Most American faiths are facing a shortage of pastors due to burnout and the avoidance of ministry among young people. Are there lessons from the Latter-day Saint experience that can help our fellow Christian brothers and sisters?
Although the final draft is uncertain, the leaked Supreme Court majority opinion can be celebrated as a step towards a culture celebrating all life—both the precious unborn and the equally precious mothers who need all of our support.
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: Sikh Leaders from Dubai Meet with First Presidency Church Newsroom Surender and Bubbles Kandhari visited with the First Presidency yesterday. The two Sikh leaders from the United Arab Emirates spoke about the love they felt during their visit. National Day of Prayer Primer To celebrate the National Day of Prayer, be sure to head over and check out our article listing some of the best things we’ve read about prayer. Faith, Doubt, and Murder in ‘Under the Banner of Heaven’ Sergio Lopez —Sojourners While there has been no shortage of think pieces about Under the Banner of Heaven, including in our own magazine, I wanted to direct your attention to a particularly thoughtful piece in Sojourners. While Lopez misses the tone-deaf elements that miss our faith, he recognizes some of the thoughtful questions it asks. America’s Blue-Red Divide Is About to Get Starker Ronald Brownstein — The Atlantic Since we had published a piece suggesting that the end of Roe could lead to greater unity, I wanted to direct your attention to this piece predicting the opposite result. Brownstein’s basic thesis is that as states have more distinct abortion laws, our country will be more different from state to state.
As Latter-day Saints, we often see the political news of the day through the lens of how it will affect families and children. One massive story that has somehow gone without major national notice is a troubling shortage of baby formula. WebMD has the story here: https://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20220503/baby-formula-shortage-getting-worse Supply chain issues have hit all sectors of the economy. Baby formula has also been hit by a major recall from one of the country’s leading makers of baby formula. But few parts of the economy so directly affect the health and well-being of our most vulnerable. Today, approximately 31% of stores that usually carry baby formula, do not have it in stock. This crisis suggests direct and immediate action be taken to protect so many of our nation’s babies that rely on formula.
In commemoration of The National Day of Prayer, here are some readings on prayer. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Last year, Samuel Hislop recommended this book. The book contains an extended conversation between Ivan and Alyosha about the nature and efficacy of prayer. A must-read on the nature of faith in difficult times. The Priceless Privilege of Prayer Bruce D. Porter gave a BYU devotional examining ways that our prayers can be dishonest, looking at the example of Huckleberry Finn. President Nelson on the National Day of Prayer President Nelson today published on social media, “On this National Day of Prayer, I have been pondering the evolving meaning in our society of the phrase ‘thoughts and prayers.’ For many, this is still a sincere expression of condolence and concern. For others, it is viewed as a perceived lack of action in the face of tragedy.” He goes on to explain how important prayers can be in the face of tragedy, and how it inspires him to action. The Power of Prayer Meleane Unga gave a devotional at BYU-Hawaii and spoke about how her father’s prayers growing up helped give her a model for how to deal with difficulties in her life. A powerful example of the personal importance of prayer. Four-Year-Old Me Prayed My Mom Would Have Eight Arms You’ll have to forgive me for including an old article I wrote myself detailing how I learned to recognize the unexpected answers to prayer. Religion for Adults Means Embracing Complexity Sarah Hurwitz wrote in the Wall Street Journal in 2019 about what a grown-up faith means, including the importance of prayer. One of the most thoughtful pieces on prayer in a national newspaper in the last decade.
Despite strong hopes otherwise, many religious parents are seeing their children choosing a different path—a freedom that is as painful as it is Godly.
As the last bulwark for the rule of law in our nation, I’ve been discouraged to see the attacks on the Supreme Court from all corners in light of the recently leaked decision in the Dobbs abortion case. We’ll likely be looking at this issue in greater depth in Public Square soon. But for now, I wanted to highlight just how pervasive anti-institutionalism has become across our country. https://stream.org/were-all-postmodernists-now/ John Stonestreet and G.S. Morris write for the Stream about how “We’re all Postmodernists Now.” They are focusing on a loss of trust primarily from the political right. Which is why the sudden return of this trend to the left is so noteworthy. Post-modernism is not a sustainable framework, but it is increasingly used as a temporary tool to pursue specific political or cultural goals. As Latter-day Saints, we agree with their statement that, “Truth is knowable and that it doesn’t depend on the source but a reality external to ourselves.” These trends are certainly worthy of continued concern.
We wanted to draw your attention to an interesting announcement from The Church: https://news-gu.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/yigo-guam-temple-open-househttps://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2022-05-02/inside-the-new-yigo-guam-temple-and-its-traveling-open-house-252759 A new temple is about to open in Yigo Guam. As is tradition, the temple will be opened for an open house before its dedication. The local area around Guam though includes many different island nations, and COVID-19 travel restrictions are still abundant in the area. The traveling open house, the first of its kind, will include both photos of the temple’s exterior and interior as well as samples of the materials used in construction so that visitors can better appreciate it. Traveling open houses will never have the full-impact of visiting the temple, but it may be a way to invite visitors to learn about the temple in increasingly remote areas in the future. We’re excited to see how this open house goes, and if the plan is revisited in the future.
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: Connecticut Man Accused Of Setting Car On Fire Because Victim Was Mormon Associated Press Police said the man admitted to starting the fire and said he did it because he didn’t agree with the man’s religious beliefs. LDS Daily followed up reporting new details on the case. Latter-day Saint leaders and LGBT+ advocates deepen their relationship on Washington D.C. Temple tour Tad Walch – Deseret News The Washington D.C. temple open house has helped further the alliance between those working for religious and LGBT+ rights. Helping to prove the point Rev. Marian Edmonds-Allen recently made here in Public Square Magazine. Like Christmas, Eid is being commercialized – and that’s a welcome thing Rifat Malik – NPR Eid, a holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan has been increasingly commercialized in the United States. While Christians are most familiar with bemoaning the commercialization of holidays, Rifat Malik explores why this might be a blessing to the Muslim-American community. Abortion restrictions v. religious free exercise: Which will win? Mark Silk – Religion News Services We may be looking at a major reversal on religious freedom issues. Some faiths, such as Judaism, specifically require abortion in limited circumstances. Will they be able to access those abortions as part of the free exercise of religion? Seek and Expect Miracles Anne Hinton Pratt – Meridian Magazine Anne Hinton Pratt takes President Russell M. Nelson’s directive to seek and expect miracles seriously in this article identifying the kinds of miracles we can look for and how to be more aware of them in our life.
The reality of a Heavenly Mother is glorious. Our personal and casual use of her name is not.
The Church News had a report yesterday on a ward in Calabar, Nigeria serving a local orphanage. The Young Single Adult Ward had recently been pondering the hymn “Have I Done Any Good,” and decided that they could make a difference by serving a local orphanage. The ward members brought food and supplies, and prayed and sang with the children. The staff noted how timely the gifts were as they continue to recover from the negative effects of COVID-19.
