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My first (and so far, only) sacrament meeting talk came when I was about eleven.  I was allotted five minutes on a hot Sunday afternoon in late July to talk about my ancestors.  I was baffled.  I was eleven; I didn’t know anything about my ancestors.  How was I to make such a seemingly esoteric topic relevant to a group of people who, in my eleven-year-old mind, couldn’t have cared less that (as my confused inquiries with relatives taught me) one of my maternal great grandfathers was once Davis County Commissioner of Education?  After grappling for weeks to find terms that would make these people fit into what I dimly perceived to be the parameters of Mormon discourse, I stepped to the podium and said, “I’d like to tell a story about modern-day pioneers.”

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Every child who grows up in the Church learns a mnemonic outlining the steps of repentance with five “R” words, something as follows:

- Recognize you have sinned
- Resolve to change
- feel genuine Remorse for your sin
- Request forgiveness from God and those you have harmed
- where possible, make Restitution (more…)

Jane Austen’s name came up frequently on the recent Summer Reading thread–and, indeed, whose better? But a few Consenters didn’t, um, consent, didn’t make hers a unanimous choice for inclusion.

So why do so many of us delight in Austen’s “two inches of ivory,” as she describes her work? Whence cometh this almost universal love? (more…)

Question: Does the use of pornography constitute a violation of the law of chastity?
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We who blog under Dialogue’s tent are in a somewhat awkward position. On the one hand, we blog to share our passion for Dialogue The Journal and under its umbrella and, on the other, we quite necessarily share our own opinions. We’ve all come to care about you and your opinions and enjoy our conversations with you in the same way you care about and enjoy each other. We personally like being a small part of your community. But Dialogue the institution’s mission is to further dialogue, not to take sides in any cause but our own. Dialogue is governed by one belief: that dialogue is good because we are most likely to learn the truth in a free and open exchange of ideas. (more…)

A while back Julie and I had a brief discussion about The Gospel of Mark during which I half-heartedly suggested that Mark produced a sort of “Reader’s Digest” gospel later improved upon by Matthew and Luke (Mark is missing “Q” after all) and she begged to differ, maintaining Mark is a concise literary masterpiece. I basically agreed with this assessment, being personally impressed with Mark’s vigorous, gritty account, but I still found it a bit too “pamphlet-like.” Julie also said Mark should be heard rather than read, the process no doubt experienced by the author’s original audience. So I took Julie at her word and recently listened to Mark on cassette in the car. She’s right. And what did I hear this time around? Loud and clear: the disciples are depicted as clueless about who Jesus was and what he was teaching [1], sometimes humorously so.  (more…)

The Preliminary Program for the 2006 SLC Sunstone Symposium has been posted at the Sunstone website. (more…)

The strange state of Mormon art has recently been discussed here by Matt. Sometimes, to please our spiritual aesthetics, we have to go beyond the borders of the kingdom. I would like to start a “religious art” series here at BCC. Please share your favourite religious art (it doesn’t have to be Mormon) in the comments with a link to the picture, a description of the piece, and an explanation as to why you like it. I will then post them from time to time. It’ll make nice, light, weekend blogging.

The painting here is from Wayne Forte (1996) and is called “Jacob and the Angel.” (more…)

There is a scripture I’ve read several times this week, and everytime it makes me cry: (more…)

For some reason, last fall, I was curious and created a table* that included all the Apostles, and the information regarding their ordination and tenure: (more…)

By and large, I think we do a poor job of helping people understand and learn to love the temple experience, whether in terms of advice to those going for the first time or in the form of advice, nurturing and education for those who have already received their endowment. We let people down, and sometimes they make the choice not to return. And so I write a letter to my friends that have decided to stop attending the temple. (more…)

Gang, some of you have been accidentally picked up in our spam filter. If you post a comment and it never shows up, please email us: info@bycommonconsent.com. We’ll look into it and tell you whether you’ve been banned.

Or, as I like to call it, TBOMM-VII:Z. The first movie -The Book of Mormon Movie – Volume I: The Journey (or TBOMM-VI:TJ) -was, as Rod Kimball would say, “all heart.” (Then he said something else which I won’t repeat here.) I saw the thing twice in theatres and bought it on DVD, partly because I fell in love with the absolute earnestness and sincerity that dripped off of every frame. It had the sort of passion and holy-crow-we’re-making-a-movie energy that only first time projects really do. I could easily picture the sort of pep circle that you see in the locker room tunnel before NBA playoff games happening on the set every morning. It was also a good example of a tendency I’ve noticed in much of Mormon art. (more…)

I hereby announce the “2nd Annual Aaron and Stina Brown Seattle Bloggersnacker and 4th of July Party.”  It will take place on the evening of July 4th, at our apartment in Seattle, overlooking Lake Union.  (O.K., so last year’s 4th of July Party wasn’t a Bloggersnacker, and last year’s Bloggersnacker wasn’t on the 4th of July.  Whatever.)  If you are reading this blogpost and you live in the Seattle area, you are invited.  If you are reading this blogpost and you don’t live in the Seattle area, you are also invited.  Just don’t expect me to reimburse you for your planeticket. (more…)

Our Wandering Graduate Student in Non-Permanent Residence, Ronan, is gracing the Boston area with his presence next weekend, necessitating celebration and feasting.  The party’s at Kristine’s house, Friday 6/30, from 6:30 till whenever.  This time Ronan’s bringing the whole gang, so Rebecca and the three small talking Heads will be here, as will my kids (the screaming heads)–feel free to bring yours (and come earlier in the day if you want to take them to the beach before dinner).

I’ll make dessert–y’all are in charge, potluck-style, of actual nutrition!  RSVP, get directions by e-mailing me:  kristineharris at post dot harvard dot edu

I’m becoming a Scientologist, gang. Sorry! But they just have all the cool celebrities. (more…)

Summer’s here and, for some of us, this means more time to read. Yeay! Here are my top three wicked cool picks for Summer 2006. (more…)

About the author: Taryn Nelson-Seawright, better known as Serenity Valley, is the stunningly beautiful wife of J. Nelson-Seawright/Roasted Tomatoes. For the past year or so, she has displayed her literary genius at Latter-day Saint Liberation Front. Those who have met her say that her awe-inspiring intelligence, incredible charm, and humble, touching modesty are only a few of her best traits. Oh, and she definitely did not write this introduction. (more…)

10. Brigham Young University, Provo UT. This may be a surprise but it was the first time in my life that I found myself surrounded by liberal Mormons who were not family members. These friends were students and professors and I learned a lot about thinking and feeling. And God. And, you know, other important things. It becomes a key Mormon history site because of its diversity. I was also told after being sustained as the RS 1st counselor that I would not have been chosen if the RS president knew I was a Democrat. “I’m not sure I trust your inspiration,” she said. (more…)

A few weeks ago, as I was waiting to meet a stranger on a streetcorner to buy a Baby Björn (thanks, Craigslist!), I got to thinking about the strangeness of the prenatal phase in men. Consider this a pre-Father’s Day post. (more…)

I subscribe to the Chicago Tribune. On Sundays, it includes Parade Magazine. Last Sunday a guy wrote an essay about how when he was a boy in high school, a junior I think, a girl asked him out to a turn-about dance. He can still remember the elegant parchment and calligraphy invitation she hand made for him. She was an attractive, nice girl, but for reasons he still doesn’t fully understand, he lied and said he had a conflict and refused to accept her invitation. She wasn’t heartbroken or anything, but as he looks back on it all these years later he can’t believe he was such a jerk, and he can’t understand why he just didn’t accept the invitation. (more…)

I am entirely out of the loop regarding the brou-ha-ha with Bro. Nielsen at BYU. I have worked there and hope to work there again. I have been asked by friends and colleagues why I want to work there, when stuff like what happened to Bro. Nielsen happens. I have personally expressed concern myself regarding what the potential effects of my decision to blog might be on the possibility of working there. But I still teach (when they let me) and I still would like to.

I have a story to share. It is apocryphal. I have a friend who, when teaching at BYU, expressed some frustration with the presence of ‘the man’ in his classroom to a full-time faculty member in his department. What was intended was that my student felt constrained by what his students considered kosher within classroom discussion. For that matter, he perceived some pressure from his department regarding what he ought to teach and how. The full-time faculty member told him that, if he couldn’t deal with that pressure, perhaps he shouldn’t attempt to get a job at BYU.

What is the moral of the story? I’m not entirely sure. Many people at BYU feel like there is a vast conspiracy housed there. It doesn’t seek to oppress the truth, but rather it seeks to make sure that you tell the most appropriate version. However, there is some disagreement regarding what that version is. This of course makes it a little harder to bow to the will of the conspiracy. (more…)

So the wife is finally pregnant. At last. After several long years of trying, and almost as many years of worrying that it might not ever happen for us, it finally has, and via natural processes! We had spent a pretty penny on fertility treatments, and were about to take them to the next level, but now we don’t have to. What a relief. We found out about 3 months ago, on my wife’s birthday. Hooray! (more…)

Noticing the title of a book in my hands, friend Nancy asked, “Fernet Branca: is that a Mormon name?”

“Yes,” I said. “Fernet is the daughter of Fernell Young, one of BYU’s great quarterback’s, and Annette Oldham Young, erstwhile Pom-Pom Princess, now CEO of Lighthouse Romance Publishers, Inc.”

“Thought as much,” Nancy said.

Of course, BCC readers will recognize Cooking with Fernet Branca as the very successful comic novel by James Hamilton-Patterson, and Fernet Branca as a popular aperitif. But despite my flippant answer, the question Nancy raised about “Mormon names” is a provocative one. Certainly most Mormons have names indistinguishable from those of their non-member neighbors, whether in Taiwan or Tucson, Calgary or Costa Mesa. But every now and then a moniker does raise the question, “Is that a Mormon name?” (more…)

Gone agnostic everyone. (more…)

In Cameron Crowe’s brilliant movie Almost Famous, a sage rock guru (played with boozy slyness by Philip Seymour Hoffman) offers the young William Miller, high school student cum aspiring rock journalist, a fifteen-year-old about to embark upon a decidedly atypical coming of age journey, a profound piece of advice.

“You cannot make friends with the rock stars.”

Would that we all needed this advice. (more…)

Fathers’ Day is this Sunday, and I’m wondering where the bloggernacle fathers are. (more…)

Conservative Christianity purports that animals have no eternal spirits. Joseph Smith, never unwilling to defy convention, preached by sermon and revelation the contrary. Eternal existence is not limited to humanity. We have from him, two revelations and one sermon that lay out the simple doctrine. The ramifications of that doctrine, rarely considered, are tremendous for our fundamental beliefs. (more…)

Stirling Adams, a member of the Dialogue board of directors, is one of BCC’s regular guest Dialogue bloggers.

The latest issue of BYU Studies (45:1) just came out. After my initial glance at the cover art (by Brian Kershisnik) and the table of contents (which includes Givens’ “‘Lightning Out of Heaven’: Joseph Smith and the Forging of Community,” and David Paulsen’s “Are Christians Mormon? Reassessing Joseph Smith’s Theology”) I’m excited to dive into the text.

Before moving to Utah, I had little sense of the academic focus or past content of BYU Studies. I’ve now been a subscriber for several years, and have used its archive for research on many subjects. I’m confident that whatever your area of interest in Mormon studies, odds are there are multiple, useful, BYU Studies articles exploring the topic. If you doubt, test that assertion. Go to the search option at byustudies.byu.edu, or to the BYU library on-line BYU Studies archive, and search on your topic. As examples, two ongoing interests I have are Latin American Mormon Studies, and the intersection of ichthyology and Mormon history. BYU Studies is a main source of quality works exploring those topics (though I’d certainly like to see more on the piscine practices of the peculiar people). (more…)

The hot Judean sun bakes the dusty roads north of Jerusalem. From the brown hills of Judea, the Dead Sea is lost in a haze of blue and gold. In the distance, a donkey brays under its master’s load. Dust from a passing Roman cohort chokes the dry air. By the side of the road, a large crowd congregates around a rabbi from Galilee. The year is approximately 30 AD.

It is towards the end of the afternoon. As the crowd presses towards the man they call Jesus of Nazareth, the healer and holy man from the north, his disciples’ tempers begin to fray. It is hot and they are thirsty. As the shadows begin to lengthen, Peter, the chief disciple, glances impatiently at the people. The crowd are mostly poor, uncouth. As Jesus concludes his message of the kingdom of God, the people bring their little children to him. (more…)