Bloggernacle Minute, 4-19-08, highlighting ZD, WoM, and BCC

The Bloggernacle OD'd on FLDS this week (see DMI, T&S, M&A, FMH, MoMent, MoMatt, Mormanity, and even 16SS), so I'll skip those posts in my comments below on my personal favorites from the 225 posts in 60 blogs in my Google Reader.

Here are the three posts I found most interesting:

Contemporary Mormonism and the Magic General Authority by Eve at ZD considers two overlapping beliefs about priesthood blessings: First, that an LDS priesthood holder somehow invokes or channels the healing power of God for the benefit of the afflicted person, the result depending in some undefined way on the faith of the blessed person and God's inscrutable will; and second, that some individuals, especially senior LDS leaders, have an extra dose of priesthood mana or spiritual merit that makes a blessing given by them extra effective. The first is the orthodox doctrine; the second is a widely shared folk doctrine. But who wouldn't rather have their sick or possibly dying kid blessed by Elder J. Quincy McConkie rather than their frumpy home teacher ... just in case priesthood mana really makes a difference? Priesthood hero worship isn't evil, it's just a part of our fallen human nature. It might even help some people exercise a little extra faith in a time of crisis.

Lifesaver by Starfoxy at WoM, relating what a difference it makes when someone in a relationship builds you up rather than wears you down. Amazing how just listening to someone for five minutes, even in passing, can have such a positive and even therapeutic effect. In the B'nacle, there are analystic posts and there are personal posts. Both have their place. I tend to incline to the former but, to compensate, I do try to find posts from the latter that click for me. This is one of them.

The experience of Mormon students in British state school religion classes is summarized by scholarly Ronan at BCC. It's easy to forget the different religious challenges that LDS youth face outside CONUS, but the good news is most of the LDS students rather like the mandated religion classes and there is no misinformation about the LDS Church in the curriculum (because there is almost no information period about the Church in the curriculum). For a full presentation of this research ... visit Yahoo travel and book a ticket to London.

Here are some honorable mentions:

• Classify yourself at Normal Mormons.
• "Evolutionary Science Inspires Me" at Mormon Insights.
• "Holy Scripture, Holy Myth, Part 3" at Weightier Matters, with reference to Elder Holland's striking Conference talk "My Words ... Never Cease."
• "Love and Skepticism" at by guest blogger RTS at T&S.
• Dallas is back ... and doing book reviews.
• Putting Away Childish Things at Mormon Matters.
• "Feral Children and Divinity" at FPR. Gets a nod just for the striking image feral children.
• A long list of LDS fiction recommendations from AMV. Of the 24 titles, I've only read one (Ender's Game).

Comments

[C. L. Hanson]

In your "OD on FLDS" list, you neglected the fabulously controversial Main Street Plaza post. ;^)