I am happy to introduce Patrick Mason as our next guest blogger. Patrick just finished his PhD in History at Notre Dame and will be working here this year as a program coordinator in Peace Studies
Year: 2006
The mother of our ward
My children are getting ready for Father’s Day, and this involves practicing that primary song about fathers of the home, the ward, and us all. So tonight we had an interesting dinner-table conversation, about whether the same structure applies to mothers. We have a mother of our home, and we have a mother of us all. Is there a such thing as the mother of the ward?
“Well, yes, actually, there is.”
That’s not the answer you expect when you toss out the standard home/visiting teaching line asking if there is anything you can do to help your teachee.
Why I Read History
I mainly read history because it is fun. I do, however, occasionally have other reasons.
Lots of Questions for Greg Whiteley
“Probably the only people who are more lonely in an LDS ward than musicians who used to be almost-famous are filmmakers who never were”–Greg Whiteley, director of New York Doll.
You are the exception…
I love Elder Oaks’ talks.
Where are all the Mormon lesbians?
There are a small but growing number of gay Mormon men who comment regularly on T&S and other bloggernacle blogs.
Evolving Palates
When I was a child, I tasted sour cream, and I immediately wondered, “why on earth would anyone willingly put that stuff into his mouth?”
Testifying of historicity
As I was re-reading conference, I came across this closing statement by President Hinckley:
Nightline: “Gay Mormons Face Excommunication”
Nightline‘s first segment tonight focused on gay Mormons.
“Should we live by Leviticus?”
Don’t miss this discussion (over at another blog) about just what the Bible has to say on homosexuality.
Mormonism, a la carte
There are two ways to eat out, broadly speaking: You can order a pre-set meal from the menu, or you can order a la carte. Do we have the same options with religion?
The Number of the Beast
Yes, today is 6/6/06. And apparently, some folks are celebrating it in Hell, too. We won’t go quite that far, here. However, in honor of the day, let me post this, from an e-mail that’s been circulating for a while: Number of the Beast: 666 Next door neighbor of the Beast: 668 Social Security Number of the Beast: 666-66-6666
Sunday School Lesson #23
Lesson 23: 1 Samuel 18-20, 23-24
Sunday School Lesson #22
Lesson 22: 1 Samuel 9-11, 13, 15-17
A Legal Analysis of the “Marriage Protection Amendment”
Here is my personal legal analysis of the “Marriage Protection Amendment” that is pending before the U.S. Senate.
Why Bread and Water in the Sacrament?
In the sacrament we experience, as the hymn would have it, “communion sweet.” Why does that communion require bread and water, or analogs to them?
I am no longer an attorney…
I am not longer an attorney.
Bloggernacking for Newbies
The nacle has been around for some time now, and a culture of inside jokes and insider language has sprung up with terms like monkeys, peaches, fondue, chupacabras (chupacabrim?), and Bannergate. Nacle newcomers may find the local patois a bit off-putting. This post, intended as a basic field guide, may serve as a starting point for newbies.
Elsewhere
There have been some very strong posts of late in the bloggernacle. Two of particular note: -Guest-Eve at FMH* has a very thought-provoking post on Forgiving the Church. She begins, “the Church has brought me both the most profound and beautiful and some of the most heart-wrenching experiences of my life” — and it gets better from there. Don’t miss it! -Deborah at X2** writes “Making Sense of Sunday,” a post about love and loyalty and judgment and compassion (and as a bonus, it discusses SSM too!). Yet another don’t-miss. (Other strong recent offerings come from Serenity at LDSLF about portrayals of Mormons in cinema and DMI Dave on the missionary program). And now back to our regularly scheduled lineup of SSM and abortion, interrupted by the occasional server crash.
Update
We have tentatively turned on comments for the past month’s posts, and those posts only. We hope that this will limit the spam and keep the database running. We’re keeping a close eye on the server. If it gets unstable, though, we will close comments again. (So if you’re posting a 32-paragraph novel in comments, make sure to save it as a Word doc first.) We’re looking into other possible technical solutions, and welcome feedback and suggestions.
Oman on Rees on Oman
Eons ago in blog time, I did a post called “An Open Letter to the Dialogue Editorial Board.”
Notes on Charity
A week ago, I spoke in church on the subject of charity. My talk focused on some questions from 1 Cor. 13 and Moroni 7.
Maria’s treasure
Maria, a seventy-five-year-old widow, member of our tiny Mormon branch, had asked me to meet her at a Notary’s office. She wanted me to be the executor of her will. I reluctantly agreed, remembering the council of a friend to avoid that kind of responsibility. But since I was the branch president…
How perfect a union?
Are the United States substantially a moral union–a union on moral questions? This question has bearing on what belongs in the Constitution.
Around the blogs
A few posts that I’ve noticed of late: -Bob Caswell at BnL asks how we tell the difference between doctrine and history. E.g., why is the Word of Wisdom doctrine while polygamy is merely history — and how are these decisions made? -Kathleen at some-other-blog writes on free agency and choices: How does our situation influence our choices and our agency, and how does that combination influence the consequences of our choices? –Lynette at ZD asks what it means to translate Christ’s life into our own actions. “I don’t think the question, ‘what would Jesus do?’ is always all that helpful in this endeavor,” she writes. “A more useful question, perhaps, is ‘what would Jesus want me to do?’”
Church asks members to support specific marriage amendment
Letter from First Presidency of the Church to Church Leaders in the United States We are informed that the United States Senate will on June 6, 2006, vote on an amendment to the Federal constitution designed to protect the traditional institution of marriage.
Expecting Kangaroo Fur
The feel and smell of kangaroo fur is a central part of my understanding of Mormonism.
Living in the Weimar Republic
Weimar Germany was a tremendously sophisticated and creative place.
Peace
It happened last night, around midnight, on a near-empty gym floor, after I took a break from grading exams to go work out for a while. I’ve found that I can’t control these things, really — I just take them where they fall, and sometimes, wonderfully, they fall on me.