Like many others I found it hard to avoid the humor in the Church’s statement downplaying the use of LDS and Mormon. This isn’t the first time the Church has tried to get people to stop using such terms. Pres.…
What’s in a Name?
Three Heavens in Joseph’s Environment
We all know that revelation frequently requires study. Many of the key doctrines of the restoration came from revelations given to Joseph as he was going through and modifying the Bible by way of command. Some of these were treated…
In the world
Is the world a generally wonderful place that is constantly improving and generally better today than it ever has been? Or, to restate the obvious, do we live at peril every hour in a world we must avoid becoming part…
Future Mormon 7: Reflections on the Gift of Grace
Welcome to the oft delayed seventh chapter of the increasingly not weekly reading club for Adam Miller’s Future Mormon. For general links related to the book along with links for all the chapter discussions please go to our overview page. Please don’t…
Cafeteria Mormonism vs. Cafeteria Spirituality
Jana Riess did an oft shared post this week on “cafeteria spirituality.” This in turn generated a lot of discussion. I just wanted to make a few comments. First I think we should distinguish between what some have called cafeteria…
Lutheran Prophets and Mormon Studies
If you spend time browsing a medium-size collection of early modern pamphlets, you’re likely to come across printed reports of a prophet receiving visions, or preaching in one town or another.
Ahijah’s Prophecy of the Rending of Israel
Early Israelite prophets are not averse to a little drama! Moreover, their choice of dramatic form is often quite effective and instructive. One of the more striking and poetic moments is when Ahijah prophesies that Jeroboam will become the king…
D&C 76 and 1 Cor 15
There’s no doubt that the three kingdoms in D&C 76 have terminology related to 1 Cor 15. However the tendency of Mormons to read 1 Cor 15 in terms of D&C 76 is unfortunate. While they’re related somewhat they’re ultimately…
What is Neo-Apologetics?
Over at Wheat and Tares there was an interesting post on neo-apologetics. I’ll admit that this is one of these terms, like neo-orthodoxy back in the 90’s, that just seems inherently problematic as used. Having been “accused” of being a…
Missionaries and European privacy laws
The Court of Justice of the EU just ruled that Jehovah’s Witnesses must obtain consent from people before they take down their personal details during door-to-door preaching in order to comply with EU data privacy rules. See here the Reuters press…
Suffer the Children
It’s my pleasure to share here a guest post from my friend Samuel Morris Brown. By inclination, I’m something of a misanthrope. I’m not sure where I came by this trait. Maybe it’s good old-fashioned nature, some mixture of a…
The History of LDS Hymnbooks, Part 9: The 1985 Hymns
The dissolution of the hymnbook committee in the late 1970s brought the work of preparing a new collection of hymns for the worldwide Church to a halt. Approximately five years later, the First Presidency instructed Michael F. Moody of the…
The History of LDS Hymnbooks, Part 8: The Hymnbook that Never Was
Increased oversight by Church leaders caused by the Correlation movement brought the tension between the Church Music Committee’s ongoing crusade for more sophisticated hymns and general Church membership’s tastes for enjoyable music in the hymnal to a head. Correlation was…
Fair Mormon Conference
The 20th Fair Mormon Conference will be August 1-3 at the Utah Valley Convention Center. If you’re not able to go they’ll provide streaming of the presentations.
The History of LDS Hymnbooks Part 7: The 1948 Hymns: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Sometimes musicians (both in our tradition and others) think of themselves, more or less, as musical dieticians for their religion when assembling hymnbooks. Some types of hymns are deemed to be higher quality (and therefore spiritually healthy) while others are…
The History of LDS Hymnbooks, Part 6: The Latter-day Saint Hymns
In the early 20th century, the LDS Church formed an official music committee of professional musicians to oversee the production of a new hymnal for Church use. By 1920, there were a variety of hymn books in use by the…
The History of LDS Hymnbooks, Part 5: The Sunday School Hymnals
The Sunday School played a prominent role in the development of LDS hymns during the late nineteenth century. In saying this, it is important to remember that in times past, auxiliary organizations had greater autonomy than they do today. For…
The History of LDS Hymnbooks, Part 4: Latter-day Saints’ Psalmody
Original music for LDS hymns initially developed in 19th century Utah. For the faction of the Mormonism that followed the Quorum of the Twelve west to the Great Basin region, the Manchester hymnal continued to serve as the official hymnal…
“Saints, Slaves, & Blacks”: A Review
This past May, I went to see Jana Riess present her recent research on Mormon Millennials at the Miller Eccles Study Group here in Texas. One of the most interesting (and disturbing) bits of information was her finding regarding Mormons’…
History of LDS Hymnbooks, Part 3: Emma’s 1841 Nauvoo Hymnbook
Two hymnals published in the early 1840s displayed a growing divide in opinion over selection of hymns in the Church. In October of 1839, a high council “voted that Sister Emma Smith, select and publish a hymn Book for the…
History of LDS Hymnbooks, Part 2: The Manchester Hymnal
The history of Mormon hymnbooks is not always straightforward, with one authorized hymnbook following another. Following the publication of the 1835 hymnbook, a few unauthorized hymnals were published that influenced future hymnbooks. Recognizing a growing need for hymnals in Mormon…
Contract vs. Covenant
As a first order approximation, we frequently describe a covenant as a two way promise often with consequences attached if one breaks ones promise. That almost sounds like a contract. So what exactly is the difference between a contract and…
History of LDS Hymnbooks, Part 1: The 1835 Hymnal
It has been stated before that “of all artistic endeavors . . . music may justly be named as the first to claim divine support and prophetic direction for its development in the fledgling LDS church.”[1] Mormonism began developing its…
The New LDS Hymnbook: Changes and Possibilities
Recently, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that they were going to prepare a new hymnbook and children’s songbook for use in the worldwide Church. Specifically, the goal is to create unity in hymn numbers and selections…
Welcome Guest Blogger Chad Nielsen
We are delighted to welcome guest blogger Chad Nielsen to Times and Seasons. Chad’s three great intellectual passions in life are science, history/religious studies, and music. He has pursued a career in biotechnology, but maintains an active interest in both…
Women in the New Kingdom
Some of the places I love the most in the Holy Land are the churches dedicated to women. My favorite is the Duc In Altum in Magdala on the shore of Galilee. It is a lovely Catholic chapel overlooking the…
10 Questions with Ben Park
We’re happy to present Kurt Manwaring’s interview with Benjamin Park. He’s a professor of history at Sam Houston University and has been a visiting fellow at the Maxwell Institute. He just had published American Nationalisms: Imagining Union in the Age…
The Divine Christ and the Human Jesus
We’ve been in Jerusalem long enough to be able to spend time with pilgrims of varying denominations from all over the world. I personally love the concept of pilgrimage. I love being able to find the spiritual world within the…
Times & Season Welcomes Mary Grey
Times and Seasons is excited to welcome our newest guest blogger, Mary E. Grey, who will be writing a series of posts from her current home in Jerusalem.
The Loss of Sin
I think one of the many social changes we’re seeing unfolding before us is the loss of sin. I don’t mean loss in the good sense of moving away from sin. Rather I mean loss in the sense that the…