Dave's Mormon Inquiry

Genesis and Genre

When we read Genesis, what exactly are we reading? The distinctions and categories we modern readers bring to books and narratives (fiction or nonfiction; science or folk tale; history or literature; poetry or prose; author's original text or quoted source) may not serve us well when we read the Old Testament, a collection of ancient literature. Its writers used different conventions. What were they? What exactly are we reading when we read Genesis?

Lineage: A Troubling Concept

Here's a quote from Lesson 7, "The Abrahamic Covenant," that caught my attention in Sunday School:

The great majority of those who become members of the Church are literal descendants of Abraham through Ephraim, son of Joseph. Those who are not literal descendants of Abraham and Israel must become such, and when they are baptized and confirmed they are grafted into the tree and are entitled to all the rights and privileges as heirs.

Big Orange is Back

For reasons known only to that composite persona known as "BT Editors," The Bloggernacle Times roared back to life last week. The move achieved complete tactical surprise — I used to edit the thing, and I didn't even know. This is an odd counterpoint to the recent renaissance of another classic, Mormon Stories: where MS will talk to anyone and everyone with something to say about Mormonism, the new BT hopes to set the standard for Bloggernacle navel-gazing. So I might as well dust off my dormant weekly Best of the Box series for the new BT. Coming soon to a big orange blog near you.

Mormons and Prosperity

The Prosperity Gospel (which the linked Wikipedia article defines as "the notion that God provides material prosperity for those he favors") is often associated with Evangelical megapreachers. [Note 1.] But we all know there is a Mormon variation of the Prosperity Gospel lurking behind the ubiquitous references to blessings and how to earn them that populate LDS books, sermons, and discourse. So when I started reading my review copy of What the Scriptures Teach Us About Prosperity (Deseret Book, 2010) by S. Michael Wilcox, I was hoping that at some point the author would distinguish the Mormon view of prosperity from the Evangelical version of the Prosperity Gospel.