Yes, today is 6/6/06. And apparently, some folks are celebrating it in Hell, too. We won’t go quite that far, here. However, in honor of the day, let me post this, from an e-mail that’s been circulating for a while: Number of the Beast: 666 Next door neighbor of the Beast: 668 Social Security Number of the Beast: 666-66-6666
Sunday School Lesson #23
Lesson 23: 1 Samuel 18-20, 23-24
Sunday School Lesson #22
Lesson 22: 1 Samuel 9-11, 13, 15-17
A Legal Analysis of the “Marriage Protection Amendment”
Here is my personal legal analysis of the “Marriage Protection Amendment” that is pending before the U.S. Senate.
Why Bread and Water in the Sacrament?
In the sacrament we experience, as the hymn would have it, “communion sweet.” Why does that communion require bread and water, or analogs to them?
I am no longer an attorney…
I am not longer an attorney.
Bloggernacking for Newbies
The nacle has been around for some time now, and a culture of inside jokes and insider language has sprung up with terms like monkeys, peaches, fondue, chupacabras (chupacabrim?), and Bannergate. Nacle newcomers may find the local patois a bit off-putting. This post, intended as a basic field guide, may serve as a starting point for newbies.
Elsewhere
There have been some very strong posts of late in the bloggernacle. Two of particular note: -Guest-Eve at FMH* has a very thought-provoking post on Forgiving the Church. She begins, “the Church has brought me both the most profound and beautiful and some of the most heart-wrenching experiences of my life” — and it gets better from there. Don’t miss it! -Deborah at X2** writes “Making Sense of Sunday,” a post about love and loyalty and judgment and compassion (and as a bonus, it discusses SSM too!). Yet another don’t-miss. (Other strong recent offerings come from Serenity at LDSLF about portrayals of Mormons in cinema and DMI Dave on the missionary program). And now back to our regularly scheduled lineup of SSM and abortion, interrupted by the occasional server crash.
Update
We have tentatively turned on comments for the past month’s posts, and those posts only. We hope that this will limit the spam and keep the database running. We’re keeping a close eye on the server. If it gets unstable, though, we will close comments again. (So if you’re posting a 32-paragraph novel in comments, make sure to save it as a Word doc first.) We’re looking into other possible technical solutions, and welcome feedback and suggestions.
Oman on Rees on Oman
Eons ago in blog time, I did a post called “An Open Letter to the Dialogue Editorial Board.”
Notes on Charity
A week ago, I spoke in church on the subject of charity. My talk focused on some questions from 1 Cor. 13 and Moroni 7.
Maria’s treasure
Maria, a seventy-five-year-old widow, member of our tiny Mormon branch, had asked me to meet her at a Notary’s office. She wanted me to be the executor of her will. I reluctantly agreed, remembering the council of a friend to avoid that kind of responsibility. But since I was the branch president…
How perfect a union?
Are the United States substantially a moral union–a union on moral questions? This question has bearing on what belongs in the Constitution.
Around the blogs
A few posts that I’ve noticed of late: -Bob Caswell at BnL asks how we tell the difference between doctrine and history. E.g., why is the Word of Wisdom doctrine while polygamy is merely history — and how are these decisions made? -Kathleen at some-other-blog writes on free agency and choices: How does our situation influence our choices and our agency, and how does that combination influence the consequences of our choices? –Lynette at ZD asks what it means to translate Christ’s life into our own actions. “I don’t think the question, ‘what would Jesus do?’ is always all that helpful in this endeavor,” she writes. “A more useful question, perhaps, is ‘what would Jesus want me to do?’”
Church asks members to support specific marriage amendment
Letter from First Presidency of the Church to Church Leaders in the United States We are informed that the United States Senate will on June 6, 2006, vote on an amendment to the Federal constitution designed to protect the traditional institution of marriage.
Expecting Kangaroo Fur
The feel and smell of kangaroo fur is a central part of my understanding of Mormonism.
Living in the Weimar Republic
Weimar Germany was a tremendously sophisticated and creative place.
Peace
It happened last night, around midnight, on a near-empty gym floor, after I took a break from grading exams to go work out for a while. I’ve found that I can’t control these things, really — I just take them where they fall, and sometimes, wonderfully, they fall on me.
Sunday School Lesson #21
Lesson 21: 1 Samuel 2-3, 8
From the Archives: Jello and the Saga of the Restoration
I don’t really believe in coincidences since my last visit to Palmyra, New York, where I learned of the deep relationship between jello and Mormonism
And Who Is My Neighbor?
This morning the five-year-old was first, in the kitchen just before nine.
Utah has the highest percentage of Utahns in the entire country . . .
“Utah has the nation’s highest rate of depression among thirty-seven-year old ambidextrous Battlestar Galactica fans named Zeb.” (That’s based on rock-solid statistical statistickizing.) However, “Utah [also] has the lowest rate of Tuesday afternoon divorce of any mountainous state located west of the Mississippi.”
Peak oil and taxes
On the Urban thread, Jonathan Green pointed out that the major issue with oil scarcity may not be how much oil we have in the ground, but how much we can pump in a given year. If we are maxed out on supply for a year, any oil disaster creates a huge crunch.
Motherhood and Priesthood–Take 57!
I think that motherhood and priesthood are parallel; I know that many of you don’t. And one argument against my position that I see frequently is that you need the cooperation of the opposite sex (not to mention the blessing of fertility) to be a mother but not to be a priesthood holder. I’ve never found that argument persuasive, but until now, I haven’t been able to articulate why.