In Mormondom, there’s doctrine and there’s speculation. Sometimes there isn’t an obvious difference between the two, which is why I have what I call the “Larry King Rule.” This rule imagines what President Hinckley would say about a given doctrine if he were being quizzed by Larry King (as he occasionally is). So, in relation to the threads both here and at T&S that have discussed “celestial sex,” I suggest we create the following imaginary conversation:
Flesh and bone. While many consider such to be the vulgarity of mortality, to Mormons, this is the substance of transcendence. Flesh and bone is but part of the iconoclasm that quickens the faith of Joseph’s followers; but, it is also from the corpus of the Prophet that the seed of controversy emerges. This uncertainty is nowhere more evident than when we consider our origin as children of God.
Two years ago Dialogue issued a call for papers which asked interested persons to respond to the following question: “What relationship(s) do persons with disabilities negotiate with both the institutional Church and the Mormon folk?†Our decision to run a series of articles on this topic derived from the suggestion of a member of our board of directors who has an autistic son. As you can see from the following list of subsidiary questions which our call proposed, we hoped the consequent submissions would be wide ranging in their consideration:
Authors are particularly invited to submit articles and essays addressing aspects of these questions:
- Given that persons with disabilities and their caretakers are often sensitive, what terminology is appropriate?
- What differences are there in the problems facing the physically disabled and the mentally impaired?
- What are the theological implications of persons with disabilities? What are the moral implications?
- What programs and social services for persons with disabilities are provided by the Church? Which seem successful and which less so? What is missing?
- What attitudes do Mormon folk show toward persons with disabilities?
- What is being done to improve the lot of persons with disabilities among the Mormons? What more could be done?
St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church was built in Elora in 1842. However, I was oblivious to its existence until 1985. That year, my cousin was asked to be a candle boy in a Christmas Eve service, due to his new school’s affiliation with the church. The family faced a dilemma – should we go? We never went to church. Not on Christmas, not at any other time during the year. And Christmas Eve was for talking, eating and watching Alistair Sim – not church. But we were a small group: one uncle, one aunt, one cousin, one grandmother, one great-aunt. The decision was made; we would go to church together and then return home for our usual festivities. (more…)
Dear Brother Joseph,
Like many of my fellow wanderers, I celebrate you this week. Yesterday was “Joseph†day at church, and I think you would have liked it: a youth talk with all the typical mythological worship-speak (You could do no wrong! Miracles and power! Boy genius!); a nice summary drawn from your mother’s memoir; and the coup de grace, a thorough, trembling tribute, not to the myth, but to the deconstruction of the myth, the kind of which we see far too little these days. (more…)
First of all, let’s make this clear:
Joseph Smith deserves to be celebrated. He is the founder of a major religion, a bona fide historical heavyweight, and revered prophet of millions. Nobody would begrudge a commemoration in favour of John Wesley or Ellen White. My sense is that Latter-day Saints are happy to honour Joseph’s 200th birthday…
…But there’s one problem, an elephant that I think may be in the room for some Mormons. If only his birthday were not on December 23! The exmo boards are all a-flutter over “Smithmas” (a nasty and pejorative word) and the Joseph “nativity” at BYU. No surprise there. But in my own ward yesterday, I sensed a distinct lack of enthusiasm for the Friday broadcast. No “bring your friends” invitation. No top-billing in the announcements. Instead, the congregation seemed (rightly) to prefer to concentrate on Christmas. I have even heard a few grumblings, especially over the Joseph-centric Christmas Ensign.
This is a tough issue. How do you tip one’s hat to the Prophet without being accused of celebrating “Smithmas”? Will TV clips of the Friday event make Mormons look like they “worship” Joseph (as they sing “Praise to the Man” and not “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”)? How are you handling the double celebration? Do you wish Joseph had been born in February?
There are ghettos in Mormon discourse. There is the ghetto of pornography and addiction where men alone reside and there is the ghetto reserved for the women. Illustratively, talks about addiction are given in the Priesthood Session of General Conference. The women’s quarter is a discourse on self-esteem and depression. Perhaps, these districts are not as disparate as would be suggested by our rhetoric and we might better understand LDS women’s challenges through their relation to addictive behaviours. (more…)
Much has been written here about the struggles Mormon women face in carving out their own identities and finding personal happiness while fulfilling expectations of the Church and the broader society, particularly with respect to pursuing both a career and a family. This issue is a hot button topic for many. But what about the men? Are there similar contradictions in Mormon doctrine and culture that make it difficult for Mormon men to reach personal happiness and fulfillment in the Church, while living up to the expectations of the “real” world?
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This guest post on suicide was submitted by Arlene. If anyone wants to talk to Arlene she is happy for me to give out her telephone number. Please email me at ronan at jhu dot edu. No-one need suffer alone.
This is a sensitive subject: the Encyclopedia of Mormonism entry on suicide represents the latest (compassionate) Mormon view on the subject. In short, suicide is a sin (in that mortality is part of God’s plan for us), but one for which some people may not be fully culpable. Only God can judge these matters, not us.
I’ve always been a suicidal person. I was the product of several generations of alcoholism, poverty, abuse, and depression and I passed it on. 1991 was a particularly hard year. (more…)
Okay, here are some of the best posts (selected from the MA boxes) for the last couple of weeks, plus a couple of links to new or up-and-coming blogs. Make sure you’re not missing out on the fun.
For many of us, our life is demarcated. One of the grand narratives of Mormonism is that of discovery and knowledge often requires modifications in world-view. Perhaps not surprisingly, the intersection of disparate regions in my life is not too distant. Consequently, I offer my thoughts on the reading that at least offers the initiate substantial coverage of Mormonism while minimizing page count, enough to feign erudition. (more…)
This guest post, “Spousal Support for the Mentally Ill: What Not to Do,” was submitted by Tom.
I want to share some of the things that I’ve learned from my experience as the husband of somebody who suffers from mental illness. I’m not a model husband or a model anything, but I’ve made some mistakes that might be instructive. (more…)
My name is Stirling Adams. I’ve been invited to be one of the Dialogue guest bloggers.
If the Mormon wards you’ve attended in the U.S. are similar to mine, it’s likely you’ve heard periodic reports in sacrament meeting about a visit to another ward and the comfort in finding that the church is the same wherever you go.
For most of 2003, my wife and I and our 3 children (then 9, 7, and 3), lived in Buenos Aires. Based on our experience, my report is a little different. In case I take too long to develop my point below, let me summarize it now:
In Argentina, I felt like I experienced a Mormonism stripped of a heavy overlay of U.S. politics; a Church less burdened by assumptions of cultural superiority and institutional pride that I feel can be associated too often with the U.S. Church; a Mormonism with members more attuned to how individual and institutional actions fare when judged by scriptural teachings (particularly the injunctions towards social justice in the N.T. and BoM).
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Once upon a time, I was an angst-ridden college student living in Utah, shocked and appalled at what I saw as the BYU administration’s inexcusable hostility to academic freedom. I had just returned from my mission and English professor Cecilia Farr was being denied tenure under what appeared to be pretty dubious circumstances. Professor Farr had, among other things (or maybe not among other things, which was itself part of the controversy), publicly espoused a rather moderate pro-choice position on abortion (carefully clarifying that she agreed with the Church’s stand as to abortion’s immorality) and all Hell had broken loose. My vision of what academic freedom at a university should be (yes, even a Mormon one) was not consistent with BYU’s actions, and I was quite the unhappy camper. Although there were a lot of lessons to be learned from this episode (and a lot of different ways of framing the issues that were in play), one of the bottom lines, as I saw it at the time, was this: An inordinately large number of Mormons have an inordinately difficult time recognizing the difference between their passionately-felt political views and the religious doctrines of their Church.
It’s been quite a few years since I lived through the angst and irritation of my BYU days, but much of it came flooding back to me the other evening, as I watched THIS DIVIDED STATE, a documentary that has just been released on DVD. (more…)
My name is MollyBennion and I am looking forward to posting occasionally with other Dialoguers. New to blogging, I am enjoying your world. By Common Consent drove home its advantages of immediacy, honesty and insight in this last week’s discussion of the Seattle sex abuse judgment. Thanks J. Stapley for starting an enlightening and important exchange.
Another equally painful social issue is on my mind of late. I have a good friend, a black Mormon man in his early thirties, impressive on every front, a man of deep testimony who is questioning continuing in activity in the Church because of persistent racism. Even a recent bishop told my friend he bore the mark of Cain and its inherent inadequacies. Testimony is not an issue for him; the issue is can he bear and should he be asked to bear the weight of Mormon folklore? (more…)
