Of all the women whose stories have been told in these pages, Ora Johnson Dalton would probably be the most astonished to learn that her life could be honored as a model of faith.
Year: 2007
A Little Humor
These church bulletin bloopers have been making the rounds; on the off chance you haven’t seen them yet:
Amazon’s take on the Book of Mormon
Amazon.com has an algorithm for noting the “Statistically Improbably Phrases” in any given book. The idea is to look for word combinations that are uncommon generally but common in the book in the hope that this provides potential buyers some insight into what the book is about. Here are the ones for the Doubleday edition of the Book of Mormon:
Scholarship versus dissemination
Over at the great and spacious blog, Richard Bushman writes that “what I would hope for [in blogging] is more serious and focused thought, the kind that Nate Oman turns out, rather than off-the-cuff chatter that is fun but leads nowhere.” Similarly, recent discussion at DMI focuses on whether blogging can or should displace conventional scholarship. These discussions touch on the same questions: Why are we blogging, anyway? Are some types of blogging more valuable than others, as Bushman seems to suggest? Should we all be more like Nate?
The Poetry of Red Rocks
I am currently doing some research on Mormon legal history, and earlier today found myself reading through an old issue of Western Humanties Review from 1951.
Survey says . . .
A recent Gallup poll explored what Americans think of Mormons.
Especially for Mormon graduate students (or, why you should forget about BYU)
One of the most difficult stages of graduate school comes near the end, when the massive effort required to complete a dissertation collides with the existential crisis of finding a job
Testimony Meeting
In our testimony meeting today, a visitor mildly scolded our ward for a minute-plus silence between testimonies.
Random Thoughts on the Leadership Training Meeting
Last month’s Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting is now available online here.
Essential Texts in Mormon Feminism?
In honor of Women’s History Month, I’d like to reopen our occasional series of Essential Texts in Mormon Studies. Traditionally, posts in the series have asked commenters to suggest their top five books within some segment of Mormon studies. For this post, let’s discuss what might be the essential texts in Mormon feminism.
An Answered Prayer?
I stood at the bus stop, thinking about my music homework.
Fireside notes
What does an apostle, who himself had spent a long time away from his young family for military service, who has himself experienced grief and loss, say to a congregation of American servicemen and -women and their families in a distant country, many of whom have been to Iraq or have lost friends there or will soon be in Iraq for an unknowable duration, and who have traveled in many cases for hours to hear an apostle speak? What Elder Ballard said last night was:
Brigham Invites a Kiss
I love Brigham Young. I really do. He was a great man by just about every measure. My appreciation for his finer qualities, however, doesn’t blind me to his weak spots.
Sitting in the Temple with Dad
I remember sitting on my dad’s lap after I burned my bottom on our ancient heating pipes at Hoosier Courts, Bloomington, Indiana. I was four years old, so it was 1959.
Talk like a Pirate Day
September 19 is Talk like a Pirate Day. But every day is Talk like a Pirate Day for me. Arrrr!
Sun and Stone
For some of us, lapsed subscriptions are a way of life. The parade of reminder cards, the inevitable gaps in coverage — they are as familiar as morning and evening. On rare occasions, this trait leads to vistas the zealously up-to-date subscriber will never see.
The other Heavenly Mother hymn
Common knowledge holds that Eliza’s poetic lines in O My Father are the only spot that the Heavenly Mother doctrine broke through into mainstream Mormon discourse; that the radical doctrine, taught by Joseph Smith, was preserved only through the valiant efforts of the poetess; that no one else really thought it necessary to celebrate the concept. Common knowledge is wrong.
Forget polygamists, Mitt descends from a DESERTER!!!!
With all the recent attention to Mitt Romney’s polygamous ancestors, I’m surprised no one has yet commented on the really colorful and interesting ancestor, a decorated Prussian soldier who emigrated to the U.S., marched with the Utah Expedition against the Mormons in 1857, then deserted the army and sought asylum in Salt Lake City, eloping with his Iron Cross.
All callings are good
The ones that you love — well, you love them. And the ones that you hate? They exist to make you stronger. They may be a test. Or, you may be there to help others. Therefore, all callings are good.
Summer Seminar Deadline March 2nd
Again this summer, Richard Bushman and Terryl Givens will be leading a summer seminar for graduate students on early Mormon thought. The application deadline has been extended to March 2nd, so there is still time to apply (just!).
Intelligences and Zion: An Essay in Mormon Political Philosophy (part IV, concluded)
To read the previous sections of this essay, go here (Part I), here (Part II), and here (Part III).
Intelligences and Zion: An Essay in Mormon Political Philosophy (part III)
To read the first section of this essay, go here (Part I) and here (Part II).
Why a Second Coming?
It might seem that there are few Hegelians in the world today.
Intelligences and Zion: An Essay in Mormon Poltical Philosophy (part II)
To read the first section of this essay, go here.
Intelligences and Zion: An Essay in Mormon Political Philosophy (part I)
The following is an essay that I wrote several years ago and never published. I have divided the essay into four posts that will run over the next couple of days. Academics regularlly present unpublished papers at workshops where they get feedback and criticism. I want to experiment with a blog-based version of the same thing in which folks offer thoughts and criticism of the essay as they read it. Enjoy!
Chosen People
I thought this was interesting.
From the Archives: Ashes to Ashes
A post for Ash Wednesday, and Lent, and the promise of spring.
The foxes have holes, and the birds of the stars have nests
We’ve been happy to have P. Anderson, a.k.a. Starfoxy, as a guest blogger. As expected, her posts were always interesting. You can find a list of her guest posts (at many bloggernacle sites) on her blog, here. And I expect we’ll see her around the nacle, with her usual thoughtful comments. Thanks for being our guest, Starfoxy!
Rediscovering treasures
After we got the DVD player, the videos slowly fell out of circulation. They had no special features, no subtitles — and they required rewinding! Some were a bit worn, too — particularly the kids videos. So we were all too happy to make the switch, becoming a DVD household. Natural pack-rat tendencies meant that the videos didn’t get truly tossed — they just got put into a box. Meanwhile, new movie purchases for the past several years — Cars and Monsters Inc. and Batman Begins and whatnot — have been on DVD.
Julie’s Papers (2 of 2)
After transcribing Julie’s papers, which surprisingly took only a few weeks since they were so interesting that I became fanatical about transcribing during the day and polishing a translation at night, I gave a presentation to the Archives staff about their newest collection.