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Day: May 12, 2022

Old Testament at BYU

Brigham Young University’s Museum of Art is opening up a new exhibit of Old Testament art. The exhibit, which focuses on the artist James Tissot, was planned to arrive this year to connect with Latter-day Saints’ study of the Old Testament in Sunday School. The stunning exhibit, titled Prophets, Priests, and Queens, can be viewed online or at BYU’s campus and can be used to supplement your own study or to help teach others. “I’m thrilled for visitors to get to know the Old Testament in a whole new way,” said the Museum’s Head of Education, Philipp Malzl. “At the same time, I hope visitors will recognize James Tissot for the complex, relentlessly hard-working, and deeply fascinating artist that he was—unapologetic in his commitment to a personal artistic vision.” Here are some of the paintings that will appear in the exhibit:

C.D. Cunningham May 12, 2022

Formula Shortage Hits White House + Today’s Digest

Our daily rundown of the articles from around the web that we feel our readers would enjoy and appreciate. We hope to highlight the best of what’s around. Public Square Bulletin recommends: Under Pressure to Act White House Says It Will Address Formula Shortage Annie Karnie—New York Times Last week I highlighted a distressing news story about a baby formula shortage. The Biden administration has recently spoken about the issue and has promised to find ways to address the concern. Factsheet: Overview of Refugees Fleeing Religious Persecution Globally United States Commission on International Religious Freedom USCIRF has released a report on what it calls an “unprecedented” global refugee crisis. Latter-day Saints who have been asked to help support in this area can benefit from the report’s bird-eye view of the situation. ‘If someone asked you why the priesthood restoration was so significant, what would you say?’ Joseph Smith Papers historian answers Morgan Jones—LDS Living Spencer McBride, historian for the Church focusing on Joseph Smith, sits down with Morgan Jones to discuss the restoration. His insights help put us in the mind of Joseph Smith and better understand his life and ministry. Deconstructing? There’s a coach for that. Ericka Andersen—Religion News Services A trend to keep an eye on, Religion News Services reports on an increasingly likely decision of believers to not merely leave their faith but to use the help of life coaches to try and deconstruct their beliefs so they can find a way to still identify with their faith tradition while rejecting its beliefs.

C.D. Cunningham May 12, 2022

Will Latter-day Saints find Themselves on the Left on Abortion?

This week Fr. Thomas Reese called on US Catholic bishops to start supporting the Democratic party if they do end up victorious on the issue of abortion. Reese argues that while ending abortion is an important priority for these bishops, once that goal has been passed they may find themselves more generally aligned with Democrats. Reese’s article got me thinking about how a major change in abortion law may affect Latter-day Saints’ political leanings. This will likely depend in part on how abortion law is settled. Whether a national legislative compromise can be reached or it does go to the states. But if the Supreme Court rules in Dobbs that there is no constitutional right to an abortion and the matter returns to the states, we may see Latter-day Saints shift significantly. There are currently ten states that, in this scenario, would outlaw abortion without exceptions for rape or incest. While the Church’s position emphasizes opposition to elective abortion for convenience, it does allow exceptions for pregnancies that result from rape or incest. To be clear, the Church itself does not favor or oppose specific legislative proposals. And yet if the large question on abortion shifts from whether or not elective abortion should be legal to whether or not there should be exceptions to allow abortion for rape or incest, Latter-day Saints may find their sympathies on the opposite side of the abortion debate. Just as not all Latter-day Saints today advocate that the law match the Church’s position today, some Latter-day Saints might argue that while the Church’s position is for the whole world, not every country needs to allow those exceptions. So I certainly don’t mean to suggest that every Latter-day Saint must shift, but it’s certainly worth noting as a potential future trend.    

C.D. Cunningham May 12, 2022

Christians Oppressed in China + Today’s Digest

Our daily rundown of the articles from around the web that we feel our readers would enjoy and appreciate. We hope to highlight the best of what’s around. Public Square Bulletin recommends: Dramatic story of Kyrgyz Christian swept up in China’s Uyghur repression gets very little ink Julia Duin – Get Religion While much has been said about the religious persecution of Uyghur Muslims in China, the same crackdown has swept up another religious minority group but with much less reporting. Is Jesus Worth Following at Any Cost John Piper – Crossway The chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary turns the modern conception of how Christianity can benefit the individual to focus on the deep costs of discipleship that Christ identified in this devotional piece. Towards A Theology of Encountering the World Ben Spackman Latter-day Saint Biblical scholar, Ben Spackman published an understanding how Latter-day Saints understand and interact with the broader world and culture. He writes a little bit about the paper in his blog. The Pulitzers still value opinion writing — and so do readers Rick Edmonds – Poynter If you read Public Square Magazine you probably appreciate editorial journalism. Media analyst, Rick Edmonds analyzes this week’s Pulitzer Prize announcement for the current state of opinion writing.

C.D. Cunningham May 12, 2022
Gospel Fare

Teach It Freely Unto Your Children

Children deserve to learn true doctrine enthusiastically and often, both at home and at church. We fail them if we’re ashamed or hesitant.

Cassandra Hedelius May 12, 2022

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