Politics
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 […]
Jeffersonian Religion
I just watched a documentary called Jefferson’s Secret Bible. (You can download it for free on iTunes or watch it at the Smithsonian website.) The documentary discusses the restoration and some of the theology behind Thomas Jefferson’s rewriting on the Bible. In his day, Jefferson was called an atheist by his detractors; he wasn’t really […]
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 […]
Abortion and Crime
I originally posted this on Wheat and Tares in August 2011, but wanted to add it here since I just talked about a Freakonomics podcast on Baptism for the Dead. A friend of mine introduced me to the Freakonomics podcast that you can download from iTunes. Â Two Steve’s (Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt) put together […]
Failure of Leadership
We are down to crunch time.  I can’t believe that our Congress is so dysfunctional.  There’s plenty of blame to go around.  Where should I start? Let’s start with everyone in the photograph!  D&C 38:27 “I say unto you, be aone; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.” Obviously, they’re not handling this […]
The Worth of $ouls
“Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God†(D&C 18:10).  But how much is a soul worth?  Freakonomics tries to answer the question. For those of you unfamiliar with Freaknomics, it was originally a book written by two Steves: Dubner and Levitt. Levitt is an economist for the University of Chicago […]
Re-Evaluating Gay Scriptures
Reverend Dr. Laurence C. Keene, Disciples of Christ, “When people ask questions about homosexuality, almost always they follow with, ‘and what does the Bible really say about it?’ The preceeding quote comes from an interesting documentary on Netflix called For the Bible Tells Me So.  The documentary discusses traditional and liberal Christian beliefs about homosexuality in […]
Insurance or Medical Savings Account?
It is open enrollment time for many companies. We get to choose what insurance benefits we want to participate in. For the first time, my wife’s employer is offering the option of a Medical Health Savings Account. Is this a good option for us, or for you? Well, I didn’t know much, and I don’t claim […]
Mapping Elections and Mormonism
“Maps are powerful tools”, said John Hamer at the 2011 John Whitmer Historical Association meetings. His remarks have be published in the latest issue of the John Whitmer Historical Association Journal (Fall/Winter 2012). He goes on to say Beyond their capacity to dazzle, maps allow historians to organize information in a completely different way than […]
Ron Paul at UVU
In case you thought that Mitt Romney had unanimous support in Utah, you may be surprised to find out that Ron Paul was given rock star treatment at Utah Valley University a few weeks ago. KSL noted that Ron Paul supporters turn out in droves for speech at UVU.
