There is a passage from B.H. Roberts’ History of the Church that I find inspiring and simultaneously, to my shame, personally damning. Roberts cites a statement reportedly made by David Whitmer to Wm. H Kelly and G. A. Blakeslee concerning Joseph Smith and his translation of the Book of Mormon.
Author Archives: J. Max Wilson
Those deceptive TESOL Mormons
I don’t know how it is now, but not long ago there was a big rush among BYU students to go teach English in China. BYU’s English Language Center is excellent, and the BYU TESOL department has produced many excellent teachers, but even among non-TESOL students there seems to be great interest in language. Part of it has to do with the numerous returned missionaries who served outside of the U.S., but even among those who didn’t there seems to be an interest in languages, foreign nations, and cultures.
Once True but Now False
Many of you may have received an email stating that the planet Mars (God of War!) will be closer to Earth in August than it has been in the last 5,000 years and will be again for perhaps even 60,000 years. Guess what: You’ve been the victim of an Internet hoax!
Married to Change: How well should you know someone before you marry?
Amid the interesting stats shared by the commentators on Elisabeth’s willworkforawife.org post, Elisabeth wrote in comment #16:
I sort of go back and forth between being appalled at such abbreviated meeting to dating to engaged to married stories amongst Mormons, and awed that so many great marriages can be built on knowing each other for such a short amount of time.
What real relationship is there between successful marriage and pre-marriage familiarity? Which aspects of your potential spouse are essential to know before you decide to marry, and which are not?
I few years ago I became good friends with a co-worker. He was a fairly devout Muslim from Yemen, where he had been born, raised, and married. One day we went to lunch along with another co-worker.
Attention Deficit Disorder
The subject of medicating “bad” behavior is sometimes controversial. I’ve met many people in the church who believe that ADD is just an excuse for bad behavior, and that medications prescribed to treat ADD are dangerous, addictive, or damaging, and a poor substitute for good old discipline. I used to think along these lines.
ADD discussions are tied to the ongoing discussion of nature verses nurture, free will, and the dualism of body and spirit.
Let me draw your attention to a remarkable book: Healing ADD by Daniel G. Amen, M.D.