Dave's Mormon Inquiry

All About Sideblogs

I've been running the sideblog (on the left sidebar) for about a month now—what do you think? Do you find it useful, or annoying, or simply irrelevant? It took me a couple of tries to get the coding right, but the slick layout comes by first setting up an entirely separate blog under the Typepad domain (see Dave's Sidenotes), then bringing the body of the short posts from that site into my sidebar using a snippet of pre-formed Javascript code. Well, I like it anyway. As for content, I've settled down to just using it to post pointers to good posts at BT, at other Bloggernacle sites, or sometimes for a nice post elsewhere. It's nice for links worth highlighting but that aren't worth a full blog post.

More On Testimony

The article on "Testimony" in the LDS doctrinal guide True to the Faith (TTTF) is a nice supplement to my earlier post on this topic (see also this thoughtful response by Geoff). The article defines testimony as "a spiritual witness given by the Holy Ghost," which "usually comes as a quiet assurance, without spectacular displays of God’s power." I think that understates the power of the Mormon method, which seems capable of developing a testimony without any display of God's power!

Bloggernacle Times - Issue No. 11

Articles include "The Origin of the Universe" and "Habemas papam."

Editor's Introduction by Dave
The Origin of the Universe by Clark Goble
Guest Post: Do Stories Matter? Act 1 by Rosalynde Welch
Selections From Robinson's Gilead by William Morris
Eternal Regression by Eric James Stone
Habemas papam by Ronan James Head
History Never Gets Old; It Simply Gets Older by Justin Butterfield
Weekly Zeitgeist by Steve
The Last Word by Dave

Mormon Testimony

"I know the Church is true" is the key assertion in the standard "Mormon testimony" or upbeat personal confession of faith. One bears testimony not only in monthly "fast and testimony meetings," but also quite often at the tail end of talks from the pulpit, Sunday School lessons, and missionary discussions or lessons. Bearing a testimony and explaining how one came by it is, for Mormons, roughly equivalent to knowing one is saved and recounting that special "Jesus moment" for Evangelicals. In this first installment of a weekly feature going through the list of 100 LDS seminary scriptures, I'll talk about D&C 8:2-3 and Mormon testimony.

Taking Religious Liberty for Granted

RNB reposts a short story about the perils of being Christian in a country lacking religious liberty and where the government actively represses any worship besides the state-approved religion. My understanding is that in Saudi Arabia carefully cloistered Christian worship is tolerated in Western enclaves, but any practice of Christianity in the country at large is energetically suppressed. It's not hard to understand why the Saudis have adopted this approach; at the very least, it helps us get a little appreciation for the value of our own religious liberty. Don't forget that prior to independence the Church of England was the state religion of the American colonies, and "independence" had a religious aspect as well as a political one.

LDS 12 Step?

Can religious conversion piggyback on top of 12-step addiction recovery? Meridian posts an article and a link to Understaning Alcohol and Drug Addiction: An LDS Perspective, by Merlin O. Baker. The Introduction notes that "the average Utah addict is 31 years old, white and LDS." The book seems like a great resource for any Mormon who is dealing with their own or a family member's addicition problems, as most Mormons have little personal familiarity with regular, socially acceptable alcohol and drug use, much less addictions. But despite claims to the contrary, the excerpts in the "LDS 12-step program" section sure make it sound like LDS recovery (back into activity) and substance recovery (back to sobriety) are tightly linked in this approach. Or maybe it is simply a clinical fact that in Utah you can't succesfully treat LDS substance abuse recovery without also confronting religious issues? "Hi, my name is Nephi, and I'm an alcoholic." Yeah, maybe.

Blog Heaven Open House

Welcome to those readers following links from the Blog Heaven feature at Beliefnet. Please feel free to leave a short note in the comments, including any requests for posts or topics. I have some general site info listed via links at the top of the right sidebar. I'll point out a few of the interesting things I try to do with this blog in a list below.

Bloggernacle Times - Issue No. 10

Articles include "Trapped by the Christians" and "Ways of Knowing II."

Ways of Knowing II by Clark Goble
Trapped by the Christians by Ronan James Head
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly by Justin Butterfield
Bloggernacle A&E by William Morris
Weekly Zeitgeist by Steve
The Last Word by Dave

Same as the Old Boss?

Recent summaries of the prior positions of the new pope make him out to be a real social and moral conservative -- very similar to John Paul II or a Mormon apostle. Yet Hans Kung, a Catholic theologian who has criticized the conservative Catholic retrenchment under JPII, has issued a "let's wait and see" statement, noting that the focus, tone, and direction of the thinking of previous popes has sometimes changed after they became the Pope. He suggested that popes, like presidents, go through a "first 100 days" period when they first come to grips with real issues and define how their administration (or pontificate) will operate and what policies it will carry forward or change. Perhaps Benedict XVI will take a different line than Cardinal Ratzinger. In fact, reports I heard said that his first mass stressed an ecumenical message and reaching out in a friendly way to other faiths, not themes he emphasized in the past.

Benedict XVI

The papal election is over (white smoke rose from the Vatican chimney) and a new pope has been selected. As reported in an AP article at Yahoo: "Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, a longtime guardian of doctrinal orthodoxy, was elected the new pope Tuesday evening in the first conclave of the new millennium. He chose the name Pope Benedict XVI." This is not good news, I suspect, for those who were looking for a change from the strongly conservative approach of John Paul II.

Knowing Mormon History

For this week's online essay, try Knowing History, and Knowing Who We Are, by David McCullough (a repost at Meridian Magazine). McCullough, of course, provided the narrator's voice for Ken Burns' documentary The Civil War. I see his photo, I hear "the voice." Here's a line from the first paragraph: "Lord Bolingbroke, who was an 18th century political philosopher, said that history is philosophy taught with examples." Here are a few notes I made applying McCullough's thoughts to Mormon history.

America on Trial

In America on Trial (2004), Alan Dershowitz looks at great trials in US history from a defense lawyer's perspective. These cases open a view on some strangely revealing pages of history such as the cases of Shoeless Joe Jackson, Colonel Billy Mitchell, and Alger Hiss, but I'll just touch on a few cases that might be of particular interest to DMI readers: the Salem witchcraft trials, the Leo Frank affair, the Scopes trial, and Lawrence v. Texas.

Book Search

Someone is looking for books on Mormon doctrine. Here was his request from a comment in a previous thread: I am looking for books on Mormon theology (specifically, what Mormons believe about God, Christ, salvation, etc.) -- but I am NOT all that interested in the history of the Mormon church (which seems to be what most of the books out there focus on).

A starting place would be the Church's own publication, available online, True to the Faith, but the treatment is pretty elementary. Anyone else have other suggestions?

Bloggernacle Times - Issue No. 9

The Bloggernacle Times is a weekly online periodical written by several bloggers drawn from the LDS blogging community. Here is the most recent table of contents:

Weekly Zeitgeist by Steve
Ways of Knowing by Clark Goble
Is the Pope in Heaven? by Ronan James Head
A Quiet Celebration of 175 Years by Justin Butterfield
The Last Word by Dave

Sisters on Missions

Young women who serve LDS missions aren't as visible as the young men in white shirts on bicycles, but they are out there. They call each other "Sister," which must be as puzzling to average folks as the young men who call each other Elder. And while it was once the exception that young women served an 18-month mission, it seems to have really caught on the last ten years or so. Here's an article profiling two sister missionaries serving in Massachussetts. It states: "Single women make up 18 percent of the entire 56,000 worldwide missionary force." And they're all volunteers! (I'm not sure you can say that about all the young men serving).

Discussion question: If you're LDS, would you advise your daughter to serve a mission?

Owing the Vatican

For this week's online essay, I recommend Christianity's Debt to the Vatican, by Peterson and Hamblin. They reflect on John Paul II, "a talented writer, a linguist, and a trained philosopher, as well as an attractively athletic, approachable, guitar-playing pastor," and ask what we as LDS should make of him and the Catholic church. They give a generous summary of historical contributions for which all Christians should be grateful, and conclude that we are all "indebted to the Church of Rome and to its popes. And, among these, John Paul II was clearly one of the greatest."

Good Clean Fun?

Or Sin City? Read what the ministers of Salt Lake say about a visit to Las Vegas. Opinions vary from one who "enjoys an occasional visit to the Strip" (a JW), to "[u]sing $20 for entertainment is okay" (a Methodist), to "out-of-control gambling isn't smart" (a Congregationalist), to being "against gambling in any form" (guess who?). This is a pretty bold article for the Deseret News just ten days after Pres. Hinckley's big "Don't Bet On It" talk. The funniest line is about the Catholic cathedral just off the Strip that attracts 7000 people per weekend, about 75% of whom are "tourists." Praying, no doubt, for ... good luck?

Teens and Religion

At the religion journalism site The Revealer, a post titled Moralistic Therapeutic Deism reviews the book Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers (OUP, 2005). I'm sure this book is just flying off the shelves at Deseret Book, given the recent Presidential Seal of Approval from Pres. Hinckley in Conference. Uh, would DB even stock an OUP title that presents actual data on religious practice? [Note: DB.com notes they are "temporarily out of stock."] Okay, so maybe Amazon is doing a brisk business to its Utah demographic this week. You may not buy the book, but if you at least read the linked review and the interesting comments that follow it, you can hold your own around the water cooler next week.

Talkin' 'bout the end of the world

You too? For a small town in Texas, this could be the day. Photos of the locals at the linked story simply must not be missed. All things considered (*cough*, Waco, *cough*), the locals seem to be taking things pretty well. Long shots of the FLDS temple bear a striking resemblance to the St. George temple, don't you think? I'll add updates below as the day progresses:

• KSL reports a quiet day in Eldorado so far, and posts a nice photos of the FLDS temple here.
• KSL radio reports lots of activity at the FLDS compound on the night of April 6.
• A San Antonio radio station reports situation calm in Eldorado as of the morning of April 7. The story notes the FLDS sect"is notoriously secretive," prompting allusions to David Koresh and the Branch Davidians in 1993.

Church Size and Growth

From the Episcopal News Service (in a post shown on the newly installed BCC Sideblog box on my left sidebar), a story giving 2004 growth rates of major US denominations, using data from a National Council of Churches publication. The LDS Church is now listed at the fourth-largest US denomination. Here's the roll call:

• Jehovah's Witnesses (1.04 million), growth rate of 1.82 percent.
• LDS Church (5.5 million), growth at 1.71 percent.
• Assemblies of God (2.73 million), growth at 1.57 percent.
• Roman Catholic (67.3 million), growth at 1.28 percent.
• Southern Baptist Convention (16.4 million), growth at 1.18 percent.
• Episcopal Church (2.32 million), growth at 0.57 percent.
• United Methodist Church (8.25 million), growth at 0.002 percent (that's about 165 people).

Bloggernacle Times - Issue No. 8

Editor's Introduction by Dave
General Conference and Me by Ronan Head
A Promising Start by Dave
Conference and Science by Clark Goble
You Must Burn the Book! by Justin Butterfield
Weekly Zeitgeist by Steve

Perceptive Paper

For this week's online essay (courtesy of Nauvoo Neighbor) I offer The Place of Mormon Women: Perceptions, Prozac, Polygamy, Priesthood, Patriarchy, and Peace, by Andrea Radke, PhD. Yes, that is really the name of the paper. Well, at least she didn't throw in Pregnant. I perused this perceptive paper, and proudly proclaim it professional, if perhaps not profound. Pointedly proper, it is a pensive paean promoting present policy. Publicly!

Be Kind to Your Neighbor

Your Nauvoo Neighbor, that is. This is a new blog in an old shell, and the new editorial staff, emulating its new namesake, promises to "endeavor to cultivate a friendly feeling towards all, and not interfere with the rights of others, either politically or religiously." So do unto the Neighbor as ye would have others do unto thy blog: go read, and leavest thou comments!

New Sideblog

Stretching my coding skills to the limit, I managed to install a working sideblog on my left sidebar, under "Sideblog." I even managed to bold the links in just that particular section of the weblog. A sideblog is a great way to put up bite-size notes with links to media stories or other blog posts without wringing out a full-fledged blog post. You can still leave comments, of course -- at the linked weblog post (if it's one of those rare days when Blogger comments is working). Thanks to J. Stapley for timely technical advice.