It’s that time again — reader participation day, so come join in and let yourself be heard!
Back in January, I asked what brings you to the bloggernacle. Today, I want to narrow the question down to Times & Seasons in particular. Several of you are new here in the past six months, and there are a few old friends that I haven’t seen in a while (Bill of Wasilla, where’d you go?)
I want to know what keeps you guys coming back here, week after week, month after month. Feel free to take the discussion in any direction you’d like, but I’m particularly interested in:
- When did you start reading Times & Seasons?
- How often do you check Times & Seasons?
- What do you enjoy about the site that keeps you coming here?
- What would you like to see more (or less) of on the site?
So, with those general guidelines, take it away.
I started reading way back in 2004. I virtually never comment. Times and Seasons was the first Mormon blog I started reading so it has a special place in my heart. I have created personas in my head for the main cast of characters (Kaimi, Ardis & Julie are faves). I guess it’s a bit like watching a favourite T.V. show. I check daily. I love the side blog and although the content is not always my cup of tea, I normally find something during the week that interests me. The posts have been especially good in the last month. I am no longer a beliving Mormon but feel very much a “cultural’ Mormon and T&S keeps me connected in a way that I can’t be with my Mormon friends and family (interest in church topics would indicate to them that I wanted to come back to church, and that’s not the case). I would love to see more stories or perspectives on Mormon issues from other countries. Of course being from Australia and New Zealand myself, maybe I should just comment more.
Browsing this site for the first time. Found it through the “Twitternacle”. Great work!
I remember that a friend linked me to an article by Adam Greenwood a long time ago. That didn’t really endear me to T&S at all (no offense to Adam G). But sooner or later, I realized there were other authors, so yeah. I’m subscribed to T&S through RSS, so I at least take a glance at every new post. I think that T&S is more accessible than certain other sites that shall not be named, so that’s a BIG plus.
As a tax accounting student, I love everything that Sam Brunson puts down on paper, basically.
1. I have been following T/S for about three or four years now.
2. I check it almost daily. Although sometimes I suddenly find that I have gone more than week without checking in.
3. I enjoy, by far the most, those posts that help me think in new ways. Especially those that provide background material for understanding ancient (and modern) scripture. (Think of Julie Smith’s posts on ancient scripture, or Jim F’s helpful aids on Sunday School lessons.) I “enjoy”, if that is the right word, testing my assumptions, so I like it when a post makes me re-examine my assumptions or conclusions. I think that I come to T/S because it gives me a new way to look at things. (Here I think of those posts around Grant Hardy’s book, and the question/answer sessions with him.)
I am not sure that I like the political conversations, although they probably must be tolerated. When Grant Hardy talks about a new way of read the BoM, I find it interesting and possibly even inspiring. When someone else talks about ssm or the national debt, I either get bored or angry. Not angry at someone’s conclusions, but angry at the closed-mindedness of many of the posters and bloggers. I understand that some of the that anger could be pointed at me for my closed-mindedness, which leads to my next comment:
I sometimes get upset over what someone is saying and then say things in response that I regret. I have posted, on several occasions, angry posts aimed at someone. Such posts have been personal, and I truly regret being so critical of people whom I am sure that I would like and admire if I knew them personally. I would never say such things to my ward members. In other words, I haven’t learned how to maintain the same level of civility in my blogs as I have in my personal relationships. I have decided that I shouldn’t, therefore, respond. I lurk much much more than I write.
I also have wondered whether there is a platform for the non-permablogers to initiate a discussion here?
I started reading T&S years ago when I lived in NY. We only had dial up internet then, and the laptop I could use was very old and slow, so about once a week, I would open up as many posts as I could and then read through them all, one at a time, like a magazine. I almost never commented then because by the time I had a chance to log on again, the conversation had already moved on.
part of the bloggernacle. one of the better places for good mormon commentary on 42, i.e. the meaning of life, the universe and everything.
Thanks, Andrew! (I guess that means I better formulate some more religion/tax posts!)
Dane, I was introduced to T&S in 2003 or 2004 by Steve Evans. And I became an obsessive lurker, expanding from T&S and BCC to pretty much everything the bloggernacle had to offer. But I rarely commented and, although like Claire, I had formulated personas and looks and everything for a number of the bloggernacle luminaries, I didn’t feel like my participation mattered.
Eventually, for personal and professional reasons (basically, I didn’t have time), I cut entirely out of the bloggernacle. Now, I read a couple blogs, though not all, again, basically, because I don’t have time to read everything.
The two big things I enjoy about T&S are the sense of connection it gives me with my religion every day, and the community. But I remember reading it without feeling like part of the community, and that’s certainly less fun. But generally (again, unless I bring up tax) comments are respectful and interactive, and that’s my favorite part, where even a new, anonymous person can interact in a legitimate give-and-take. I think we succeed here a lot, though we fail sometimes.
I have been reading T&S for almost five years. I am interested about Mormonism in all its aspects, in its implications not only for personal salvation, religion and theology, but also history, family life, community, society, law and public policy, and science. I also enjoy honest discussions about these topics because they stimulate my own thoughts and reflection. I come to T&S because it offers many stimulating discussions on all the aspects of being Mormon that interest me. It is definitely many voices and not one voice or tone or viewpoint. My wife says I like to argue. All of my nonfiction books have extensive marginalia specifying where I disagree with the authors. My stint as a guest blogger in Spring 2008 made me feel invested in the site. And it allows me to constantly reinforce my reputation as the most verbose commenter in the Bloggernacle.
1.When did you start reading Times & Seasons? In the primordial days.
2.How often do you check Times & Seasons? At least once a week.
3.What do you enjoy about the site that keeps you coming here? I enjoy reading the viewpoints of people I respect.
4.What would you like to see more (or less) of on the site? Beats me.
I was running an LDS blog before Times and Seasons appeared, and posted on the appearance of T&S here.
I check T&S at least daily. I post as often as I can. My primary interest has always been mainstream Mormon Studies issues: history, the development and evolution of LDS doctrine, science and religion, and sociology of Mormonism.
I’ve been reading T&S since about 2002. I used to comment as Sue M a long, long time ago (and not very frequently) but I just don’t have the time or energy for it anymore. I read 4 nacle blogs – FMH, MMW, BCC, and T&S. I guess I will go against the grain and say that I actually enjoy posts about controversial issues. I like knowing that believing members can disagree about these issues. That there is room for disagreement and belief.
I’m not sure where I fall on the spectrum of belief. I am 100% active, and we live as active believing members, but I am never really sure, from one week to the next, what I actually believe. That’s another reason I don’t comment much – I’m not good at making definitive statements like “I believe ____.” I comment at FMH and MMW more frequently. MMW because Heather and Wiz feel like old friends, and FMH because my opinions about many of those issues don’t always hinge upon my belief. I enjoy the community there, and feel that it is a pretty welcoming place. T&S and BCC are more intimidating places to comment. Unless you can comment a LOT, it’s hard to participate.
(Not to be confused with Susan M – who is – not me.)
Oh, and I read Segullah. I enjoy the writing, the discussion, and the relevance of many of the topics to my life.
And that’s officially enough T&S comments for me for 2011. :>
I read Times and Seasons because I need a more well-balanced forum for discussion than those reactionary, emotional, wackos over at Feminist Mormon Housewives.
I read T&S because it’s a great way to procrastinate.
Re: 13 Perhaps, Michael, but at least FMH isn’t boring as all heck 90% of the time.
In answer to the questions, though:
1. Around 2007, I think.
2. A couple of times a week.
3. The presence of Kaimi is your greatest asset, for sure.
4. Posts that are a little more controversial, or funny, or something. T&S has been a bit sleepy for a while now.
1. Introduced to T&S about 4 years ago by my father, who sent along a link to me because I was interested in blogging.
2. I usually check T&S daily. Google Reader is really great, since as soon as something is posted, I get an alert.
3. I think the favorite part about the site is simply the fact that you’ve “been here before.” The early days of T&S were great, the debates raged, and there were some very colorful characters. It’s almost like looking back on those times as one’s high school years, where it was a lot of fun but kind of foolhardy. Now that you’ve been around the block a few times, while it would seem that many of the topics have been hashed to death, you guys still come up with some good unique perspectives that keeps me coming back.
4. I know it’s been a while, but I love the 12 Questions series. I’d love to see more of those.
It appears I have underestimated the quality of discussion here. Between Michael’s #13 and a comment yesterday about rich people’s taxes equaling the widow’s might, T&S has delivered the two most unironically awesome comments the bloggernacle has ever produced.
I was introduced to T&S by my SIL (ie my wife’s brother’s wife), who is not LDS, but knew about it because my wife’s family is somehow related to Nate Oman. I’ve never met Nate Oman but have met his father. My SIL commented on her blog a link to T&S an article Nate wrote about garments and his wife’s clavicles and I was hooked. That was circa 2004 I believe. I only started commenting this past year, however.
No one in my family or my circle of neighbors enjoys talking about the things we talk about here. Every family party is a discussion of teevee shows at best. I come here because I love taking my religion to the next level and feel a kindred spirit with the people here, even though I’ve never met any of you, and even though I may not always agree with what I read. The fact that we can discuss these things, and do it quite civilly, is awesome.
I really enjoy T&S.
Wow, Michael #13. What eloquence in your statement. I suggest you stay right here at T&S where your vocabulary is better understood.
I sought out this blog when on of my professors (Frank McIntyre) talked about his “Expected Value of a Fetus” post on here. I found it amusing how worked up people got about even considering the idea that we might be able to consider a lost fetus as a cost to society.
I stopped reading soon after that for a while. I must have been busy with school ore something. I picked up again 4 or 5 months ago and check the site daily now. I’m not sure why I started reading again other than, “Oh, there was that one blog. I wonder if it has anything interesting on it.”
I think I like the more controversial posts too. They are just more fun to read.
I read Times and Seasons when I need a change-of-pace from the sheer awesomeness that is Feminist Mormon Housewives. :)
Really, though, I read Times and Seasons because I enjoy having discussions with all of you. I check in as often as I can, given work demands and other Real Life demands and the time sink that is Facebook.
I also enjoy reading Feminist Mormon Housewives, Exponent blog, Zelophehad’s Daughters, and sometimes BCC (though my pop culture skillz are pretty weak) and D&S. And occasional forays into — err, pretty much everywhere else.
I’m excited about our new(ish) group of permas (Sam, Dane, and Rachel) because I think they’re pushing the blog in an exciting new, Approaching Zion kind of direction. I also really like pretty much everything that Julie writes; and I wish I were as smart as Nate.
I enjoy our community, though I think that’s an area where we need to do better.
And thanks for the kind words, Claire and Mike. You guys are great. :)
Easy, folks. Let’s just admit that opinions on FMH can vary widely. The focus here is on T&S, not other blogs.
Pretty sure that #14 is trolling, but for the record: the co-bloggers at T&S consider FMH to be a great blog with smart, interesting content. We link to them, learn from them, and consider them partners in the bloggernacle. Name-calling is poor form, so please knock it off.
I do wish that T&S would delve a little more deeply into the scholarly side – sort of like Square Two but on a more frequent basis. I think the blog contains enough intelligent scholars and insightful authors from whom I could gain much insight. Bring in other disciplines and other approaches to Gospel Scholarship & Christian Discipleship that illuminate LDS theology in a different way. Not like that other blog……..(just kidding).
Thanks for the great feedback. Claire and Stephen, I love your ideas about getting some more international and reader-directed content. We’ll see what we can do in that direction.
It sounds overall like controversy and humor are a plus (people like excitiement…who’d have guessed? ;) )
And regarding the unkind comments about FMH, please, let’s keep from bashing our fellow bloggernacle sites here.
Keep it coming — We T&S permas are taking notes!
Rosalynde,
Setting the record straight. I am not a troll. I have a well-established commenting history (hopefully insightful) on most LDS blogs. I resent that remark. Just because Lisa doesn’t like me does not make me a troll. Besides, trolls are short and squatty. I am very very tall and lanky.
I’ve been reading at least weekly since 2005, but rarely comment. I really miss the writings of Nate Oman (although I know he can be found elsewhere) and Wilfried Decoo. I still sometimes search the archives to re-read some of my favorites from these two.
Since Peggy Fletcher Stack refers to you guys so often in her articles, it would be interesting to see what she would recommend for an emphasis.
My mistake, then, Michael. Troll or no, the comment was inappropriate for T&S, but I won’t be brawling with you about it.
I like the Sudoku section, as well as the Obits page…. Wrong site? Oh, well then,
I go here for the Police Beat Roundtabl…. wrong again?
Ummm, because of all the uplifting things said about FMH? No?
Really, I also began reading T&S in 2005, following Nate Oman. I don’t spend too much time here as before, because many of the posts simply are not as interesting as in the past. Besides, I’m now promoting the M* blog as a perma-blogger there.
And no, I never get tired of reading my own comments or posts!
I started reading in 2004, shortly after Nate, Matt, Adam and Kaimi stopped running the old LDS-Law list and founded this site. My presence in the very early days of Bloggernacledom makes me historically significant, and I demand that you all give me the respect I deserve.
“and I wish I were as smart as Nate”
Kaimi, I think you’ve identified the one quality that all LDS permas, commenters and lurkers share.
I rarely stop by over here anymore. I’m just lazy. Hell, I’m months overdue for a post at BCC and Steve Evans will probably kick me off the perma roster any minute now.
I loathe this site with every fibre of my being. The only reason I deign to visit you reprobates is because I know that someone has to call the wicked to repentance with flair, and this is a skill that I possess in much more abundance than other righteous souls. My repeated visits only confirm what I’ve long known about the level of filth and apostasy that permeates every webpage, but I am so filled with kindness and love for my fellow man, that I’m willing to give you all seemingly endless chances to mend your ways. Not that that’s done you much good.
1. When did you start reading Times & Seasons?
I first saw T&S during the first Mormon of the Year thing in January 2009 (?).
2. How often do you check Times & Seasons?
I never check RSS feeds, which means that I largely visit the site when someone else directs me to it on FB or through email/chat.
3. What do you enjoy about the site that keeps you coming here?
4. What would you like to see more (or less) of on the site?
I don’t think there is enough of a pattern to my visits to identify exactly what it is that I enjoy here when I read, or what causes me to clink on the link to a post when I do. There are obviously authors that speak more to me than others, which influences how likely I am to read a piece, but that is true for everyone, and I don’t expect that “more of Author A” and “less of Author B” are what you’re looking for.
If I had to suggest one thing that might make T&S more attractive to me as a visitor, it would probably be changing to a 2-hour block format.
I left a sentence out of #34 under (1.):
“I didn’t return for several months, I don’t think–until I started blogging at BCC in the spring of 2009.”
When did you start reading Times & Seasons?
2005
How often do you check Times & Seasons?
Every time Julie Posts
What do you enjoy about the site that keeps you coming here?
Julie Smith.
What would you like to see more (or less) of on the site?
More Bloggers. I miss Ardis (though I love her where she is), Nate, Rosalynde. I miss when Blake Ostler and Grant Hardy and Eric Huntsman guest posted.
Like Aaron B., I was on the old ldslaw e-mail list, of which this blog is a successor, so I’ve been reading it since the early days. Kaimi invited me to guest here, which was my introduction to blogging. I usually read more or less every post (I use the Mormon Archipelago to find new stuff). The blogs I visit the most are BCC, T&S, FMH, ZD, FPR, JI, Keepa, and a few others that aren’t popping into my head right now. Otherwise, it depends on whether the title of a post grabs me at MA.
I stumbled across T&S back in 2003, along with the Metaphysical Elders, made a few comments. Since then, it’s become habit, even though things have changed along the way. I think I look at it a few times a day, less if I’m quite busy, more if there’s a conversation I’m participating in.
Actually I don’t read it. I go there for the pictures.
1- since 2007
2- daily
3- I enjoy the posts which generate a discussion of institutional expectation versus reality, i.e. Boy Scout Thing Redux. I don’t read many other similar blogs but I consider this forum as meat since I get milk during 2nd hour every Sunday, which may or may not be a function of where I reside, although I live in relative proximity to queuno. I’m also always interested in what RTS(8) will chime in with. I may or may not have known Matt Evans at a prior point in life. God bless.
p.s. love the book reviews.
I’ve been coming here since 2004 for updates on the Church’s pending separation from the BSA.
1. When did you start reading Times & Seasons?
At some time during 2010.
2. How often do you check Times & Seasons?
3-4 times a week.
3.What do you enjoy about the site that keeps you coming here?
Thought-provoking posts and comments about Mormon culture and history.
4. What would you like to see more (or less) of on the site?
More: Historical commentary.
No doubt my attendance at bloggernacle sites occurs in the wrong way: I pretty much only see what shows up at ldsblogs.com, and then when an article title intrigues me, I’ll read.
I guess I’m displaying a complete lack of loyalty to any island in the bloggernacle, but that’s where I go and why.
I read because I don’t hear gospel conversations anywhere else. It’s like pulling teeth to get people to talk about it at church & even in the temple all I hear people talk about is sports, jobs, motorcycles…etc.
I’ve only been visiting since this summer, but I come check almost everyday for new posts. I come back repeatedly throughout the day if I make a comment on something/or find the discussion interesting.
I’d like less political stereotyping. I can support lower taxes without idolizing Glenn Beck and the Tea Party. I can support caring for the poor without idolizing Obama or being a socialist. Please stop using misapplied labels as weapons.
I’d love to see someway that we could leave comments and things we’ve seen or questions we have and then the perms could open a thread for it if they chose to. So if the church changes a procedure, or hear some questionable doctrine and want to know if it is “gospel” or conjecture we could get some thoughts from everyone else or discuss the event(s).
I added an RSS pack of feeds from Google that included T&S. I appreciate the intelligent discussion and the uplifting topics.
I found T&S in the Summer of ’04, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I come over to mostly check in on Kaimi and Rosalynde, because they’re super awesometastic. I haven’t had time to read blogs much lately and don’t even check my own as often as I’d like, I hoping to have some time to catch up on blogs again in the nearish future.
IS FREEDOM THE NATURAL STATE OF MAN?
1. I began reading T&S a couple months ago.
2. I check it every day, using Google Reader.
3. My primary focus is the pursuit of philosophical discussions on Mormonism, meaning eternal truths wherever they may be found. Just this morning I came across the following statement, and I’m pondering whether or not I believe it to be true:
“Freedom is not the natural state of man. Without a shield in place to protect individual rights and the force to hold that shield strong, freedom becomes fleeting. Tyranny, the natural state of government, inevitably returns.”
What I’m seeking in T&S is a forum for serious and meaningful discussions of Gospel topics. That’s what keeps me coming back nearly every day.
4. I would like to see more reverent treatment of Gospel truths and less in the way of disparaging remarks about things I hold sacred.
Your thoughtful comments on the above quote are welcome. BTW, I read this statement in Glenn Beck’s book, The Original Argument: The Federalists’ Case for the Constitution, Adapted for the 21st Century (p. 47). He goes on to state:
“In America, that shield is our Constitution, and the force that allows us to hold it strong is God.”
I have been reading T&S for a couple of months or so. I don’t know how I happened on it. Perhaps a link from BCC, which I have been reading a little longer. Got onto BCC from a link somewhere else,too, but couldn’t tell you where. I check in every couple of days or so and enjoy the discussions. I am grateful to Julie Smith for announcing the BYU Women’s Center Conference last weekend because otherwise I would not have known about it and would have missed a great experience.
1.) A couple of years ago when my seminary teacher mistook my as theologically liberal.
2.) No more than daily
3.) I like knowing my enemy.
4.) More Adam Greenwood.
1.) seminary ==> institute…
1. I’ve been an off again/on again reader since 2005. I rarely comment and when I do it’s usually untimely
2. Sometimes daily, sometimes yearly. It depends on a variety of factors
3. I enjoy the conversation. There are a lot of intelligent people with differing viewpoints. I also like that most opinions are on the moderate side.
4. I would like to see more posts on theology, philosophy, teachings (and interpretations of those teachings) of prophets, both ancient and modern and less posts on the fringe parts of the Mormon religion that are best described as spectacle and that most people rarely encounter in their daily lives (i.e. 19th century religious history, feminism, polygamy, homosexuality, Republican presidential nominee aspirants)
Of course, as in optometry, there may be some of us who feel that those spectacles allow us to see more clearly. :)
@Kaimi
In my defense, I said less, not none. We do need *some* spectacle!!
That’s funny. I feel the effects of 19th century Mormon history almost daily. Every time I attend a church meeting, there is gender division. Polygamy comes up regularly with friends who’ve been divorced or widowed. Or who do genealogy. I have homosexual friends who are/were LDS with whom I interact at least once a week. And the news is full of at least one Republican presidential aspirant.
Where do you live that you do NOT encounter these things on a regular basis. (And they say Utah County is sheltered!)
It is a poor defense to maintain that you said “less” when you should have said “fewer.”
I started reading T&S about three or four years ago.
I check it about two to three times a week.
I like the intellectual posts and the sometimes (although not always) intellectual discussion in the comments section. T&S has a good blend of doctrinally liberal and moderate viewpoints. Politically, too, it tends liberal, which I like. I don’t often get this kind of discussion at church or with my ward members. It is nice to come on T&S and discuss correlation, gender, sexuality, politics, economics, Mormon culture and society, etc in ways where I can feel I can be more open about my points of view.
For one I would like to see more consistency in posting from those who don’t post as often. Something like a weekly or biweekly column. Also, posters should stick with themes. Sam Brunson deals with taxation and economic issues, Dave Banack with church history, and so on and so forth.
I check T&S a couple times a week to see what liberal Mormons are grumbling about now :-). From time to time I find interesting and worthwhile articles, but they seem to be fewer and further between than they used to be. I still prefer it by a good margin to any MSM website, but it is not my favorite LDS blog anymore.
1.When did you start reading Times & Seasons?
In 2006, when I first learned of the Bloggernacle. As all who have been around since then know, I used to comment . . . somewhat often . . . all around the Bloggernacle (and guest posted for a couple of weeks here at T&S back in the day), but I’ve cut back quite a bit over the last three years. I started posting daily on my personal blog, my job started taking a lot more of my time and I became an admin on a different group site – so now I’m a regular reader and only a very occasional commenter here.
2.How often do you check Times & Seasons?
I check in once or twice a day and read about 1/3-1/2 of the posts.
3.What do you enjoy about the site that keeps you coming here?
I respect almost all of the permas greatly and enjoy being challenged to really think about things that I might not consider on my own. I also miss the people who no longer write here, but the newer ones do a good job. I don’t like the controversial posts more than the “devotional” posts, but I do think T&S has gotten tamer than it was when I first started reading it.
4.What would you like to see more (or less) of on the site?
I’m not sure I can say. It is what it is, and I’m not sure I would change anything specifically. I don’t want T&S to be like any other site; I want it to be itself.
@18 Brad – was that my comment on rich taxes and the widow’s mite? Did you honestly appreciate that? I rarely return for feedback on my comments because usually they are too shallow or assertive. =)
*My above post was referring to my own comments, not responses to them. Too lazy to double-proof my post.
More on topic, I started a few years ago when Wilfried Decoo was my French Grammar professor at BYU and sent a link to one of his posts. He was the most organized and clear instructor I’ve ever had. He knew the answers to every question and could even explain it’s history in the broader context of the last few hundred years of french, dutch, german, latin, language and culture etc. I liked him because he was one of those rare people who balanced demanding strict excellence with kindness and warmth.
I started reading here maybe two months ago, which is when I discovered the Bloggernacle at large–and since I sort of jumped into all of it at once, I’m still trying to figure out exactly which blogs fit me best and what it is that I like about each of them. But I do like T&S, although I have to agree with The One True Sue that it can be kind of intimidating to comment here!
I’m subscribed via Google Reader, so I come at least every couple of days when there are new posts.
In an attempt to let you know what I like about T&S–which I haven’t fully evaluated yet–here are some of the recent posts I’ve really enjoyed:
As Sisters in Zion
A Prophet Occupies Wall Street
Utah Women in the Labor Market
The Manner in Which I’m Mormon: My Articles of Faith
Mormons and Muslims
And I have to admit that I skip all the Sunday School lesson posts.
I come by a couple of times a week.
I come because I was one of the blog founders.
I read all the Sunday School lesson posts.
I love the sunday school lesson posts.
I love the posts related to church history and or the scriptures and history.
I love posts that tackle contemporary issues related to the Gospel in a non-trite way, which to me is about 2/3 of them off the top of my head.
1. A few years; I don’t know exactly
2. 3 or 4 times a week
3. I like to see what is being talked about; I like honest discussion of various sides of the issues, though I seem to be less troubled by questions generated by participation in culture than many people here
4. I’m less interested in the Sunday school lessons
1) 5 -6 years ago, not sure
2) dropped out for a few years, but check 2-5x month
3) insight into some of the dilemmas of being a believer in an increasingly secular and materialistic world. Also, I’m more democrat than republican, and I feel like a have a home here more than in my ‘home’ ward.
I like the commentary on lessons and scriptures and would be happy to see more.
4) I generally like it–I really like it, but I have one concern that keeps me from reading more often: this site seems secular heavy at times. I’d like to hear more discussion about experiencing the miraculous, about defending the miraculous, and about believing the miraculous. I sometimes think this site talks about others’ talking about the miraculous but that’s as close as we tend to come. I’m sure someone will probably post a list of posts proving me wrong, but on any given day on the site, I feel like that’s missing. I’ve read some others testimonies on the site and sometimes been moved by them, but more often have been surprised at how tentative they seem. I’m sure those in that camp are here, and they have a place here and I’m fine with that, but again, I do sense that something is missing sometimes. Would anyone ever be converted by reading this site? I’m not so sure, and maybe that shouldn’t matter. I can say that testimonies have probably been rescued by reading this site, and that’s definitely a good thing.
I read the New Yorker (among other things). I read the Ensign sometimes purely as antidote to that when my sense becomes secularly slanted… this site is about 80% not antidote, but also never causes me to want to read the Ensign for antidote–it’s occupying a curious niche in that regard.
Anyhow, that’s just my opinion…I have examples but that’s a missive I don’t want to post. (Abstract, topical examples, not targeted to specific articles or authors on this site.)
Lastly, per some of the targeted opinions in this thread (and in other places on this site from time to time..) I think it’s perfectly acceptable to call someone else’s opinion or website a nutter or crazy or whatever. Believe it or not, you can call a spade a spade without it being a personal attack. Personally, if there’s an elephant in the room, I want to know about it. Sometimes I’m the nutter, but I assure you, most of the time when I take a nutter position, I’m darn proud of it and have already committed myself to whatever ridicule my opinion may or may not deserve.