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LDS Miscellany through a Berkeley Lens
Episodes
Tuesday Apr 20, 2021
Tuesday Apr 20, 2021
This was a fun one and we went all over the place. From a really great 1700s poem on truth, to BYU spy rings, to the nature of character in education, join us as we look at what church education looked like in the 60s and speculate on how it might have been different today.
David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, by Gregory A Prince and WM Robert Wright
https://www.amazon.com/David-McKay-Rise-Modern-Mormonism/dp/0874808227
"Act Well Thy Part", David O. McKay's Lifelong Motto
https://education.byu.edu/magazine/winter2016/act_well_thy_part
"Home Literature", Orson F. Whitney
http://mldb.byu.edu/homelit.htm
Isaac Watts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Watts
High res shot of the Isaac Watts poem, from “The improvement of the mind”
https://archive.org/details/suppimproveofmin00wattuoft/page/72/mode/2up
Ernest L. Wilkinson, spy ring on wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_L._Wilkinson#The_1966_BYU_spy_ring_controversy
Ernest L. Wilkinson and the 1966 BYU Spy Ring: A Response to D. Michael Quinn, by Jeff D. Blake
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V28N01_175.pdf
Dialogue book report podcast
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/dialogue-book-report/
Why Utah Mormons Should Become Democrats: Reflections On Partisan Politics
Tuesday Apr 06, 2021
Tuesday Apr 06, 2021
How did the church become international? How much more do we have to go? Let’s look at David O. McKay’s contribution and see how we can apply it to our present church.
David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, by Gregory A Prince and WM Robert Wright
https://www.amazon.com/David-McKay-Rise-Modern-Mormonism/dp/0874808227
Liken the scriptures unto yourselves:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/19.23-24#23
Find more about the Beyond the Block and the Foyer podcasts on Dialogue!
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcastnetwork/
Hajj
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hajj
Regarding our discussion of international vs. global. This episode was recorded before General Conference, and the Spring 2021 Sunday Morning session was awesome. Nearly every talk was from an international member and there was lots of international music. Seemed like a great step.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/sunday-morning-session
Saturday Feb 27, 2021
Saturday Feb 27, 2021
For Black History Month, we study Chapter 4 of David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism: “Blacks, Civil Rights, and the Priesthood.” The ban on black people holding the Priesthood was lifted in 1978. The people, politics, and circumstances leading up to it, particularly in McKay’s time in the 50s and 60s, makes for a difficult, but fascinating conversation. Struggle along with us as we grapple with the past to try and shape a better future.
David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, by Gregory A Prince and WM Robert Wright
https://www.amazon.com/David-McKay-Rise-Modern-Mormonism/dp/0874808227
Leiland Tanner - Coat of Colors (Kolobyte Peculiar Mix), from Peculiar People by Kolobyte
https://kolobyte.bandcamp.com/track/leiland-tanner-coat-of-colors-kolobyte-peculiar-mix
Gospel topic: Race and the Priesthood
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/race-and-the-priesthood
Standing on the Promises, Book One: One More River to Cross, by Margaret Blair Young
Martin Luther King Jr: Letter from a Birmingham jail
https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
Wiki: J Reuben Clark
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Reuben_Clark#Racism_and_anti-Semitism
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, by Richard Rothstein
Redlining
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redlining
Why I Hate White Jesus, by James Goldberg
http://mormonmidrashim.blogspot.com/2020/05/why-i-hate-white-jesus.html
More on Anthony Obinna
https://www.thechurchnews.com/archives/2005-08-27/coming-full-circle-in-west-africa-90096
Sunday Feb 14, 2021
Sunday Feb 14, 2021
Following our theme of change in the church, we look at how our approach to media has changed over the last half century, from the early days of broadcasting to recent attitude shifts regarding social media and embracing new forms of communication
David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, by Gregory A Prince and WM Robert Wright
https://www.amazon.com/David-McKay-Rise-Modern-Mormonism/dp/0874808227
An Honest Liar (2014)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2246565/
“‘Julie Through the Glass’: The Rise and Fall of the Mormon TV Commercial”, By Rollo Romig
“Be an Example of the Believers”, Mary N. Cook (2010)
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2010/10/be-an-example-of-the-believers
LDS General Conference Corpus
https://www.lds-general-conference.org/
President Hinkley on 60 minutes
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/an-interview-with-gordon-hinckley/
Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
Saturday Jan 23, 2021
Saturday Jan 23, 2021
What do we do when we disagree with family, neighbors, and friends over things so important to us that it seems impossible to reconcile? David O’McKay’s fundamental belief in free agency and love of those around him meant he respected other’s beliefs and lived a life of tolerance, while still taking action when he thought it was needed. In this episode we look at specific examples of tolerance from his life and try to apply these lessons to our own lives as we navigate the modern world of opinion and debate.
David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, by Gregory A Prince and WM Robert Wright
https://www.amazon.com/David-McKay-Rise-Modern-Mormonism/dp/0874808227
Transcript of President Joe Biden’s inauguration speech
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/20/joe-biden-inauguration-speech-transcript-full-text-460813
Juanita Brooks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juanita_Brooks
Dialogue Fireside, January 17: Benjamin Park on “Mormonism’s Many Modernisms: What the Faith’s Alternative Trajectories in the Early Twentieth Century Tell Us About the Twenty-First.”
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcasts/dialogue-fireside-4-w-benjamin-park/
More on Amy B Lyman and Franklin S Harris
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_B._Lyman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_S._Harris
Matters of Conscience, by Sterling M. McMurrin and L. Jackson Newell
http://signaturebookslibrary.org/sterling-m-mcmurrin/
No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith, by Fawn M. Brodie.
Tuesday Dec 29, 2020
Tuesday Dec 29, 2020
Today we discussed McKay Coppin’s article “The Most American Religion”, published in The Atlantic. It’s a great read or listen (find the audio link in the article!). We were particularly interested in his discussion of how our desire for acceptance affects how we interact with others as people of faith, and we applied that to our own experiences being LDS on the internet.
The Most American Religion, by McKay Coppins:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/01/the-most-american-religion/617263/
Benjamin Park’s thread on the difference between a global and international church:
https://twitter.com/benjaminepark/status/1340140374279548928
Wednesday Nov 25, 2020
Wednesday Nov 25, 2020
David O’McKay helped strengthen interfaith relationships during his tenure as President of the Church, yet Mormonism and the Catholic Church had a rocky relationship in the late 50s. Thanks to several key events and the loving patience and ministry of Catholic Bishop Duane Hunt, the rift was healed and David O’McKay’s own attitude was changed. Can this be a model for healing divides in modern communities? Maybe! Let’s talk about it!
The Great Brain book series:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Brain
David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, by Gregory A Prince and WM Robert Wright
https://www.amazon.com/David-McKay-Rise-Modern-Mormonism/dp/0874808227
Bible dictionary on Prayer. If you’ve never read this it’s worth your time :)
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bd/prayer
The Purifying Power of Gethsemane, by Bruce R. McConkie. Again, one of the most powerful talks on the Atonement ever written.
Mormon Doctrine
Saturday Oct 31, 2020
Saturday Oct 31, 2020
‘Tis the season for a show about politics! Join us as we look at political polarization in the 50s and 60s and trace its effects all the way forward to 2020.
David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, by Gregory A Prince and WM Robert Wright
https://www.amazon.com/David-McKay-Rise-Modern-Mormonism/dp/0874808227
The Law of Consecration
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_consecration
The United Order
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Order#cite_note-Clark04-1942-26
Diogenes was searching for an honest man (and may have been earth’s first green lantern):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diogenes
https://twitter.com/jdp_writes/status/1321901575535812609
Fearreantum
https://irreantum.associationmormonletters.org/17-1-top/
This Scary Statistic Predicts Growing US Political Violence — Whatever Happens On Election Day, by Peter Aldhous
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/political-violence-inequality-us-election
Whoops, the quote attributed to Jimmy Carter about if you don’t want your tax dollars to help the poor then you don’t want a country based on Christian values, was actually said by comedian John Fugelsang!
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/jimmy-carter-helping-poor/
Arthur Watkins’s memoir is called “Enough rope: The inside story of the censure of Senator Joe McCarthy by his colleagues, the controversial hearings that signaled the end of a turbulent and a fearsome era in American public life”
Folding Ideas: In Search Of A Flat Earth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTfhYyTuT44
QAnon Is a New American Religion, by Caroline Mimbs Nyce
https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2020/05/qanon-q-pro-trump-conspiracy/611722/
Newt Gingrich Says You're Welcome, by McKay Coppins
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/11/newt-gingrich-says-youre-welcome/570832
And just for fun, a J. Golden Kimball quote on politics:
Saturday Oct 17, 2020
Saturday Oct 17, 2020
Ever heard of the baseball baptisms? Missionary Work during David O’Mckay’s presidency has some swings! Come for the crazy stories and stay for the embarrassing ones.
We continue reading “David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism,” this time chapter 10, “Missionary Work”.
Whence the Early Baptismal Challenges, by Angela C.
https://bycommonconsent.com/2019/08/06/whence-the-early-baptismal-challenges/
Saturday Sep 26, 2020
Saturday Sep 26, 2020
During President McKay’s tenure, the church tripled its membership. The reorganization of the church to handle this unprecedented growth was known as ‘correlation’. How did this process affect the church, its quorums and auxiliaries? What were some of the side effects? We again use David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism as a reference for today, focusing on chapter 7, “Correlation and Church Administration”.
David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism, by Gregory A Prince
https://www.amazon.com/David-McKay-Rise-Modern-Mormonism/dp/0874808227
Useful wikipedia article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priesthood_Correlation_Program
Article on women healing: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1064&context=mormonhistory
“There Is Always a Struggle”: An Interview with Chieko N. Okazaki, by Greg Prince. Dialog 45, no. 1 (Spring 2012).
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V45N01_CO.pdf
“What have the Joseph Smith Papers taught me?”, by Steve Evans
https://bycommonconsent.com/2020/08/24/what-have-the-joseph-smith-papers-taught-me/