with Lars and the Real Girl. It was one of the very first posts I read on BCC and it’s the reason I kept coming back.
I’d like to nominate Jacob’s “Beauty and Unbearableness in Charlotte’s Web” ( https://bycommonconsent.com/2012/09/16/beauty-and-unbearableness-in-charlottes-web/#more-38681 ). It’s one of two BCC posts I have bookmarked because I never want to forget it. I realize most of it is a quotation with only a brief comment by Jacob, but I think the simplicity and conciseness adds to the strength of it.
https://bycommonconsent.com/2010/06/29/we-come-over-and-sit/
It is a great post in itself, but I also like how it teaches that one can find meaningful messages in all kind of things, such as the movie Lars and the Real Girl in this case.
Can’t believe I screwed up my first BCC comment. Just ignore the last paragraph and link; they’re copy pasted from an earlier comment I forgot to delete from mine.
I always loved this one about demonic possession and mental illness! https://bycommonconsent.com/2006/01/10/mormons-and-mental-illness-demonic-possession/
And this one on ghosts… https://bycommonconsent.com/2011/02/24/speaking-of-ghosts/ Haha! Of course the collected works of Matsby, police beat, and gst!