I had the privilege of visiting a friend as a home teacher today, along with my 15-year-old companion, the President of our wards Teachers Quorum. This was my opportunity to this month’s beautiful – and, if I may say, elegantly composed, as usual, by Pres. Uchtdorf: Seeking Christ at Christmas The Biblical narrative, Pres. Uchtdorf points out, offers us four different models of seekng Christ: First the shepherds: “They could represent people who, at one time, may not have been... Read more
I came across this interesting little article on RealClearPolitics this afternoon: Greatest Day in U.S. History is All But Forgotten Now I’m not sure if this is actually the greatest day in American history. The unanimous (a term I use loosely) approval of the U.S. Constitution at the convention, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and the ratification of the 13th amendment all jockey for that singular title. But it was certainly one of the great days in American history. Regardless,... Read more
In my previous post, I argued that the first two stanzas of the Apostles’ Creed are completely compatible with Latter-day Saint doctrine. In this article I will continue to show how the third and final stanza of the Apostles’ Creed, which may at first appear to be deeply problematic, is actually in-line with Latter-day Saint doctrine. The final paragraph of the Apostles’ Creed reads: ‘I believe in the Holy Ghost; The holy Catholick Church; The Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness... Read more
For the past two-thousand years, Christians have engaged with the routine process of policing the boundaries of Christianity—defining heresy and orthodoxy and determining who belongs to the Christian ‘club’. Formal definitions tend to coalesce on adherence to certain core Christian tenets, texts, and understandings of the relationship between man and the divine. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claim to Christian fellowship is problematic to mainstream Christians because Latter-day Saint assertions seem to challenge every fundamental orthodoxy which... Read more
Neil Longo was baffling and endearing to me from the first time we met. He was to become dearer and dearer, without ceasing to baffle. I recall, early in our acquaintance (which resulted from his enrolling in a political philosophy class of mine and coming in to discuss a paper he wanted to improve), that we tended to lock horns a bit in trying to come to mutual understanding. I’ve had brilliant students of all kinds... Read more
Hancock’s latest article for DesNews is up: Ralph Hancock: The limits of today’s emerging sexuality Unsurprisingly, I agree with the majority of Hancock’s article. But I have a few qualms and quibbles that may be due more to my gender and age than anything else: Hancock states that “For much of history men have possessed physical and social powers over women, and it follows that there have always been abuses of these powers. Abuse that is violent should... Read more
“This counterfeiting of the central ideal of Christianity for purposes directly contrary to basic Christian morality is a beguiling argument because it seems to allow an individual to avoid the hard choice between the Church and the world, the Tree of Life and the Great and Spacious Building. If “love” can be reduced to “non-discrimination,” then I can be a true Christian by abandoning the burden of traditional Christian morality and embracing the ethics of a relativist society. Unfortunately, this... Read more
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick said his reason for refusing to stand for the national anthem was that he wanted to “start a conversation.” This is a well-worn rhetorical ploy; Democrats have been playing the “conversation about race” card at least since Bill Clinton’s presidency. But the conversation turns out to be a lecture on how liberals are right and everyone else is not only wrong but racist… Our quarterback-activist is clearly convinced, beyond any need for further conversation,... Read more
For those of us who can remember a time not so long ago when respect for religion was a given in American society, it may be surprising and even disturbing to consider that the character of our society has so changed that religion is now on the defensive. But this is the reality that Elder Rasband is addressing [in this month’s Ensign]: “In today’s society it is politically correct to empathize with Ethan’s [gay] situation but less so with Samantha’s... Read more
There are many good deeds, even deeds of sublime sacrifice, that have little or nothing to do with the world’s recognition. Perhaps motherhood (and like unto it, fatherhood) is the essential and fundamental example of such goodness, though even here there is the recognition of the grateful child, or the mere upward look of the suckling babe. The plain fact, though, is that most good actions are bound up with others’ recognition of their goodness. A good dentist needs to... Read more
The Soul and the City
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