Holiday
Christmas Celebration and Sadness
Christmas is supposed to be a time of celebration of the Savior’s birth. For many, however, it can be a time of depression and sadness. My wife likes to go to Festival of Trees every year to view the decorations, and even donated a tree last year. Money raised from the festival goes to Primary […]
Memorial Day Mortality
Monday May 30 is Memorial Day in the United States. It is a day to remember our war dead. I saw on Facebook someone said that they didn’t really have any war dead to remember, so she just remembered her family. I guess I’m in the same boat. After doing some genealogy, I discovered 2 […]
Canaanite Dieties
It’s Easter time again (next Sunday is Easter if you weren’t paying attention.) Easter is that one holiday that Mormons observe, but don’t really celebrate. With Easter comes the story of the Passover. (This is one of those strange years in which Easter occurs a month BEFORE Passover.) In the past, I’ve blogged about various […]
War on Christmas? Blame Christians
Starbucks got a lot of flack because they used plain red cups this year instead of ones decorated with snowflakes as in years past. Steven Colbert had a funny bit about it. But did you know that from a historical perspective, it was Christians who don’t like to celebrate Christmas?
Interfaith for Mormons
The past few years, my stake has put on a Christmas Interfaith Celebration. The problem is this: it is not really interfaith at all because only Mormons come. Sure, I live in Utah County, home of the highest concentration of Mormons anywhere, and frankly, the few non-Mormon churches that are here meet in strip malls. […]
Parenting Taboos – Part 1
With Father’s Day here, maybe it’s a good idea to talk about parenting Taboos. Parents Rufus Griscom and Alisa Volkman (I guess she didn’t take his last name–maybe that’s another taboo) gave an interesting Ted Talk (episode 3 available on Netflix) where they discussed parenting taboos. I created a transcript, and here’s what they had […]
Memorial Day Traditions
The last Monday in May is known as Memorial Day in the United States. Originally called Decoration Day, it was started in 1868 as a way to remember the Civil War dead among Union soldiers. (The Confederates had their own day as well.) By the 20th century, Union and Confederate holidays were merged into Memorial […]
Several Thoughts on Mother’s Day
I’ve been having a lot of thoughts about Mothers Day, not all of them related. Let’s start on a positive note. My Mom My mom is the best ever. She is one of the most patient people I know. While I have lots of acquaintances, I’ve never really been very good at making friends. Throughout […]
Magi from China
A few years ago, Revelation of the Magi was first translated into English. I’ve wanted to blog about it for a time, but now seems appropriate. According to ABC News, An ancient text called the “Revelation of the Magi,” has been rediscovered and tells a very different version of the Three Wise Men’s journey to […]
Mormon Heretic 