Category: Uncategorized

I don’t really know much about the history of the Three-Fold Mission of the Church:

To Perfect the Saints, Proclaim the Gospel, and Redeem the Dead

(Perhaps someone can refer something to read)

I do know, however, that the Three-Fold Mission has been a central component of my church experience as long as I can remember. It seems, in most regards, that the Three-Fold Mission is meant to express the purpose of the Church (a “mission statement” for our religious organization). If I were to restate it succinctly it would be something like: To make (and keep) people a part of our church.  Continue reading “What’s Missing From the Three-Fold Mission?”

Leave it to a BYU student to invoke the name of the Lord in BYU’s win last weekend over the U.

Austin Collie, who caught a 49-yard pass on 4th and 18 to keep the drive alive (which eventually put BYU ahead for good), had this to say in a post-game interview: “Obviously, when you’re doing what’s right on and off the field, I think the Lord steps in a plays a part.”

His comment, of course, has generated quite bit of controversy.

My gut reaction is to dismiss the statement as youthful frivolity; but is there any way in which it could be true?

 Oh, and for those unfamiliar with the “Immaculate Reception” see here.

An off-topic post.

My wife and I are visiting New York in the next little while, and contemplating a potential move there in a year. I’ve only been to NY once, and it was quite short.

Since visiting as a tourist is quite different from living there, my question is this: What do locals do in New York that makes them love New York?

Convince me.

I posted recently about a little Iraqi boy who had been doused in gasoline and lit by fellow Iraqis. I did so to call attention to his plight, to mourn the evil in the world, and try to counteract it with good by bringing it to light.

Two Evangelical bloggers decided that it was an appropriate time not to sympathize, not to speak of action or support, not to mourn, but to take swings at LDS theology.

One of them, perhaps, was simply in jest or bad taste. He later suggested I remove his comment, which I did. The other who commented, well, let’s just say I’m not surprised, given what I know of him. He fits the Evangelical stereotype many LDS hold.

I grew up with two good EV friends, one who went on to get a PhD in Christian Ethics. I think she would be disappointed in those comments, and make sure I, as a Mormon, knew that not all EV’s would have responded the same way. I’m glad to have had her example in the past. I wish I had more of them.

Words fail me.

Follow-up, and some goodness left in the world.

Edit: It looks like less than 1/4 of those who have read this post today actually follow the links, so I’ll summarize. A happy intelligent 5-year old boy in Iraq is playing in the park, then is randomly seized by fellow Iraqis, doused in gasoline, and set ablaze while his attackers flee. He survives, but what kind of life can he lead? What kind of twisted evil people do this to a child?

What is the responsibility of the academically trained scholar in Mormonism? As more LDSs go to graduate schools (or even various undergraduate institutions) and study religion, this becomes an interesting question. I’m defining “scholar” here as someone who has graduated from a institution of higher education focusing specifically on religion (broadly conceived). This isn’t meant to position one type of scholar above another, but to ask a specific question about what our expectations are from this group of people.

Do we expect them to “reaffirm faith”? If so, concretely what does this mean? Should they, for instance, only teach things that encourage people to come to church (for the “right” reasons of course)? Or can they opperate free from the results of their teachings in pursuit of certain questions (Was Jesus divine for the NT authors, for instance)?

Do we expect them to “challenge faith”? If so, how? Can they only challenge the faith in such a way that the challenge must be completely resolved (leaving the questioner with a “stronger testimony”, usually measured by higher activity in the church)? Or can they complicate things in such a way that the world appears more complex, more ambiguous, and less cut and dry?

Continue reading “The Responsibility of the Scholar”

What is the goal of our spiritual practices? Is it different from other contemporary or past Christianity communities? What type of human subjects do they produce? How do we navigate the competing ideals that our spiritual practices imitate?

We have a number of spiritual practices in LDS tradition. There are many that argue that these spiritual practices are in fact the most important aspects of Mormonism and that “doctrine” is merely secondary. I take the view that, like ancient philosophy, Mormonism is a “way of life,” wherein the beliefs and practices work together to allow the individual to engage in a series of techniques to embody a certain kind of ethical subject. However, I am not quite sure how to articulate what that subject looks like. Is there a guiding logic to our spiritual practices? Or, are they simply eclectic inheritances? Or, are these practices fundamentally paradoxical, as Givens has noted about Mormon thought. Consider the following set of spiritual practices. Each of these activities are imbued with a sense of spirituality. In each case they are the voluntary taking on of a certain personal discipline:
Continue reading “Spiritual Practices”

I’ve always been curious as to why Church schools have different Honor Codes. At BYUI, for instance, men cannot wear shorts or slippers to classes; apartments are also monitored by an “apartment manager” who ensures things such as people are in their apartments by midnight (1am on the weekends), and enforces things such as the following:

Men and women may visit in apartments of the opposite sex beginning at noon. All must leave in time to arrive at their own apartment by curfew. Visitors need to be in compliance with the following guidelines:

1. There should always be at least three people in an apartment being visited by a member of the opposite sex.

2. Drapes and blinds must be left open during the visit.

BYU Provo is somewhat different. As are the other church schools.

Continue reading “Differing Codes of Honor”

Romney’s politics are irrelevant for this post, as the same hypothetical would apply if Harry Reid were running for President.

How does an LDS President attend a Temple session? Can enough LDS secret service personnel be found to accompany him through a session? Does the Temple have a strict no-gun policy? Would he just not attend for 4 years? Would the DC Temple become a security concern, or a potential terrorist target. Would it be swept for bugs? Would Temple Recommends be heavily scrutinized to prevent someone from faking their way in to get at the President?

Has Romney or anyone else asked these questions?