Somehow, you don’t think it should be as casual as it is. You walk through the doors of the Church Office Building and next to the giant mural of Christ teaching his disciples is an unassuming door. Only a small sign noting that no packages are allowed beyond hints at the tension of decades. (more…)

I‘ll start this post by saying that I would be the first to admit that anyone who accuses Islam of being inherently violent is obviously looking to stir up contention. I would also say you should have a good reason before bringing up historical debates that are sensitive to a culture that you don’t understand. That said, I’m really not seeing the uproar against the Pope right now. (more…)

During the late 19th century and early 20th century, the venue for naming and blessing children was debated by the highest councils of the Church. One practice that was consistently recognized was the blessing of children when eight days old. Wilford Woodruff recorded an interesting example of this practice in his journal while he and his wife Phebe were on a mission together in England. The blessing incorporates several practices and theological principles that are foreign to modern conceptions: (more…)

At 2:00 Tuesday morning I was up and running out of options. The baby whose bedside I was standing at was barely 24 hours old and despite pumping obscene amounts of supportive medications and fluids into him, he was still deteriorating. I could walk away for a few minutes to attend to the other 45 neonates in the NICU, but it wouldn’t last long before my phone would ring and his nurse would be back on the line reading off another disturbing lab value that needed correcting. This played on until the next afternoon when he was taken to MRI to assess the inevitable. The image that played on the tech’s screen in the dark workroom was sickening: his entire brain had been devastated. (more…)

In 1891, George Q. Cannon & Sons Co. published the Sunday School Catechism No. 1 on behalf of the Deseret Sunday School Union. The title page gives the subtitle: Questions and Answers on the Life and Mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Preface, bearing the date of June 1, 1882 indicates that the volume was prepared by the publishing committee. (more…)