In a current Times and Seasons post there is a discussion of the definition of terrorism. As this is my primary research interest, I thought it might be helpful to expound on my own personal definition here in this forum. (more…)

My son turned 12 and became a deacon this last month. I was and am very proud of him and his choices and decisions. He is as worthy a young man as ever recieved the priesthood (he had personally read the book of mormon before his baptism). However, in my studies of the Doctrine and Covenants, nowhere do I find reference to young men recieving the Aaronic Priesthood. Indeed, the references I find typically address adults being given the Aaronic Priesthood. The responsibilities of the Aaronic Priesthood are great. I must admit to wondering why young men who mostly do not understand the implications nor the resposibilities are given the priesthood. (more…)

I had an interesting conversation with a colleague of mine at work that was cause for more deep reflection than I had thought initially necessary. As has been mentioned on this blog before, I am a Neonatologist who works in a high level neonatal intensive care unit. An unfortunate part of my job includes dealing with the inevitable demise of fatally ill infants and the repercussions as it affects their families. In situations when death is unavoidable or preferable, it is not uncommon for families to request to have either the hospital chaplain or their own clergy baptize the newborn before the end. (more…)

I was once in a choir that was preparing a piece for a ward fireside. As we practiced, the director became quite emphatic about our vowels. While the number was not a hymn, at least strictly speaking, she complained that our “pop-y” vowels couldn’t possibly carry the spirit. (more…)

I recently read a post that J. Stapley responded to where he misspelled the word “bureaucracy”. I had to laugh. J. served a mission in France and yet even he had a problem spelling the English word derived from the French bureaucratie.

My children have both been their class representatives in their school/district spelling bees. When they have problems spelling a word, inevitably they murmer “must be French”. The fact is, French contributions to English are hard to spell. There are all these extra letters that are never pronounced. Whats the use? (more…)

I was recently teaching a course on International Defense Policy in the US and we were discussing the honor code that the military was expected to live by. Certainly this honor code is more stringent than what is expected of society in general. Adultery as well as academic misconduct such as cheating on tests or papers is forbidden serving officers. The consensus was that the concept of an honor code was outdated. I then proceeded to ask the students if they had ever cheated in High School or College (which was defined as cheating of a test, using other’s work, or plagiarism on papers). 95 percent of them had cheated (this included ROTC Cadets). When I asked them about cheating, the sentiment was that everyone cheated and if they didn’t they wouldn’t be able to compete. Besides, it’s “so easy”. My finding seemed to be backed by the center for academic Integrity…their research found 80% of students cheat. (more…)

The garden of Mormonism is poetic and primal. A place of purpose – where we shed the shell of innocence, where we stretch the wings of new wisdom. There are many gardens in the Mormon narrative and perhaps the most controversial and obscure is Brigham’s, though it too is beautiful. (more…)