February 2008 Entries
By: Paradox
And I don't mean the iPod touch.
By: Starfoxy
There is a pamphlet put out by the church that encourages parents to use proper names when discussing body parts.The use of proper names for body parts is something about which I feel very strongly.
By: The Baron
Among famous Mormons with high name recognition (excluding recent presidential candidates), retired QB Steve Young probably still ranks near the top, even among non-football fans.
During his Hall of Fame NFL career, Steve Young was widely celebrated both for on-the-field accomplishments, and additionally for being an 'ambassador' for the Church--someone who achieved great (secular) success without (to my knowledge) seriously compromising his LDS beliefs.
Well, other than the 'working on Sundays' thing, that is...
By: Stady Canton
(One of a series exploring religious themes in popular music and other media)
By: The Baron
"I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman!" -- Homer Simpson
There's little evidence that the Superman character was originally visualized as a Jesus Christ-substitute of sorts by his original creators in the 1930's--since in his initial form Superman couldn't fly, nor was he completely invulnerable to weaponry.
Nevertheless, in his later incarnations—especially in movie form starting with the original
“Superman” in 1978 to the recent 2006
“Superman Returns”--Superman has been ‘re-imagined’ as a “Christ-figure” with many (undoubtedly intentional) parallels. (Not least of which is his father Jor-El who watches Earth from afar, and sends his "only Son" there to be the "light that shows others the way".)
By: Drew
It was my first time attending a missionary farewell for a black elder. As I looked at the young man sitting on the stand I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride in the growing diversity of the Church.
This pride was quickly dashed by my yet unfulfilled hope - that LDS chapels would one day be crowded with whites, blacks, browns, and yellows. In the United States this was not the case. I had to admit to myself that this boy was an exception to the norm.
By: The Baron
Defenses of apathy are few and far between in the gospel. (See D&C 42:42, and 88:124 for counter-examples...) Here's one 'defense', however, for doing absolutely nothing.
The debate over illegal immigration has continued all over the US, especially in Utah where Church authorities have started to weigh in on the matter...
By: The Baron
The word "sin" is defined as: 'a transgression of divine law'
By: Drew
[From Waters of Mormon Admin: we are pleased to introduce 'Drew', who describes himself thusly:
"I am an active member of the Church residing in the country of Texas. I am currently busy working full-time, going to school full-time while trying to figure out how to be a good husband and father to a young family (and failing miserably most of the time).
I love the Restoration - the doctrine, the culture, and the history. I have a strong testimony and knowledge that this is the Lord's Church and we are involved in something truly celestial and heavenly."
"I am very involved in politics. Politically I am liberal and conservative. I enjoy the freedom of switching between the two depending on the discussion."
"I enjoy watching the world, trying to figure it out and make sense of it through my LDS paradigm."]
My father and I have spent hours upon hours arguing over the war on terrorism. His stance is that we need to confront this threat head on, which would include continuing our stability efforts in Iraq. My position is that we need to worry about the challenges we face at home, bringing our troops home and making the war on terrorism one of intelligence. We respect one another's position and frequently enjoy pointless debating into the late hours of the night.
By: The Baron
Within Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life (1st Nephi 8), he outlines four distinct groups of people (see verses 21 through 33 specifically)
- Those that make it to the Tree of Life by holding onto the Iron Rod and who stay faithful ever after.
- Those that make it to the Tree of Life, but fall away later, being "ashamed".
- Those that start on the path to the Tree of Life but become lost in the mist of darkness and "lose their way".
- Those that never start on the path at all, but head straight to the 'great and spacious building'.
It is that fourth group that will be the subject for today...
By: Eric Nielson
A unique doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is that of a pre mortal existence. We believe that we exited as spirits prior to our mortal life on earth. The church teaches that God is our Heavenly Father, and that He is the father of our spirits. We believe that Christ is the first born of all the spirit children of Heavenly Father.