Giveaway 9: Winner

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Congratulations to the following reader, winner of Latter-day Liberty courtesy of the author, Connor Boyack. Send us your address by Friday, April 6th to claim the book.

Jonny, March 26, 2012 10:18 AM

If you didn't win, please consider purchasing Connor's book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Deseret Book, or a variety of other bookstores and online outlets. It's also on Kindle and Nook. Connor's next book, Latter-day Responsibility, will be out in November.

Guest Post: Negotiated Love

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MMM Note: The following essay, submitted late to the Mormon Lit Blitz, was re-submitted to us as a guest post. Please note there are sexual references that some might find uncomfortable to read.

The author, Steven, is an average guy trying to make sense of himself, his above-average wife and children. He enjoys all things out-of-doors so he can legitimately claim he's trying to think "out of the box."

future love

Matt slumped in his chair in the conference room. He hated this whole process. Why couldn't he and Cindy just talk things over? Regina, Matt's negotiator, sat next to him, fingers drumming on the laminate. She leaned over to Matt and said “Don't look so anxious. You don't want to come across as a beggar. You want to give the impression you can take her or leave her.” Matt grimaced. Some friends had recommended Regina, said she definitely knew her stuff. A few more minutes of waiting, and Cindy came in the room with her negotiator, some guy named Travis. Funny how husbands customarily hired women to be represent them, and wives hired men. Tradition. The Provisional Marriage and Family Act started off as a state initiative when it seemed society was tied up in knots with respect to marriage. Congress eventually stepped in and solved it all. Marriage would remain a civil contract. Religions could regulate the belief in marriage, but the state would regulate the practice. Fifty years of the quid quo pro had produced a thriving barter and trade system where emotions and passions were neatly expressed in Times New Roman, 14 point. The law mandated certain areas be addressed, such as adultery, abuse and abandonment. Beyond that, parties were free to contract as they seemed fit, although most contracts had boiler plate language. No more simple handshakes and tying the knot. Now, it was clauses. Lots and lots of clauses. And, of course, stipulated damages and penalties if the parties breached their obligations.

Mormon Explorer: General Conference Blitz

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by jpaul (bio)
by Roy Peckham (bio)

We wouldn't be much of a start-up if we didn't try to do some crazy marketing campaigns to stretch our small budget to its limit. Today we have a team of five volunteers hitting the streets at the Salt Lake City Conference Center to distribute 4,000 "postcards" introducing visitors from around the world to Mormon Explorer. The text is a bit small in the pic, but it is a letter home from a traveler using Mormon Explorer describing what an amazing experience it has been. The QR code will take mobile users to our mobile site for basic information and sign up.

If you are going to any of the Saturday sessions, see if you spot the postcards being handed out. Don't worry, they're not anti-Mormon literature. Also, a big thanks to the great turnout we've had over the last couple days. As I write this, we are at 252 users in 21 countries.

Finally, we are listening to feedback and constantly making improvements. If you haven't tried the "World View" yet, you should because it's awesome. You can see all the users across the world as you drag the map and zoom in and out. Sign up for free and keep sharing the site with others!

The 5000 Days Project: Updates

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Get ready for another conference weekend filled with good stuff from The 5000 Days Project. Check out the exciting happenings below.

●  The first two episodes of The 5000 Days Project: Listen premiere Sunday, April 1 at 12:00 PM MST (directly following the morning session of General Conference) and 6:30 PM MST that same evening. Watch them both live on BYUtv.

●  The 5000 Days Project: Two Brothers, which many of you loved, has been accepted into the American Documentary Film Festival in Palm Springs. See it April 4th at 1 PM at the Camelot if you're in town.

●  Rick Stevenson, founder and chair of The 5000 Days Project, was the first non-mormon to be interviewed by Ruth Todd for a special edition of Conversations on the Mormon Channel. Look for the episode to air on April 14th.

●  Rick is also going to be involved with the upcoming BYU Women's Conference, possibly screening Two Brothers and an episode of Listen. Details forthcoming.

●  Sign up here to stay informed about The 5000 Days Project: Video Diary, an online video diary archive service set to launch soon.

●  Finally, buy the Two Brothers DVD if you haven't already!

Apostles of Jesus Christ

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by Saint Mark (bio)

Have you ever considered what it would be like to speak to an Apostle of Jesus Christ?

To speak to Peter about faith and how he was able to walk on water. To see Paul speak to the Greeks on Mars Hill about their "unknown God." To learn from John the Beloved about the future of mankind. It would be a singular privilege and life-changing experience for sure.

Peter, Paul, John the Beloved, and the other ancient Apostles were called as special witnesses of Christ by the Savior himself or through one He had ordained (e.g. Paul). Today, there are modern-day Apostles of Jesus Christ. Some of their names echo their ancient predecessors (Thomas and David) while others resonate with the times in which they live (Henry, Russell, Jeffrey, Todd, Boyd, Dallin, and Dieter).

Here is a personal account by one of today's Apostles of Jesus Christ, Elder Quentin L. Cook, sharing his call to the Holy Apostleship.

We have an opportunity this weekend (March 31st and April 1st at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. MST) to hear from Apostles of Jesus Christ. At this "General Conference", our modern-day Peters, Pauls, and John the Beloveds will share the words of Christ. What will they say? What is the counsel from God for our day here in 2012?

Listen and find out for yourself.

Bennion's Teachings of the New Testament, List 4

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by Seattle Jon (bio)

A few months ago I purchased and slowly read Teachings of the New Testament, written by Lowell Bennion and used in the adult Sunday School in 1953. Brother Bennion was Director of the Institute of Religion in Salt Lake City when he wrote the manual.

There are 44 chapters, or lessons, in the manual designed to "bring out the moral and religious implications of New Testament teachings for our times." Our time is not their time, but the fundamental principles taught by our Savior are timeless in their application. Here is the final list (lists one, two, three) I found interesting, uplifting and easy to replicate in post form.

Reasons why we should not judge one another

1. We have no right to judge our fellow men. They do not belong to us, but to the Lord. He is our Creator and lawgiver and he alone has a right to judge us.

2. We are not capable of rendering a just judgment. We are always blinded by the beam in our own eye. We are often guilty of the same things for which we criticize others. No man can know another person well enough to judge of him as a person. Each person's life is so complex in its environment and heredity that only God can pass fair judgment on a man.

Judgement, Jesus and Justifications

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by brettmerritt (bio)

Image via guardian.co.uk

We love to judge, don't we?

Man, I do. I enjoy looking at the thirty-something guy in his black clothes and piercings then saying something under my breath like, "How's mom's basement?" For some reason our brains need to instantly compartmentalize everything we see, feel, smell, hear and taste: good v bad, beautiful v ugly, smart v stupid, moral v immoral, funny v Whitney, independent v mom's basement. And we do this for EVERYTHING.

This complicates things for me. Just when I think I have it all figured out, I realize that, wait a second, people are doing this to me! I'm pudgy-married-creepy-aging-writer dad!

What I hate more than anything is being lumped into a group. I hate it when people think because I voted for Obama that I can't be righteous or that because I believe in God I can't also be logical. I hate it when people think that because I'm Mormon I want "the Gays" to burn or that because I'm American I'm a fat, angry, violent imbecil. I hate when people think that because I am a writer/actor that I don't have a job and cry a lot. (I do cry a lot.)

So if I hate it, why do I do it to others? I don't know. And, why, if Christ gave me some great advice on the subject, do I do it anyway?

"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."

And,

So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."

Why, especially if God will judge us for the way we judge others, do we insist on adjudicating each person we meet and throwing stones around willy-nilly?