Movie/Book Reviews
Thanksgiving and Happiness
I just finished a book called Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom. Mitch is asked by his rabbi to deliver his eulogy, and the book details his efforts to get more acquainted with the rabbi. There is a wonderful message about gratitude and happiness that I wanted to share for Thanksgiving. The rabbi was […]
Walking Arm in Arm with Others
Mitch Albom wrote a book titled Have a Little Faith. Mitch grew up Jewish, but as he left for college and started a career in sports writing, he left many of his Jewish roots behind. Years later, his rabbi approached him with a special request. From page 1 of his book, “Will you do my […]
Benson, Eisenhower, and Communism
I’m not sure why President Benson is so popular lately. Will at Wheat and Tares asked, Were President Benson’s Words Prophetic? In Sunday’s Salt Lake Tribune, FBI files shed light on Ezra Taft Benson, Ike and the Birch Society. In July, I promised to talk about President Benson’s politics, and I guess the timing is […]
Comparing Correlation to the Supreme Court
I posted this at Mormon Matters, but since I am not there any more, I wanted to preserve this on my blog. I loved Greg Prince’s biography of David O McKay. Under the McKay Administration, correlation of LDS church materials made a great deal of headway. While correlation has cut down on duplication of church […]
What are we to make of Richard Dutcher?
I’ve been a big fan of Richard Dutcher over the years. I loved God’s Army, Brigham City, and States of Grace. I loved that his films took Mormonism seriously. His films were touching, thoughtful, and spiritual. I found great value in his presentations of Mormon spirituality, and dealing with life in a complex world. When […]
What’s up with Non-Biblical Angels?
A few months ago, I attended several family reunions. At the time, I was reading John Hamer’s book, Scattering of the Saints. I was absolutely fascinated with all the accounts of Mormon schismatic groups. I was especially interested in Strangism and the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message. As I told the story of […]
Mormon Women Blessing the Sick
As a follow up to my previous article discussing female priesthood holders in Ancient Christianity, I thought it would be interesting to discuss a now discontinued practice of Mormon women anointing and blessing the sick. Did you know that Mormon women used to wash, anoint with oil, and lay hands on the sick until 1946? […]
Women with the Priesthood in Ancient Christianity
I attended Sunstone back in August. Bridget Jack Jeffries (who runs a blog called Clobberblog), gave a fascinating presentation on female priesthood holders in the ancient Christian church. Bridget is a “never Mormon” that attended BYU, graduating in 2005. She “seduced” (her words, not mine) and married a BYU priesthood holder while there, and she is […]
The Passing of Richard Van Wagoner
This is a sad day for Mormon History buffs. I have just learned that Richard Van Wagoner passed away on Saturday. He has written several book on Mormon History. I blogged about his Sidney Rigdon book, and he recently completed The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young. Here is a list of some of his books. […]
Fundamentalist Mormonism: More Diverse Than you Thought
Anne Wilde wrote the chapter on Fundamentalist Mormonism in Hamer/Bringhurst’s book Scattering of the Saints. I’ve always viewed Fundamentalist Mormons like an embarrassing relative, and I haven’t really wanted to learn much about them. However, Anne’s chapter was incredibly interesting, and I learned that Fundamentalist Mormonism is much more diverse than I realized.
Mormon Heretic 