There were tons of amazing presentations at the Sunstone Symposium, but I think my favorite was Holly‘s analysis of Johnny Lingo. This one was controversial enough to have gotten covered by the Salt Lake Tribune in addition to inspiring many blog reactions: Journy Gal’s title alone (A Man’s Right to…
Brazen Religion
I’m often torn when I think about religion. As aerin noted last week, sometimes religion does seem to be authentically helpful for some people. But then there are people like the Copelands, of Texas, who preach the “prosperity gospel,” which is basically fraud (promising something you don’t deliver to get…
The New Gospel Principles
I have mixed feelings. The LDS church has published an updated edition of Gospel Principles (already available for purchase). Sunday school teachers use this manual to teach new church members and anyone thinking about becoming a member. For the next two years, the church will also use this manual to…
If it makes you happy…
A close relative of mine wrote me the other day about the various things she’s doing in her life. She is gardening and hanging out with the great grandchildren who live near her. Then she mentioned that she’s excited to try and work at the LDS temple near her home….
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Patriotic Politics Edition!
Apologies to those outside the U.S., but it seems like the health care debate has heated things up to to point where Outer Blogness has practically forgotten to talk about religion. While Holly is telling Senators about God’s will, Curtis lays out the case for health care reform, and Djinn…
The Boiled Seed and Honesty
A while back, I heard a rather innocuous story about honesty at stake conference (ok, so it’s not as prestigious as general conference…). I didn’t care much about the choice of story he used, since it seemed trite (it was some Chinese feel-good fable), but as I read a passage…
playing with probability
What is the probability of any one exclusive religion being the correct one (“exclusive” means: claims to be the only true one)? This question popped into my head the other day and made me think that you could theoretically calculate that probability using the following formula: n-(n-1)/(n+1) or 1/(n+1) Where…
What Should I ask?
What’s an interesting interview question to ask a bunch of Mormons? Here’s the background: As you know, I’m going to the Sunstone Symposium next week, and — since my panel topic is “Bridging Stereotypes through Blogging” — I thought it might be fun to bring some of my Mormon conference…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Obscure Rules Edition!
Here’s something I didn’t know: [ libert, egalit, trivialit ] also has an Overheard in SLC blog, with a special edition on the polygamist rally. This fascinating window on a different culture let to a detailed explanation of the rules of the polygamist pouf. Apparently, hairspray (lots of it) is…
Investigator’s Lament
I am not your trophy, Do not display me, Do not report about me, Be my friend. When you reduce me To a number, I am less than human, And so are you.