I was discussing the Word of Wisdom with my wife Mardell, and she came up with a really good question. One of the things which surprises many members who look at all into church history is the discovery that the current Word of Wisdom was not strictly followed by early church leaders. Joseph Smith is documented (post-Word of Wisdom) to have drunk wine and beer with other church leaders and smoked pipes. He also drank coffee regularly (thus, the fight he had with Emma about his coffee). In the end, this turns out to be less shocking given the historical context; as pointed out in prior comments, the Word of Wisdom did not really achieve its current status until around the time of prohibition. It wasn’t enforced as a commandment, and early church leaders, including Joseph Smith, regularly took substances that would be banned today. That’s not a big deal so far; it’s just a historical misunderstanding, and makes sense in context. But then, as Mardell pointed out, a new question pops up: What are we to make of the oft-told “no brandy” story?
Month: October 2004
An Early Halloween for Mormons?
That’s what this story says: Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will do Halloween things on Saturday, Arizona spokesman Don Evans said. “When a holiday such as this falls on Sunday, we automatically celebrate on the previous day,” he said. “One of the Ten Commandments is to keep the Sabbath holy.” Interesting. Is this official? I don’t remember doing this before, but maybe I’m just forgetful. (And I don’t recall hearing about that in church here — but perhaps it was mentioned when I was distracted chasing the kids.)
Wisdom from a five-year-old
Hi all, Sorry I’ve been quiet; we had a bit of a family medical emergency here that took up much of my energy. Sometime late last week, my five-year-old daughter injured her knee, and with each day that passed it seemed to worsen. By Tuesday her knee was a huge, red swollen mass with a puffed-up white area on top. (Hang in there with me, as there is an eventual point to all of this.)
Nietzsche and Longfellow
I’m neither a Nietzsche-ologist nor a Longfellow-ologist, and it’s likely that this association has been made by others. Still, it’s something that I personally had never noticed till this morning, when it suddenly occurred to me: Nietzsche’s famous charge has already been answered (in a sense) by Longfellow — and the answer came a full decade before the charge was even made.
On Becoming Jim Faulconer (Sort of)
Our lesson in elders’ quorum last Sunday was on the importance of scripture study. I shared a story that I frequently share when called upon to say something about studying the scriptures. As I was retelling it this Sunday, however, I had an epiphany: I was being a Jim Faulconer poseur.
12 Answers from Royal Skousen
Professor Royal Skousen has gone far beyond what we asked of him and provided a full and fascinating response to our twelve questions.
Teaching Gospel Doctrine
Any other GD teachers out there? I’ve been in this calling for just over two years now, and it’s the second-favorite calling I’ve had in the Church. (I love teaching, but nothing compares to working with the youth.) I’ve been reflecting lately on what works, and what doesn’t, in my Gospel Doctrine class.
Relics
One of my more prized possessions is a small chunk of limestone. It is about 8 inches long, roughly the size of two fists. Its value lies in the fact that is is a piece of one of the shattered sunstones of the original Nauvoo temple.
Cheapening Ourselves by Cheapening Our Arguments
I’m wondering why I am being so defensive of Derrida on the thread on my post about his death and on Russell’s—and in the hallway at BYU today when I accosted a poor student who was going on about deconstruction and Derrida in a remarkably uninformed way.
The Nauvoo Printing Office
I went to Nauvoo this weekend and found this, which reminded me of all of you.
Prayer Rolls
Did you know that you can add a name to the Salt Lake Temple prayer roll by calling an 800 number? Our priesthood instructor mentioned this today, and it started me thinking again about the nature of prayer. And I admit, I am stumped by the prayer roll.
Sunday School Lesson 40
Lesson 40: 3 Nephi 16, 20-21 Chapter 16 Verses 8-10, especially 10: Who are the Gentiles? Look at each condition for when these things will happen. What does each mean?
Be Patient!
Fans of Brandie Siegfried, please be patient. She intended to start blogging last Monday or Tuesday, but as sometimes happens even to professors and bloggers, life got in the way. You can expect her any day now.
Jacques Derrida, Dead at 74
Derrida’s passing is probably of interest to almost no one here, and the number of people who will be able to come up with a connection between Derrida and Mormonism is no doubt even fewer. (That is, I think there’s only one: Jim.) Still, though Derrida was ultimately not that important to me either philosophically or spiritually, and though I was never a scholar–or much of fan–of his work, Derrida nonetheless intersected with my life and thinking in an important way. Further thoughts from me here; perhaps, if we are fortunate, Jim will share some Derrida-inspired theological reflections on the man’s accomplishment as well.
Derrida is dead
Perhaps no philosopher of the 20th century caused more of an uproar in the U.S. than Jacques Derrida. Though he was not religious in any standard sense, he understood a great deal about what it means to be religious. Though he was often described in the English-speaking press as arrogant, he was in fact quiet and kind. I will miss him.
Writing for Dummies
In the last few weeks, Chris Bigelow and I have been putting the finishing touches on MORMONISM FOR DUMMIES, which is part of the ubiquitous yellow-and-black Dummies series. It’s been a serious challenge to write a book like this, which aims to present the faith in an accessible, entertaining format whille remaining reverent about sacred topics and also discussing some of the most common criticisms of the faith.
Bloggernacle Notes, October 8, 2004
A few goings-on in the bloggernacle of late: I just found two new Mormon blogs (via Grasshopper, the creator of the bloggernacle). One is Outer Boroughs, written by a bishop in Brooklyn. (Side note: There are sure a lot of New York bloggernackers. There’s me (Bronx), Logan (Bronx), Nine Moons (Brooklyn), BCC (mostly Manhattan), Celibate (Manhattan), and a number of our guests (Greg Allen, the Bushmans). Plus a number of commenters.) The second is By Study and Also by Faith. We’ve also added a journal blog to the sidebar — it’s a journal run by a sister named Kacy F., who is said to have friends in high places. And they’re not new blogs, but new looks — Arwyn and Bob-and-Logan have both recently adopted snazzy new templates.
A Book I Would Like to See
With luck we should soon be hearing from Professor Royal Skousen, who is the mastermind of the critical text of the Book of Mormon. There is another critical text edition that I would like to see: A critical text of the Doctrine and Covenants.
The Ecumenical Mormon, Part II
Thank you all so much for your insightful comments on the question of inclusion vs. exclusion in Mormon theology, and your helpful references to sources and talks. I might have to come to this site for assistance every time I am asked to speak somewhere! As some of you know, this issue is very close to my heart.
(When) are bloggers permitted to criticize church leaders?
This topic has come up in recent posts around the bloggernacle. For example, Rusty at Nine Moons discusses an instance where a bishop committed all of the men in the ward to “1) To never watch an R-rated movie ever again. Also, to never watch a PG-13 rated movie without his wife’s permission. 2) To use the internet (at home presumably) only with his wife’s permission (by assigning a password on the computer that only the wife knows).” The comments to Rusty’s post include a number of attacks on him for posting criticism of the Bishop. (e.g., “did you pray [before posting this critique] . . . I can say with absolute certainty that you could not have“). Meanwhile, Steve at BCC wonders whether he is allowed to criticize conference talks for style. (The BCC commenters, perhaps inured to Steve’s views, haven’t yet asked him if he prayed before posting them, but I suppose it’s just a matter of time). So let’s see what people around here think. Is it permissible for a blogger to comment on (perhaps critically) statements by a church leader? Is it permissible in some situations and not others? (When?) And, of course, why or why…
The Ecumenical Mormon
I’ve been asked to speak at an interfaith gathering next month, and I’d love your help as I prepare my remarks.
‘And Many Other Women’ Part III
I sometimes have a beef with religious art because of the assumptions that the artist must make about the scriptures in order to complete her/his work. This is an interesting corrective. I have a poster-size version of it, framed, and I like it.
An additional guest
Professor Brandie Siegfried has agreed to take time from her busy writing schedule to guest blog for a couple of weeks. She is a professor in the English Department at BYU, teaching Renaissance literature, early modern women writers, gender studies, and Irish literary history. She did her Ph.D. work at Brandies University and has been at BYU since 1993. Brandie is very athletic (something that I overlook because I have considerable respect for her) and she, Renata Forste (Sociology, BYU), and I will be teaching in BYU’s London Study Abroad program in the Fall of 2005. (If you know those who would be interested in the program, have them contact one of us. We will send specific information. We are especially interested in finding men who will apply because, for a variety of reasons, few men do, but that notice is not meant to discourage women from applying.)
What?!?
Further proof that some at BYU need serious help in figuring out what is offensive and what isn’t.
Time for a Mormon Political Party?
There has been a great series of posts at Mirror of Justice about whether Catholics should create, or demand, their own political party — one that incorporates Catholic ideas and rejects the baggage that both major parties bring to the Catholic voter’s table. The discussion starts here with a discussion of Catholic politics and kicks into high gear with Mark Sargent’s call for a new party. The lengthy follow-up posts include Rick Garnett’s doubts; Rob Vischer’s suggestions for clarification; Mark’s revised statements; and further questions and discussion from Michael Scaperlanda, Stephen Bainbridge, and Vince Rougeau. It’s a fascinating idea, and of course one that is easy to translate into terms I’m more familiar with. Let’s ask the question — is it time for a new Mormon political party?
The Telos of Charity
Having a Greek word in the title is designed to give this post an auro of intelligence that it doesn’t deserve, but it also points toward an interesting question: Why do we care for the poor? Over at Aurochs and Angels (by the way, what is an auroch?), AA suggests that the alms giving is not simply about helping the poor, but also about helping the rich. Hence, he quotes with approval a statement suggesting that the poor in America have a duty to help those that are less economically fortunate than themselves, a group that includes the vast majority of humanity. He goes on to write:
TiVoing General Conference
Hello friends, Does anyone else TiVo General Conference, and if so, how much of it do you watch and which parts do you skip? I ask because I just enjoyed the sybaritic pleasure of watching GC from home in my yoga duds, and I must say there’s no comparison between that experience and having to watch it in church. I’ve been pondering the difference and thinking about why I enjoy GC so much more now than I used to, and why I actually watch more of it now. I used to skip it altogether and wait for the conference issue of the Ensign, which I would flip through sporadically if at all. But now that I have the remote in hand, I find that I look forward to Conference and get more out of the experience.
Quick note on Wikipedia
Reader Jeff Cook writes in to suggest that we mention Wikipedia. That’s a good idea. Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia which is edited by its readers. For example, if you think that the page on Mormons is inaccurate, you can edit it yourself. Or if you think that something is missing — note the lack of information on Zelph, for instance — you can create such a page yourself. Since a number of people use Wikipedia, updating and expanding its information about church topics seems like a useful (not to mention fun) investment of time.
Book of Mormon Family Home Evening Lesson Sixteen
BMS: Alma’s Mission MBM: Alma’s Mission
Welcome Guest Blogger Jana Riess
We’re excited to have Jana onboard for the next few weeks. Here’s her bio: Jana Riess is the Religion Book Review Editor for Publishers Weekly magazine, and is also the author of The Spiritual Traveler: Boston and New England and What Would Buffy Do?: The Vampire Slayer as Spiritual Guide. She is currently co-writing Mormonism for Dummies, forthcoming in February 2005. A convert to the LDS Church, she holds degrees in religion from Wellesley College, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Columbia University. She has been interviewed by the Associated Press, Time, Newsweek, People, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, and Newsday, among other publications, and was recently a featured guest on NPR’s “Talk of the Nationâ€? on trends in religious fiction. She lives in rural Kentucky with her husband Phil and their daughter Jerusha, who just lost her first tooth. Welcome, Jana.