When you put joy first, what happens to your mind?
Year: 2007
Torn Between Two Lovers
English manufacturers were not the only ones to make Mormons the butt of a joke to advertise their products.
Putting Joy First
One of the reasons I loved my mission so much was that both of my Mission Presidents emphasized what I already believed about the purpose of a mission – both what it means to be a missionary and how that should direct missionary effort.
Miracle Fatigue and the Still, Small Voice
Elijah had had enough. He left his servant at Beer-sheba, walked a day’s journey into the desert, and sat down to die. What was going through his head?
The Opposite of Feminism
What’s the opposite of feminism? Hierarchy? Patriarchy? Oppression? For me as a married man, the opposite of feminism is selfishness.
A Brief Commentary on the Title Page of the Book of Mormon
The title page of the Book of Mormon is a really fascinating passage of scripture. I think that it provides a very useful model for thinking about scripture in particular and revelation in general.
Three Book Reviews
Some new books:
The Wonder of Warts
(***NOTE***: I realized Saturday morning the folly of posting a new thread the night before General Conference begins, so I took it down. Chalk it up to being a greenie. However, I feel pretty good that Elder Edgely must have read my post Friday night (“endure together”) and changed his talk accordingly. *Grin*) It is a basic medical truism that you cannot be cured of an illness unless you go to a doctor – or someone else who can heal you. In order to be healed, you need to expose the problem that is troubling you to someone who can recognize it and offer assistance that will alleviate your suffering and cure the issue. As my father used to say, “Warts won’t go away unless they are treated.”
Serapion
If you listened to conference, you heard his words. He is the fourth-century monk, referenced by Elder Holland.
Most Popular Names
Can you guess the ten most common last names in America? (Link via A Soft Answer). You can check your guesses at this link. My first ten guesses got six right answers. (I missed #3, 6, 7, and 8; my incorrect guesses came in at #13, 14, 15, and 23.) Can you do better?
Elder Eyring on Decision Making
Go to BYU.tv and set the date to Saturday Oct. 6th. Then click on LDS General Conference 10am. Go to 2:55 (that’s two hours and 55 minutes) into the program and listen to Elder Eyring talk about decision making by the Quorum of the Twelve.
What President Beck Didn’t Say
She didn’t say that you should keep your home as clean as the temple.
Beck and Call
Just FYI, if 400+ comments at T&S aren’t enough for you, check out some of the following other nacle reactions to President Beck’s talk: Heather at MMW: What I Wish President Beck had Said. Lisa at FMH: I Want to Sustain Her, but I Don’t Believe Her. Carrie at Tales: President Beck’s Other Talk. Kristine Haglund: I’m a Traitor to my Gender Why I Liked President Beck’s Talk (Mostly).
Sunday Afternoon General Conference Open Thread
As is tradition here at Times and Seasons, please feel free to post your comments, thoughts, insights and inspirations regarding the Sunday afternoon session of General Conference here.
Sunday Morning General Conference Open Thread
As is tradition here at Times and Seasons, please feel free to post your comments, thoughts, insights and inspirations regarding the Sunday morning session of General Conference here.
Saturday Afternoon General Conference Open Thread
As is traditional here at Times and Seasons, please feel free to post your comments, thoughts, insights and inspirations regarding the Saturday afternooon session of General Conference here.
Saturday Morning General Conference Open Thread
As is tradition here at Times and Seasons, please feel free to post your comments, thoughts, insights and inspirations regarding the Saturday morning session of General Conference here.
Last Meal
So let’s just say that one day you find yourself sitting on death row and
What Might Go Right
I was signing copies of GIFTS at a Barnes and Noble author event when a tall, brunette middle-aged woman approached the table. She peered at me and the stack of books at my elbow with curiosity. “Do you have any friends or family members with Down syndrome?” I asked. “No,” she said. “I’ve been lucky.”
Legal Limitations on Church Contact?
On every ward’s roster are a few zz’s, people who have requested no contact. In different wards, I’ve gotten different messages about these folks. In some wards, clerk/bishop/EQP/etc will say something like, “we can’t talk to Bro. Jones. We’re legally prohibited from talking to him.” Is that true?
Archive of Restoration Culture Database
Last year, BYU Studies announced that they were placing the Archive of Restoration Culture online. This database consists of statements from contemporaneous sources about doctrines that are now viewed as distinctly Mormon. If you’ve ever wondered, “Was anyone else discussing an idea like three degrees of glory, around the time Joseph Smith wrote?” — this is where you find your answer.
Anaïse Guyot: The Girl They Left Behind
Early missionaries carried the gospel to many corners of the United States, Europe, and elsewhere, baptizing converts in neighborhoods where there was no established branch to sustain them.
Today, I Lost My Faith in Humanity
“Bert” came into our lives his senior year in high school, after a torturous journey through adolescence and a broken home. He now attends a small college in northern Ohio – and he had the following experience yesterday. He gave his permission for me to share it with all of you. (I made slight editing changes to make it acceptable for this forum and to hide the exact location.)
Sleep is Over-Rated
Mary had a little lamb; it was a little sheep, but then it joined the Mormon Church and died of lack of sleep.
The great T&S scavenger hunt (a.k.a. “Outsourcing”) *UPDATED
1. Each link in the current “Abbreviated link list” that points to an outdated URL: 4 points. (Please list correct URL in your comment).
Scheduling the Primary Program
I don’t wish to detract from Adam’s lovely post, but after reading the comments, I am surprised at how common the late September Primary Program is.
Times and Seasons Welcomes Curtis DeGraw
There are those who get invited to guestblog at Times and Seasons because they’ve been a regular in the Bloggernacle for ages and we figure their turn has come. There are those who get invited because it collectively occurs to us that we and our readers would really benefit from hearing from a circus animal trainer/professional skydiver/registered Democrat/Hollywood movie star/John Birch Society chapter president/illegal immigrant/11-year-old chess master/French chef/member of President Hinckley’s security detail/quantum physicist/polygamy rights activists/dude on the corner handing out pamphlets/female panda/etc. And then there are those who get invited because we just plain like them. Curtis DeGraw is one of these.
Small Favors
I headed to the organ after choir practice. Twenty minutes till Sacrament meeting started — enough time to quickly run through the hymns and play some prelude. I knew what hymns we were singing (the music director e-mails me once a month), and none were too difficult. Suddenly the chorister approached me, with a worried look on her face. “There’s been a few changes to the music,” she began.
President Monson Goes FMH
President Monson told the following joke at the General Relief Society meeting:
Crossfire Canyon: A study in conflict, part three
See Part Two posted 9/27. On September 22nd, I rose early and hiked into Crossfire. Afterward, I stopped at the local market and ran into a women I’d seen at the BLM’s open house, one of the most vocal SPEAR members present that night. We greeted each other and she demanded to know who I was and what my interest in the canyon was. “Are you one of those tree-huggers or something else?” she asked.