I hope that each of us is praying and perhaps fasting for those who have been affected most directly by Katrina. As I thought about doing something more — specifically, donating to the relief effort — I wondered whether we could or should funnel donations through the Church. If not, what are the best options? Red Cross?
Month: August 2005
The Metaphysics of Mormon Art
Grant me a simple premise: How one thinks about the nature of reality has an impact on how one thinks about art.
‘Til Death Do Us Part
When the topic turns to marriage, someone in Gospel Doctrine class inevitably refers with derision to that famous phrase from traditional marriage vows, “’til death do us part.” To paraphrase Inigo Montoya, “I do not think this [phrase] means what you think it means.”
Thinking With Katrina
While my brother and his family are safe in Texas, it appears that all of their possessions and their home in New Orleans will be under water soon. What I am hearing now is that about half of ‘well-contructed homes’ will be destroyed and the city will not be habitable for weeks. One million may be left homeless.
They govern themselves
A busy downtown intersection. No traffic lights, no road markings, no speed limits, no sidewalks, no pedestrian crossings. Cars, cyclists, pedestrians, all move on the same street level, side by side, carefully merging.
Military Fatalities in Iraq
Take a look at this state ranking. It ranks states by Iraqi-war casualties per 100,000 residents. The chart was made as part of a rather silly debate about red states and blue states that doesn’t interest me. What interests me is Utah.
Oral Histories
As valuable as the Clare Middlemiss papers were in writing David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, they lacked the subjective, third dimension of the real people portrayed in the book. In conducting some 200 oral histories, we found the third dimension we sought.
The Poetry of Sex, Metaphysics, and Appropriation
Some poets are available for Mormon appropriation and some are only to be envied and enjoyed. John Donne is only to be envied and enjoyed.
Two priesthoods
There is a tiny village, on a remote hill in Burundi, Central Africa, committed to my memory as the place where two priesthoods, Catholic and Mormon, joined.
A Letter to Emma Ray
While David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism is nearly perfect in every way, one thing it doesn’t do is provide an intimate portrait of President McKay. That lacuna is partially filled by Heart Petals: The Personal Correspondence of David Oman McKay to Emma Ray McKay.
The Problems of Mormon-American Toryism
Being an American Mormon makes it difficult, perhaps impossible, for me to be a tory.
Scriptures Citations in General Conference
Times & Seasons commenter and economist Ed Johnson (“ed”) has performed some sophisticated statistical analysis on general conference scripture citations. We discussed the same data, but with the aid of lesser tools and minds, in earlier posts here and here. The finding that most surprised me is that the surge in Book of Mormon citations evident in the previous posts can’t be attributed to President Benson’s famous general conference talks about the Book of Mormon after all: his talks coincide with the crest of the wave.
What They Art (for 40 Years, and Counting)
Today, August 20th, the youngest of my eight siblings, Baden Joseph Fox, married Mary Ellen Smoot in the Salt Lake temple. We weren’t able to attend, which was doubly unfortunate, this being a particularly notable day in Fox family history. You see, on the same date their last child was married, my parents, James Russell Fox and Kathleen Jolley Fox, were married in the Salt Lake temple, 40 years earlier. This post is for them.
From the Archives: A Mormon Studies Family
Both of my parents (now divorced) have been deeply involved in Mormon studies for my entire life. (more…)
Book Review: The Parenting Breakthrough
You just gotta love any book that has a picture of a seven-year-old boy cleaning a toilet on the cover.
Tithing the Mint?
I have a small herb garden: a couple of varieties of thyme, some tarragon, chives, basil, dill, oregano, rose geranium, parsley, lavender, sage, rosemary, and two kinds of mint, regular and chocolate, though the chocolate is gradually disappearing, replaced by the spearmint.
Dallin, Sandra and the Supreme Court
Sandra Day O’Connor has retired from the Supreme Court and John Roberts will almost certainly replace her. History might have been different.
“Why Universal Love is Creepy,” or “Thoughts on Disliking my Investigators”
I find the universal love of mankind a little creepy.
Cyril’s tie
Cyril doesn’t know how to dress, except for his tie.
Gossip is Good
So says the New York Times.
David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism
David O. McKay presented a dramatic contrast to his predecessors: an athletic, movie-star-handsome, clean-shaven figure who often wore a white double-breasted suit; contrasted to the dark-suited, bearded polygamists (or, in the case of George Albert Smith, son of a polygamist) who preceded him as Church President ever since Joseph Smith. In an age prior to professional image-makers, he instinctively grasped the importance of appearance, and coupled it to the substance of a professional educator to become an icon of Mormonism whose persona did much to change the negative image of the Church in much of the world.
Welcome Gregory Prince
We are excited to welcome Gregory Prince, coauthor of David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism (published March 2005 and already in its third printing; reviewed here). Welcome, Greg!
So I Married an Intellectual
I didn’t really know it at the time. When we met, he was well disguised as a dirtbike racing, country music fan that was six months off his mission.
Complicity and Consequences
I know some people who assiduously avoid buying Nike shoes. The moral logic of this position, however, is tricky.
Thank you, Sister Murdoch
Sister Murdoch did not want to go on a mission, but she went anyway.
Book Review: The Book: A History of the Bible
I should warn potential readers: there’s a real danger that you will drool on the pages of Christopher de Hamel’s new book.
DC Get Together Tomorrow
If you are interested, email [email protected]
What Not to Wear Part 2
Back by popular demand, here is the second installment of the Sacrament Meeting Edition of “What Not to Wear” – Women’s Edition.
An Open Letter to the Dialogue Board
August 11, 2005 To Whom It May Concern: I hope that you will not find an unsolicited letter presumptuous, but I wanted to give you my thoughts on what I see as Dialogue’s problems and some things it could do to improve.
The dog
It happened in the back of the former living room we called our chapel. The church itself was an insignificant Flemish rowhouse. Thirty-six chairs crammed the room. Six rows of six. When half of them got filled, we boasted on the Church’s growth in our city.