Mormon Bloggers

Don’t raise taxes to balance to the budget. Cut the budget to meet the taxes.  Read More →

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Of the “Big Three” moral philosophies, virtue ethics seems to be the most problematic. Criticisms and rebuttals of the other two theories, utilitarianism and deontology, are relatively simple to state and understand, or at least I found them so. On the other hand, I was able to easily compile a dozen criticisms of virtue ethics from a very few professional papers on the subject in a short amount of time. That intrigued me. In this paper I intend to defend virtue ethics as the best moral philosophy by addressing several of the excellent criticisms. The theory is straight-forward: Moral life should have a purpose and lead to happiness. Virtue ethics is about building character. Developing good moral character leads to contentment that comes from “doing the right thing.” This moral theory is not about rules or something called “utility.” Virtue ethics requires a lifetime of practice to develop. The way to become a moral person is to be moral. This theory is more about being or... Read the rest of this entry »

Imagine you are a fish in a pond. While in school, your teacher tries to convince you that it is impossible to see through water.  Of course this seems ridiculous to you at first, but then he stirs up the mud at the bottom of the pond.  Soon the entire pond is completely clouded.  You cannot even see the fish around you or the teacher.  “See?”  Your teacher says, “you are in water and you cannot see.  Now you know that it is impossible to see through water.” Some of you and your classmates recognize that it is not water that is blocking your vision, but the mud that your teacher spread in front of you that makes it impossible to see.  You recognize that when the mud settles, you will again be able to see again like normal, because the mud and water will again be separated. But some of the fish begin to feel confused and lost.  In panic, they turn to the teacher for help.  The teacher replies, “The only safe place is the bottom of the pond.  At least there, you can feel... Read the rest of this entry »

Several years ago a news reporter by the name of Mike Wallace conducted an interview with President Gordon B. Hinckley which was then aired on the news program called “60 Minutes”. In the interview he suggested that some people might say that the LDS Church is a “gerontocracy, this is a church run by old men.” To that query President Hinckley replied, “”Isn’t it wonderful? To have a man of maturity at the head, a man of judgment, who isn’t blown about by every wind of doctrine?” I was reminded of President Hinckley’s statement while recently studying in the Old Testament book of 1 Kings. Solomon, the son of David, had just recently died and the Kingdom was at a very volatile point politically. The folly of King Solomon, in his quest for riches and power, had created an undue burden on the people who were subject to him by way of heavy taxation even to the point of slavery. Upon Solomons death the kingdom became divided in their opinions as to... Read the rest of this entry »