March Mormon Doctrine Madness: The Rules

In March, as you know, we will be running a tournament of sorts. I would like to take some time and explain the schedule and the rules:

There will be a play-in game on Feb 27 between Truman Madsen and Lowell Bennion for the honor of being slaughtered by Joseph Smith.

March 1st will feature the following matches:
1 – Joseph Smith vs. 16 – Lowell Bennion/Truman Madsen
5 – B. H. Roberts vs. 12 – James Talmage
2 – Continuing Revelation vs. 15 – “Faith without works is dead”
6 – Work for the Dead vs. 11 – Restoration of Priesthood authority
3 – The Doctrine and Covenants vs. 14 – The Spaulding Manuscript
7 – The 1st Official Declaration vs. 10 – The 1909 Origin of Man Message
4 – Temple Building vs. 13 – Sunday School
8 – Home Teaching vs. 9 – The Young Women’s Program

March 2nd will feature the following matches:
2 – Brigham Young vs. 15 – Eugene England
6 – Emma Hale Smith vs. 11 – Hugh Nibley
3 – Physical Divine Beings vs. 14 – Dispensationalism
7 – Temple Covenants vs. 10 – Tithing and Consecration
4 – The Pearl of Great Price vs. The Father and the Son
8 – The 2nd Official Declaration vs. 9 – The Proclamation on the Family
1 – The Welfare Program vs. 16 – The Perpetual Education Fund
5 – Personal Food Storage vs. 12 – The Young Men’s Program

March 6th will feature the following matches:
3 – Bruce R. McConkie vs. 14 – Orson Scott Card
7 – Eliza R. Snow vs. 10 – David O. McKay
4 – Heavenly Mother vs. 13 – Zionism
8 – Plural Marriage vs. 9 – Word of Wisdom
1 – The Book of Mormon vs. 16 – The Young Women’s Values
5 – The Lectures on Faith vs. 12 – Zeal without Knowledge
2 – The Missionary Program vs. 15 – Conferences
6 – Sacrament Meeting vs. Elder’s Quorum

March 7th will feature the following matches:
4 – Joseph F. Smith vs. 13 – Chieko Okazaki
8 – Spencer W. Kimball vs. 9 – Gordon B. Hinckley
1 – “As Man is, God once was; as God is, Man may become” vs. 16 – Companionship of the Holy Ghost
5 – 3 Kingdoms of Glory vs. 12 – Saving Ordinances
2 – The Bible vs. 15 – Jesus the Christ
6 – The King Follett Discourse vs. 11 – Mormon Doctrine
3 – The Church Education System vs. 14 – Church Movies and Art
7 – Visiting Teaching vs. 10 – Relief Society

The Round of 32 will commence on the 13th and will run from the 13th to the 16th.

The Sweet Sixteen will play on the 20th and the 21st.

The Elite Eight will play on the 23rd and the 24th

The Final Four will take place on the 27th and 28th.

The Championship Game will take place on the 29th.

Each match will be decided by a 24 hour blogpoll, which opens at 10:00am MST on the day of the match. After 24 hours, the poll will close and the winner will be declared.

There will be a prize given to the most accurate bracket received. The winner will receive their choice of: an “Obey Aaron” t-shirt, a “Monkey-Steals-the-Peach” t-shirt, a “Mormon Archipelago” t-shirt, or a “Feminist Mormon Housewives” t-shirt. The use of these t-shirts doesn’t necessarily imply the approval of the process by the websites with which these t-shirts are typically associated.

All interested in entering a bracket should email their completed bracket to faithpromotingrumor at gmail.com or should mail it to me (contact me for the address) prior to the first.

Finally, David J, our intrepid handicapper, will be offering his predictions for the brackets some time this weekend. Please use his advice wisely (but remember that gambling is a no-no).