Mormon Life - Best of LDS Blogs

Mormons and Politics at Columbia

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:10:00 -0700

source: juvenileinstructor.org

On the fifteenth floor in a Columbia University building overlooking a majestic New York City skyline, some of the most well known scholars of Mormonism (–and me–) gathered to present papers on the role of Mormonism and American politics during this so-called “Mormon Moment.” Professors and students from Columbia and other NYC-area universities, a handful of LDS missionaries (including a JIer’s parents!) and reps from local and international news outlets, braved unreliable elevators to bring the large lecture hall to capacity on both days of the conference.

Hollywood Presents: The Gospel

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:30:00 -0700

source: mormonmommyblogs.blogspot.com

I LOVE watching movies. As a kid I remember listening to my parents try and find gospel principles presented in some of Hollywood's blockbusters.

Lame!

Well, at least I thought so until suddenly I found myself doing it too. Remember when Luke used the force to get his lightsaber to come to him while he was hanging upside down in the cave?

Mormons and Racism: Are Mormons Racist?

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:56:00 -0700

source: wellbehavedmormonwoman.blogspot.com

A few days ago I posted this article to address a few of the hot topics currently being discussed, in the news and online, about Mormon beliefs and practices. And this week, once again, based on a number of news reports circulating on the Internet, I feel the need to discuss the question: Are Mormons racist?

The issue of Mormons and racism is a concern to many modern-day Latter-day Saints who see this as a way to demonize our faith. I would venture to say that if someone were to ask just about any Mormon, that question, they would emphatically respond "no"! However, due to past LDS history that denied the priesthood to Black Mormons until 1978 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and its members, are still considered, by some, racist -- over a quarter century later.

Mormon Blogging and the Good Ole Boys’ Club

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:36:00 -0700

source: bycommonconsent.com

Mormon Life says: What do you think: Does Mormon blogging sometimes inadvertently reinforces patriarchy? In September 2006 NPR ran a story on a study of numbers of women in academia (or lack thereof), particularly science. Maria Zuber, commenting on the study, made good points that I think are also pertinent to the structure of the Bloggernacle and the conversations we have. Firstly, the tendency in academia is to, as Zuber put it, “stay close to shore.” Academics tend to recognize excellence if it looks like their own work. Likewise bloggers tend to read the kind of content and join the discussions they themselves like to produce, and think those are the best conversations to have.

One of the best articles I have ever read debunking the supposed Mormon conspiracy

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:09:00 -0700

source: millennialstar.org

Take a gander at this great, concise article by Nate Oman.

Here are the key graphs:

"In 1902, Utah elected Reed Smoot to be its U.S. senator...."

Thinking about Mormonism and “critical thinking”

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:20:00 -0700

source: bycommonconsent.com

I read the news today, oh boy. The New York Times has a little series on Mormonism, tidbits from five writers, “What is it about Mormonism?” It presents, for the most part, highly caricatured pieces of polemic. (Maffly-Kipp and Reiss hold their own, however.) Elsewhere, Tricia Erickson recently published a scare-all book warning America about the dangers of a Mitt Romney presidency. She’s appeared on various news shows and in articles as an expert on Mormonism. Here she is at something called One News Now:

“Spoiling the Egyptians”: On Non-LDS Source Usage

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:48:00 -0700

source: bycommonconsent.com

Mormon Life says: What do you think: Is it okay to quote non-LDS sources in lessons/ talks/ church? I once made the silly mistake of suggesting that members of the Church might beneficially learn from non-LDS sources, or more specifically, that non-LDS sources might have messages for people in the world, messages from God that could only viably come through them and not from our own leadership. The sentiment itself might not sound so objectionable to most Mormons. My mistake was that I made this suggestion during a Sunday School lesson. And I compounded my error by later reading a quote from a non-manual source.

Perfect People Not Allowed

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:04:00 -0700

source: segullah.org/blog/

Mormon Life says: I imagine we've all felt like this at some point, if not every day! A few weeks before Christmas I drove past a cozy-looking Protestant church in my neighborhood. I noticed a colorful banner staked into the ground — “Perfect people not allowed!” it read — and I felt a yearning tug in my heart. It had been a tiring month, emotionally and physically, and the idea of walking into a church so cheerfully opposed to perfection seemed like just the ticket. I imagined padding in wearing tennis shoes, jeans and a sweatshirt. Soothing music would be playing. Perhaps someone would give me a mug of hot cocoa.

Our right to intellectual property through contract

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:24:00 -0700

source: ldsliberty.org

Mormon Life says: This goes along nicely with yesterday's SOPA and PIPA protests. The United States Constitution states that Congress shall have the power to “promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries” [1]. Our Founding Fathers understood that protection of novel ideas and information falls within the realm of the proper role of government. Protection of novel ideas has become known as intellectual property (IP), wherein works of art, such as music, paintings, and movies, and inventions, such as processes and configurations, are protected by law through copyrights, patents, and trade secrets.

Modern prophets have taught that IP should be protected.

Why do Mormons seem so happy? (part 3 — more responses)

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:31:00 -0700

source: mormonwoman.org

Once again, we have a few more responses that we’d already received to Len’s question before it ever posted here. Thanks to those who have contributed their own thoughts and experiences.

Our first response today comes from Koreen, who is not a Mormon herself, but has many family members who are. The emphasis on and principles taught about the importance of family are one thing that really stick out to her.

The University of Utah Institute of Religion

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:44:00 -0700

source: bycommonconsent.com

Mormon Life says: Are all institutes equal? What was your experience like? The Institutes of Religion were and are an outreach by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to LDS college students. To a lesser extent this was and perhaps is true for faculty too. When I’ve been employed by universities outside Utah, I have always enjoyed it when an Institute was nearby because it also served as an island of friendship. For the most part, these were small operations with maybe one full-time CES person as instructor along with a part-time secretary. For me, as a faculty member, they were always an oasis in a somewhat sterile academic environment.

LDS bloggers tackle New Year's resolutions

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:29:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

I love reading all the New Year’s resolutions, which range from spiritual to whimsical, as I traverse the blogosphere. They motivate me to try to do better, to be better. Let some of these likewise inspire you.

Spiritual: Let President Thomas S. Monson guide your goals as spotlighted by these bloggers. First find “Help for New Year's Resolutions,” which includes a great quote from President Monson, and then click in to learn about President Monson’s ABCs that can help you make some spiritual “New Year’s Resolutions.”

Why do Mormons seem so happy?

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:08:00 -0700

source: mormonwoman.org

We received the following question from Len a couple of weeks ago:

I’m Jewish, and I know this might seem like a weird question, but I can’t stop thinking about it: Why do all of the Mormons that I know seem so happy? So genuinely, positively happy? Why do their personal lives seem so fulfilled? Even the Mormon missionaries that I see on the street seem so warm and kind and are always smiling. I really don’t understand how they can be that way 24/7. Is it just an act? Or is it real? I know that Mormons struggle too (everyone has bad days), but I’m really puzzled to see an entire group of people emanating joy, success, and happiness.

A little known story about George Albert Smith

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:05:00 -0700

source: keepapitchinin.org

Mormon Life says: Yuck. I'm happy things have changed since then. So we all get a lesson next Sunday from the new Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: George Albert Smith manual, and I suspect that many wards, like mine, used the first Sunday for a biographical overview. Teachers may have mentioned that President Smith was the namesake of his grandfather, George A. Smith, a cousin of Joseph Smith’s and an early church leader himself, especially during Brigham Young’s tenure.

Taking the Book of Mormon Seriously as History

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 10:39:00 -0700

source: feastuponthewordblog.org

While we often focus on the spiritual messages of the Book of Mormon, the Book of Mormon itself is not written as a mere collection of sermons or prophetic teachings. In order to take it seriously on its own terms, we need to pay closer attention to the Book of Mormon as historiography–”an account written by the hand of Mormon” and others containing “an abridgment of the record” of at least two ancient historic peoples.

There are at least three areas where I think we can profitably pay more attention–

Why I Love Visiting Teaching

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 11:50:00 -0700

source: the-exponent.com

Mormon Life says: I love the message this author ended up teaching. I admit I’m a fan of Visiting Teaching. I’ve been doing it all my life. My mom was the Eternal RS President and with me as her underage companion, she assigned us to visit people who didn’t really want to be visited. Or were crazy. Or both. But we always got in, often with the help of cookies, and usually ended up making nice connections. In my current ward they just rearranged the assignments and I have a GLS companion (Good Little Soldier). Which is great.

Keep Perspective

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 10:52:00 -0700

source: mormonmomma.com

I joined the Church as a 19y0 college student with all the passion and idealism of youth. I would surely keep every commandment perfectly. I would do anything, go anywhere, for The Church of Jesus Christ, even if that meant serving a mission in the most remote corner of the earth or having 17 children. But I wasn’t asked to serve a remote mission or bear 17 children. In fact, the things that I was asked to do were comparitively simple—teach a primary class, visit the less active, greet newcomers with friendship.

Corpus Christi

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 22:40:00 -0700

source: bycommonconsent.com

Mormon Life says: This brings up a really fascinating point: how do new Mormons with non-Christian backgrounds celebrate traditional Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter? I don’t think it’s insignificant that Mormons do not have religious holidays, even Christmas and Easter are drawn from western Christian traditions; and thus are usually celebrated by Mormons when the rest of Christendom celebrates them according to the region of the world they are in at the time of those holidays. For instance, Easter in Russia is celebrated by Mormons according to the Orthodox calendar, while Easter in Italy is celebrated by Mormons on the date accorded by Catholic tradition.

Latter-day Saint Images, 1937

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 09:07:00 -0700

source: keepapitchinin.org

Mormon Life says: I love looking at these old photographs. Click on the forwarding link to see a photo gallery of church members from 1937.

Christmas gift giving – The Jesus way

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:58:00 -0700

source: mormonmentality.org

As inspiration for you Christmas slackers, I am sharing our family’s way of keeping the gift-giving season sane. For the first 10 years of our kid’s lives, Christmas was an event. I strove to fill to overflowing the space under the tree. My husband had memories of mounds of presents from his childhood and I wanted to recreate that for our children.