December 2007

The SL Trib looks at the return to BYU’s Jerusalem Center since it reopened.  The story emphasizes the need for its students to NOT talk about the Church:

“We do not proselytize. Even if someone asks, we tell them we are Christians and that’s all we can say,” explained Jill Heyes, of Salt Lake City, who in November was nine months into a year of volunteer service with her husband. “It goes right against everything we learned growing up.”

Missionary work is banned in Israel, where an aversion to conversion, forced or otherwise, reigns. Historical scars such as the Crusades and Spanish Inquisition likely weighed on the minds of those who founded the modern Jewish state. So written into the lease BYU signed for the 5 acres of land, upon which it built the sprawling 125,000-square-foot building, was a condition prohibiting all proselytizing, said Jim Kearl of BYU, who’s overseen the center since 1989, one year after it opened. Students and adults who come to BYU Jerusalem must sign an agreement to uphold their end of the deal.

“The integrity of the church is on the line,” Heyes said. “We have to keep our promise. . . . We will do that until the Israeli government says you can teach. And they haven’t said that.”

LDS Newsroom: “Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All Men — Not Just Those Who Share My Beliefs”

Ill-informed comments can be easily forgiven, and chances to engage in discussion to develop mutual, accurate understanding and respect are often seized upon — as they should be. But when a person starts excluding someone of a different faith as a legitimate participant in society because there are theological differences — then a line has been crossed.

On Wednesday Jeff Lindsay posted on a fascinating article about the guerrilla warfare tactics of the Gadianton Robbers and their modern-day analogues.  Especially in light of yesterday’s tragic events, it’s especially interesting to compare Pakistan and the Middle East to what happened in the Book of Mormon:

When the Gadianton robbers start off, they start off as an urban terrorist group really, involved in assassinations. But they eventually have to flee into the mountains and this is typical of guerrilla groups in our own century. And they’ll talk at length about how the best places to work are in cities, where you can hide among the urban masses. Or if that doesn’t work—as it didn’t work for the Gadianton robbers—they then flee into inaccessible territory, almost always mountains. It was, in all three cases (in China, Vietnam and in Cuba), the mountains into which the guerrillas fled. Then they make lightning raids out of the mountains to attack settled civilizations. But they choose only those times when they can win. They can make a lightning strike, do some damage, then get away. This, of course, irritates the authorities to no end. And the authorities then will send troops into the mountains after the guerrillas, but the mountains are the guerrilla’s native territory. The guerrilla then chooses the place to fight from. He ambushes the regular troops that come after him. He causes them immense casualties.

Does Huckabee wants a violent end for Romney?:  First, he joked about shooting him, and now he suggests that if he were Romney he would slit his own wrists.   Maybe those Iowa pastors should reconsider caucusing for him.

The MRC does a noble service highlighting liberal bias in mainstream media.  It’s 2007 awards for worst reporting is so-so, in part because a lof of their top winners aren’t “true” journalists.  But their quote of the year is a great example of the media’s devotion to finding the dark lining in a silver cloud:

“As violence falls in Iraq, cemetery workers feel the pinch”

“Mormon nannies’ recommendations are hard to beat“:

“All the LDS nannies have to have a recommendation from their bishop and they are strict about who they recommend,” said Kari Shafer, the non-Mormon owner of Your Child’s Nanny, an agency that pairs caregivers and families.

Shafer said 90 percent of the requests for LDS nannies come from non-Mormon families and have helped boost traffic on the company’s Web site, yourchildsnanny.com.

In the DC area, Mormon nannies have been popular too. But I’ve never heard of getting a Bishop’s recommendation?!? Does that need to be renewed? Some friends of mine have had good experiences being a nanny but it always struck me as counter to the Church’s teachings, such as the Proclamation.

Provident living not in effect in Nola.  Follow the link to check out that flatscreen TV.

“Democrats in Utah“:

[Utahns] are more fair-minded than they often get credit for being. Sometimes I sense that many Mormons want to shed their image as one party voters, but are not being offered a choice they can live with.

And some good advice for Utah Democrats (and Maryland Republicans): “Quit Whining.”

Yikes.  A BYU study finds that: “A new study finds female college students more accepting of pornography than their fathers, suggesting the rise of Internet porn may be creating a generational shift that encompasses both genders.”

Nearly 20 years ago: the first computerized scriptures for the Church.  Around $100 w/ documentation and using DOS.  Thank goodness for the internet, it’s made the Church materials so much cheaper, accessible, and friendly for Mac-users.  (Can’t wait for the new FamilySearch).

Urim and Thummim discovered at Yale.

Jonah Goldberg borrowing from P.J. O’Rourke on Hillary Clinton’s Christmas ad:

The contrast between the Candidate of God and the Candidate of Goodies should remind everyone of P. J. O’Rourke’s timeless book Parliament of Whores.

“I have only one firm belief about the American political system, and that is this: God is a Republican and Santa Claus is a Democrat,” wrote the indispensable O’Rourke.

“God” he explained, is “a stern fellow, patriarchal rather than paternal and a great believer in rules and regulations. He holds men strictly accountable for their actions. He has little apparent concern for the material well being of the disadvantaged. … God is unsentimental. It is very hard to get into God’s heavenly country club.”

P. J. continues: “Santa Claus is another matter. … He’s nonthreatening. He’s always cheerful. And he loves animals. He may know who’s been naughty and who’s been nice, but he never does anything about it. He gives everyone everything they want without the thought of a quid pro quo.”

“Santa Claus is preferable to God in every way but one,” O’Rourke concluded. “There is no such thing as Santa Claus.”

You can see Hillary’s ad here (which I could see the GOP rerunning next year as an attack ad).  Romney’s smart for not joining the bandwagon with his own Christmas ad.

An audio version of Elder Ballard’s recent talk “Using New Media to Support the Work of the Church” is now available in the Church’s Newsroom podcast feed or can be directly downloaded as an mp3.

While the burning of an Arizona stake center has been ruled as arson, it’s not being considered a hate crime.

William Newell, an ATF special agent, said there were no suspects in the case, but he declined to call the arson a hate crime.

“It’s a crime. It’s arson. We’re going to find out who did it,” Newell said. “When you burn down a church, you are sending a statement.”

Utah Democratic Party calls on Lawrence O’Donnell to apologize for attacks on the Mormon Church:

Utah Democrats refuse to become collateral damage because of your misguided attack on a Republican candidate for President of the United States. To do otherwise would undermine fine Democrats who are members of the LDS Church, most prominently on the national stage is U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

“Rove Resigns To Spend More Time In Shadows.”  Hilarious (and clean!) satire (some might dispue that) from the Onion:

“I’ve been away from the shadows too long, and it’s put a strain on my relationship with those black forces I hold dear,” an emotional but upbeat Rove said. “There are many personal projects I’d like to pursue all alone in an opaque void, where God Himself dares not peer, so this just seemed like the perfect opportunity to slink off into murky blackness.”

Tom Tancredo backs Mitt Romney.