Mormon Bloggers

Easter is a month away and my thoughts are turning to one of the most sacred events in the history of humanity. While our culture and society today has created a more commercialized version of Easter as that of easter egg hunts, the easter bunny, and an excuse to munch on chocolate (as well as [...]  Read More →

My grandmother used to talk about how her father (who immigrated here from Switzerland in his 20’s) would scream at the parts of Hitler’s speeches that were broadcast over the radio when she was a child.  I had forgotten about that until Saturday afternoon, when I saw part of Glenn Beck’s speech at the CPAC conference. Now there is little love lost between myself and Mr. Beck. We may indeed be members of the same church and express faith in the same basic religious doctrines and creeds, but the similarity stops there.  I find his views odious, his demeanor to be paranoid to the point of derangement, and his general methods of reasoning to be inferior to those of my toddler when she comes to a conclusion on any topic whatsoever.  For those very reasons, I avoid his cable show like the plague, do not listen to his radio show, and generally treat any broadcast media that features his presence as a contagious disease.  Nevertheless, Saturday afternoon I could not draw... Read the rest of this entry »

If you are uncertain, then no, the image above is not an abstract one of Mickey Mouse’s dog, nor is this post in reference to him, (though I wish him birthday greetings as well, whenever they may be) but in reference to the Celestial Body formerly known as the 9th planet in our solar system, Pluto, which was discovered 80 years today by Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh. Some Plutonian Fun Facts: Due to Pluto’s highly irregular orbit (it actually spends a considerable amount of time within the orbit of Neptune) its distance from the sun varies from 4.4-7.3 Billion miles. It takes Pluto approximately 248 years to orbit the Sun (So in the time since it’s discovery, it has only made approximately 1/3 of a single orbit.) While Pluto follows the naming trend in our Solar System of naming celestial bodies for mythological characters, the first letters in its name are also intended as a tribute to Percival Lowell, the man who paid for the Arizona observatory where Tombaugh Worked. Pluto... Read the rest of this entry »

65 years ago today, soldiers of the 322nd Rifle Division of the Soviet Army entered the perimeter of KZ Auschwitz-Birkenau, liberating the camp.  The soldiers found 7,500 survivors who had not been sent on death marches into Germany.  1.1 Million people are estimated to have been slaughtered at Auschwitz. May we never forget, and in remembering strive that such horrors may never again be repeated. Posted in History  Read More →

Several weeks ago in Graduate Seminar, I had the opportunity to revisit E. P. Thompson’s The Making of the English Working Class For those of you unfamiliar with this book, I would somewhat hesitate to recommend it to you, as it is 800+ pages long and even I find it rather exhausting.  His premise however is something that bears consideration.  Thompson’s focus is on the development of a “class consciousness” among the English workers, and he sees the inexorable decline in the standard of living of English artisans and craftsmen as being a primary factor in that development.  What is fascinating is that Thompson attributes this decline far less to the development of new technologies (the steam engine, the power loom, or the turbine) and far more to the weakening of the protective regulations which allowed the various associations of professional craftsmen to determine apprenticeships, and the standards of craftsmanship necessary to be considered a member of the trade.  With... Read the rest of this entry »

The cross is a symbol that causes several types of reactions. In today’s pop culture, the cross is an icon that is used perhaps as a good luck charm than a statement of belief. To the agnostic or atheists who are growing bolder in proclaiming disbelief, the cross is spat upon as a mythical hoax [...]  Read More →

Four Simple Ideas For Keeping A Daily Journal is a post from: Rickety Though I keep a journal now, it has not always been a part of my life. I always thought of journal writing as something that is done for my children, or grandchildren. Planning on writing for these future generations, I systematically rationalized myself out of writing in my journal thinking that the events in my life were too trivial to write to about. My journal consisted of an entry once every few months, but sometimes going years between writing. One day on my mission I read an old Ensign article about the anniversary of Wilford Woodruff’s birth. President Woodruff is known in part for his journal writing, so there were several quotes in the article about journals. One impacted me deeply, encouraging children to start keeping journals early in their lives. He said: “If my young friends will begin to do this and continue it, it will be of far more worth than gold to them in a future day.” (Journals: “Of... Read the rest of this entry »

The following dialogue is occurring over at TILM’s blog. 6 Responses to this post. Posted by Timothy Berman on January 12, 2010 at 7:40 pm So, would you agree that if someone posted the following Billboard message, that it is okay and correct? Christians celebrate and worship Human Sacrifice as an appeasement to a better life. Reply This first comment [...]  Read More →

A recent news article appeared in the Idaho State Journal. This article focuses on billboards that are appearing in Pocatello, Idaho. The subject of these billboards – to promote the long held modern Christian Evangelical perspective that Mormon’s are not Christians. This is typically provisioned with the mantra “We are not attacking the Mormon’s, we [...]  Read More →

There is a tradition in the church (based on a statement in the Lectures on Faith) that Melchizedek was Shem, son of Noah. While this may or may not be true, there is a great deal more that we know about him from the Joseph Smith Translation of the bible. For example, we know that: He had strong faith, and even as a child stopped the mouths of lions. Through his faith, he quenched the violence of fire. He was a high priest in the Melchizedek (or Holy) priesthood. He was the King of Salem, and was called a prince of peace. He and his people sought to join their city with that of Enoch. Having obtained such peace, he was called by his people the king of heaven, or the King of peace. He was keeper of the storehouse of God, and collected the tithes of the people. Obviously, Melchizedek was a great man, and though we know little about the details of these facts, they certainly cast a light on the righteousness of the man, and his closeness to the Lord. Here’s the record: Genesis 14:25-40 25... Read the rest of this entry »

One of my passions is Archaeology. More specifically, my affinity is toward Mesoamerican Archaeology and New World (South American as well as North American) Archaeology. While browsing one of the discussion boards I frequent, someone posted a link to a recent article by Martti Parssinen, Denise Schaan, and Alceu Ranzi. This article is entitled Pre-Columbian [...]  Read More →

Today we bid farewell to 2009.  Note that I said “bid farewell” not “bid a fond farewell” for I doubt that I am the only one who looks on the past year with emotions less than fond.  This was the year that our collective chickens came home to roost.  The year that Californians worst fears about our State Government came true, (they really don’t know what they’re doing, and couldn’t care less how badly their ineptitude hurts us.)  This was the year that we were reminded that Friedman-style economics means debt, debt, economic collapse and unemployment.  (A note to all you disciples of Ayn Rand out there, take note of the example of your fellow Randian Alan Greenspan and the next time you decide to experiment with the tenets of your ideological system, don’t nearly bring down western civ in the process.) And this was the year we were reminded that in trying to please everyone, one ends up pleasing no one.  (President Obama’s bipartisan strategy seems to bear this... Read the rest of this entry »