No, really. Why do we reverence Emma? There are plenty of other women in the early church who are admirable, yet who didn’t fall away. Why does she get such special attention and devotion? Is it because of her close relationship with Joseph? Oliver Cowdery had a close relationship with Joseph (admittedly not as close). He fell away over doubts regarding Joseph’s call (including issues with plural marriage). And HE CAME BACK. Yet, there is not 1/5 of the time... Read more

Christian, our intrepid Evangelical friend, is asking about salvation over at his site. One of the things he mentions there (as I mulled over my as-yet non-existent response) really struck me. # So because of our sin (both Adam’s and of our own own) we deserve to die – after all, there is no forgiveness of sin w/out the shedding of blood (Heb 10:22), and in our sin we are already dead to God (Eph 2:1). We are incapable of... Read more

Here is a quote from an Ezra Taft Benson talk I read this morning: “[The Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants] are bound together as revelations from Israel’s God for the purpose of gathering and preparing His people for the second coming of the Lord.” (Ensign, November 1986, 78) Do you ever get the feeling that we, as a people, are not millenarian enough? Read more

I ran across the following quote from President Ezra Taft Benson this morning: “It would be difficult to underestimate the impact the Bible has had on the history of the world.“(Ensign, Nov 1987, 78) I am relatively certain that this is the exact opposite of what he meant to say. An Ensign editor failed to catch it and now this error is here for you to enjoy. The story goes that Simonds Rider left the church because Joseph Smith misspelled... Read more

From www.lds.org: History Group Honors President Hinckley Presumably, this isn’t a crack about his age. Carnival Provides Place for Fun I suppose this is better than the Bradbury-esque alternative Read more

Orson Scott Card joins faculty of Southern Virginia University Perhaps he will now stop accusing academics of failing to respect science fiction. Read more

A quote from www.lds.org for all you literary theorists out there: “Salvation is not in facilities or technology, but in the word. Only in the power of the word will it impact our lives and help us to live closer to our Father in Heaven.”—Elder L. Tom PerryEnsign, May 2000, 25 You don’t appear to be alone. Read more

On the grand scale of musicals that are perpetually playing in Utah, “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” probably ranks third (the first two being “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and “Forever Plaid”). I can’t speak for when it was originally produced, by the play strikes me as exceedingly perverse. Kidnapping your potential bride is not the sort of activity we would generally expect to find in plays that the Mormons laud (even if written by Sam Shepherd). So, what... Read more

Here is a quote from the study questions area of the David O. McKay lesson that we will be studying in my ward this coming Sunday (at least in Priesthood; we have somehow gotten out of synch with the Relief Society). In what way is the appearance of the Father and the Son to Joseph Smith the “”foundation of this Church””? This is in reference to a quote by Pres. McKay earlier in the chapter: The appearing of the Father... Read more

Asian ladybugs outperform native variety I am sure that it is just because their parents apply so much more pressure. Read more