War, perhaps more than any other circumstance, forces us as thoughtful persons to confront important philosophical, ethical, and religious questions. It demands that we recognize our moral outrage over unthinkable crimes and squarely face that part of ourselves that wants to lash out and punish evildoers. For others, the call of Christianity—that we love our …
Event: DC Symposium 2003
THE PROCLAMATION ON THE FAMILY: the Way We Ought to Be, or the Way We Never Were?
Issued in 1995, The Family: A Proclamation to the World, includes statements once considered conventional wisdom. Forty years ago, for example, practically everyone would have agreed children are entitled . . . to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows. Today, however, such an ideal excludes many who claim their …
CHOOSING THE RIGHT AND OTHER CONSUMER TRENDS: Reflections on Mormons, Marketing and Art
I have on my desk a catalog offering LDS products for sale. There is, of course, the Truth—for which we Latter-day Saints hold patent and distribution rights but also a great deal of fiction, stoutly adapted to the requirements of truth. And there is much, much more, a bewildering array of devotional arts and crafts …
NATIONAL CULTURE, PERSONALITY, AND THEOCRACY IN THE EARLY MORMON CULTURE OF VIOLENCE
Aside from the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and Wild West, most Americans like to think of their country’s distant past either as calmly benign or as a morality play in which the us always wore white hats and the D. Michael Quinn
COPING IN THE MERRY OLD LAND OF ‘ODDS’
For many people, no matter if they are speaking geographically or culturally, Robert Kirby
DIGITAL RITUAL: The Emergent Digital Identity of the Mormon Church
The biographer Fawn Brodie emphasized Joseph Smith’s audacity in utilizing a communications technology–the printing press–to disseminate a new religious identity: [He] dared to found a new religion in the age of printing. After Smith’s martyrdom in 1844, the Mormon Church continued his technological audacity, progressively adopting the telecommunications technologies of the late nineteenth and early …
DID MORMON MUMMIES FIND A HOME AT THE CARLOS MUSEUM IN ATLANTA? On the Trail of the Missing Joseph Smith Mummies and Papyri
In 1999, the Michael C. Carlos Museum in Atlanta purchased a collection of Egyptian artifacts, including ten coffins and nine mummies, formerly owned by The Niagara Falls Museum and Daredevil Hall of Fame. Recent research confirms four of these mummies had apparently been purchased by the Niagara Falls Museum from the Wood’s Museum in Chicago …
A PLACE CALLED LITTLE UTAH
My experiences growing up in a small rural LDS branch in Georgia differ greatly from what I see and experience in the Church now. These differences might be compared to a Parker Blount
LDS PRAXIS: Integrating Gospel Teachings with Social Action
This session will demonstrate how many Latter-day Saints are changing the world by fusing core gospel principles with personal acts of humanitarian service. Values such as stewardship, consecration, and sacrifice are having global impacts and empowering the poor. Individuals, families, neighbors, church groups, and businesses are creating new social-purpose ventures to bless those who suffer …
RAISING OUR MIDDLE EAST I.Q.: What? Why? Who? How Can I Help?
Israel and Palestine. Egypt and Jordan. Gaza, the West Bank, and the Settlements. The PLO, Labor, and Likud. Arafat and Sharon. We hear these terms and names but often only vaguely understand what they mean. We know we should understand why the Holy Land and events in the Middle East are important but often don’t. …