Mid-march is the season of the burning bush: the crocuses are done, the daffodils are almost on, but for now it’s the forsythia that owns the day.
Year: 2006
Market Dominant Minorities in the Book of Mormon
Market Dominant Minorities
Two Cheers for the Manuals!
I have a confession. I am an Elders’ Quorum instructor and I like the Teachings of the Presidents of the Church manuals. Really.
The Church as a Highly Ineffectual Stalker
Recently, at Feminist Mormon Housewives, a few relatively heated comments focused on church contact with ex-members.
And Justice for All
I apologize in advance for writing about a topic that is at least closely related to, if not the same as Nate’s. But it is his fault. He made me start thinking about the question of freedom and its relation to justice.
JEF Sunday School Lesson #12
Lesson 12: Genesis 40-45
Blogging most Fowles
Our latest guest brings a Fowles mouth and even more Fowles reputation.
Jacob Laurence
Born 11 days ago, Jacob is happy and healthy as is his (sleep-deprived) mother. A picture of him in the hospital is available here for a few more days.
Ama-ar-gi and Mormonism
“Ama-ar-gi,” a Sumerian word, has the distinction of being the oldest written instance of the concept of freedom or liberty, appearing on a clay tablet from about 2300 B.C. The word itself has something to say about the vexed question of the relationship between Mormonism and liberty or freedom.
I Don’t Think We’re A Top-Down Organization
This will be my last post at T&S. I’d like to thank those who gave me this opportunity and those who have participated on my posts. It’s been fun. We appear to be a top-down institution, the higher-ups telling those below them what to do, but my experience indicates to me that we work from the bottom-up. An example:
A Pack of Wolves
Nate posted recently about the “Gentile Boogie” — that is, things people do or say when they don’t think a Mormon is around. Nate’s post suggests a world of subtle exclusions and small slights. There is a much darker side to the Gentile Boogie, though — one that I caught a glimpse of, a decade ago.
How to Teach a Scripture Passage
Here’s a systematic approach to preparing a lesson on a passage of scripture.
An Interview with Jared Ludlow
Jared Ludlow has been at BYU-Hawaii since 2000 and is an assistant professor in the History and Religion Departments. He earned his PhD in a joint program in Near Eastern Religions from the University of California-Berkeley and the Graduate Theological Union. He is the author of Abraham Meets Death: Narrative Humor in the Testament of Abraham.
Some Excerpts From My Mission Journal
I was browsing through my mission journal a bit ago and decided to copy a few excerpts for your reading pleasure (or boredom). A few observations: 1) I was extremely moody/emotional. 2) The first half of my mission all I talked about was Shelley, my pre-mish girlfriend who I wanted to wait for me, who was there when I got back, who I didn’t marry. 3) 95% of what I wrote is embarrassing to read. 4) I was a little kid. 5) I grew a lot. 6) The mission isn’t nearly as romantic when you’re going through it as it is when you look back on it. Friday, August 16th, 1996 …I don’t know if I’m feeling the Spirit enough.
Eddie Murphy on Richard Bushman
There is a classic Saturday Night Live skit (from back when it was funny) that perfectly captures one of my nagging anxieties about being Mormon.
Reproductive Rights
I’ve been arguing this point for years, but today a group made it in Federal court: laws imposing child support on fathers who didn’t want a child violate the father’s “reproductive freedom.” The group calls their cause Roe v. Wade for Men. According to their attorney, “The public is still dealing with the pre-Roe ethic when it comes to men, that if a man fathers a child, he should accept responsibility,” and they hope to change that.
An unsolicited plug
Yesterday, Akismet caught its 10,000th spam since its installation less than four months ago.
George Q. Cannon’s Equal Rights Amendment
I have been doing a bit of research on the drafting of the Utah State Constitution, reading the proceedings of the constitutional convention held in 1894. The delegates seem to have spent most of their time discussing furniture, stationary, and who got to be appointed official stenographer for the convention. Every so often, however, they would pause to actually consider possible constitutional issues.
What If President Hinckley Says This Next Month…
“…brothers and sisters, there is another matter of which I’d like to mention before we close this glorious conference. We live in a new age. A time where information surrounds us. The internet has grown to be a regular part of many people’s lives. Email makes it easier to communicate… but I’m not going to give you my email address (crowd erupts with laughter).
The Joys of Domesticity
Today, out of the blue, I got a query from a friend — a smart, competent, and female professional — who asked me this: What’s the right temperature for baked eggplant? My immediate (and correct, I might add) answer: 350.
From the Archives: What is the Purpose of the BYU Dress and Grooming Code?
BYU is often ridiculed for its dress and grooming code. The basic argument is that it is silly.
Does Feminism Make Women Unhappy?
Go read this. Then return and report.
“But that’s just socially constructed…”
One of the fun things about education is that you get all sorts of fun new toys, ideas that magically seem to cut through all sorts of Gordian knots and whose mere invocation has occult intellectual powers that liberate one from previous difficulties.
The Principle of Non-Distraction
A short while ago a recently reactivated member of our ward sang a solo for the musical number in Sacrament Meeting. You must understand that the man is a professional vocalist who has sung with Michael Jackson among others. The song he sang was absolutely gorgeous… but it wasn’t something you often (or ever) hear in a Sacrament Meeting. Rather it was a Spiritual. Now, I don’t know enough about music to fully appreciate this genre but I do know that I was genuinely touched by his performance. (But it also gave me a twinge of discomfort-by-proxy. I immediately wondered what the westerners (i.e. not-african heritage) in the congregation thought.)
A Modest Bit of Navel Gazing…
I try (or at least I think that I try) to avoid posting on the bloggernacle as bloggernancle.
JEF Sunday School Lesson 11
Lesson 11: Genesis 34 and 37-39
Another Martyr
DESERET EVENING NEWS Monday, March 5, 1888 ANOTHER MARTYR Elder John B. Johnson departed this life at the Utah Penitentiary at an early hour this morning (March 5th).
Reparations within the Rule of Law
At the upcoming slavery reparations conference at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, I will speak on the topic of reparations within the rule of law.
Holmes at Last
There are many areas in which the “green” hymnal is superior to its predecesor. It has better indexes, lots of added information, and the mixed blessing of simpler, more playable hymns. However, in the vitally important category of hymn-texts-penned-by-parents-of-Supreme-Court-justices, it is sadly lacking.
Polygamy and Bastardy
Polygamy created a bastardy problem for nineteenth-century Mormons.