I am sorry I have not been posting more regularly. Hurricane Ike slowed me down a bit. However, everything is starting to get back to normal. So…. Here we go. If the nineteenth century Mormon experiment in planning claimed anything, it claimed to be founded on revelation.
Category: Latter-day Saint Thought
Doctrine – Theology – Philosophy
Reminder: Alma Conference
For those in the Provo area:
Changing Conceptions of Zion
The Mormon conception of Zion has changed dramatically over the past century. Today’s members of the church are likely to define “Zion” as wherever the members of the church are: LDS homes, congregations, and stakes. While the conception of Zion in the 19th century may have included these elements, these Saints were determined to literally be Zion communities
Returning to Zion
Given all that might be said of Mormonism, it should not come as a surprise that a lot of interesting topics sit pretty much neglected. One of these, I would argue, is the Mormon contribution to building settlements in the United States.
New Mormon Studies Clearinghouse: MormonConferences.org
Have you been wondering where to go to find out what all is going on in Mormon Studies? Now you know: MormonConferences.org, just launched today, keeps track of all the major public events in Mormon Studies and lists them all on one calendar
The War Chapters
And a great sleep did come over the land; yea, verily, there was much dozing and nodding of heads in all of the sabbath schools.
Unsubstantiated Rumor #2
Over at MAD-Board, there is rumor about a policy change, to the effect that women may now be sealed to more than one (deceased) husband (just as men may now be sealed to more than one deceased wife). Can anyone confirm or un-confirm this one?
Salvation or Happiness?
During the last few years, I’ve noticed that less often is “the plan of salvation” used in General Conference, and more often we hear “the plan of happiness.” Anyone know why?
Why Visit Mountain Meadows?
A week ago I visited Mountain Meadows for the first time. I was surprisingly hard to find. While the site does appear on maps of the area, there aren’t any signs until you get within a mile of the entrance. That is a shame.
What We Didn’t Discuss
The gospel doctrine lesson on Alma 43-52 proposed four principles of war as waged by the righteous:
The Reality of Satan
I heard a story on This American Life a couple of weeks ago that has had me thinking about the reality of Satan and just what that means for us in our lives.
Global Warming, Redefining Marriage, and Risk Aversion
I think we can all agree that, from a risk analysis perspective, global warming and gay marriage share a lot of characteristics.
Revelation 3:14-22
Previous posts in this series are available here.
Eve
(I hope you haven’t discussed this before, at least not in this way.) At the height of national debate over the Equal Rights Amendment, Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained that all LDS women should look to Eve: “Eve, the mother of all living, is truly the perfect pattern for all her daughters. Oh that all women would follow the path laid down by the first woman of all women and do the things that she did that all might be saved!†I have done some preliminary research and realized members of the church interpret the Eve story diversely—
Wish I’d Been There
Need a smile? Then you might wish you’d gone to sacrament meeting on March 15, 1857 in the Salt Lake Thirteenth Ward:
Pioneers and Indians in Utah Valley
Just last week I heard a familiar comment at church: Brigham Young’s policy was to feed the Indians rather than fight them. The actual record of relations between Pioneers and Indians was a bit more complicated, especially in Utah Valley, the watery jewel of early Utah.
Yesharah
Did you know that BYU had a combined-gender missionary club in the early 1920’s named the Y.D.D.? It took me a month to discover the secret of the initials: “Young Doctors of Divinity.â€
Upcoming Conference on Alma 32
For those in the Provo area:
Socialism and United Order
I stumbled across a few LDS socialist stories when I was writing my MA thesis.
Political Remembering
Fascinating Utah history factoid:
Christianity by Continent
I recently read Martin Marty’s The Christian World: A Global History (2007). The subtitle is slightly misleading, as Marty recounts Christian history on a continent-by-continent basis. The last two chapters, covering the modern return of Christianity to Africa and Asia, raise issues of particular interest to the LDS experience: correlation and assimilation.
Death and Doctrine, II
Can you help me a bit more with this topic? . . . Since LDS funeral sermons were given exclusively by men before 1900, they make an interesting comparison with LDS women’s death poetry of the same time period.
Why Bread and Water in the Sacrament?
Why does “communion sweet” in the sacrament require both bread and water?**
Death and Doctrine
I have an uneasy relationship with death.
Revelation 3:1-13
Previous posts in this series are here.
Christ’s nativity: a solution
From Steven Vanden Broecke, The Limits of Influence
God As a Longshoreman
Without meaning to, this story (you can read it, but it is better to listen to it–it’s only a minute or so long) does a better job of explaining the nature of our relationship with God than almost anything else I have encountered.
Carl and Mathilda
Let us praise pioneers. Of all sorts, but today especially the traditional sort. I myself am thinking of Carl and Mathilda, whom I came to know through one of those wholly unexpected spine-tingling unbelievable fantastic experiences.
Massacre is Just Around the Corner
The Deseret News just ran a lengthy article giving some details on the long-awaited but soon-to-be-released book Massacre at Mountain Meadows, by three LDS historians.