The Danger of Homosexuality, 20 years later

Elder Packer and the Danger of Homosexuality, 20 Years Later, WithoutEnd.org Twenty years ago this week, Elder Boyd K. Packer gave a talk to the All-Church Coordinating Counsel opening with some advice he received about which direction church administrators should face.  "Either you represent the teachers and students and champion their causes or you represent the Brethren who appointed you. You need to decide now which way you face." Then he added, "some of your predecessors faced the wrong way." Elder Packer said this advice was difficult to follow at first, but "in time, I did understand, and my resolve to face the right way became irreversible." He gave several anecdotes about blessings of unquestioning obedience to file leaders saying he knew "how easy it is to get turned around."  He warned of three dangers influencing church members to "face the wrong way" which "have made major invasion[s]" into the church because of "social and political unrest." Members of the church were succumbing to these "temptations" because they seem "so reasonable and right." "The dangers I speak of come from the gay-lesbian movement, the feminist movement (both of which are relatively new), and the ever-present challenge from the so-called scholars or intellectuals." To illustrate his points, Elder Packer quoted from three letters, each representing one of the three dangers and provided specific responses to each.  By the time Elder Packer gave this talk in 1993 church leaders had firmly established a stance regarding homosexuality – that it was an unnatural condition one was not born with, a "disease" possibly brought on by parental failure, masturbation or satanic influences.

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Feminist activism results in women praying in conference

Excerpts of Historic prayers in General Conference by Kurt Hanson, Daily Universe

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Sister Jean A. Stevens and Sister Carol M. Stephens made history in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by offering prayers during the 183rd Annual General Conference.

When Sister Stevens gave the benediction on Saturday morning it was the first time a woman has prayed during a session of General Conference. 

Holland says openly doubting is OK, but lean toward faith

Excerpts of "Lord I Believe" by Jeffery R. Holland, April General Conference
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Honestly acknowledge your questions and your concerns, but first and forever fan the flame of your faith, because all things are possible to them that believe.

"The Paradoxes of Religious Peace and Conflict" -Margaret Toscano

2013 Eugene England Memorial Lecture 

"The Paradoxes of Religious Peace and Conflict"  

Margaret Toscano 

Mormon Scholars in the Humanities conference: "The Mystical"

2013 MSH Conference, "The Mystical."

We now invite you to register for our 2013 conference, which will be held March 15 and 16, 2013, at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. This year's meeting focuses on mysticism, with presentations by two notable guest speakers, David Loy and Elliot Wolfson, as well as papers on this and other topics.

Registration Preliminary conference schedule

Joseph Smith Papers volume editor needed

Historian/Documentary Editor, Joseph Smith Papers

Job Description

Conference: The Expanded Canon, Perspectives on Mormonism and Sacred Texts

Annual Mormon Studies Conference 

UVU's Religious Studies Program has been sponsoring its annual Mormon Studies conference since March, 2001. These conferences bring together scholars, practitioners, and other presenters to explore a variety of topics and themes in Mormon culture, theology, history, literature, etc. Our program also offers a variety of other lectures, symposia, and conferences that can be seen here.
Thirteenth Annual Mormon Studies Conference  
The Expanded Canon
Perspectives on Mormonism and Sacred Texts
 April 4-5, 2013

New edition of LDS Scriptures; race, polygamy, historical accuracy

Excerpts of New Mormon scriptures tweak race, polygamy references, Peggy Fletcher Stack, Salt Lake Tribune. See here for a detailed list of changes.

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Scholars laud changes, say they bring a more accurate, fuller view of faith's history.

Egyptian Alphabet documents posted

The Joseph Smith Papers Project announces the addition of the following new content and features to its website, josephsmithpapers.org:

• The Kirtland Egyptian Papers, including images of the "Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language"; transcripts and images of "Egyptian Counting," the three versions of "Egyptian Alphabet," and two notebooks with Egyptian characters and English entries; and images of two other documents with characters and illustrations. Also included is a brief introduction to the Egyptian material.
• Fragments of the Egyptian papyri purchased by the church in 1835.

Mormon presidential candidate endorses gay marriage

Excerpts of Huntsman endorses gay marriage, urges GOP to do same, by Thomas Burr, Salt Lake Tribune

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Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is endorsing gay marriage and urging fellow Republicans to embrace the cause of equality as a basic conservative principle.

Huntsman, who ran an unsuccessful bid for the Republican Party's 2012 presidential nomination, backed civil unions as Utah's chief executive but said in an opinion piece that was "four years ago" and he's evolved.

"I've been married for 29 years. My marriage has been the greatest joy of my life," Huntsman said in a piece published in The American Conservative magazine. "There is nothing conservative about denying other Americans the ability to forge that same relationship with the person they love."

Church History Symposium, Approaching Antiquity: Joseph Smith's Study of the Ancient World

2013 BYU Church History Symposium

Approaching Antiquity:

Joseph Smith's Study of the Ancient World

BYU CHURCH HISTORY SYMPOSIUM

March 7–8, 2013

LDS Church files brief supporting Prop 8 and DOMA

LDS Church files SCOTUS brief supporting Prop 8, DOMA, Fox13 News, Ben Winslow

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has filed a pair of briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking it to uphold California's Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

"Revelations in Context" at lds.org

Those with an interest in church history have had to deal with incomplete, uncontextualized and often inaccurate historical information published in church curricula.  Now, a major step has occurred to correct this situation.

Excerpts of Revelations in Context: The Unveiling by Ardis Parshall, keepapitchinin.org.

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... [without good contextual background to the revelations, understanding can be difficult] ... What are you supposed to do as a Gospel Doctrine teacher? No wonder we pick out verses here and there and do proof-texting! How else can we teach from this scripture? What a muddle! ...

A new resource for understanding the Doctrine and Covenants is going online. "Revelations in Context," a series of articles addressing the background of each section of the Doctrine and Covenants, is being published by the Church

A case for Cowdery’s Rod as the “gift” of D&C 6

Within a few weeks of meeting Joseph Smith,
&C 6 & 8 were received for Oliver Cowdery

This week's Gospel Doctrine lesson (#5, "This Is the Spirit of Revelation") covers D&C 6,8 and 9 which discuss Oliver Cowdery and revelation.

Both sections 6 and 8 each discuss two gifts regarding Oliver Cowdery. Those who have compared D&C 8 with the earlier versions of that revelation (such as in the Book of Commandments) are aware that one of the gifts  is a revelatory rod owned by Oliver Cowdery. In this post, I'll provide textual evidence that the first gift mentioned in D&C 6, is the same as the gift of the rod described in earlier versions of D&C 8.*

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Marriott, Boy Scouts and gay rights

Excerpts of Mormon-founded Marriott joins push against anti-gay marriage law, L.A. Times

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... One of the nation's leading gay-rights advocacy groups, the Human Rights Campaign, has formed a coalition of major companies calling for the repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.  

One of the first companies to join the effort was Marriott International Inc., which was founded by a devout Mormon, John Willard Marriott...  

"We are proud of our longstanding commitment to diversity, inclusion and equal treatment of all our employees within our benefits programs. ... Joining the business coalition for DOMA repeal affirms that commitment." ...

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Excerpts of Boy Scouts may mirror Mormon policy and let in gays, Salt Lake Tribune

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The Boy Scouts of America soon may allow openly gay members and leaders in its ranks, a move that could have a dramatic impact on the group's century-old relationship with its top sponsor: the Utah-based LDS Church.

General Young Women's leader: "No need to lobby for [women's] rights"

Excerpts of Remark stirs controversy on LDS women's rights and roles, Kim Johnson, abc4.com

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During the January 15th Devotional Address, Elaine Dalton said, "you will understand your roles and your responsibilities and thus will see no need to lobby for rights."

Sweet potato genome suggests pre-columbian Polynesian invovement

Clues to Prehistoric Human Exploration Found in Sweet Potato Genome, by Lizzie Wade, Science Mag

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Europeans raced across oceans and continents during the Age of Exploration in search of territory and riches. But when they reached the South Pacific, they found they had been beaten there by a more humble traveler: the sweet potato. Now, a new study suggests that the plant's genetics may be the key to unraveling another great age of exploration, one that predated European expansion by several hundred years and remains an anthropological enigma.

Ensign magazine discusses changes to revelations

Excerpts of "Great and Marvelous Are the Revelations of God," Gerrit Dirkmaat, Ensign Magazine

--The ongoing Joseph Smith Papers Project at the Church History Library has highlighted the essential role that Joseph Smith's revelations played in building the faith of early members of the Church. They understood that the process of revelation was not static and that the Lord sometimes commanded Joseph to revise, update, or correct the written revelations.

Study: Utah ranks last in women attending college

Excerpts of Utah's higher-education gender gap grows, by Brian Maffly, Salt Lake Tribune
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UVU study • Percentage of women attending postsecondary institutions trails nation.

Utah women marry younger, have children sooner and have more of them than their peers in all other states. This demographic quirk is often cited as the reason women don't attend college at the same rate as men, a growing cause of concern among higher-education leaders.

A Selected Chronology of Lorenzo Snow

The Priesthood / Relief Society manual Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Lorenzo Snow will be studied by Latter-day Saint men and women in 2013. In conjunction, LDS-Church-History will present a in-depth chronology of the life of Lorenzo Snow.