Can there be a faithful liberal Mormonism? I have recently rediscovered my faith in Christ and come to terms with my Mormonism. My quest from here is to discover my path within Mormonism. I am not talking about political liberalism. While political liberalism is my primary specialty, this is not “Can a Mormon be a Democrat?” Instead, I am thinking of liberalism in a religious sense. I will commence here my attempt to define a type of Mormon religious liberalism.... Read more

From NPR: [Yesterday] the Library of Congress and Sony Music Entertainment announced the launch of what’s being billed as “the largest collection of historical recordings ever made publicly available online.” The new website provides access to more than 10-thousand historical recordings for free on a streaming-only basis – no downloads. It covers the first quarter of the twentieth century and includes music, poetry, political speeches and other spoken word recordings. Right now, it only includes recordings made by the Victor... Read more

I have to confess that I am not really a fan of the prophets. No, its not the modern ones. My main gripe is actually with the Deuteronomic Historians, but it extends to pretty much the rest of the prophets as well. The issue is that they espouse a premodern view of historical events that I think is generally pretty problematic. Specifically, they teach a version of divine providence where God is the only real agent, and wars and calamities,... Read more

I’ve only had the time to hear the first song, “Hello,” which has been streaming online for a few weeks now. Yesterday NPR put a full cast recording up on their site with a warning: Advisory: Language on this recording may not be appropriate for all listeners. Interested in your reactions to the songs.     Read more

Today, in testimony meeting, Kelly walked up to the pulpit. Five months ago, we did not know whether she would ever walk on her own again. Today, in testimony meeting, Kelly bore her testimony. Five months ago, we did not know if Kelly would speak again. On Christmas Eve, Kelly and her five year old daughter Elise were skiing with family and friends. A snowboarder slammed into both of them. He was going at a very high rate off speed.... Read more

In “Marx’s Contributions and their Relevance Today,” John G. Gurley takes an interesting approach to viewing the contemporary economic world through the lens of Marxist analysis. He asks us to consider what Karl Marx himself would say if he were “to rise from the dead and survey our world of theory and practice.” Gurley approaches the question by looking at what he views as the seven major contributions of Marx to economics. The first of these contributions is Marx’s theory... Read more

Even my post title is loaded. By referring to the situation as “the death of,” I cast a judgment. I didn’t call it “the murder of” or the “slaughter of” or the “unfortunate demise of.” (I made the mistake last night of clicking a link containing an image of his body on a foreign website. What word to use?) I had to call it something, just to get my thoughts out. Blog posts have titles and “death” is the word... Read more

After several years of silliness the President has released his long form birth certificate, putting to rest (but probably not really, as today’s poll suggests) the rumors that he was not born a US citizen and thus is not eligible for the office of President. I’ve been fortunate enough not to know any birthers personally, but I’m curious if anyone reading this post had to deal with any. Meantime, enjoy my Matsby-esque MSPaint tribute to the death of a conspiracy movement. Read more

I recently realized that I lead multiple different lives. I have by professional life where I toil at VCR repair and talk about it with other professionals in my field. I have my church life, where I teach and attend meetings and work with members of my congregation. I have my neighborhood life where I socialize with the families that live around me. I have at least three different online lives. On Facebook, I keep it pretty light with some... Read more

The prophet Samuel famously rebukes King Saul’s desire to offer sacrifice to the Lord with the following words: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as obedience to the Lord’s command? Surely, obedience is better than sacrifice.” (1 Sam 15:22) (more…) Read more