I was reading a post at Times and Seasons today and several people were commenting on how they believed that the war chapters were placed there for our own needs, specifically saying that they thought they would come in handy in the next few years. Apparently, these folks are reading the Book of Mormon for military tactics. This strikes me as a particularly bad way to read it.
Few characters are presented with as many contradictions as Captain Moroni, the great hero of the war chapters. While I accept Captain Moroni as a hero, I think Mormon (who admired him so much that he seemingly named a child after him) wants us to keep a clear-eyed view of the man. Captain Moroni did some bad things, many of which would be considered war crimes today (or, at least, wrong).
For example, Captain Moroni convinced the nation to give him the power to force people to go to wars. The alternatives were imprisonment and execution. While the USA has often imprisoned draft dodg...
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GenerationsFrom: bycommonconsent.com
Post Date: 2007-05-31 22:18:53
David Salisbury (1836-1918), my great-great-great-grandfather, joined the church in England, crossed the plains and settled in Nephi, where he had 12 children. He wrote an autobiography, so we know a lot about him.
We also have eight letters he wrote to his son Jacob (my g-g-grandfather) between 1916 and 1918. They are not casual letters; they are in the style of Benjamin or Alma, letters of an aged father to a son. Apparently David thought Jacob and his family were strayin...
more Ten Years in CamelotFrom: bycommonconsent.com
Post Date: 2007-05-31 19:31:09
As I watch the Ultimate Fighter on Spike, I thought I would highlight once again an article from the Dialogue archives. This time I want to highlight an essay of the late Davis Bitton, “Ten Years in Camelot: A Personal Memoir,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 16/3 (Autumn 1983): 9-20. You may read it here . In this classic piece, Davis tells the story from his personal perspective of the heady years of the Church History Division under Church Historian Leonard Arri...
more Museum of Church History and ArtFrom: bycommonconsent.com
Post Date: 2007-05-30 18:56:23
Last week, a group of MHA attendees gathered at the Museum of Church History and Art, across from the Salt Lake Temple, for a special tour. I have been to the Museum before, but some recent changes are notable. Simply stated, the Museum is a treasure. And God bless Marjorie Conder. (more…) ...
more RememberingFrom: bycommonconsent.com
Post Date: 2007-05-29 06:21:14
I wanted to mark Memorial Day here at BCC. This is the first year that I have lived in adulthood near the graves of my ancestors, and I was grateful for the opportunity to share our Day of the Dead (as secular and patriotic as it is in our culture, it remains our special day to honor those who have left). After some advice, a bit of recovered memory, and an impulse, I found my father’s grave without having to consult the sexton’s list (walked right to it, on the north ...
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