There are a few passages of scripture that, it seems to me, get surprisingly little play in Mormon discourse, despite the fact that they speak clearly and forcefully about issues of interest.
Mormon History Goes to Court
Earlier this week the Utah Supreme Court issued its opinion in State v. Holm. If you are interested in Mormonism, law, history, or (best of all!) Mormon legal history, you ought to read it.
Sunday School Lesson #20
Lesson 20: Ruth; 1 Samuel 1
Infallibility through finality
Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson once famously remarked, “We are not final because we are infallible, but we are infallible only because we are final.” Does this adage apply to the church as well?
True Neighbors
Suppose that you splurged for the $6 version of the Church’s scriptures on CDROM. It has various ancient language toys that I am in no position to evaluate but am happy to play with. It also has a fun little tool such that when you do a search, you can click on a tab “Sort by Neighbors”. Ever wonder what that did?
Sunday School Lesson #19
Lesson 19: Judges 2; 4; 6-7; 13-16
For a Revival of Mormon Private Law
Yesterday saw an interesting thread at BCC on the question of what sorts of procedures could we imagine for creating better feedback from members to leaders within the Church.
Sunday School Lesson #18
Lesson 18: Joshua 1-6, 23-24
The Opportunity and Tragedy of Immaturity
To a large degree Mormonism is about the recapitulation of the past.
Salting the water
If you’ve had any cooking training, you almost certainly were told to salt the water in which you cook vegetables. It turns out that, objectively/scientifically, it doesn’t matter whether you do.
The why and when of baptism
How prepared should a person be before being baptized? How long should this preparation take? Recently the permabloggers had a brief e-mail exchange on this topic. The participants found it interesting to submit it to our broader forum.
Old Testament Humor
How do we know that Jael, Heber’s wife, was very righteous?
Creating a Market in Correlation
Maybe it is time to turn correlation over to the market.
Reading Balaam Optimistically
Balaam is often mentioned as a fallen prophet, but the main description of him (in Numbers 22-4) doesn’t obviously support this.
Globalization and Ritual
Maybe we should spend more time thinking about how the ancient Romans dealt with the problem of globalization.
Polygamy
A comment from my introduction: #2 I hope you feel inspired to blog on your unique perspective on polygamy. That would be fascinating, I think.
What Kind of Liberals are Mormons?
What is the precise nature of Mormon liberalism?
Apocrypha, Bible, and the Status of Scipture
Consider the following two scriptures about the scriptures:
Meal Deals
I’ll admit it: I really am more likely to bring my scriptures to church if I know I’ll get a cookie for it.
Snippets
I’ve been thinking lately about a few conference talks. For a variety of reasons, Elder Nelson’s talk from last fall, Jesus Christ, the Master Healer, has been especially on my mind this Easter season. Let me share a few snippets.
Alternate Voices
One of the more interesting pieces that I have read on Mormon intellectual life is Armand Mauss’s essay “Alternate Voices,”Sunstone April 1990. The article was written in response to a General Conference sermon by Elder Oaks of the same name. (Also worth reading here.) Brother Mauss’s article in its entirety is reproduced here with the kind permission of Sustone and Brother Mauss.
The Life and Times of Carol Armga
I’ll introduce our newest guest blogger by letting her introduce herself.
Chapel Seating
As a new member and as a missionary, I usually sat near the back of the chapel.
“One afternoon in Amarillo”
If I ever to write a country-western song about religious epistemology, I will call it “One afternoon in Amarillo.”