Dave's Mormon Inquiry

True to the Faith Posts

I recently imported to this site the six posts I did at By Common Consent back in 2005 on selected articles from the LDS booklet True to the Faith. The first post was A is for Agency, followed by body piercing, the cross, divorce, exaltation, and the family. I'm considering picking up with the series, starting (obviously) with the letter G. Any requests?

Hi Gang

Yes, I'm back here at DMI (the Typepad site) after a year blogging at Beliefnet. I've been fixing up the place in my spare time, so this site now sports:

• A new template and new banner image.
• A horizontal link bar just below the banner image. I always wanted one of those.

Posts from T&S and selected posts from Beliefnet have been imported for archiving purposes — without the comments and with links back to the original posts at those sites.

The End of a Long Campaign

And the end of an era, the era of conservative politics in America (at least in the executive branch), which stretches back to 1980 and possibly to 1968. Sen. McCain, an American hero who somehow missed his political moment in 2000, gave a gracious concession speech. President-elect Obama, who moves into the White House with clear majorities in both houses of Congress, gave an eloquent and rather restrained acceptance speech. It's over. Time to move on to something besides politics.

So, as promised, I'm going to take a break from the blog for a week or two. Or three. I'll be back.

Highlights

I re-added a dynamic list pulled from my Bloggernacle Hightlights feed to the right sidebar, which is just a display of the posts I tag as "share" from my Google Reader. I also updated my Google Reader by adding the 20 or so newer LDS blogs from the sidebar. I try to favor solo blogs when I tag posts for the Highlights feed, but those group blogs just put up so many interesting posts ... By the way, there's a nice post over at Blognitive Dissonance talking about the handy Google Reader and its share function. Mine is a public feed (see here), so anyone who is clever can add it to their own sidebar. [Hint: right click for "View Source" and just copy the code in my sidebar.]

New Year Template

Happy New Year, everyone. Seems like the right time to drop autumn colors and go with the minimalist light blue template, so I switched my blog colors. The light blue has sort of a silvery, wintery feel to it I think. Somewhere down my list of New Year's Resolutions I also have items like update my list of books on the sidebar and post more than once per week, but those will take some time to deliver on. I'm also thinking of doing some sort of weekly post on this year's Sunday School curriculum (Book of Mormon), although the field is a little crowded. Any suggestions? Any requests (besides fewer posts on politics and more on Evangelicals)?

Update: I overhauled the sidebars too, dropping my "Net & 'Nacle" feature, moving all the book thumbnails to the left sidebar (I need some color to balance out all this blueness), and re-added my Greatest Hits and Book of Mormon post lists to the right sidebar along with all the other links.

Holidays Are Here

So why am I so busy? No time to post lately -- maybe Christmas will be different. In the meantime, get your holiday blog fix reading the Wasp's Thanksgiving in the Pen or Splendid Sun's Thanksgiving Among the Mormons.

Fall Colors

I can't whip up fancy banner-box images like the clever folks at Nine Moons, but it does seem like it's time for a change. Seeing I had a lovely drive through the mountains yesterday and saw the leaves turning orange and yellow and brown, I'll go with a mellow brown look for the new template. Same content, just fall colors. No posts planned for a couple of days, but I'm updating Net & 'Nacle with a couple of juicy links.

Net & Nacle

Time for a little feedback on the "Net & Nacle" sidebar/miniblog that I've been running for a month, or comments on the substance of any of the visible mini-posts. I like it because I can put up a mini-post in 5 minutes; because I can throw in some images to add some color to the page; because I don't have to deal with comments; and because I can mini-blog some topics that I don't generally post about in the main column. I've sort of been neglecting my Long Column of Books -- that's my next project, I guess.

Back in Business

Okay, I think I'm ready to step back into the three-ring circus called blogging, with a new and improved template sporting the stylishly assymetrical 2-column-right design. The main text column is also wider. I confess, this is a canned Typepad design, minimizing site maintenance -- hey, I'm a content guy, not a techie. This means no numbers on the comments and no fancy banner image, but that's about the only downside. I added a Feedback Box (using meebo) in sidebar two -- feel free to drop a note and maybe (if I'm online) get an instant reply. [FYI, the text and any reply appear on your page, but not on anyone else's view of the site.]

Other features I have added or updated in the sidebars:

• In sidebar 1, a "Net & Nacle" sideblog, updated daily, with a clever image thrown in when I can find one to give the column a little color.
• A "Bloggernacle Highlights" list of links, with three to six B'nacle posts added daily.
• At the top of sidebar 1, a link to the same "Bloggernacle Hightlights" posts displayed on a page in full text or excerpt format.
• A list of updated Google News stories on Mormonism.
• The five most recent posts from Get Religion.
• Links, blogrolls, a category cloud, and my sitecounter.
• In sidebar 2, a long column of book thumbnails which link to Amazon (to purchase the book) and text links below each cover shot linking to reviews on this site or posts at other sites.

Questions? Comments? Complaints?

Blog Vacation

I have some projects that need my full attention over the next couple of months, so I'm granting myself a blog vacation — no new posts in the center column until August. However, I did plan ahead and things will still be happening here at DMI:

• I will still be posting daily links and comments in the "Posts of the Day" section of the left sidebar (under "Notes from the 'Nacle" and "Notes from the 'Net"). These are almost mini-blog posts (but they only take about five minutes to post).
• The LDS Headlines feeds on the right sidebar update automatically several times per day as the Google News and Deseret News pages post new stories.
• My Bloggernacle Feed (just the shared posts from my Google Reader) farther down the right sidebar will also show three or four new entries per day, sort of a daily "highlights of the Bloggernacle" list.
• Finally, I'm still happy to respond to email from readers with pressing questions on LDS doctrine or history. Just use the "Email Me" link at the top of the right sidebar.

I hope to update the blog features a bit when I return. Gotta keep up with all those fancy WordPress sites.

[Note: First posted June 3, 2007. I've changed the date a time or two to keep this post on top during my "blog vacation."]

I Wish to Thank ...

The 2006 Niblets have been posted — my thanks to those who kindly voted for DMI in the "best solo blog" category. ZD even posted graphical displays of the results, which makes me wonder why there wasn't a "best graphics" or "best images" category. Maybe next year. The upgraded-to-WordPress Mormon Wasp and the reliably green Mormanity, two of my favorite LDS weblogs, also scored well in the voting.

I celebrated by adding 50 pixels to my center column (from 400 to 450), so you will now get about 12% more words per vertical inch of screen. I managed to successfully recalibrate the placement of my banner image and the comment box. If I missed something, let me know.

Bookstore Upgrade

Amazon recently added some extra functionality to their Associate bookstore program, so yesterday I began upgrading the DMI Bookstore. I put together a display page showing LDS New Testament books, given that the Sunday School curriculum in 2007 covers the New Testament. The three on the top line are all new books: a new biography of Paul; an illustrated volume by three LDS scholars entitled Jesus Christ and the World of the New Testament, which Deseret has been promoting heavily so you have probably seen the cover; and the new paperback edition of Sisters at the Well, stressing the role of women in the life and teachings of Jesus. The new store also provides customized pages for specific titles linked from the bookstore (click on one of the links above to check it out). Very nice.

Bookstore Upgrades

I upgraded the Mormon Inquiry Bookstore, adding blurbs to each of the nine books featured on the main page and adding Bart Ehrman's new book The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot to the display. I'd be interested in feedback from anyone who has used the bookstore through the checkout and payment phase, for example the two people who recently purchased Between the Testaments using links from this site (thanks!).

Blog Updates

The work of a blogmaster is never done. I replaced the sideblog on the right sidebar with a blogroll of "DMI's Greatest Hits," 24 posts drawn from the 511 (now 512) that I have posted since moving DMI over to this Typepad site in March 2004. Stats: 9 of the 24 relate to LDS history; 10 of the 24 are based on or flow from a book I read. On the left sidebar, I created a new list, "Bible Books," and added a few of the Old Testament books I've been working on lately. For a nice listing of useful supplements to reading the Old Testament, go peruse A Call for Old Testament Help at LDSLF. I picked up the name Robert Alter in that thread, which led me to The Literary Guide to the Bible (see sidebar) at my local library. It includes an excellent introductory essay by Alter, as well as a second short essay by him entitled "The Characteristics of Ancient Hebrew Poetry."

Gone Fishing

Back in a couple of months.

New Content

I'm experimenting with Typepad's new XML feed option, which puts the name and post titles of a blog feed (or any XML feed) on the sidebar like any other blogroll. I put "the Big 3" on my left sidebar, plus a "variety feed" that will change every week or two. Try it out and see what you think. It's not the Archipelago page, but it's still pretty slick. Typepad users should really look into this new feature!

Update: I also added an Archipelago feed and the LDS Headlines feed. Both of these feeds are available to anyone who wants them by using "View Source" to see the code, then copying the JavaScript code for each feed into your own sidebar. I also revamped my stylesheet a little.

Blogroll Updates

I updated and renamed my Comments FAQ and put a prominent link to it over on the left sidebar. This should help commenters who get confused by the comment queue. I re-added "BH Blogs," a blogroll listing some of the fellow Blog Heaven weblogs that look interesting because (gasp) the regular batch of B'nacle blogs that I visit have been getting a tad boring lately. Maybe it's just summer doldrums. I dropped one blog from my "Other Blogs" list of B'nacle blogs. I really miss A Soft Answer and its regular posts on new Mormon and LDS blogs. Maybe I'll try my own "new blogs" post every couple of weeks. I think we're losing track of newcomers.

Splitting Time

I'm guest posting over at Banner of Heaven this week; here's my first post. It seems like a good opportunity to try out WordPress. It's good to get out and meet the new neighbors. And who can resist recycling old posts to a new audience? Drop in and leave a comment or something.

New and Improved Comments

I've turned on one of Typepad's new comment management features, the comment queue. It holds all comments for approval before posting to the public weblog. I'll try it out for a week; in return, I'll leave comments open for all posts and see how things go. Typepad added quite a few upgrades in the current batch of modifications: bandwidth and storage capacity has been doubled for all accounts; better template design tools were added; instant messaging can now be added to the sidebar content (I might take a whack at this one next week); and other comment management features (editing, IP banning) have been made much more accessible.

Go ahead and post a comment here to test out the delayed comment feature. As with all new features, response times may be a bit slow at first. I'll get to the queue at least once a day.

Viewer Mail

There have been some changes to the blog this week ... anyone notice? I went off comments cold turkey and the world didn't stop turning. I added some commercial content on the right sidebar to help defray the fifteen bucks a month my Typepad Pro account costs, but I'm also curious to see what shows up as content. Like the colors? I can change 'em. I started adding images to some posts. I changed the post titles to a blue font. And, just tonight, I added my first LDS fiction book, OSC's The Folk of the Fringe, as my Book o' Month. Whaddya think? Comments enabled.

Comment Fatigue

My thanks to all who have contributed comments since March 2004, when I first migrated to Typepad and enabled comments. However, managing comments has become more of a challenge the last couple of months, so I'm moving to trackbacks rather than comments for most posts. You still have three good options for commenting on posts: (1) Comment as a post on your own weblog, with or without a trackback to my post; (2) Email me your comment and get a personal reply; or (3) Just grasp your monitor with both hands and shout at the screen. No, I won't hear you, but you'll feel much better when you're done. It works great for driving anyway.

Sidebar Shuffle

I felt the urge to tinker with the blog template, and shuffling the sidebar material was the easiest thing to play with. Besides, I missed my books, which now fill the left sidebar top to bottom. On the right, I snipped the Recent Comments scroll to eight entries, which keeps my Sideblog (now nestled below the Recent Comments list) visible "above the fold" on the main page. I also added my Group Blogs and Solo Blogs lists, which show a healthy selection of Bloggernacle sites, back to the sidebar, and did some clean-up work on those lists. Whaddya think?

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.

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.

Blogroll Updates

In the competitive Solo Blogs category, dropped one and added three. The new additions: First, LDEssays (or LDeSsays, as proposed by the proprietor) offers commentary on a variety of Mormon topics by a well-degreed homeschooler who happens to also be a well-published author. If you have experience installing Folio Infobase, an LDS research package, you might go by and offer some helpful advice. Second, I added the LDS Liberation Front, by two bloggers with picturesque names and an interest in liberation theology. Finally, there's Viva Ned Flanders, which probably means more to regular Simpsons fans than to me.