Mere Mormonism
Nate Oman | December 23, 2003
A while back, Russell suggested the possibility of a Mormon holiday to celebrate Joseph Smith’s birthday. Last Sunday, I took at least part of his suggestion to heart in my Elders’ Quorum lesson
A Mormon Image: Quilting the Tree of Life
Nate Oman | December 22, 2003
What counts as art is an interesting question. We have a bias toward thinking of art in terms of oil paintings, bronze statues, or marble carvings. One of the unfortunate effects of this bias is that it makes much of the art done by women invisibile. You’ll note that most of the [...]
Mormon Cursing
Nate Oman | December 19, 2003
While reading Wilford Woodruff’s diaries recently, I discovered that I have been living in a cursed part of the country. What am I to make of this, and the more general phenomena of Mormon cursing?
A Delicate Question
Nate Oman | December 18, 2003
In the interest of fostering discussion, I want to solicit thoughts from the vast hordes of T&S readers (that is how we think of you). We all like to hear from loved ones, and you would hate to discourage contact from those who are far away. Thus, how do you approach the delicate [...]
Models of Women and Priesthood
Nate Oman | December 17, 2003
A favorite topic of speculation (and angst) among many Mormons and Mormon-watchers is whether or not women will get the priesthood. It is an interesting topic, but I think that most of the discussions of it are pretty uninteresting. The reason for this, I think, is that they are in the thrall of [...]
Family Honor
Nate Oman | December 16, 2003
I just came across this story discussing a presenation that my father gave a while back at BYU. One writing professor had this to say:
What is the Purpose of the BYU Dress and Grooming Code?
Nate Oman | December 15, 2003
BYU is often ridiculed for its dress and grooming code. The basic argument is that it is silly. It places undue emphasis on essentially trivial issues of facial hair and hemlines. A more telling critique claims that by focusing on trivialities it actually affirmatively stunts real moral development.
I think that all of [...]
BYU Law School
Nate Oman | December 15, 2003
Since we have been having a discussion about BYU, I thought I would post a little bit about BYU and my particular discipline: law. Although I went to BYU as an undergrad, I didn’t go there for law school. Still, I have friends that did, I know some of the faculty, and I [...]
A Mormon Image: Temple Murals and Art Missionaries
Nate Oman | December 12, 2003
While many members don’t realize it, there is actually a fairly strong tradition of impressionistic painting among Mormon artistists. The origins of the tradition go back to the decision of the Church to send some budding young LDS artists to Paris as “Art Missionaries” in the late 19th century. This painting, a study [...]
A Fun Discussion
Nate Oman | December 11, 2003
There has been an interesting discussion over at the Metaphysical Elders on the perennial “Iron Rod v. Leahona” debate. In runs from this post to this post. Also, they seem to have added comments, although you have to go to the main page to see them, i.e. you can’t comment on archived posts.