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Warfare and the Book of Mormon: Military Participation Ratio and Wrong Numbers

noreply@nothingwavering.org (No Reply) — Fri, 24 May 2013 22:31:00 -0700

Further, I find it odd that Mormon would begin his war of survival with 30,000 soldiers. (Mormon 2:42) But after many years of defeats, defections, and the loss of their capital city and lands, he had 7 times that number in the final battle. (Just from a logistical point of view I have a problem with this increase.) But when you look at the MPR this supposedly sudden increase in size makes more sense. The Military Participation Ratio is a formu...
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FAIR Blog: 4th_Watch_6:Presentism, Idiomsm, Homonyms and other Scams

noreply@nothingwavering.org (No Reply) — Fri, 24 May 2013 21:00:00 -0700

by Ned Scarisbrick on May 24th, 2013 Throughout the history of mankind we have endeavored to explain the world in which we live in through a variety of media. Rather than pointing to something and saying ugh, ugh, over time we invented language and the written word to communicate more effectively with each other. In this podcast we will look at how the true meaning or original intent of a text can or ...
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Zarahemla Times: Hey, kids!

noreply@nothingwavering.org (No Reply) — Fri, 24 May 2013 17:04:00 -0700

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of the summer season. We're still working on our vacation plans, but what could be better than a theme park with the family, right?

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Heavenly Ascents: New Material on TempleStudies.org

noreply@nothingwavering.org (No Reply) — Fri, 24 May 2013 12:27:00 -0700

I have recently been contributing a bit to the website of the Academy for Temple Studies – www.templestudies.org. As Bryce Haymond has recently posted information about some of this new material, I will just re-post here from his blog, TempleStudy.com.

An “Enoch and the Temple” conference occurred in February 2013, with a keynote by George Nickelsburg.Videos of the conference are now available.
The Temple Studies Bibliography has been updated again, with inclusions of 900 more titles since its launch in the Fall of 2012, including a number of dissertations on temple themes. The bibliography is over 700 typed pages long!
A list of online Enoch resources has been posted.
Book reviews, Article Abstracts, and Dissertation Abstracts have also now begun to be posted to the site, coming from titles in the Temple Studies Bibliography.

I am contributing mostly to the book reviews section and also the Enoch section. The online Enoch resources are quite extensive and we hope to have more put up in the very near future. New material is posted there quite frequently, so if you have interest in the fields of temple and/or Enoch studies, check the site often for updates. Otherwise, You can also subscribe by email to get updates as soon as they’re posted.

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Mormon Interpreter: Finding Parallels: Some Cautions and Criticisms, Part Two - Benjamin L. McGuire

noreply@nothingwavering.org (No Reply) — Fri, 24 May 2013 11:04:00 -0700

Discovering parallels is inherently an act of comparison. Through comparison, parallels have been introduced frequently as proof (or evidence) of different issues within Mormon studies. Despite this frequency, very few investigations provide a theoretical or methodological framework by which the parallels themselves can be evaluated. This problem is not new to the field of Mormon studies but has in the past plagued literary studies more generally. In Part One, this review essay discusses present and past approaches dealing with the ways in which parallels have been used and valued in acts of literary comparison, uncovering the various difficulties associated with unsorted parallels as well as discussing the underlying motivations for these comparisons. In Part Two, a methodological framework is introduced and applied to examples from Grunder’s collection in Mormon Parallels. In using a consistent methodology to value these parallels, this essay suggests a way to address the historical concerns associated with using parallels to explain both texts and Mormonism as an historical religious movement. Continue reading →
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Keepapitchinin: The Deeper Melody — Chapter 6

noreply@nothingwavering.org (No Reply) — Fri, 24 May 2013 11:00:00 -0700

By: Ardis E. Parshall - May 24, 2013 The Deeper Melody By Alice Morrey Bailey Previous chapter Chapter 6 Synopsis: Steven Thorpe, a widower with three small children, is in love with Margaret Crain, a registered nurse who has taken care of his baby during an attack of pneumonia. Margaret’s mother, a widow, is temporarily acting as Steven’s housekeeper, and Margaret has accepted the position of night superintendent at the hospital unt...
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Junior Ganymede: Married, RM Animators

noreply@nothingwavering.org (No Reply) — Fri, 24 May 2013 08:24:00 -0700

This article about BYU’s animation studio is the cat’s miaow, and it brings together three important JG themes:

1. Weapons-grade Mormonism. The gospel is an Archimedean lever. It’s always busting leaks in the walls of rational calculation. We’d know this from experience even if we didn’t know it from scripture .

2. Pop culture is filth. The reporter laughs at our sensitivities a little bit, little realizing how desensitized he is himself. If he went on media diet for awhile and then went back, he’d know what we know.

3. Salvation is dark and bloody ground. Life is messier and more muddied than we Mormons usually want to know. The atonement–the torture and death of the the world’s best man–is the center of the gospel, and we forget it at our peril.

On a personal note, I had an experience like the one fella in the article, who felt liberated going off to school in embracing his inner Saint. I love BYU for that.

[Hat tip to MC]

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Mormanity: Arabia's Hidden Valley: Guest Post by Warren Aston

noreply@nothingwavering.org (No Reply) — Fri, 24 May 2013 07:30:00 -0700

ARABIA’S HIDDEN VALLEY

A strictly scientific look at Khor Kharfot

as a candidate for Nephi’s Bountiful

Warren P. Aston

Regular readers will be aware that most LDS researchers have long regarded the inlet of Khor Kharfot in southern Oman as the most plausible location matching Nephi’s very detailed description (1 Nephi 17:5-16, 18:1-8) of “Bountiful,” the place of abundance where he built his ship. Despite this, as of early 2013 most of the basic scientific research into the geology, fauna, paleo and modern flora and archaeology of the place remains to be done.

Over several decades of exploration and research at the site, I have benefited from the generous assistance of many non-LDS scholars. Indeed, most of the data we have about the place has come from non-LDS researchers. For example, the only proper archaeological appraisal of Khor Kharfot ever made was by an Italian archaeologist back in 1992. None has been done since.

The site is now threatened by development and is already under stress. Most of the abundant water run-off from the surrounding mountains has been diverted to local villages and no longer reaches the inlet. The large trees there are dying and the vegetation is visibly changing.

In the hope that additional non-LDS scholars will recognize that Kharfot deserves attention for reasons other than what may have happened there 2600 years ago - and become involved in teasing out the parameters of the place and placing it on record - I have published a paper titled “Arabia’s Hidden Valley: A Unique Habitat in Dhofar Captures Arabia's Past.”

The paper has just appeared (in print and online) in English and Arabic from one of the leading organizations encouraging the awareness and conservation of wildlife in the Middle East, the Dubai-based Wildlife Middle East News (www.WMENews.com).

In the paper, I examine Khor Kharfot from strictly scientific perspectives, pointing out the unique features of this truly special place and the looming threats facing it.

Click on this link for the color PDF of the paper:

http://www.wmenews.com/newsletters/1366812925wmenews_V6_I4_eng.pdf

--Warren Aston

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Keepapitchinin: Remembering Slave Burial Sites: A Memorial Day Post

noreply@nothingwavering.org (No Reply) — Fri, 24 May 2013 05:30:00 -0700

Not long ago, Fordham University student Sandra Arnold was visiting a great aunt in Tennessee. Her great aunt mentioned the graves of Arnold’s great-grandparents, one of them a former slave. When Arnold went to visit the graves, and found her great-grandparents’ graves as well as an area of unmarked slave burials, she later told NPR, “I guess I was expecting a pretty small family plot and it was much bigger than I expected. I tell peopl...
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LDS Media Talk: Youth Lessons for June: Priesthood & Priesthood Keys

noreply@nothingwavering.org (No Reply) — Fri, 24 May 2013 04:32:00 -0700

Each month, LDS youth around the world study a different doctrinal principle that is coordinated across Young Men, Young Women, and youth Sunday School classes.

The topic for June is Priesthood and Priesthood Keys. Young men will learn their priesthood duties and come to understand how they can bless Heavenly Father’s children through their worthy exercise of the priesthood. Young women will learn more about the priesthood and how it can bless them now and in all their future roles as daughters of God. These lessons will help both young women and young men learn that the priesthood is the power of God used to bless all of His children equally, both male and female.

Parents, grandparents, siblings, and leaders can help the youth learn these doctrines if they will study the doctrines themselves and regularly discuss the doctrines with the youth during the month. Below is a list of the lessons that may be taught during the month. Quorum and class presidencies and leaders will use the Spirit to determine what is taught.

You may also want to refer to the following resources:

Read the Gospel Topic Priesthood.
Read the chapters “Priesthood” and “Priesthood Organization” in the Gospel Principles manual.
Read the chapter “The Keys of the Priesthood” in the manual Duties and Blessings of the Priesthood: Basic Manual for Priesthood Holders, Part B.
Watch Mormon Messages videos about the priesthood (enter “priesthood” in the search box on that page).
Watch recent videos about Strengthening the Family and the Church through the Priesthood.

The youth are encouraged to Learn the doctrine, Act upon it in some way, then Share what they have learned. Can you think of ways to help the youth Learn, Act, and Share?

Teachers

Teachers may want to refer to the step-by-step instructions on how to show media in the classroom.
There are also great teaching tip videos that will give you great ideas on how to encourage more discussion and teach effectively.

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Segullah: Alone in the Temple

noreply@nothingwavering.org (No Reply) — Fri, 24 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700

My first trip to the temple–June 1999

“Why didn’t you call me? You could have come with us!” My neighbor’s face was furrowed with concern, and mine was furrowed with confusion. It took me a moment to figure out what she was referring too—ward temple night. I had seen her, and many members of the ward, when we met together on Friday night to do a session at the temple. Flustered by her concern, I stumbled over my response: “I came straight from work; no, actually I picked up someone else and brought her but her husband took her home; um, well, I always go by myself.” She sighed and walked off down the hallway of the church, as baffled by my reaction to her concern as I was by her attempt to reach out to me. You see, I always go to the temple by myself. In fact, I prefer to attend alone and had almost not gone to ward temple night. I debated going for weeks beforehand, and I’m still not sure why I feel so uncomfortable being in the temple with people I know.

My first experiences with the temple were mostly solitary. I received my mission call in early May but did not need to report to the MTC until the end of August. My stake president counseled me to receive my endowment right away and attend the temple often before leaving on my mission. At the time my family was living in Maryland and it could take up to two hours in traffic to reach the Washington, DC temple. I still made a goal to attend once a week and managed to make it to the temple multiple times before entering the MTC. I would leave after work, fighting the traffic in my little un-airconditioned, stick-shift car—windows down to catch a bit of breeze and radio off to avoid distraction. I usually arrived at the temple a hot, sticky, stressed-out mess, but after a quick change in the lobby bathroom I felt presentable again. Two hours later I emerged from the temple into the cool evening air, at peace on the inside and outside.

After my mission I moved back to Utah and began dating a former elder from my mission. I enjoyed attending the temple with him, both before our marriage and after. Unfortunately, a short time after we got married, he stopped attending for a variety of reasons. I was back to going to the temple by myself, and for the most part I enjoy my own solitary retreat from the rest of the world. Sometimes I will go with a friend or two but I generally like the chance to be alone with my thoughts and the Spirit. When my marriage crumbled, I found strength and refuge in the individual covenants I had made in the temple. While there are some aspects of the temple ceremony that I am still pondering and making peace with, I will never deny the real power and love of God that I have felt poured out upon me while I am there.

However, I have talked to some other women who rarely attend the temple alone, or who feel like they can’t go without a friend or a spouse. Some of my friends have told me that the emphasis in the youth program on temple marriage, combined with their receiving their endowment shortly before their wedding, made it difficult for them to see the blessings of the temple for themselves as an individual. I think that one blessing of the lowered missionary age for women, and the subsequent increase in the number of sister missionaries, will be a greater emphasis on individual temple covenant making and temple attendance. I don’t say that to diminish the temple sealing ceremony in any way—marriage in the temple is still a crowning ordinance and a goal I still have for myself. But sometimes I worry that our emphasis on temple weddings means a lack of preparation for the endowment that comes prior to that wedding and that will be the focus of years of temple attendance after marriage. I am grateful that I had a solid foundation of temple attendance before my marriage because it made it easier to keep going once I no longer had a husband who shared my beliefs. I wouldn’t mind having a husband to go to the temple with again someday, but right now I really am all right with going alone.

What do you think? Do you prefer to attend the temple alone or with friends and/or family? What is the best way to teach our youth about the significance of the temple and the importance of life-long attendance?

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A Well-Behaved Mormon Woman: LDS Church Response: BSA Voting Members Approve Proposal Amidst Controversy

noreply@nothingwavering.org (No Reply) — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:45:00 -0700

Within minutes of The Boy Scouts of America releasing the victorious news that voting members have made history with the passing of their controversial proposal, which will allow openly gay youth to participate in the scouting program, effective Jan 1, 2014, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the Mormon Newsroom, promptly released an official statement of support for the the policy vote; clarifying how the moral standards of the Church will be maintained.

(excerpt)

The Church’s long-established policy for participation in activities is stated in the basic instructional handbook used by lay leaders of the Church: “young men … who agree to abide by Church standards” are “welcomed warmly and encouraged to participate” (Handbook 2: Administering the Church [2010], 8.17.3). This policy applies to Church-sponsored Scout units. Sexual orientation has not previously been—and is not now—a disqualifying factor for boys who want to join Latter-day Saint Scout troops. Willingness to abide by standards of behavior continues to be our compelling interest.

These standards are outlined in the booklet For the Strength of Youth and include abstinence from sexual relationships. We remain firmly committed to upholding these standards and to protecting and strengthening boys and young men.

See complete Newsroom release

This statement should not only make it clear to any media who are interested in knowing how the LDS Church will address the new BSA policy, but also be comforting to many members who have been concerned about how the Church would uphold standards of morality while at the same time allow openly gay youth to participate in the scouting program; which to my surprise, after writing this post: Boy Scouts of America Propose Brilliant Plan: Upset Pretty Much Everyone -- were more than a few. In fact, my referring to the proposal as brilliant went so far as to elicit a friend to message me and ask if I was smoking crack? And yes, that actually happened.

Not to minimize, but I realize that such a response was likely of the knee- jerk type, as were many of the first responses, and of those, many I'm sure have since had the time to reconsider the overall issue and perhaps, by now, or in the near future, will come to feel differently. I think that the Church news release (brilliant), that promptly followed, giving BSA the thumbs-up, so to speak, definitely helped turn the tide toward helping members, and others, to see the positives of the proposal. From what we've witnessed today, I think it's probably fair to say, that the little tip of the hat helped pave the way for the many positive responses that I've seen in today's announcement when the proposal passed; a much different response. I suppose we'll never know for sure, but I don't suppose it hurt any.

In discussing this issue with some, critical of the proposal, there seems to be a single, major frustration in the BSA proposal process: a seeming refusal to acknowledge the overall homosexual agenda involved, by both the LDS Church and BSA. I bring this up because it has been brought up in conversations I've had a few times, and frankly I think it's both an important and positive point; and one that I feel is intentional on the part of both parties. And, because I think it is answered easily in today's BSA statement:

(excerpt)

"The Boy Scouts of America will not sacrifice its mission, or the youth served by the movement, by allowing the organization to be consumed by a single, divisive, and unresolved societal issue. As the National Executive Committee just completed a lengthy review process, there are no plans for further review on this matter.

"While people have different opinions about this policy, we can all agree that kids are better off when they are in Scouting. Going forward, our Scouting family will continue to focus on reaching and serving youth in order to help them grow into good, strong citizens. America's youth need Scouting, and by focusing on the goals that unite us, we can continue to accomplish incredible things for young people and the communities we serve."

Read entire BSA statement

And in the case of the LDS Church on this matter: this is a BSA decision on how they will decide policy on homosexuality within their organization. Also, it is my opinion that it was never necessary for the Church to make any statement about its policy on homosexuality, as it is already clearly defined, and anyone who is interested in knowing the position of the Church can easily visit the Mormon Newsroom, or the new website mormonsandgays.org for updated information. And in fact, the same standards found online are also the same emphasized in the sources cited in the LDS Church BSA official response.

Speaking to the leadership of the Boy Scouts of America, at a breakfast prior to the controversial vote later in the day, Gary E. Stevenson, presiding bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gave a powerful address to a crowd of around 1,500, wherein he emphasized the foundation upon which BSA began and solidified the necessity that duty to God is where it must remain.

"We live at a time when there is great need for youth to look outward, focusing less on themselves and more on others. This is a time to reinforce and defend duty to God. That is the message of Scouting. It always has been, and ever should it be."

Updating...

tDMg
Kathryn Skaggs

Bishop Gary E. Stevenson Boy Scouts of America National Annual Meeting Keynote Speech

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The Millennial Star: Global cooling update

noreply@nothingwavering.org (No Reply) — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:37:00 -0700

The inconvenient truth is that global temperatures are slightly down over the last 10 years. Take a look at this graph: Surprised? I linked to this global temperature data and a shocked friend of mine asked, “what about the melting … Continue reading →

Global cooling update is a post from: The Millennial Star

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Keepapitchinin: Cumorah Hill

noreply@nothingwavering.org (No Reply) — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:00:00 -0700

By: Ardis E. Parshall - May 23, 2013 Cumorah Hill By J.M. White Fierce raged the fight; a wild, barbarian horde,Thirsting for blood, surged like a stormy sea,Around a little band, wielding the spear and sword,Seeking to live and evermore be free,Fast fell they there, as grass before the blade,Until but one remained, who then in deep despair,By night, in secret there, the tribal records laid,Then died alone, last of his nation there. The ...
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LDS Temple Study Blog: Book Reviews, Abstracts, Enoch Material at Academy for Temple Studies

noreply@nothingwavering.org (No Reply) — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:41:00 -0700

I want to draw your attention to great new temple-related material which has been posted at the Academy for Temple Studies website at TempleStudies.org.

An “Enoch and the Temple” conference occurred in February 2013, with a keynote by George Nickelsburg. Videos of the conference are now available.
The Temple Studies Bibliography has been updated again, with inclusions of 900 more titles since its launch in the Fall of 2012, including a number of dissertations on temple themes. The bibliography is over 700 typed pages long!
A list of online Enoch resources has been posted.
Book reviews, Article Abstracts, and Dissertation Abstracts have also now begun to be posted to the site, coming from titles in the Temple Studies Bibliography.

These are great new resources for any student of temple studies to increase in learning. You can also subscribe by email to the Academy for Temple Studies, to get updates as soon as they’re posted.

Book Reviews, Abstracts, Enoch Material at Academy for Temple Studies

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