This is my body . . . or, Sally Quinn, PZ Myers, and the coming millennium
By August 2, 2008
Recently (and weirdly) the Holy Eucharist has been in the news.
By August 2, 2008
Recently (and weirdly) the Holy Eucharist has been in the news.
By July 22, 2008
The Mormon Church has always placed an emphasis on education: the Kirtland School of the Elders, the School of the Prophets, the Hebrew School, etc. This idea continued into Nauvoo, where, as part of the Nauvoo Charter, they founded the University of the City of Nauvoo. This institution was fairly functional until the Saints migrated West, whereupon it obviously became dormant.
By July 2, 2008
This is, quite simply, the single most extensive canvass of American religious life ever achieved.
By January 27, 2008
As many, if not most, have heard by now, President Hinckley died today. I have vague memories of Presidents Kimball, Benson, and Hunter, but the prophet of my youth will be President Hinckley. I remember vividly him coming to Houston in 1998, just prior to my mission. I distinctly recall watching as he left the Summit on his cart, as we sang We Thank Thee of God for a Prophet, and he turned to wave to the audience. I felt tremendous love for that man at that moment and an incredibly poignant feeling of gratitude for such a warm leader. I recall desiring him to stay with us, as did the Nephites with Christ in 3 Nephi 17:4-6, but alas it was his time to go. That memory comes powerfully to me now, as I internalize this death, and I desire President Hinckley to tarry with us a little longer, but alas it is his time to go. The prophet is dead. Long live the prophet. May our prayers be with the Hinckley family.
By January 7, 2008
In elders quorum yesterday, we discussed the first chapter in the new Joseph Smith Manual. Expectedly, it treated the First Vision and the class discussed how the First Vision was the great starting point of the Restoration and Joseph Smith’s prophetic career.
By December 10, 2007
In her novel A Little Lower than the Angels, Virginia Sorensen writes of a fictional family living in Nauvoo, Illinois.
By December 8, 2007
Although Mitt Romney avoided a detailed discussion of Mormonism in his “Faith in America” speech, he did include a brief reference to Brigham Young and the trek west. Romney situated Mormon history within a narrative of religious intolerance in American history:
Today?s generations of Americans have always known religious liberty. Perhaps we forget the long and arduous path our nation?s forbearers took to achieve it. They came here from England to seek freedom of religion. But
By December 5, 2007
According to Tribune reporter Brooke Adams, Warren Jeffs has resigned as “President of the Corporation of the President of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Inc.” All this really says is that Jeffs no longer is running the business side of things, which seems like a practical move considering his incarcerated position. I don’t know enough about FLDS theology to know what implications this has for Jeffs’ position as Prophet. Does anyone know how these positions relate to each other in the LDS church?
By November 18, 2007
Warning: Plot spoilers follow.
Tonight my girlfriend and I attended an advance screening of the forthcoming movie, Emma Smith: My Story. It was, to say the least, better than we had expected. I’m not a film critic, so I cannot critique the movie based on editing, music, camera angles, or even dialogue. However, none of these more aesthetic characteristics stuck out as being “bad” to me, despite being told before hand that the movie was still very rough. If I came into this movie with little historical
By November 15, 2007
Continuing on a previous post from earlier this week, I would now like to discuss a specific example of Mormon folklore. In preparation for the Folklore Society of Utah Conference this Saturday, I have collected close to 100 interviews of college-aged students regarding the practice of polygamy. I have discovered that as a result of the Church being virtually silent when it comes to the purposes of polygamy in authoritative discourse and writings, the most common way of learning about it is through folklore. This has lead to a wide diversity on when it was initiated, why it was practiced, and what will happen with it concerning the future.
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Recent Comments
Steve Fleming on Study and Faith, 5:: “The burden of proof is on the claim of there BEING Nephites. From a scholarly point of view, the burden of proof is on the…”
Eric on Study and Faith, 5:: “But that's not what I was saying about the nature of evidence of an unknown civilization. I am talking about linguistics, not ruins. …”
Steve Fleming on Study and Faith, 5:: “Large civilizations leave behind evidence of their existence. For instance, I just read that scholars estimate the kingdom of Judah to have been around 110,000…”
Eric on Study and Faith, 5:: “I have always understood the key to issues with Nephite archeology to be language. Besides the fact that there is vastly more to Mesoamerican…”
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