Theology

Snuffer’s Take on Polygamy

Denver Snuffer has generated a bit of controversy on the bloggernacle lately, though I suspect your average member has never heard of him.  My post Is Excommunication Useful? got over 300 comments, and Tim Malone’s Q&A about Snuffer also got over 300 comments.  One Who is Watching noted “an obscene amount of traffic to my site” […]

The Book of Mormon: An Imperfect Book?

Signature Books sent me an advance copy of An Imperfect Book by Earl M. Wunderli, and it is due to be released tomorrow, June 17.  (Perhaps it’s a great gift for that non-believing dad for Father’s Day.)  The subtitle to the book is “What the Book of Mormon tells us about itself.”  Wunderli takes the […]

Would you let your kids watch “The Bible”?

The History Channel just produced one of the most successful series dealing with the Bible in a few decades.  I heard so much good about it that I decided to purchase the entire series on iTunes, having never seen the series at all.  I’ve had occasion to watch the first 2 episodes and wanted to […]

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:

Mormons are “Marginal Christians”

Just prior to General Conference, Utah Valley University hosted a Mormon Studies Conference titled “The Expanding Canon”.  I wish I could have attended more of the sessions, but enjoyed the sessions I attended.  I was surprised that the LDS Instituted of Religion hosted one of the sessions.  I attended Institute when I was in college, […]

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 […]

Mormon Doctrine: Catholicism

I wanted to continue my series on the book Mormon Doctrine, by Bruce R. McConkie.  With the election of Pope Francis this week, I thought that would be an interesting place to go.  Elder McConkie didn’t have much good to say about Catholicism.  Let’s compare the 2 revisions for Catholicism 1958 version – Catholicism Additions […]

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 Freakonomics, 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 preceding 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 […]

Holiday Violence

It’s been a rough few weeks. 1.  Dec 1, 2012.  (Left photo) Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Javon Belcher killed his girlfriend, drove to the Chiefs’ Stadium, talked to his coaches and then killed himself in front of them. 2.  Dec 11, 2012.  (Middle photo) Jacob Tyler Roberts, 22, entered a crowded Portland, Oregon mall and […]