Last week my bishop encouraged us to read M. Russell Ballard’s talk “Pure Testimony” from last General Conference. I did, and it has caused me to reevaluate how I share my own testimony.
Month: February 2005
Priesthood Blessings: Whos, Whens, Whys
I recently returned from what may turn out to have been a very important job interview. (Then again, it may not.) When my wife mentioned this interview to a friend via e-mail, the friend wrote back, asking if I’d received a priesthood blessing before I’d gone. I hadn’t.
Samuel goes to Charter(?) School
Next fall my firstborn will start kindergarten. As such he has the choice between the local elementary (4 blocks from home) and the charter school (Freedom Academy). He has other choices but he isn’t going to exercise them, so we’ll ignore those.
LDS Law Students’ Conference: Updated Schedule
For those interested, here is the final schedule for the LDS Law Students’ Conference
Contention and Argument
The Book of Mormon has a number of not so complimentary things to say about contention. Generally speaking, I have heard this interpreted as an admonition to be nice and change the subject if anything controversial comes up. My problem with this, of course, is that I am not especially nice, and I like controversy.
Ninety one words
Karl was a stutterer and he had to say the sacrament prayer.
The Evening When Mormons Could Once More Become Americans
I have been reading Kathleen Flake’s excellent book on the Reed Smoot hearings, and it has me thinking Smootish thoughts.
What Think Ye?
Kaimi scooped me by about 6 seconds on the sidebar link to this.
Love Requited: Fidelity in Marriage
In honor of Valentine’s Day, a love simile: If married love were chocolate, it would be have to be a bittersweet dark, because no chalky milk or bland white could adequately convey the depth, complexity, and challenge of fidelity in marriage.
LDS Law Students’ Conference This Week in NYC
For those in the New York City area this weekend, you have a chance to come and heckle Kaimi and I in person.
Do Church Salaries Drive Mothers into the Workforce?
My wife just mentioned this to me, and it has me wondering. If the church really wants mothers to stay at home, then why do many full-time church employees seem not to be paid enough to make that happen?
Pink
Yes, Pink. Apparently the color scheme of at least one bloggernacle site is enough to deter workplace browsing. John F. writes that he cannot visit Feminist Mormon Housewives while at work, because “ I feel nervous about a fellow associate walking in (or a partner, for that matter) and seeing the hot pink and knowing what they are wondering.“
How much is it worth?
Suppose you think the world would be a better place if there were no Walmarts in your town. Then the next question is, suppose you could live in the world where Walmart was not allowed, but you had less money.
A Verse for the p0rn Addict
Here’s a verse for the poor slaves and servants to that vile master, p0rnography.
Superheros and the Sacrament
This evening, my wife (aka She Who Must Be Obeyed) and I were having an interesting discussion about the topic of her forthcoming Relief Society lesson. I thought that I would improve the average quality of the posts here by passing on her thoughts and questions. She writes:
Toward a Theology of Supermarkets
If you are looking for a morally, philosophically, and theologically fascinating place, I can think of few locations in contemporary life that can compare to the supermarket.
The Purpose of the Church
Today in Priesthood we studied Lesson 3 in the Teachings of Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay. Rarely have I felt so out of sync with the lesson.
Sunday School Lesson 9
Lesson 9: D&C 20:1–36, D&C 20:68–69, D&C 20:75–79; D&C 21; D&C 27; D&C 115:1–4
Sunday School Lesson 8
Lesson 8: D&C 13; D&C 20:38–67; D&C 27:12–13; D&C 84:6–30; D&C 107:1–20; D&C 110:11–16; Joseph Smith History 1:66- 73 This lesson is on the restoration of the priesthood. I will spend two weeks on this lesson, the first devoted to the Aaronic priesthood and its restoration, the second devoted to the Melchizedek priesthood. I’m including study questions for both lessons here for those who do not wish to divide the lesson into two.
Prayer
Each month of this semester the Faculty Center at BYU is sponsoring a panel discussion of prayer. The participants are Julia Boerio-Goates (Chemistry), Thomas Griffith (University General Counsel), Roger Keller (Church History and Doctrine), and James Siebach (Philosophy).
Should We Prefer Avarice to Piety in CEOs?
In an interesting editorial in today’s Chicago Tribune (reg. req’d), my friend Professor David Skeel of the University of Pennsylvania Law School discusses the use of faith as a defense to criminal charges by several prominent CEOs, including Bernard Ebbers of WorldCom Inc., Richard Scrushy of HealthSouth Corp., and Kenneth Lay of Enron Corp. David wonders, “How did it turn out that the leaders of three of the most scandal-ridden companies all publicly professed their faith?”
Placing the Indian Placement Program
Two weeks ago I caught a few minutes of a story on NPR about the Church’s Indian Placement Program.
Mormon Resistance to the Government
Consider two different Mormon reactions to state-sponsored repression: the anti-polygamy crusade and Mormons in East Germany.
More on Media Bias
The topic of media bias comes up regularly on Times & Seasons.
Latin
Some of us like to throw in some Latin from time to time.
Ashes to Ashes
The idea of Ash Wednesday is to mark a period–a period of mourning and chastening, discipline and devotion–of 40 days before Easter. The significance of the 40 days goes without saying. But why ashes?
Fat Tuesday & Lent
Mardi Gras is early this year. Now I am scrambling to find a King Cake in Madison. I lived in Louisiana for one year, and I was fascinated by the Christian calendar. So how many of you, besides Kristine, are looking forward to Lent?
Thanks, Eric
We’ve all enjoyed the posts by Eric James Stone, who has been our guest blogger for the past weeks. All good things must come to an end, however, Eric’s guest-blogging stint among them. Fortunately, you can still read Eric’s posts over at his own blog. And you can read some of his stories in print (1 and 2) as well.
Academic Freedom & the Search for Truth
The University of Wisconsin takes great pride in its tradition of academic freedom. As a new professor, I was told repeatedly the story of Professor Richard T. Ely (watch the video), a labor economist who was accused by Oliver E. Wells, Wisconsin’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction and a member of the Board of Regents, of providing a moral justification for strikes and boycotts.
Finding God in Chess and the Appellate Brief
When my professional life is going well it consists of reading and writing appellate briefs. Fortunately, this is not nearly as pathetic as it sounds.