People frequently claim that Mormonism is an essentially atheological religion. It is not always exactly clear what is meant by this statement, but it generally seems to me something like we place right practice and sacred stories at the center of our faith rather than an abstract set of propositions. Whatever the merits of this claim, I think that it is hard to deny that the concept of “church doctrine†is enormously important within the church discussions.
Year: 2007
Sorting voices from the dust
When we read the Book of Mormon, whose voice do we think we are hearing? Trying to answer that question, I think, is one of the essential moves in a Mormon mode of interpretation. Consider, for example, 2 Nephi 2:17, where Lehi pauses to speculate on Lucifer’s origins:
Three Statements
In 2004, the church issued True to the Faith, a First Presidency-approved booklet discussing many points of church doctrine. The booklet includes a discussion of birth control. How does that official, First Presidency-approved discussion compare to both President Beck’s recent talk on Mothers Who Know, and to the anti-Beck statement at the What Women Know website?
Replenish the earth
Is “multiply and replenish the earth” one commandment, or two?
Children Are Not Optional
Several women I know and like recently signed on to an anti-President-Beck’s-talk statement.
The Joy of God
In Moses 7, Enoch sees God weep because of the wickedness and suffering of his children. When does God’s weeping end?
Wackiest attempted priestcraft, Google version
Check out these wacky ads, straight off of today’s Gmail sidebar.
Random Thoughts on the Princeton Conference
The recent conference on Mormonism and American Politics at Princeton University, organized by former Times and Seasons blogger Melissa Proctor, was–from the perspective of this participant at least–a resounding success: plenty of exchanges, ideas, and arguments, some presented formally through papers and many others emerging informally through conversations after and between sessions, all packed into a little more than a single cold, grey Saturday in New Jersey. Reports on the conference are already making the rounds (see Matt B.’s excellent summary here, for example); those seriously obsessed with Mormon studies will be happy to here that the entire conference was recorded and will be made available online, for viewing or downloading. I can’t provide anything so nearly comprehensive, as I missed some of the presentations; but herewith are some random impressions of my own:
Did Laurel Thatcher Ulrich sell out?
How an obscure academic article yielded marketing gold.
Going Long: Of Clubs and Conduct
John Varah Long was cited to appear before church officials in 1866 for, among other reasons, “belonging to the young men’s social club, and other conduct unbecoming a saint.†Is it possible that the social club, one cause of Long’s excommunication, was also a model for the church’s Mutual Improvement Associations?
After this manner
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Out of the Intellectual (and Electronic) Ghetto!
I have long thought that there ought to be an online clearing house for research papers related to Mormonism. My proposed model is SSRN, the Social Science Research Network, where scholars in law, economics, and other disciplines upload copies of working papers and published articles. Each article is accompanied by an abstract, and all of them become text searchable and available for downloading. (Scholars who either cannot or will not upload copies of their articles can still upload abstracts.) At present there are about 132,000 scholarly papers up on SSRN. Mormon studies, I have long thought, ought to have something like that. It now exists and it is called . . . . SSRN.
Publicizing Good Works
Go read this. Then return and report.
A poem for leaf fall
That time of year thou may’st in me behold
Paradigms Lost and Found
Ben called my attention to this discussion. David Bokovoy, who is working on a PhD in Hebrew Bible at Brandeis and is the CES director in Boston, sets out this argument:
Book of Mormon stories
A recent change in the wording of the Book of Mormon may suggests a shift in the church’s view of the relationship between Lamanites and American Indian tribes. The prior introduction, written just 26 years ago by Elder McConkie, stated that the Lamanites were “the principal ancestors of the American Indians.”
Romantics and their Fragments
Reading the Book of Mormon is a lot like reading Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Kubla Khan.”
When Words Fail
In the summer of 1879, a meteor streaked across the sky above Utah, and people throughout the state tried to describe what they had seen and heard.
A less melodramatic post on vouchers
So it’s vouchers time in Utah. Here are what I see as the relevant issues, minus the apocalyptic rhetoric:
Minding our P’s and Q’s
A Evangelical classmate of mine discovered an easy tactic for bothering his Mormon classmates, that often required him only to occasionally omit the letter B or W from a sentence. In discussion about the church, he would conspicuously mention the name “Spencer Kimball,” or “Gordon Hinckley,” or “Ezra Benson.” This drove many of my Mormon classmates batty. It seemed to be a great moral wrong to refer to “Gordon Hinckley” without the intervening B.
Mormonism and American Politics conference, November 9-10
This weekend, Princeton will host an interdisciplinary conference to discuss the contested intersection between religion and American politics. Speakers include Richard Bushman, Richard Land, Kathleen Flake, Philip Barlow, Marci Hamilton, Alan Wolfe, Helen Whitney, Mark Silk, Noah Feldman, Sarah Barringer Gordon, Stephen Macedo, Thomas Griffith, Melissa Proctor, Robert George, Russell Arben Fox, Chris Karpowitz, David Campbell, John Green, and Francis Beckwith.
Patron Saints, Mormon Edition
I’m tired of waiting around for Mormonism to develop the rich extra-biblical tradition of our Christian friends. Let’s get the ball rolling!
Painted Skies
My God paints the skies for me.
Tea Party
Don’t forget, this weekend is Sunstone East, organized by blogoddess Kristine Haglund.
Going Long: Of Speculation and Dark Mormon Doings
November is TV sweeps month, where networks and stations vie for audiences to set their advertising rates for the coming months.
Notes on Halloween
1. I don’t like Halloween. When we moved to Germany, I was looking forward to spending a couple years without interference from the least export-worthy American holiday celebration I can imagine. 2. Since I was last here, Halloween has been exported to Germany.
Why Joseph Went to the Woods
Joseph Smith went to the woods because he wished to know the truth of his existence.
Family Size and Religious Optimism
A while back the chattering class got its knickers in a knot about demography.
From the Archives: The Greatest Mormon Halloween Costume Ever
So, that costume you’re going to wear to your ward Halloween party tonight? The one you’ve been working on for weeks? The one that you’ve consulted your parents/spouse/children/roomates/bishop/stake high council about? The one that manages to be simultaneously perfectly orthodox as well as moderately heretical, perhaps even a little risque? The one you’re so proud of? Well, no offense, but maybe you should just chuck it and go as Bozo the Clown. Because you see, the World’s Most Perfect Mormon Halloween Costume has already been done–it was done, in fact, two years ago. And we’ve got the evidence, right here. Enjoy.
Two-Question Poll
Which of the following statements would you agree with? 1. A school voucher system should be put into place, to more easily allow parents to remove their children from sometimes-deficient public schools and place them in more appropriate, parent-selected educational environments.