The Mormon Archipelago

“Our forefathers, by their blood, have purchased for us liberty; but as far as the rights of the weak are concerned, the Revolution has progressed slowly.” @ Juvenile Instructor
  -  Happy Independence Day. Here’s a discourse given by George A. Smith on the fourth...

In defense of the Pew survey: a recap @ Juvenile Instructor
  -  This is, quite simply, the single most extensive canvass of American religious life ever...

The Transcendentalist’s “New Bible”, the Book of Mormon, and the Romantic Quest for Modern Scriptural Texts @ Juvenile Instructor
  -  Literary scholar Lawrence Buell, in his excellent New England Literary Culture, explored...

When Do We Quit Listening to / Following The Brethren? @ Nine Moons
  -  What critieria do we use to decide who and when we will follow? Ok, the commandments are...

It Does Not Die?: The Mountain Meadows Massacre @ Juvenile Instructor
  -  In It Does Not Die, Maitreyi Devi wrote a “she said” to Mircea Elidae’s Bengal...

AML at RMMLA in Reno rescue call for papers @ Juvenile Instructor
  -   Bruce Jorgensen is looking for submissions for this year’s Mormon Letters session at...

Anxiety and the Fall @ Faith Promoting Rumor
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The Juvenile Instructor, guest starring Janiece Johnson @ Juvenile Instructor
  -  We at the JI are honored to host the esteemable Janiece Johnson for the next couple of...

The JI Scores Yet Another Great Acquisition…Edje @ Juvenile Instructor
  -  Please welcome out latest grad student acquisition, Edje, who after two weeks of...

On Numbers, or Women Speak Too Often in General Conference @ Juvenile Instructor
  -  Thank goodness for laptops and wireless internet. For this post I had to dress my young,...

How Does Libertarian Free Will reject Causal Determinism? @ New Cool Thang
  -  Ok, If you’ve been around a while, you know that I’ve never had a philosophy lesson...

“Theosoph[ies] and Mormonism,” etc. @ Juvenile Instructor
  -    Tradition has it that Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, co-founder of the well-known...

California Mormons Won’t Be Cool with Acts of Protest at Their Chapels @ Nine Moons
  -  Sometime Bloggernacle commenter Chino Blanco has a post up at the prominent liberal blog...

Process-ease and other Linguistic Pet Peeves @ Faith Promoting Rumor
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For never, since the Son of God was slain/ Had blood so noble, flow’d from human vein @ Juvenile Instructor
  -  No time for a real post dealing with the martyrdom today, but here’s ERS’s...

Our Dead III @ a bird's eye view
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Temples at the Center @ a bird's eye view
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I Love (Not Just Like) Parentheses @ Nine Moons
  -  Some people are liberal with their “quote” marks. Others enjoy…the ellipse....

New CES change @ New Cool Thang
  -  I received the following in my e-mail today, and as I am aware that many of our friends...

How Old Was Jesus? @ Faith Promoting Rumor
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Just Once I’d Like To See a Sci-Fi Where Church People Save the World from Crazed Atheists @ Nine Moons
  -  Has anyone else noticed that whenever religion is involved in a science fiction book or...

New survey: Religious tolerance growing among Christians? @ New Cool Thang
  -  There was and interesting article today at Time.com (via Yahoo News) focusing on a recent...

The Danger of the [Bracket] @ Faith Promoting Rumor
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Does It Bother You Like It Bothers Me? @ Nine Moons
  -  I don’t remember exactly when it started but it has finally gotten to the point...

A Religious Studies Major at BYU Pt. II @ Faith Promoting Rumor
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Christ died for me. And everyone else, too. @ Nine Moons
  -  Usually when I think about the Atonement, I think of it from two different viewpoints....

God and the Future @ New Cool Thang
  -  I face sort of an odd situation in my life. You see, I don’t believe the future...

Dei Verbum: The Word of God in Modern Times @ Faith Promoting Rumor
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Vatican II and Modernity @ Faith Promoting Rumor
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Signs, Symbols and Allegory @ Nine Moons
  -  I’m a visual learner. I also love to spot poetry in everyday situations, objects...

A Religious Studies Major at BYU Pt. I @ Faith Promoting Rumor
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The Shift Toward Modernity @ Faith Promoting Rumor
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How much evil is okay? @ New Cool Thang
  -  Let’s assume for the sake of this post that God exists and that he’s good. ...

The End of Modernism? @ Faith Promoting Rumor
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Black Nail Polish @ New Cool Thang
  -  Last month I was “fired” as Ward Clerk and moved to be Young Men’s...

I Will Never Make Fun of Boy Scouts Again @ Nine Moons
  -  True heroism. This scout ranch is about an hour north of where I live. I was part of...

Statistical Proof Of My Laziness…or My Evolution As A Mormon Blogger @ Nine Moons
  -  Warning: This post is the very definition of navel-gazing. If you’re looking for...

Questions On Our Eternal Being @ New Cool Thang
  -   One of the most prominent and appealing concepts throughout our religion is that of...

Has the Church Become Too Corporate? @ Nine Moons
  -  The bigger the corporation the more opportunity for it to waste money. Each department...

A Textual History of the KFD, Part II @ Splendid Sun
  -  This post is a direct continuation of Part I and follows without introduction. The...

A Textual History of the KFD, Part I: Sources to the “History of Joseph Smith” @ Splendid Sun
  -  EDITORIAL NOTE: This post contains links to various transcripts of the “King...

How to Get Rich Using Clever Blog Post Titles @ Dave's Mormon Inquiry
  -  Hey, I just write the text; some guy in editing writes the headlines. There are 435...

Ehrman Strikes Again @ Dave's Mormon Inquiry
  -  I just put Bart Ehrman's new book, God's Problem, in my featured book box to the right. ...

The end of an era @ Splendid Sun
  -  I am a chemist by training, but Mormon history has always been open to dilettants (for...

Closing Time for the Wasp @ Mormon Wasp
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Moving to the lesser law — a bitter farewell to the 2.5 hour block @ New Cool Thang
  -  It’s finally over. After about 4 years of enjoying the higher law in our stake...

Baby girl, it was really nothing @ New Cool Thang
  -  My third grade daughter was distraught the other evening. She has/had a crush on a boy...

Forbidden Fruit @ New Cool Thang
  -  So, just to show I suck at New Years Resolutions, I switched from the Book of Mormon to...

Freda Beaulieu and “the greatest lesson in faith” (updated) @ Mormon Wasp
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Newsroom on the Sidebar @ Dave's Mormon Inquiry
  -  While poking around the LDS Newsroom yesterday I discovered they now have an RSS feed,...

EMSA Conference 2008, Programme and Instructions @ EMSA
  -  The European Mormon Studies Association Annual Conference: 21-22 August 2008 Organized...

Monster in the Mirror @ Dave's Mormon Inquiry
  -  There are 467 posts from 63 blogs in my Google Reader, with three new LDS blogs added in...

Intelligent Design: Coming to a Theater Near You @ Dave's Mormon Inquiry
  -  Get Religion has a nice post on the new documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. ...

What Was Mormon Thinking? Or, 30+ Chapters on War Followed By One on 200 Years of Peaceful Utopia?!? @ New Cool Thang
  -  The response to my previous post could be characterized as a collective “that’s...

The latest old Utah newspapers to go digital @ Mormon Wasp
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The Nine Commandments @ New Cool Thang
  -  In a book called The Nine Commandments, David Noel Freedman argues that the Old Testament...

In which I ask a Seventy a question @ New Cool Thang
  -  A few months ago, I enjoyed being in a Question and Answer session with Elder Anderson of...

A Dreamy Theodicy @ New Cool Thang
  -  Every night I go to sleep and have the most terrible dreams imaginable. I am torn to...

Evans Biography and Handcart Award Winners Announced @ Mormon Wasp
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A Brief Look at Our Heritage: A Brief History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints @ Mormon Wasp
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New Gilbert Temple announced — three miles from my house! [updated] @ New Cool Thang
  -  So I found out just yesterday that the church officially announced it will be building a...

Modernism and Traditionalism @ New Cool Thang
  -  While I wait for Blake Ostler’s book 3 to arive in the mail from Amazon.com,...

MSM Meets the FLDS @ Dave's Mormon Inquiry
  -  I confess — for me, the most interesting reading in the Bloggernacle this week has...

Recent issues of the Utah Historical Quarterly @ Mormon Wasp
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Back From the Brink @ Dave's Mormon Inquiry
  -  "Study says near extinction threatened people 70,000 years ago" at Yahoo News. ...

Go into dentistry, young women @ Mormon Wasp
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ACLU Joins the Debate and FLDS Media Updates @ Dave's Mormon Inquiry
  -  The judge's ruling to let Texas retain custody of 416 children has raised the stakes in...

Bloggernacle Minute, 4-19-08, highlighting ZD, WoM, and BCC @ Dave's Mormon Inquiry
  -  The Bloggernacle OD'd on FLDS this week (see DMI, T&S, M&A, FMH, MoMent, MoMatt,...

Trying to Confirm or Deny Local Folklore: Do Fast Sunday Priesthood Committees still happen? @ New Cool Thang
  -  Yes I know they’ve never been effective, but my stake does Priesthood Committee...

Research update on Mormon healing @ Splendid Sun
  -  As some know, Kris and I have worked together for the past couple of years doing research...

The End of a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day in Texas @ Dave's Mormon Inquiry
  -  At least if you're an FLDS kid (named Alexander or not). The judge in Texas has issued a...

Friday Media Links to FLDS @ Dave's Mormon Inquiry
  -  Media liveblogging: Live from the courthouse, Day 2. With court hearings resuming in...

Media Links to the FLDS Story @ Dave's Mormon Inquiry
  -  Update #3: Here's a running update of Thursday's court proceedings from San Angelo,...

FLDS, Remember the F @ Dave's Mormon Inquiry
  -  Working together, Texas and the FLDS have managed to create a major news event that makes...

NCT reader question: Eternal families paradox? @ New Cool Thang
  -  One of our regular readers/participants, V the K, sent me this email recently. I figured...

Calling and Election Made Sure @ New Cool Thang
  -  I know this is a touchy subject for some people but I am trying to get a feel from our...

The Bloggernacle Minute, 4-10-08 @ Dave's Mormon Inquiry
  -  My Google Reader shows 323 posts from 60 blogs (I pared the list down a bit), swelled...

Teaching Young Women “Reverence for Sacred Things” in 1900 @ Mormon Wasp
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Death and Mormonism @ Dave's Mormon Inquiry
  -  I finally dragged myself through to the end of The Mormon Culture of Salvation: Force,...

1,000 Years of Abuse; Millions (Billions?) Victimized @ a bird's eye view
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Charlton Heston Slips Away @ Dave's Mormon Inquiry
  -  While everyone was watching and blogging General Conference over the weekend, Charlton...

The October 1898 Solemn Assembly @ Mormon Wasp
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And the New Apostle Is ... Elder D. Todd Christofferson @ Dave's Mormon Inquiry
  -  Update: The new apostle is Elder D. Todd Christofferson, who previously served as one of...

Aum Shinrikyo and early Mormonism @ Mormon Wasp
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The Bloggernacle Minute, 4-3-08 @ Dave's Mormon Inquiry
  -  My Google Reader shows 389 posts from 69 blogs. I'm just going to go blog by blog, top...

God’s Brain and Information Theory @ New Cool Thang
  -  There is a famous episode in Mormon history when Orson Pratt and Brigham Young were...

Coming Soon: Emma Smith @ Dave's Mormon Inquiry
  -  An interesting article at BYU NewsNet talks about the LDS Motion Picture Studio (fka the...

When Jesus Quits @ New Cool Thang
  -  A few weeks ago, my wife and I were talking about Christ and how he never gives up on his...

More books on Reed Smoot @ Dave's Mormon Inquiry
  -  I just read through the careful transcription (posted at the Juvenile Transcriptor) of a...

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid @ a bird's eye view
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Prophetic Course Changes in the Book of Mormon. @ New Cool Thang
  -  In Mosiah 2, it says, in a rather long sentence: I say unto you, my brethren, that if...

The Madness Begins Thursday for BYU Men’s Hoops @ New Cool Thang
  -  I haven’t posted on the BYU men’s basketball team this season. I have to...

Bemused Observations @ a bird's eye view
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Two latest in Signature’s Significant Diary Series @ Splendid Sun
  -  John P. Hatch, ed., Danish Apostle: The Diaries of Anthon H. Lund (Salt Lake City,...

A Tale of Labor Terrorism in Salt Lake City @ a bird's eye view
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Yet Another Reason Foreknowledge Doesn’t Help @ New Cool Thang
  -  Awhile back I posted on God’s decision making process and examined some reasons...

Jacob on Why we talk about the atonement and agency @ New Cool Thang
  -  The Book of Jacob is a pretty short book, I thought about combining it with Enos-Words of...

Where to live near LDS Business College? @ New Cool Thang
  -  Hey: My sister-in-law is moving to Salt Lake to go to LDS Business College. I know a...

Some Still Talk of the Old Gifts, Part II @ a bird's eye view
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The Fuzzy Line Between Corporate Teambuilding and Waterboarding @ a bird's eye view
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Sign of the Times @ a bird's eye view
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Family Search — On the Road, a Public Genealogy Outreach Effort @ a bird's eye view
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Do Animals have Free Will? @ New Cool Thang
  -  Not that long ago I was shocked to find out that Geoff J does not believe animals have...

10 things about Second Nephi @ New Cool Thang
  -  I’m making pretty good progress on my Goal this year to read the Book of Mormon from...

You may soon be able to see BYU sports on TV again @ New Cool Thang
  -  Jay Posner over at the San Diego Union Tribune broke the news today: The network...

Tough Love and Theology @ New Cool Thang
  -  Jesus made the steps to inheriting eternal life seem pretty simple. And, behold, a...

A Lady’s Life among the Mormons @ Splendid Sun
  -  One of the most invaluable publication series in Mormon Studies is Utah State University...

Elder Ballard’s Advice–Start a Blog @ Splendid Sun
  -  I haven’t written for a while, and now I feel remiss. Today was graduation day at...

EMSA Conference 2008, Call for Papers @ EMSA
  -  The European Mormon Studies Association Annual Conference Organized together with the...

Thanksgiving among the Mormons @ Splendid Sun
  -  Perhaps as we celebrate our feasts we will give thanks for our co-religionists who...

Review: barnesandnoble.com @ Splendid Sun
  -  I am typically an Amazon.com man. I have the free two-day shipping and I love their used...

Review: The Diaries of Charles Ora Card: The Utah Years, 1871-1886 @ Splendid Sun
  -  Donald G. Godfrey and Kenneth W. Godfrey, The Diaries of Charles Ora Card: The Utah...

Worcester Conference @ EMSA
  -  Many thanks are due to all those who made the inaugural EMSA conference such a resounding...

Final Details @ EMSA
  -  Programme here. Venue: University of Worcester, Henwick Grove, WR2 6AJ. Leave extra time...

EMSA Conference: Programme @ EMSA
  -  European Mormon Studies Association Conference 2007, University of Worcester, England...

EMSA Conference: First Circular @ EMSA
  -  The inaugural conference of the European Mormon Studies Association (EMSA) will be held...

The People Of The Restoration @ Liberation Front
  -  I happen to work in a largely Jewish area. Within that vibrant community there is...

LDSLF is taking submissions! @ Liberation Front
  -  Several people have mentioned lately that they’d like to see LDSLF active again. ...

EMSA Summer Conference: Call For Papers @ EMSA
  -   The European Mormon Studies Association (EMSA) Inaugural Conference University of...

Abolition-R-Us @ Liberation Front
  -  I’ve been listening to some podcasts dealing with David Batsone’s new book,...

Even Educated Fleas… @ Liberation Front
  -  The BBC reports on a recent Norwegian museum exhibit which documents the presence of...

Review: Phillips, “Rethinking Expansion” @ EMSA
  -  The Mormon weblog, By Common Consent, has posted a brief review/description of Rick...

Review: Aird, “Without Purse or Scrip” @ EMSA
  -  EMSA intends to offer brief reviews of recent publications. Below is a review of Polly...

The Purposes of LDSLF: An Email Conversation @ Liberation Front
  -  From time to time, the folks here at LDSLF receive inquisitive or even confrontational...

Women, Priesthood @ Liberation Front
  -  One of the most frequent, and perhaps most important, conversations among people inclined...

Anna: “Separating Religious Belief from Authority and Structure” @ Liberation Front
  -  At the beginning of the year, LDSLF hosted a series of posts with the theme “What...

Why Do We Have Sunday School? @ Liberation Front
  -  Each Sunday, we devote roughly a third of our worship service to Sunday School. For new...

Backwards in Time @ Liberation Front
  -  As everyone knows, we use places where major events have occurred to structure our...

Praying for Strength @ Liberation Front
  -  I have to finish my dissertation by the end of this summer. Speaking realistically,...