By August 31, 2009
A few minutes ago I was reading a Talking Points Memo article on the guy who took an AR-15 rifle to an Obama event earlier this month. Apparently Chris Broughton attends a fundamentalist Baptist church whose pastor Steven Anderson has prayed that Obama die and go to hell, sentiments that Broughton shares.
By August 23, 2009
I.
First, definitions.
(And already, you know this will be long.)
By August 10, 2009
[Yet another post in the Perspectives on Parley Pratt’s Autobiography series. Joe recently received a MLS degree from San Jose State University, but has decided to turn from the practical back to the abstract and will be applying to PhD programs in philosophy this fall. He is active in the Society of Mormon Philosophy and Theology, Mormon Scholars in the Humanities, and the Mormon Theology Seminar, and is well-known in the bloggernacle for his Priesthood/RS lesson posts over at Feast Upon the Word blog. Joe is married with a handful of kids, and his only flaw is his belief that continental philosophy can solve all the world’s problems.]
Parley P. Pratt is still well known for his poetry, didactic and pedestrian as it often enough is.
By August 3, 2009
[This is the fourth post in the Perspectives on Parley Pratt’s Autobiography series. Adriane Rodrigues Coelho was baptized nearly 23 years ago. She is married to Ricardo Choairy Coelho and they have four children. She received her B.A. degree in English Language and Literature from Faculdade de Letras, of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil, in 2000. After working for 15 years as a teacher of English as a Foreign Language for primary students in her country, she dedicated herself to her graduate program. In 2006 she received her M.A. degree from the same University. Her thesis Ordinary Accounts of Extraordinary Value: Mormon Pioneer Women?s Life Writings was a pioneering effort on Mormon Studies in Brazil. During the Summer Seminar on the Pratts, she wrote “Parley Pratt’s Ready Pen and Satire.” Her future projects include further research in the field.]
Parley Pratt?s high command of the English Language as well of the use of some of his notable literary skills are even expanded in chapters 33 and 34 when he describes his runaway from prison in Missouri.
By July 29, 2009
This morning, several hundred members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints gathered on the steps of Salt Lake City’s Matheson Courthouse and on the lawn of the Salt Lake City and County Building across the street to express their dismay that District Judge Denise Lindberg was considering ordering the United Effort Plan trust, which contains a great deal of church property, dismantled and sold.
By July 23, 2009
[This is the first post of the “Perspectives on Parley Pratt’s Autobiography” Series]
The details behind the writing (compilation?) of the Autobiography will be detailed in Matt Grow’s post next week. This post, however, focuses on Parley’s motivation behind the book. I argue that the text was written for two central reasons, beyond the obvious reason of providing the Saints with a first-hand account of the Church’s early history.
By July 9, 2009
[What follows is an extract from a section of my paper presented at the 2009 Pratt Summer Seminar, titled “‘Here Was an End to Mysticism’: Divine Embodiment, Human Corporality, and Parley Pratt.”]
By June 16, 2009
For early Mormon writers, their growing materialist theology brought several theological problems for their rationalistic minds to solve. Placing God within a physical body that takes up physical place perceivably posed threats to God?s omnipotence, omniscience, and, especially, omnipresence. Thus, many were left to determine how a godhead composed of three personages could be everywhere at the same time and have power over everything in the universe. The answer, at least for the Pratt brothers, was a redefinition of the Holy Ghost.
By June 3, 2009
[My last contribution to JI’s attempt to recreate this wonderful symposium]
Steve Olsen, “The Mormon Quest for Zion”
Although not a lawyer, Olsen presented his paper point-by-point as if arguing a case. Further, he used powerpoint to present each point. As such, I think the best way to stay true to his presentation is to post each point that he put up (they are all pretty self-explanatory). These are his thoughts on the development of Mormon thought of “sacred space.”
By June 3, 2009
[Again, take these as my far-from-perfect reformulations of a spectacular presentation]
Jeanne Halgren Kilde, “Foregrounding the Background: Power and Proximity in Sacred Space
Kilde began her fascinating presentation with a defense for the study of sacred space. She credited us for wanting to engage the issue, because it is largely in the background of religious scholarships. This neglect is mostly because of two reasons: first, we often focus on texts as the best representation of religious thought. Second, when we do move beyond texts, we mostly focus on ritual. This leaves out an important part of the ‘soul’ of religious worship: the actual space—the architecture, the layout, and the physical appearance of how and where worship occurs. She argues that we can gain access to the believer’s mind by looking at how they viewed space as an element of religion. Specifically to her research, Kilde has focused on what sacred space can tell us about the evolving idea of authority.[1]
Kilde gave several great examples of how this approach can reveal much about religious history.
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