Death
Mormon Doctrine: Cremation
I took a break from my series on the book Mormon Doctrine by Bruce R. McConkie, but I think it’s time to revisit the book. Under the heading Cremation (it is the same in the 1958 and 1979 editions), Elder McConkie writes:
The Statistics of Gun Control
Last week, Stephen Marsh at Wheat and Tares posted about how arguments about Guns and Gays are similar. Steve specifically said “people post disputed statistics for the harm caused by the parties they wish to regulate or deny. In both cases, those opposing regulation point to contrary statistics showing how good either guns or gay […]
Taxes, Spending, and Corn
I was late to church because I was finishing up on filing my taxes. This is the time of year when we get to look and see how much we’re sending to the government, and while many of us enjoy the tax refund, we neglect to see how much we’re sending to the government. Tea […]
Easter Mourning
A 73 year old man with arthritis, failing kidneys, and other health problems died last Tuesday. I didn’t know him very well (I’ll call him Gene), but I knew his daughter. During the funeral yesterday, his daughter recounted his life and said she was glad that he had left his bodily prison, but at the […]
The Trials and Deaths of John D. Lee and Brigham Young
I wanted to continue Ken Burns’ discussion of the aftermath of the Mountain Meadows as part of his series, The West (available on Netflix.) Â In Part 6, he discussed the trial of John D. Lee. Â At the beginning of part 6, he begins with this introduction. By 1874, Washington had launched still another assault on […]
Facebook Proclamations
I am amazed at how much time people spend on Facebook. Â I post rarely, though it is nice to stay in touch with people growing up, even if I don’t comment. Â A few years ago, I noticed on Facebook an announcement from one of my Facebook “friends.” Â He posted his resignation letter from the LDS […]
Pre-Halloween Mormon Massacre
How do you write a Mormon-themed Halloween post? Â Thanks to SamBee at StayLDS, I was reminded that Oct 27 marks the 173rd “anniversary” of the Extermination Order. Â Even more gruesome is the fact that today, Oct 30, is the 173rd anniversary of the Haun’s Mill Massacre–a true horror-story fit for any Halloween tale.
Ten Years after 9/11
The past few days have brought a series of news stories remembering the terrible tragedy that happened 10 years ago.  I was curious to see if there would be any differences in our church services.  On the one hand, Music and the Spoken Word invited NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw to narrate a special tribute to […]
17 Miracles: The Faithful and Foolhardy Willie Handcart Company
If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you know I really enjoy Mormon History, yet for some reason, I haven’t taken the time to become acquainted with the Martin and Willie Handcart disasters. I don’t have a good reason for that; I guess it is because other topics have more interest for me. I […]
4 Sports Stories You Should Know About
It’s been an interesting week. Â I was saddened to hear that Hall of Fame baseball player, Harmon Killebrew died Tuesday at the age of 74 of cancer. Â Killebrew played for the Minnesota Twins in the 1960s and 1970s. Â When he retired, he had hit more home runs in the American League than anyone except Babe […]