[NOTE: After initially posting this, I soon removed it because I was made aware that it was unnecessarily divisive. This was not my intent. However, I am putting it back up, unaltered, in the interest of debate. Additionally, one commenter pointed out that it was unfair to delete the post after people had commented, something I hadn’t considered when I took the post down. “For the record,” therefore, if for no other reason, I am reposting this.]
A Reinterpretation of Faith-Promoting History
Mormons have an ingrained habit of interpreting their history in the rosiest of all possible terms, even when — as a historical matter — a less rosy interpretation makes more sense.
Spiritual ancestors
Last year in Sunday School, as we were finishing up the Doctrine and Covenants, the teacher asked us what the spirit of Elijah meant to us. I immediately thought: “the spirit of adoption.” I’m not sure where that thought came from, but I have continued to think about it in the past few months.
S.P.Q.M.
In the past, I have suggested that the Mormon constitution is English, but of late I have wondered whether it might be Roman.
Mara Gwen
I’m very pleased to present the second Times & Seasons baby of the month, my daughter Mara Gwen.
A Proconsular Apostle in Chile
Peggy Fletcher Stack’s recent Salt Lake Tribune article on the Church in Chile is definitely worth a read.
How quick we are to condemn
In Notes from all over a link was added to a news item claiming that the latest Dutch spelling reform requested that the name “Christ” be written with a lower-case “c”. That information was spread on various American news channels and blogs. Flurries of comments ensued.
Sunday Afternoon Session: Open General Conference Thread
Ok, here’s the last session for this General Conference. It’s been fun.
Sunday Morning Session: Open General Conference Thread
Welcome to the second day of General Conference. President Hinckley, President Faust, and Elders Oaks, Ballard, Wirthlin, Scott, Holland, and Uchtdorf have yet to address a general session this year, so there is a lot to look forward to today.
Tomorrow morning, at 2 AM
Once a year, after enduring a grueling six hours of church in one day, I lay down to sleep knowing that during the wee hours of the night I will be robbed of one whole hour. It is time to forever abolish Daylight Saving Time.
Priesthood Session: Open General Conference Thread
I am not sure how an open thread on Priesthood Session will work, but let’s give it a try. I hope someone will provide summaries of the talks to provide a basis for the conversation.
Saturday Afternoon Session: Open General Conference Thread
Ready for Round Two? Here is the open thread for the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference.
Hidden Treasures
I just finished reading Mormon Lives: A Year in the Elkton Ward and–wow–what an amazing book. It reminds me of Saints Well Seasoned: Musings on How Food Nourishes Us–Body Heart, and Soul. Not only were both books quirky little takes on Mormonism, but neither seems to be very well known. What LDS titles do you think deserve more attention than they are getting?
Saturday Morning Session: Open General Conference Thread
This is an open thread for discussions of the Saturday morning session of General Conference.
Watching General Conference
Over the past few years, we have been watching General Conference at home. I know this is old hat in Utah and some other regions, but it’s a relatively recent innovation in the nether regions, enabled by the internet, satellite television, or certain cable providers. For families with children, General Conference in the home is a huge blessing, though sometimes I feel a bit of nostalgia for the old days.
12 Questions with DKL
Q: So Dave, how did you come up with the idea for LDSelect? A: It’s a long story. The concept goes back to when I was dating Fawn Brodie, a few months after I got kicked out of Hogwarts . . .
“Seeing” Providential History
Should “providential history” be left to seers? Is it ever possible in a pluralistic world to persuasively ferret out meaning in the chaotic and seemingly arbitrary movement of history?
Culture Shock: BYU
Imagine an LDS woman, 18 years old, who has lived her entire life far from the centers of Mormonism. Next fall, she plans to attend BYU. What will she experience?
Inactivity & The Manhattan First Ward Choir
I just checked, and my last post on T&S was in January. Although I have never experienced a period of prolonged inactivity in my Church life, this posting drought has caused me on more than one occasion to reflect on the state of mind of “believing inactives.”
Book Review: Celebrating Passover: A Guide to Understanding the Jewish Feast for Latter-day Saints
Easter celebrations and the lack thereof have been a hot topic recently; if you want to add something to your celebration of this season, I highly recommend this book.
I am now officially not young
It happened not long ago. I started getting emails from something called the Cambridge Stake MSA. As is my habit with all mass mailings, I deleted the first few without reading them, but after a while I noticed them and realized that I didn’t know what MSA stood for. Turns out MSA is the “Middle Singles,” which is everyone 30-50 years old who isn’t married. In the eyes of the church, I am no longer a “Young Single Adult.” I’m just a “Single Adult.” I am now officially old.
An Easter Activity for Family Home Evening
I can’t take credit for this idea–these are sometimes called Resurrection Eggs and they’ve been around for a few years.
A Preacher of Righteousness
Elijah Abel is one of the more important figures in the history of Mormonism.
Defining terrorism
By request, this morning I am going to talk about defining terrorism. The first important thing you need to realize is that there is no single widely accepted definition, either in academia or in the policy world. Everyone uses their own. So we’re going to talk about how you can build your own definition of terrorism.