Blake Ostler will be presenting on “The History of the Trinity: Mormonism Engages the Christian Creedal Tradition” twice this weekend, down in Southern California. Unfortunately, The Miller-Eccles Study Group didn’t have their website updated (as of this post) to announce this event which they are hosting, but I wanted to get the word out.

Orange County
Friday, October 16, 2009
Time: 7:30 PM

Home of Morris and Dawn Thurston
9752 Crestview Cir., Villa Park, CA 92861
714-974-1878

Los Angeles County
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Time: 7:30 PM

Home of Russ & Christie Frandsen
4357 Chevy Chase Dr., La Canada Flintridge, CA 91011
(818) 790-5491; rfrandsen@charter.net

Today marks my being baptized 11 years ago. In honor of that experience, here are two lists based on my personal experiences in the church:

11 biggest challenges to my staying active 11 years

(more…)

BYU beat the UNLV Rebels tonight 59-21.

It was a fun game to watch as a BYU fan. The team looked really solid. Max threw for tons of yards with no interceptions. Harvey ran all over the the UNLV defense racking up something like 150 yeard and three touchdowns in three quarters. There were some great plays by other players as well. A tremendous interception by Jordan Pendleton, two interceptions by Scott Johnson, and some great sacks by Coleby Clausen. Some great catches as well by Andrew George, Pitta, Chambers, Thompson, Hafoka, and several of the running backs. The other running backs took advantage of the porous UNLV defense as well. And O’Neil Chambers even had a 97 yard kickoff return.

UNLV did score a touchdown on a kickoff return and punched two other TD’s in as well but giving up 14 points ain’t bad for the defense.

Did I mention that Harvey was a monster out there? When that guy is healthy he is incredible. Nice win. BYU will look to do it again next week in San Diego in preparation for the showdown with TCU in two weeks.

Well, we of the Bloggernacle have been dissing people left and right of late, so I thought it was about time for the old “You have to say three nice things about that person” post.

Mr. McNaughton (more…)

We know next to nothing for certain about the Divine Feminine. There is a long standing tradition in Mormonism that preaches of a Heavenly Mother to complement a Heavenly Father, but the details are lacking to say the least. So in this post I figured I would loosely sketch out a few theories that I have heard and felt were noteworthy.

Assumptions matter

Before I sketch these theories out there are several related and sometimes more fundamental issues that are also debatable which have a direct bearing on any theories about divinity. Here are some of them: (more…)

Despite my propensity for nonconformity and insubordination, I did my best to assimilate when I went on a mission. I followed a lot of rules, even most of the ones that seemed unnecessary. However, sometimes my contumacious nature could not be contained. (more…)

My oldest is 6, and paid attention to conference quite a bit this time, with the help of stickers, the packet from the friend, and lots of snacks.

(more…)

It is halftime on Saturday for General Conference. While I watch these great men from afar, it made me think of a few close up experiences I have had. (more…)

Utah State gave a valiant effort and the last second touchdown made it seem closer than it really was, but the only thing that kept this one from getting boring was Max Hall’s repeated interceptions.

The defense did a pretty good job overall against an Aggie offense that has proven to be fairly potent. The offense was solid except for the turnovers. Not a great showing but not bad either by the Cougs. As long as the Cougars keep improving it should be a very interesting game in three weeks when TCU rolls into Provo. Next week is a trip to Vegas.

Next year’s manual for Relief Society/Priesthood will be Gospel Principles, and chapter 2 begins with the following quote:

“All men and women are . . . literally the sons and daughters of Deity. . . . Man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents, and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father, prior to coming upon the earth in a temporal [physical] body” [1]

(more…)

BYU came out and looked pretty good against Colorado State today. The final score was BYU 42, CSU 23. BYU started very strongly getting a couple of interceptions and blocking a punt in the first quarter, with the offense punching in touchdowns on all three.

Just a few thoughts:

– Harvey Unga is really good. Man is it great to have him back.
– Max Hall has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns this season. He has a nasty habit of throwing high risk passes over the middle. A lot of his INT’s happen when he anticipates wrong the direction a receiver will break. Those end up going right to defenders.
– Brian Logan is a really good tackler but at 5’6″ he is going to get abused all year long at his cornerback position. BYU probably needs to figure out how to get someone bigger in there on occasion — especially in the red zone.
– BYU is not a top 10 team right now but they could be later this year if they keep improving.
– Todd Christiansen is a deeply annoying color commentator. I want to pull for him because he is a BYU guy but man is his commentary painful.
– Andrew Rich is a beast. He obliterates people with his tackling every week.
– Basketball coach Dave Rose looked good in the interview today. Cancer-free, less overweight, and more gray hair. I couldn’t be happier for him. Plus, I am calling it right now: BYU makes the Sweet 16 this year. I expect this year’s BYU hoops team will be the best in decades.

Congratulations to the Cougars. Utah State is coming to Provo this Friday in a pre General Conference tilt.