Santa v Jesus redux

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I've stopped getting many hits from Google for people looking for Santa versus Jesus.

And since I always side with Jesus (even when he's not there, I've still killed Santa), I thought I would share this image with you:

also available as a greeting card

Thmuppet

FAO Schwartz has arranged for me to make a muppet of myself for an utterly reasonable price.

Act now and I'll get it my Christmas!

New and highly evocative me online

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"The Ambiguity of Excellence: Kazu Kabushi’s Daisy Kutter"

My expanded review of Daisy Kutter is now up at Fantasy Magazine.

"The Best of Mormonism 2009: An interview with its editor"

My expanded discussion of The Best of Mormonism 2009 is now up at A Motley Vision.

Svithe: "nourished by the good word of God"

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Moroni on the Church:

And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith.

What exactly is the good word of God? Is it the scriptures? The simple doctrines? The testimonies of fellow members?

I heard today of someone who is less pleased with the "social" aspects of church attendance and wants more "doctrine" and I was left wondering what that meant.

What does it mean to be nourished by the good word of God?

We are all numbered among the people of the church of Christ --- we have taken his name. When we speak as moved upon by the Holy Ghost is scripture, the will of the Lord, the mind of the Lord, the word of the Lord, the voice of the Lord.

So therefore are the "social aspects of Church" part of this nourishment by the good word of God? Or are they a distraction?

Learning that the social aspects of the Church matter and are important as per the way we are programmed as human beings was a surprising lesson to me when I discovered it. But I believe they are.

And while, yes, scriptures etc are important, I think the reason Moroni says the Saints did meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls is because in order for religion to work, it requires more than merely me and God. We must learn from our fellow travelers. And sure they can get things "wrong" (according to my more correct knowledge?), but we too are mortal and fallible and apparently there is worth in a bunch of mortal and fallible fools meeting together to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of our souls.

So welcome to the social gospel.

Hey. I don't like people either.

But it's good for us.

last week's svithe

Teaching Mormon Short Fiction

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My time is short so I don't have a lot of time to get into last night, but I ditched O's birthday party early and went to the Berkeley Institute of Religion at the invitation of MJ Pritchett to teach short stories (ignore the original schedule) during the final class of their series on the Mormon arts. (Last week, Carol Lynn Pearson tackled Mormon poetry.)

After giving an overview of What's Happening Now, we discussed Jack Harrell's "Calling and Election" and BG Christensen's "Abraham's Purgatory" and then we got into some fun macro issues and a jolly time was had by all.

Wich you could have been there.

Hey, this is cool:

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I hadn't noticed I was on Sunstone's front page:

the Big O, on his birthday

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This morning, looking back at the events of last night, the Big O said he loved all his presents (he later added they might be the best presents in the whole world), but especially he loved his toothbrush best.

Svithe on memory

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Someone --- I think it was Spencer W Kimball --- said remember is the most important word in the dictionary. Personally, I think any statement like that is inherently silly, but the concept of remembering is certainly important. Helaman certainly thought so.

I had this idea when I was younger that sometimes old acquaintances will bring up and ask me if I still believe this (answer: I don't know) that we're born knowing everything and life is but a process of remembering what we have forgotten. I don't know how true this is generally, but with pure spiritual concepts, I still accept it as true. We know we are loved, for instance, and at times, we remember.

Let's keep remembering.

last week's svithe

The Best of Mormonism 2009

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When I first heard of this anthology, I did not know it was intended to be a yearly series. So when I noticed the 2009 on the cover I was thrilled.

The anthology includes work from Irreantum to The Iowa Review and points inbetween. A goodly percentage of it is from LDSy publications, but not at all all --- the ratio's about 2:1.

(I've put the full contents and original sources up at The Mormon Arts Wiki.)

I just got my copy Wednesday and I haven't gotten that far into it (although I agree that it's too short), but so far, so meh. I'm disappointed.*

The favorite of the fellow I just linked to was merely effective in my judgement, so I skipped it this time through. And I just wish there was more fiction period. I've read all this fiction. (Although I should note there are a couple pieces which I'm not sure are fiction or essay yet.)*

THAT SAID.

You should buy it. (Click the cover above for more information.)

The concept is sound, the content ain't bad (and of the published reviews so far, I'm the only one who hasn't loved it --- and I'm prick enough to write while I'm only about 25% through), and I think we can all agree that we want them to do it again.

My recommendations for next year (in case anyone at Curelom is listening):

1. Have guest editors. That's what Houghton Mifflin does and it makes their series much stronger. You run a much smaller risk of publishing the same book every year when a new person's taste and whims reign.

2. Make it at least 200 pages.

3. I like the mix of play, poetry, fiction, essay. With 200 pages the selection can feel more varied than it did this year. Also consider including comics or even a General Conference sermon. These may help broaden your potential audience.

4. Also, although excellence should be your first concern, try to get content from Mormon outlets down to about (or under) 50%. It's the stuff from places like South Bend Review that we've never read before that makes this collection more intriguing. Let's face it: Most of your audience will have read at least some of the stuff that started within Mormondom.

5. This year, perhaps because it was the first year, the included works' publication dates had about a two-year range. Although next year this might seem unnecessary, I think permanently overlapping ranges would be good for this project. Say, a two-year period with six months overlapping the previous issue and six months overlapping the subsequent issue. This way, if something truly excellent is overlooked, the rules will not need to be broken to give it the BofM spotlight.

6. They need a clear way to allow submissions of published work. This is something else Houghton Mifflin does. Instead of merely collecting things themselves, they have an address, a dropbox. But BofM should allow for electronic submissions of published works as well. Writers can't necessarily afford (or bother) with sending in a copy of Paris Review (and Paris Review probably won't see BofM as worth the bother -- not for a decade, at least).

But overall, good job. I'll write a better review when I finish reading it. Right now I'm too excited about the potential of a series like this. I hope someday to have a full shelf of these babies in all different colors.


*UPDATE: since writing this post I read Lisa Downing's short story and although the pacing is painfully slow it's a beautiful story and wetted my eyes more than once; and not only is it unapologetically Mormon, it cannot exist outside the world of Mormon women.

Award season: The Fob Bible

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So The Fob Bible is on eligibility lists for the Whitney Awards, which I'm surprised by since I didn't think it qualified, but hey! awesome! prizes!

So. I encourage everyone who likes the ole bible (free samples) to throw it a nomination.

Go here, enter your own info, then paste in this salient information:

Title: The Fob Bible

Authors: William C. Bishop, B.G. Christensen, Samantha Larsen Hastings, Sarah Jenkins, Eric W Jepson, Theric Jepson, Ryan McIlvain, Danny Nelson, A. Arwen Taylor

Publisher: Peculiar Pages

Thanks!

Dec. 4, 2009

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Today I am 400 months old.

I feel pretty (oh so pretty)

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Here's my secret:

Never get to bed before midnight. Two o'clock is pretty optimal.

Forgo meals in order to arrive places on time.

Shave rarely and erratically.

Run your hands through your hair constantly.

Stare incessantly at computer screens.

Obsessively apply chapstick.

Rub your eyes red.

That's all there is to it! Now you too can have the gaunt madman look I've been perfecting for years. Just add a shirt and tie and you can pass in society, but your underlying appearance will keep everyone on edge.

Just where you want them.

Navelgazing outward --- only at A Motley Vision

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Don't miss my latest AMV post.

(and don't forget --- this is the LAST DAY to play the Preseason Oscar game)

LAST DAY TO PLAY

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Today at midnight (my time, as reflected by the timestamp in the comments), no more entries will be accepted for my Preseason Oscar Game. Click to play.

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click to play

Svithe: (psalm98)

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O sing unto the Lord
a new song; for he hath
done marvellous things:
his right hand, and his
holy arm, hath gotten
him the victory.

The Lord hath made known
his salvation:
his righteousness hath he
openly shewed in the
sight of the heathen.

He hath remembered his mercy
and his truth toward the
house of Israel: all the ends
of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.

Make a joyful noise unto
the Lord, all the earth:
make a loud noise, and rejoice,
and sing praise.

Sing unto the Lord with the harp;
with the harp, and the voice
of a psalm.

With trumpets and sound of cornet
make a joyful noise before
the Lord, the King.

Let the sea roar, and the fulness
thereof; the world, and they
that dwell therein.

Let the floods clap their hands:
let the hills be joyful together

Before the Lord; for he cometh
to judge the earth: with
righteousness shall he judge
the world, and the people
with equity.

last week's svithe

ONLY TWO DAYS LEFT to play my Preseason Oscar Game

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click to play

Interview with Green Monk's Brandon Dayton

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Up now on AMV.

100 Books for 2009: (The 20th Five Books of 2009)

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100) Nightwing: Year One by Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty, finished November 22

You like Dick Grayson? Well, I liked this book. It was a nice look at how he went from Robin to Nightwing and if you, like me, have someone who will lend you such books, it's worth a quick read.

two evening which may or may not have been sequential

099) Witch Baby by Francesa Lia Block, finished November 20

I'm pissed off right now. I wrote probably a thousand words on this book and my relationship to it and the first book in its series but all that has now, three days later, disappeared from Blogger. I've never had this happen before and I am mad. I was quite pleased with what I had written.....

Sigh.

Well, here are the basics.

I picked this book up because I had been wanting to reread Weetzie Bat because reading that book was a revelation I thought I meet need to have again. But here's the thing: you can't "rehave" revelations. They come once and either you get it or you don't.

Weetzie Bat revealed to me a portion of my Baizzerrist self that I had not seen in years. Not with real depth since high school. That book turned a key and let out that portion of my writerly soul that finds beauty in whimsy and humanity in lightness. It's a different perception of the same world. And that discovery of myself allowed me to finally understand a book I had been starting and aborting over and over for the last four years.

Geez, I'm mad. I'm just not getting into this.

Anyway, reading Witch Baby at first was unsettling, because I wasn't having the experience I had with Weetzie bat. But about three quarters through I realized: the reason Witch Baby didn't read like my book was because I wasn't aping Francesca Lia Block's style --- she had merely opened the door back to my own style.

Blah blah blah. It was all very good, I assure you.

Anyway, WB1 was about luck to joy to luck with occasional downturns for flavor, whereas WB2 is about sinking deeper and deeper only to discover at the end that redemption had always been there.

Also, it was much more obviously "YA" --- can't say if that's because I knew it was this time or I was just less rapt or it was . . . whatever.

There is nothing worse than rewriting after losing something written.

four days

098) The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Rip Van Winkle The Spectre Bridegroom by Washington Irving and condensed and adapted by W.T. Robinson and K.R. Knight, finished November 8

My parents gave this volume to the Big O for Halloween last year and we read it for Halloween this year. The adaptation is breezey and fine and the illustrations by Alastair Graham move the story along rather than get in the way. For a series of classics kept desperately cheap (printed on the back: "SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE $5.99 YOUR PRICE $2.50"), Dalmatian Press has done a fine job. Really, unless you're morally opposed to abridged classics, these hardbound cheapies seem pretty dandy.

One warning: the back does include this copy:

Reading a classic story when you are
young opens your heart. Reading a classic
story again---anew---when you are older fills
your heart to the brim.

Never forget that.

a month

097) Green Monk by Brandon Dayton, finished November 7

The date listed was for my first reading which led to this review on Fob Comics.

I just reread it now, November 20, and I am vastly more impressed than I was the first time. This is an excellent story. I don't retract some of my quibbles, but this book is worthy and deserving of your close attention. Plus, it's cheap. Support an indie cartoonist. Click that link.

just minutes

096) Push by Sapphire, finished November 5

This book is short and the opposite of sweet.

If you're not familiar with, it, Push is the story of Precious Jones (now a movie) and how she was raped (and raped and raped and raped) by her father and molested by her mother and then things got worse.

Naturally, this is a story of redemption and of how this beleaguered girl comes back from below zero. No surprise there. And it earns that redemption.

When I started this book I was impressed by the way Sapphire wielded style. The book's in illiterate first person. Here's the first paragraph:

I was left back when I was twelve because I had a baby for my fahver. That was in 1983. I was out of school for a year. This gonna be my second baby. My daughter got Down Sinder. She's retarded. I had got left back in the second grade too, when I was seven, 'cause I couldn't read (and I still peed on myself). I should be in the eleventh grade, getting ready to go into the twelf' grade so I can graduate. But I'm not. I'm in the ninfe grade.

This worked for a long time (relatively speaking --- it's a short book). The brutal ugly language reflects the brutal ugly story of Precious's childhood. But about a half or three-quarters of the way through, I realized that Sapphire had slipped into gimmickry.

Now, I could make excuses for her. Precious's writing gets better as she learns how to write and we can't exactly expect someone who couldn't read at all until they were sixteen to have a great grasp of literary devices, but then this is fiction and too much verisimilitude makes me wonder if the author's out to lunch. How many times are you gonna have Precious write the same word three times for emphasis, huh Sapphire? (It probably doesn't help that I'm rereading Love That Dog Dog Dog right now now now which does the same thing over and over and over over over again.) And then when you sample another character's writing and she does the same thing? I start thinking you don't have that many tricks up your authorial sleeve.

Anyway, the book is about truly horrible things, but it rings true for a lot of kids around here. It's been the book du jour for a few thousand jours now. One kid saw me with it today and told me his mother made him read it a couple years ago (he would've been twelve or thirteen) and several girls have been passing copies around.

So I'm glad I read it for the social aspects, but this much hell in one tiny book is hard to take, even if the writing her beyond complaint.

Thank you, ma'am, but I believe I've reached my incest quota for the year.

week+

Previously:

095) Rift by Todd Robert Petersen, finished October 24
094) Book of Mormon Stories illustrated by Jerry Thompson and Robert T. Barrett, finished October 8
093) Invincible: The Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1 by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, finished October 5
092) The Walking Dead Volume 1: Days Gone Bye by Kirkman Walker Ottley Crabtree, finished October 5
091) The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance by Elna Baker, finished October 2
090) Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1, Unmanned by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra, finished September 30
089) Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, finished September 24
088) Tales From the Bog by Marcus Lusk, finished ~September 18
087) The Complete Peanuts 1969-1970 by Charles M. Schulz, finished September 13
086) Crush by Murphy Hall, finished September 1
085) Full Color by Mark Haven Britt, finished August 31
084) Manhunter: Forgotten by Marc Andreyko et al, finished Aug 25
083) Glacial Period by Nicolas de Crécy, finished August 20
082) House of Mystery primarliy by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges, finished August 19
081) The Portable Frank by Jim Woodring, finished August 19
080) Runaways Vol. 3: The Good Die Young by Brian K Vaughan et al, finished August 15
079) Runaways, Vol. 2 by Brian K Vaughan et al, finished August 13
078) The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, finished August 10
077) Runaways, Vol. 1 by Brian K Vaughan et al, finished August 10
076) Essex County Volume 1: Tales From The Farm (Essex County) by Jeff Lemire, finished August 8
075) A Damp Squid: The English Language Laid Bare> by Jeremy Butterfield, finished August 8
074) How Sex Works: Why We Look, Smell, Taste, Feel, and Act the Way We Do by Dr. Sharon Moalem, finished August 6
073) We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson, finished August 6
072) The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, finished July 29
071) The Left Bank Gang by Jason, finished July 22
070) The Juggler of Our Lady by R.O. Blechman, finished July 22
069) Waterwise by Joel Orff, finished July 22
068) The Saga of the Bloody Benders by Rick Geary, finished July 22
067) 10 Books That Screwed Up the World (And 5 Others That Didn't Help) by Benjamin Wike, Ph.D., finished July 21
066) We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson, finished July 11
065) Hooper Haller by Dean Hughes, finished July 18
064) Stay (MS) by Moriah Jovan, finished July 15
063) The Question: The Five Books of Blood by Greg Rucka et al, finished July 14
062) Daisy Kutter: The Last Train by Kazu Kibuishi, finished July 13
061) Gravity vs. the Girl by Riley Noehren, finished July 11
060) The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy, finished July 1
059) Letters from a Nut by Ted. L. Nancy, finished June 21
058) The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling, finished June 21
057) Lowboy by John Wray, finished June 16
056) One silent sleepless night by Spencer W. Kimball, finished June 14
055) Blue Beetle: Boundaries by Sturges/Albuquerque/Coelho, finished June 6
054) [title in flux] (MS) by B.G. Christensen, finished June 5
053) Invincible Volume 1: Family Matters words by Robert Kirkman, pictures by Cory Walker, finished June 3
052) Der Ostwind (MS) by Kohl Glass, finished June 2
051) The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde, finished June 2
050) The Bible Salesman by Clyde Edgerton, finished June 2
049) Superman / Madman Hullabaloo! by the Allreds, finished May 29
048) Beyond Fair Chase: The Ethic and Tradition of Hunting by Jim Posewitz, finished May 26
047) Brave and the Bold: Demons and Dragons by Mark Waid et al, finished May 20
046) Atonement by Ian McEwan, finished May 20
045) Love and the Light: An Idyl of the Westland by Orson Ferguson Whitney, finished May 20
044) Tales Of The Batman: Tim Sale by Tim Sale and some motley group of writers, finished May 17
043) Catwoman: The Dark End of the Street by Ed Brubaker et al, finished May 13
042) Aztek - the Ultimate Man by Grant Morrison), Mark Millar, Keith Champagne, Steven Harris; finished May 11
041) Cypher by Brad Teare, finished May 7
040) My Faith in Frankie by Mike Carey, Sonny Liew, Marc Hempel, finished May 5
039) Janes in Love by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg, finished May 5
038) Batman: R.I.P. by Grant Morrison et al, finished May 4
037) 1000 Steps To World Domination by Rob Osborne, finished May 4
036) 110 Per¢ by Tony Consiglio, finished May 4
035) Mendoza in Hollywood by Kage Baker, finished May Day
034) All Star Superman, Vol. 2 by Grant Morrison, and Frank Quitely and Jamie Grant, finished April 22
033) All Star Superman, Vol. 1 by Grant Morrison, and Frank Quitely and Jamie Grant, finished April 20
032) Bound on Earth by Angela Hallstrom, finished April 19
031) Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul by Grant Morrison and colleagues, finished April 18
030) Madman Atomic Comics Volume 2 by Mike Allred with Laura Allred, finished April 14
029) For a Good Time by K. Voss, finished April 11
028) The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told, finished April 11
027) Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, finished April 6
026) Elegant Enigmas: The Art of Edward Gorey by Karen Wilkin (essay) and Edward Gorey (art), finished April 5
025) Owly: A Time to be Brave by Andy Runton, finished April 1
024) Blue Beetle: Endgame by John Rogers and Rafaele Albuquerque, finished March 29
023) Blue Beetle: Reach for the Stars by Rogers, Torres, Albuqerque; finished March 26
022) The Complete Peanuts 1967-1968 by Charles M. Schulz, finished March 25
021) Blue Beetle: Road Trip by various, finished March 25
020) Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, finished March 18
019) Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block, finished March 17
018) The Proviso by Moriah Jovan, finished March 16
017) An Ensign to the Nations: History of the Oakland State by Evelyn Candland, finished March 7
016) Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley, finished February 27
015) Batman: The Black Glove by Grant Morrison and Tony Daniel and J.H. Williams III, finished February 23
014) The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story by Richard Preston, finished February 22
013) Lex Luthor: Man of Steel by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo, finished February 19
012) Blue Beetle: Shellshocked by Keith Giffen and Cully Hammer, finished February 18
011) The Joker by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo, finished February 17
010) Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, finished February 18
009) Superman: Red Son by MJR&M, finished February 11
008) The Best American Comics 2008 edited by Lynda Barry, finished February 9
007) The Blot by Tom Neely, finished February 6
006) JSA: Darkness Falls by Goyer, Johns, et al, finished January 28
005) The Road by Cormac McCarthy, finished January 24
004) Poor Sailor by Sammy Harkham, finished January 19
003) The Waitress was New by Dominique Fabre and translated by Jordan Stump, finished January 19
002) Stagger Lee by Derek McCulloch and Shepherd Hendrix, finished January 12?
001) The Arrival by Shaun Tan, finished January 8

the first five, 1-5
the second five, 6-10
the third five, 11-15
the fourth five, 16-20
the fifth five, 21-25
the sixth five, 26-30
the seventh five, 31-35
the eighth five, 36-40
the ninth five, 41-45
the tenth five, 46-50
the eleventh five, 51-55
the twelfth five, 56-60
the thirteenth five, 61-65
the fourteenth five, 66-70
the fifteenth five, 71-75
the sixteenth five, 76-80
the seventeenth five, 81-86
the eighteenth five, 86-90
the nineteenth five, 91-95

Svithing borrowed words (Pallas Athena)

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My brother, Pallas Athena, wrote an interesting post this week. He doesn't post often, but when he does he's always provocative and worth reading.

This post wended its way from a fire-based metaphor he doesn't like to a completely unrelated fire-based metaphor he does like. It has a number of points I want to reply to and they're all religiousy and it'll end up being rather long for his comments section and I don't want to be accused of trying to take things over on his properties.

That said, I am going to quote large tracts of his post, so if your reply is more to him than me, you might go to the original to comment.

q1:

A couple weeks ago, my family attended church with a co-worker of mine. I am familiar with the church, and admire the pastor. I have heard him preach on the radio and listened to some of his sermons online. I see him as a man of God and have a lot of respect for him. When we went, it was a refreshing experience. Everyone seemed excited to be there, I mean really excited. It was an hour and a half long service of which the first twenty minutes and last twenty minutes were spent standing and singing along with the rock band on stage. In between the music was an interesting sermon though it seemed somewhat shallow (unfortunately not from the normal Pastor - he had swine flu :( ). There were people sitting beside me, in back of me and in front of me with their Bibles out and note pads, taking notes. Not counting my wife, I can not remember the last time I saw anyone take notes in a Sacrament Meeting.

My kids enjoyed the standing and singing to the electric guitar, drums and keyboard. I did too, I must confess. The feeling of inclusion was very apparent. The place was packed. The converted school bus was out front after it had made its rounds picking up people from all over town. No one I saw was dressed up, everyone looked and felt comfortable. After the service everyone was hanging around talking enjoying each others company. We had to rush out to make it to our own service.

Upon arriving at our church there was a noticeable difference. Looking around, no one seemed excited to be there. Everyone was dressed up and there was a bit of stuffiness in the air. Sacrament Meeting was a bit of a different experience. The closing hymn was “The Spirit of God” – one of my favorites, but I wasn’t singing, it is hard for me to sing that slow.

I spent a lot of time that day, and since, thinking of the two churches. Comparing them. I have attended many different churches but this presented an interesting contrast rushing out of one to make it to the other. I decide to try and come up with three words to explain each of the two churches and here is what I came up with.

Other Church: Excitement, Enthusiasm, Sugar Rush

My Church: Dull, Duty, Depth

First my explanation of why I chose those words for the other church. There was no one there that I could find that did not seem excited to be there. From the youngest kids to the ushers to the old ladies, there was an air of excitement that permeated the entire space. Not just excitement but also enthusiasm. The people attending seemed genuinely enthused about the Lord Jesus and what he had done for them. But it also seemed a bit like a sugar rush, an inrush of current if you will, but not a lot of substance to hold onto that rush.

Now, the words for the mormon church. I can not remember the last time I have been to a church meeting that was not dull. Not to say the messages were not good, but they were dull. There is a sense of duty in the church, duty to show up, duty to sit quietly, duty to do what you’re told, and you just do it, all of it. But there is depth, the gospel of Jesus Christ as restored by Joseph Smith has no end. One can take it as far as they wish, which I might add, is a large part of the problem.

The Church of Jesus Christ has all the restored keys and proper authority to accomplish the purpose of life on this earth. Because of this they do not need enthusiasm or excitement. The other churches do not have all the answers. They have Jesus and they have the Bible. Arguably, that is enough, but there will always be questions and gaps. They fill these with their excitement and enthusiasm. The mormon church does not need excitement or enthusiasm, they have “the truth”.

Lotta things to say here. The first is the issue of visiting other faiths (which the Sistas also recently posted on) which I for one am certainly in favor of even if I never actually do it. I think it's good to introduce our kids to other's worship. And for several reasons: they'll be more open to others, others will be more open to them, all the good things that may proceed from both those.

As a missionary, incidentally, nothing seemed to build good will like nonflamboyantly visiting other churches. Good stuff.

Another point: I enjoy Catholic radio. Even if I may not align perfectly with their doctrine, I find worth there.

But now to the real point: the dullness of Mormon meetings. Which leads us to our second quote.

q2:

So to go back to the lame analogy and expand it to this example; the other church is like a dry tumbleweed. When lit it creates a large fierce flame which has no substance. The mormon church is like a nice hardwood log. Once it is lit, it is not going out, it will put out lots of heat, and will burn a long, long time, but will never give you the excited, enthusiastic flame of a dry tumbleweed.

This analogy has its charm. Probably offensive to tumbleweeds, but there you go. And it's apt in many ways.

But let's get to the main thrust of this analogy.

q3:

I have had many discussions with my wife since this experience and I have not been able to figure out, how could excitement be brought back into the church? The church is not growing near as well as claimed. Even though we frequently sing "All is Well, All is Well", I think there is a strong argument to the contrary. I cringe everytime I read 2 Nephi 28, is that not what I hear from the pulpit of the church? The church does not need to compromise any of its core beliefs or underpinnings to do this, but it needs excited members, enthusiastic members. I can not get it out of my head...if the members of my church had the excitement and enthusiasm the members of the other church had, oh, imagine...

This is a really great thought experiment for us to engage in. Not just what would happen, but how can we get there?

This discussion of mine's been a little anemic because I'm holding the baby and I can't think and type at the same time without two hands. So let's just look at my post here as an advertisement for my brothers. You should read his anyway because I skipped the paragraph about Emma. And she sound hot.

Go forth.

last week's svithe

The Great Remark

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I find it impossible to predict which bonmots my students will be impressed by. I say snide offhanded things all the time, but once or twice a year I will say something that will get such a large reaction that the entire class will be thrown into an uproar as they all tell the kid I was talking to that I sure got him that time. But I can't see a difference between one remark and the other --- at least, why one remark should be so clearly superior in their minds.

Here's today's example.

Boy, 17, knocks the ice-tea bottle of girl, 15, off her purse and onto the floor. I tell him to pick it up.

Boy: She called me a bitch!

Me. And then you proved her right.

I mean really. That's all it takes?