I was invited to be a guest contributer over at Mormon Matters. In 1838, there was a crisis in the church. A bank failure in Kirtland caused many church members to question the leadership ability of Joseph Smith. Lesson 27 deals with the crisis in very general terms, but I’ve learned much more. Five apostles were excommunicated, the Three Whitnesses were excommunicated, and some breakaway members actually excommunicated Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon. It was a very tumultious period for the church. The full post can be found here. Anyway, how would you have reacted in those circumstances?
After Death Experience – The Message
My brother died in a car accident in May 2006. His family was badly injured as well. His death was an emotionally painful experience for me. As part of my coping, my mother gave me a copy of a book titled, The Message, by Lance Richardson. It gave me some comfort, though certainly didn’t relieve very much of my pain.
Anonymous bad behavior: Are you guilty?
Internet anonymity can have both good and bad consqeuences. Some people can fall in love, yet never meet in person. Others, can engage in sociopathic behavior that they would not do without the cloak of anonymity.
This blog came about because I wanted to ask provocative questions that I didn’t feel safe to do in church. So, anonymity has helped me be more truthful than I otherwise would be inclined to be in public. I will also admit that on occasion, my temper has gotten the best of me, and perhaps I have left some comments on other blogs that could have been phrased in a more polite manner.
I came across this article at MSNBC which talks about Anonymous behavior, both the good and bad (although it concentrates more on the bad.) So, is anonymity a good thing, a bad thing, or both?
McClellin Notebook
William McLellin (or M’Lellin) is an interesting figure in LDS church history. He was called as an original member of the Quorum of 12 Apostles, and was excommunicated for apostasy in 1838. At this point, he became a vocal critic of the church.
Mormon Times recently published an article about a recently discovered McClellin notebook, and more information can be found here.
Sometimes God says “No”
King Benjamin makes the case that God is intimately involved in our lives, even lending us breath, and supporting us from one moment to another.
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21 I say unto you that if ye should aserve him who has created you from the beginning, and is bpreserving you from day to day, by lending you cbreath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own dwill, and even supporting you from one moment to another— I say, if ye should serve him with all your ewhole souls yet ye would be funprofitable servants.
Does God care who wins?
Here in Utah, during the week of the Utah-BYU football game, also known as the “Holy War”, fans on each side and get downright fanatical. Being the church school, many mormons pretty much bear testimony that BYU is “the Lord’s school”, and that God wants BYU to win. Fans of Utah get quite upset about this, and complain about BYU fan’s haughty attitude.
It’s always refreshing to me when I discover similar attitudes in other religions. This article on MSNBC: Does God care who wins the Super Bowl? even references the Holy War… Here are some quotes from the article I found particularly interesting.
Nahom-Archeaological Evidence of Book of Mormon
After Lehi’s family left Jerusalem, they traveled in the Arabian Peninsula on their way to the “promised land.” In 1994, an archeaological discovery in Yemen has the same name as mentioned in 1 Ne. 16: 34, “And it came to pass that Ishmael died, and was buried in the place which was called Nahom.
Critics of the LDS church have often chortled at the fact that there is no archaeological evidence in support of the Book of Mormon. Well, that is now changing, and I would like to discuss what we know about an archeaological site called “Nahom.”
Is MLK’s dream fulfilled by Obama?
On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King game his famous “I have a dream speech.” He said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
There has been much ado with Barack Obama’s skin color and his upcoming inauguration. While this is certainly a historic event, I do not believe Mr. King’s dream has been fully realized yet. Certainly President Obama’s election is a noteworthy event, and he will be the answer to trivia questions for the next several hundred years. Obama’s election is a wonderful step, but I don’t believe King’s dream has been fully realized yet. Comments?
From Heretic to Hero
Sometimes I can be a little controversial, as in my previous post. If you will notice my About page, you will see a painting of Galileo, my favorite heretic. It seems the vatican is trying to show that faith and science aren’t always opposing. Check it out here.
So is it possible to be a faithful scientist? What happens when it seems threatening to your church?
Mormon Heretic 