Year: 2011

NT Sunday School Lesson 5: John 3-4

by Jim F. • January 30, 2011 • Comments Off

There is a tremendous amount of material in this lesson, more than I can deal with in a few pages. So I have shortened my study questions by focusing on John 3:1-10. Verse 1: The name “Nicodemus” means “conqueror,” and it was a common name. We know little about Nicodemus. We know that he was a Pharisee because this verse tells that he was. We know that he was some kind of ruler, though we don’t know what kind, because this verse tell us that he was. Many have speculated that Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin, but we have little evidence for that speculation and we know little about the Sanhedrin. If he was a member of the Sanhedrin, then he was a member of the ruling body of Jerusalem, a Pharisee, and a teacher (scribe). He was the height of what most people would have taken to be a good Jew, and he probably would be one of those referred to in John 12:42. How these facts relevant to what we are taught by this story? Verse 2: Why might Nicodemus have come to Jesus by night? Is Jesus doing something during the day that might have made it easier for Nicodemus to come at night? Is Nicodemus doing something during the day that might have made it easier for him to come at night? Might he have been trying to protect himself? Might he have been…

Wab, Hm-Ntr, and Hm-Ka

by Dane Laverty • January 29, 2011 • 6 Comments

A couple years ago I was reading up on Egyptian hieroglyphics just for fun. Okay, so it was just one book, and I’m in no way qualified to write anything about hieroglyphics, but I’m not going to let that stop me! :) The book I was studying from identified three different Egyptian words for priest: wab, hm-ntr, and hm-ka. They kind of translate to pure-person, god-person, and spirit-person, respectively. The book didn’t go into any detail about the relative roles of the three, but the names got my imagination rolling. In modern America, I suppose that our archetypal image of a priest is some combination of these — a pure person who communicates with God and has an understanding of the spiritual nature of things. However, I think that in particular belief systems, one of these aspects is usually dominant over the others. In non-evangelical Protestant Christianity, it seems that the priest is closest to the “wab”, or pure-person. He is a pastor, an upstanding, moral individual who guides his flock with encouragement and example. He’s not necessarily personally acquanted with God or the spirit world, like the hm-ntr and hm-ka, but he does study about these things from the scriptures and tries to relay them to his congregation. The Restoration movement, both within the LDS church and in other “spiritual gifts” movements, like Quakerism and Pentacostalism, claimed that man could, in fact, know God for himself. The hm-ntr-style priests…

The Failure that Was a Success: How My Son’s Losing the Spelling Bee Was One of the Proudest Moments of My Life

by Julie M. Smith • January 28, 2011 • 20 Comments

A guest post from former guest blogger Eric Huntsman:

Ward Diversity Specialist

by Dane Laverty • January 26, 2011 • 73 Comments

I’ve been thinking about Papa D’s recent post about responding to subtle racism in the church. How about creating a “ward diversity specialist” calling? Points in favor of a ward diversity specialist: Every calling in the ward has a natural nemesis–except for the ward preparedness specialist. You know, like the natural enmity between elders quorum president and ward clerk, or between the Relief Society president and the high priests group leader. The diversity specialist would provide a natural foil to the ward preparedness specialist. Problem solved. Two-thirds of the 3-fold mission have corresponding obnoxious specialist callings that no one listens to. This would complete the missing third! It gets lonely waiting around to ring the class bell. A ward diversity specialist could provide friendship to the second counselor in the Sunday school presidency while he waits to perform the duties of his calling. It’s a perfect fit for the ostracized ward liberal. To be fair, I guess I should consider the cons: This is a calling whose role is to prevent people from offending other people. Unfortunately, the calling’s very existence is liable to offend a sizable portion of the ward right from the start. The ward preparedness specialist has the advantage of cool object lessons. In comparison to earthquake simulations, first-aid triage, and knot-tying techniques, the ward diversity specialist’s lectures on effective forms of interfaith participation will be lacking in dazzle. Do we really need another “specialist” calling? So…

Faith, Philosophy, Scripture: Making Room

by Adam Miller • January 25, 2011 • 7 Comments

We like to shut doors. Jim’s book is a doorstop. Quick! Wedge it in. Of Truman Madsen’s book, Eternal Man, Jim says: More than teaching a particular doctrine or suggesting any particular solution to a philosophical or theological problem, the book gave its readers permission to think about these kinds of problems, to read the books listed in its many footnotes and books like them. . . . By writing Eternal Man, Truman Madsen said to me – and, I believe, many others – “Take seriously the admonition of the Prophet Joseph Smith that introduces chapter two: ‘When things that are of the greatest importance are passed over by weak-minded men without even a thought, I want to see truth in all its bearings and hug it to my bosom.’” Reading Eternal Man made me not want to be one of the “weak-minded.” The book gave me an intellectual goal and told me that my new goal was not only commensurable with my faith, but an expression of it. Reminding us that Joseph Smith described the gospel as requiring “careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts,” Madsen said, “A related kind of authority is needed in this realm. It is what, in the vernacular is called ‘room to talk.’” (21) We need such room to talk. But what doors have you been shutting? What thoughts have you been avoiding? What things of greatest importance have you been passing over? Don’t be…

Claiming the Promised Land

by Dane Laverty • January 24, 2011 • 16 Comments

I went walking today, in the hills between Rocklin and Lincoln: I spent hours out there. It’s been a long time since I just made off into the hills like that, to spend a whole afternoon there with no concern about needing to get back for work or some other obligation. I’m looking for a word. As a kid, my friends and I spent our afternoons and weekends walking through the hills at the edges of our neighborhood in Cameron Park. We called it “exploring”, but it after the dozenth (or hundredth) time it’s hard to justify that name — since you know all the trails, the rocks, the trees, you’re not really “exploring” anymore. Other words — “hiking”, “adventuring” — also don’t feel right. Hiking implies something more strenuous — a journey, a start and a finish. We weren’t hiking so much as just wandering. We had named the tree groves and boulder formations after the cities from our favorite Nintendo games (Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy 2), and so we’d just go out there and make-believe ourselves to be the heroes from those stories as we traveled from city to city, fighting the bad guys (which mostly consisted of smashing tree branches with our sticks. The oak trees’ outer branches dry out nicely in the summer, and they shatter in gratifying showers of twigs.) “Hiking” sounds too outdoorsy, too boy-scouty. Our exploring wasn’t so much about that. It…

Wacky, But True

by Kylie Turley • January 23, 2011 • 108 Comments

I collect two things: bookmarks and wacky, true sacrament meeting stories.

The Bloggernacle in a New Decade

by Dane Laverty • January 21, 2011 • 50 Comments

To me, ldsblogs.org is the bloggernacle. When I have a spare minute, I usually head over there to see what’s new at FPR, FMH, Keepa, The Exponent, or any of my other favorite Mormon blog spots. I know a lot of your names, and though I haven’t met any of my fellow bloggernaclers in person, I feel comfortable here with you. It’s that comfortableness that got me thinking about how the bloggernacle has grown and developed, and what it’s future trajectory is. I’m comfortable here because I know the people here, and whenever I get comfortable I have to ask, “Is growth still happening?” As far as I can tell, the bloggernacle serves five great purposes: Social connections for church members who don’t feel connected to the members in their own branch or ward (and even for the members who do feel connected locally). Amazing articles that offer quality insights on interesting gospel topics that aren’t often discussed in church. A place where alternative-yet-faithful voices in the church can express themselves in a safe and supportive environment. Shared trials, where church members going through hard times can help and be helped by others with similar experiences. Laughs :) So how are we doing? Are we still seeing new names and faces here? Or have we matured as a community, with the next generation of Mormon bloggers moving elsewhere to start their own bloggernacle? What keeps you coming, and, incidentally, how…

NT Sunday School Lesson 4: Matthew 3-4; John 1:35-51

by Jim F. • January 18, 2011 • Comments Off

Matthew 3 Verses 1-2: What function did the herald of a king serve in ancient times? Why did kings need heralds? Is John the herald of a king? Why does this King need a herald? Compare John’s message to Jesus’s message in Matthew 4:17. Why do you think Matthew uses almost exactly the same words in each case? What is he teaching? Given Matthew’s focus on Jesus’ royal birth, how are we to understand “the kingdom of heaven is at hand”? How many ways can you think of understanding that the kingdom of heaven is soon to come or is nearby? Does it help to know that the word “kingdom” might better be translated “reign”? Verse 3: Matthew (like the other three synoptic Gospel writers) quotes from Isaiah 40:3 to describe John’s mission. (Matthew quotes from the Greek version rather than the Hebrew, which explains why there are differences between what he says and our version of Isaiah 40:3.) How does that verse from Isaiah explain John’s mission? Does it shed any light on what John means when he warns that the kingdom of heaven is at hand? Verse 4: This verse reminds us of Elijah. (See 2 Kings 1:8; see also Matthew 11:14 and 17:10-12.) Why is that parallel important? Does Zechariah 13:4 teach us anything about John the Baptist? Verses 5-6: Notice the contrast that Matthew sets up between “Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round…

Faith, Philosophy, Scripture: Memory

by Adam Miller • January 18, 2011 • 8 Comments

Say someone asks if you know the time. You say yes and then look at your watch. Did you really know the time? Say someone asks you how to get downtown to the museum. You say yes. They ask you to write down directions. You can’t, but you offer to drive them there instead. If you can see the landmarks, then you’ll know where to turn. Did you really know how to get there? Say that, walking past a bakery, you’re struck by the smell of a pastry and then vividly recall a time when, six years-old, you made those same rolls with your grandmother. You can feel again the weight of her hand on your shoulder as she helps you roll the dough. This is the only time you’ve thought of that event in the past thirty years. Did you remember this? Or did the pastry? Who is doing the knowing in these examples? Who is doing the remembering? You? The watch? The landmark? The cinnamon roll? In the first full essay in Faith, Philosophy, Scripture (Neal A. Maxwell Institute, 2010), Jim Faulconer recommends that we distinguish between recollection and memory. “Reading and teaching philosophy,” he says, “I have learned to distinguish between recollection and memory. The former is a psychological phenomenon that is a subset of the latter. Memory includes the things I can recollect, but is not limited to it” (4). Recollection is the visible tip of memory’s iceberg. Where…

Reactions to Single, Female, Mormon, Alone

by Julie M. Smith • January 18, 2011 • 86 Comments

So this column was definitely the digital equivalent of kicking over an anthill.

Times and Seasons’ 2010 Mormon of the Year: Elizabeth Smart

by Kent Larsen • January 16, 2011 • 21 Comments

Times and Seasons has selected Elizabeth Smart as Mormon of the Year for 2010. Elizabeth Smart has been in the public eye this year in the United States and around the world as the chief witness in the trial of Brian David Mitchell, who abducted her in 2002. And her testimony gave her significant influence, despite her apparent distance from the spotlight while serving on an LDS mission during 2010. In her testimony, Smart showed a poise and decorum that is rarely found among private individuals thrust into the public spotlight. Central to Smart’s impact is her religion. Mormonism was part of what the public knew about her from the beginning, and was part of the story of her testimony at the trial. While Smart’s impact is rooted in her abduction, and thus in being a victim, in succeeding years she has also become known for her own actions — for her activism in favor of Sexual Predator legislation and the AMBER Alert system, and in support of kidnapping victims. More recently, she is also known for serving an LDS mission, where she is giving a very different kind of testimony. Her impact is particularly notable because it has spread so widely around the world, in contrast to that of other nominees. Many in the public around the world not only know Smart’s story but know that she is Mormon. Her story has appeared in thousands of articles and media…

Bootstrapping Mormon Studies, Part I

by Ben Huff • January 15, 2011 • 22 Comments

There is enormous potential for intellectual life and intellectual culture within Mormonism. What can we do to bring this potential to fruition? What we see actually happening today are only tiny sprouts by comparison with what is possible, and what we must bring into being if the gospel is to fulfill its purpose as the organizing principle of a Zion society. How do we get from the minimal present state to where we need to go? This is the first of a series of posts considering the challenges Mormon intellectual culture faces, and ways these challenges might be overcome. I suggest that great things are possible, but only if we understand the challenges and patiently focus on the steps needed to move us toward our hopes. The scriptures prophesy that the gospel will go forth to fill the Earth, bringing a reign of eternal peace. While it is difficult to know exactly how to fill in the implications of images such as the lion’s lying down with the lamb, it is clear that God’s revelations are intended to provide the principles not merely for individual righteousness but for establishing an ideal society. The gospel as we discuss and practice it today provides the most essential core principles, but if we compare the word of God to a mustard seed, it is still a rather modest sprout, far from a tree yet. The basis for a just, harmonious, and prosperous society…

Almost Mormon

by Dave Banack • January 15, 2011 • 10 Comments

I recently finished Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church (OUP, 2010) by Kenda Creasy Dean, a professor at the Princeton Theological Seminary. Chapter 3, entitled “Mormon Envy,” naturally attracted my attention. Almost Christian relies in large part on data gathered by the National Study of Youth and Religion and on an earlier book presenting results from that sociological study, Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers (OUP, 2005). But Dean’s interest is more in what the results mean for youth ministers of mainline Protestant denominations. The news is not good, as documented in Part 1, “Worshipping at the Church of Benign Whatever-ism.” The chapter titles — “Becoming Christian-ish” and “The Triumph of the ‘Cult of Nice’” — pretty much tell the story. Mainline Protestant teens are generally not developing a Christian or denominational identity. Instead, they are implicitly adopting the norms of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, a term borrowed from Soul Searching. And it’s not really the fault of the teens — they are, suggests Dean, in large part simply responding to the explicit teaching and implicit cues they are getting at church and at home. Enter the Mormons. As recounted in Chapter 3, Mormon teens (as well as teens from black Protestant and conservative Protestant congregations) buck the trend. Here’s how Dean describes this group of teens: Highly devoted young people are much more compassionate, significantly more likely to say…

Book of Mormon (Politically Correct?) Stories

by Dane Laverty • January 13, 2011 • 44 Comments

I was recently called to teach the 10 & 11 year olds in Primary. They’re a great class — smart kids and good energy. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy listening to (and singing) the Primary songs. Last week we sang every kid’s favorite Primary standby, “Book of Mormon Stories” (well, it’s either that, “Popcorn Popping”, or “The Oxcart”…I think we sang “The Oxcart” as our opening song for every FHE for eight years straight). Everyone was doing the hand motions, but when we got to, “are about the Lamanites in ancient history,” I noticed that only about half the teachers and students did the old “Indian feathers” two fingers behind the head. Now, I know that there are plenty of good reasons not to do the feathers, and I expect they’ll be culturally phased out in the next decade or so, so I was wondering if this change is a local or global phenomenon. Any other Primary teachers out there ready to investigate and report the status of “Indian feathers” hand signs in your local Primaries? Any suggestions on a hand motion that could be used to replace them?

NT Sunday School Lesson 3: Luke 2; Matthew 2

by Jim F. • January 9, 2011 • Comments Off

Matthew 2 Verse 1: Who were the wise men? The phrase “wise men” is a somewhat odd translation of the Greek word magoi, “astrologers.” It is because of this word that sometimes we refer to the wise men as “magi.” We get the word “magician” from magoi. “The east” may refer to Mesopotamia, the center of astronomical studies at the time. Compare Numbers 24:17, Psalms 72:10-11, and Isaiah 60:1-7. What do such verses suggest to us about the wise men? Why does Matthew tell us about the homage paid to Jesus by the wise men, but Luke tells us about the homage paid to him by shepherds? Why does each story emphasize what it does? For an interesting recent piece on the wise men, see: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705364024/Ancient-manuscript-tells-of-journey-of-the-3-wise-men-text-has-ideas-Mormons-will-relate-to-BYU.html?s_cid=Email-4. Are these visitors Gentiles or might they have been members of the Jewish diaspora? What is the reaction of Herod’s advisors to the news of this birth? What might that foreshadow? Given that foreshadowing, how might this chapter be an excellent introduction to Matthew as a whole? Verse 2: What do the wise men mean when they say that they have seen his star? Notice that, in spite of our traditions, they do not say that they have followed his star. Note also that they literally say, “We have seen his star at its rising” rather than “we have seen his star in the east.” Verses 3-4: Why is Herod troubled (or, more literally,…

Divine Institution slides

by Kaimi Wenger • January 8, 2011 • 3 Comments

A few months ago I spoke at a conference at St. John’s University Law School. The conference theme was same-sex marriage, and my own talk was a largely descriptive account of LDS church statements and actions on the topic. I used a short set of powerpoint slides to cover the basic facts. Since then, several people have expressed interest in seeing the slides, so I just posted them online — they’re available here, if you’d like to take a look. Any comments are welcome. (And just to reiterate, these are pretty basic. If you’ve followed the topic in any depth they don’t contain anything that you don’t know. My talk was a very basic descriptive account of church statements and actions.)

Will 3rd Mormon make Baseball Hall of Fame next year?

by Kent Larsen • January 7, 2011 • 14 Comments

When I looked at the results of voting for the Baseball Hall of Fame, I was somewhat surprised that two LDS players were still getting enough votes to stay on the list for next year, even though they haven’t yet been selected. And one of the players looks like he may eventually be selected — perhaps even next year.

United Order Vs. Communism

by Alison Moore Smith • January 6, 2011 • 130 Comments

Looking back at last year’s MOTY post, I came across a comment I had not seen before. Having been raised hearing about the vast differences between communism and the United Order — and how communism was actually a counterfeit of God’s community — I was surprised that the comparison was being made. This was coupled with a discussion I had two days ago with Belinda, one of my children attending BYU. She just started a church history class and we were talking about the first chapter in her text. It discusses the divine nature of the founding of the United States and how this land was the only place on earth the gospel could again be restored. Given the current political climate, when more and more of America’s founding principles are seen as outdated and flawed, I thought I’d present some quotes from past church leaders on the differences between the two systems, as well as some support for the US Constitution and the government that follows. I’ve tried to keep the context as accurate as possible. I’m not a political expert — more like a coerced activist — and make no claims about the material. Just putting it out for thoughtful discussion. J. Reuben Clark, Jr. full text here The fundamental principle of [the United Order] was the private ownership of property. Each man owned his portion, or inheritance, or stewardship, with an absolute title, which he could alienate,…

Faith, Philosophy, Scripture: A Typology of Readers

by Adam Miller • January 5, 2011 • 18 Comments

In the introduction to his Faith, Philosophy, Scripture (Neal A Maxwell Institute, 2010), Jim Faulconer gives us a kind of typology of religious subjects. Imagining the different kinds of responses he might get to the difficulty of his philosophically inclined essays, he picks out four basic types. I. Typology 1. Those who enjoy a kind of childish naivete. Those with childish faith will find what I say difficult because it makes the obvious difficult. They are likely to be bored or, at best, indulgent of me, and their reaction is the right reaction. I have nothing to say to those who are naive in a childish way because anything I say would be superfluous. (xv) 2. Those who enjoy a kind of mature naivete. Those with more mature, childlike faith have moved from their initial naivete to one that knows the obstacles to faith and has faith anyway – not necessarily in spite of those obstacles, but aware of them and able to cope with them. Often those who have a second naivete are aware of the problems but do not find them problematic, though perhaps once they did. It is as if they do not care because their faith has made them secure. I especially like to read the work of those in their second naivete, or listen to them speak, but what they say is not philosophical. It if were, it would not be naivete. The second kind of naivete is better than…

Reminder: Summer Seminar on The Gold Plates as Cultural Artifact

by Ben Huff • January 4, 2011 • 1 Comment

This summer Richard Bushman and Terryl Givens will lead a seminar on “The Gold Plates as Cultural Artifact” (applications are due February 15th). What have the gold plates meant for you? For me, one of the amazing things about the gold plates is just how powerfully they convey the transcendent value of the scriptures written on them. I am so used to the idea of the gold plates now that I don’t think much about this, but when I was a kid, it made an incredible impression to know that the Book of Mormon had been written on gold plates. The sheer value and beauty of the material of course speaks eloquently to the imagination. For a kid at least, it also silently draws on the magic of countless stories of other golden artifacts: pirate treasure, dragons’ gold, Jason’s golden fleece . . . Adding in the fact that they were hidden in a stone box in the earth, with the sword of Laban and the Liahona no less, of course just makes the gold plates completely entrancing. Nowadays I am entranced even more by the beauty of the ideas they convey, but I think the sheer intrigue of the gold plates themselves probably accounted for half of my interest in the Book of Mormon for important years of my childhood, and who knows how well I would ever have come to appreciate their contents without that initial, almost visceral…

NT Sunday School Lesson 2: Luke 1, Matthew 1

by Jim F. • January 2, 2011 • Comments Off

We are all familiar with these chapters, so familiar that I suspect we often read them or hear them read without paying a lot of attention—if we read these chapters at all. It is as if we go on automatic pilot when we they come up. However, there is a great deal going on in them. Matthew 1 Verses 1-16: It is clear that Matthew is not giving an exact genealogy. For example, he tells us that there were fourteen generations between each of the three important events in Israel’s history—from Abraham, to David, to the Babylonian captivity, to the coming of Christ: three groups of fourteen generations each, culminating in the birth of Jesus. But if we compare this genealogy to the other genealogies in the Old Testament we can see that they disagree. Why would Matthew knowingly give us a genealogy that differs from what we find in other scripture? (Notice that Ezra does something similar: he omits six generations of priests from his genealogy. Compare Ezra 7:1-5 to 1 Chronicles 6:3-15.) Notice also that Matthew says that there are fourteen generations in each of the three groups (verses 17-18), but he puts only thirteen in the last group. It is unlikely that Matthew didn’t know that he had only thirteen in that group, so how do you explain that oddity? What might Matthew have intended readers to infer as the fourteenth name? Perhaps the most surprising of…

12 Questions with David E. Campbell Part II

by James Olsen • January 2, 2011 • 18 Comments

Here is Part II of our 12 Questions interview with David E. Campbell, co-author of American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us (see here for Part I). In this half of the interview Campbell answers questions related specifically to his and Robert Putnam’s research concerning Mormonism. 1. Mormons feature prominently in this book. I’m biased to say that this is because, as you state on page 15, Mormonism is a “highly distinctive tradition[] that, because of [its] size, [is] often neglected in analyses of the American religious environment.” Despite our currently being in “the Mormon moment,” however, I suspect that many would claim that the prominence of Mormonism in your study is merely a result of your being one of the authors. How legitimately is Mormonism stacked up alongside the other traditions you analyze in order to accurately gauge the American religious scene? And can you speak to the reaction of your audience at large with regard to your discussion of Mormonism and its prominence in your analysis? I confess that I wondered myself whether reviewers would criticize the book as featuring Mormons too prominently. (As an aside, you may be interested to know that our chief ethnographer, Shaylyn Romney Garret, is also LDS). I can report that, thus far, no one has raised this as an issue. To the contrary, one prominent scholar (non-LDS) who reviewed an early version of the manuscript actually suggested that we say more…

Vote for Mormon of the Year 2010

by Kent Larsen • January 1, 2011 • 107 Comments

This post opens the voting for Mormon of the Year. Votes will be taken until midnight Eastern Time on Saturday, January 8th, at which time the voting will close. The voting mechanism will attempt to restrict votes to one per person. The order of the choices is set at random, and is different each time the form is presented. THE WINNER OF THE ONLINE VOTE IS NOT NECESSARILY THE MORMON OF THE YEAR!!!

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