Heh. Back to work, are you? And not really in the mood, perhaps? Yeah. It coulda been Normandy outside last night until quite late. Anyway, here’s a little something to muse on as you ease yourself back into productive behaviors. I think that perhaps the great and abominable church of 1 Nephi 13-14 is the whore of Babylon (Revelation 17), mostly stripped of sexuality and gender. If this is a reasonable reading, it means that the BoM re-visions the great... Read more
This morning as I was doing a clean and press set the usual happened. At about the tenth repetition of the second set my momentum began to pull me forward, off balance. Now those of you that are familiar with this exercise know that it actually requires momentum, that is, to do it right you want some momentum to get the bar up to shoulder height, and then again to press it overhead. The challenge is in controlling and focusing... Read more
So even those of us who live under rocks have now heard that some sort of an Event has occurred out in Utah that apparently involves the potential demise of FARMS. This should be considered bad news by those who think themselves called to defend the Church because it means that the dirty laundry all organizations generate has now risen to such a level that even misanthropically inclined hermits such as me are now aware of it. (more…) Read more
This comment by tom (#23) at Dave Banack’s challenging post over at T&S sums up why I think the Nibley approach to apologetics and its reception have, in part, had long term and still expanding negative effects on church members: “Might not hurt to read a little Nibley along the way.. not exactly light reading, but take some time to examine the connections he makes with Enoch, Abraham, and ancient temple worship – through all the various non-biblical records that... Read more
Bill Hamblin is right. The old-FARMS is dead. Gerald Bradford didn’t kill it. John Dehlin certainly didn’t kill it. The ouster of Daniel Peterson is not when FARMS died. It died a long time ago, while Peterson was still there. It was absorbed into the Maxwell Institute, which we now know was the beginning of its end, at least in the form in which it appeared in the 1990’s. For various reasons, the FARMS of the 2000’s failed to... Read more
I have nothing against Daniel Peterson, and I’m not a fan of John Dehlin. I’m not interested in the so-called “hit piece” that the Mormon Studies Review was supposed to publish, nor do I really care about who leaked what Maxwell Institute emails (for a chronology of sorts, see here). However, I am quite embarrassed by this whole event, and these feelings of embarrassment bring to the fore long-standing feelings of embarrassment that I’ve had about FARMS and its association with BYU.... Read more
Author’s note: This is the fourth post in a series about my experiences with and reflections on teaching seminary on a volunteer basis this past year. Its observations and opinions do not necessarily represent the teachings or policies of the Seminaries & Institutes program or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is natural for modern readers of ancient religious literature to read their own lives into the text. This is fine. That’s why we read the texts... Read more
Author’s note: This is the third post in a series about my experiences with and reflections on teaching seminary on a volunteer basis this past year. Its observations and opinions do not necessarily represent the teachings or policies of the Seminaries & Institutes program or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was a bad seminary student; out of the nearly 100 scripture mastery verses in all 4 years of seminary, I memorized three of them. Back then,... Read more
(update:) Author’s note: This is the second post in a series dealing with my experiences teaching seminary on a volunteer basis over this past year. The thoughts and observations contained therein do not necessarily represent those of the Seminaries and Institutes program or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The introductory post can be found here. I support and deeply value the seminary program and its role in the lives of LDS youth. That’s why I accepted the... Read more
Fantastic lineup here, folks. Check it out, if you can. http://www.thc.utah.edu/?&pageId=6466 Women and the LDS Church: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives Conference August 24 – 25, 2012 Fort Douglas, Officer’s Club Theater 150 S. Fort Douglas Blvd University of Utah Click here for map (more…) Read more
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