3 Firsts at General Conference + 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:

3 firsts you may have missed at the April 2022 general conference

Haley Lundeberg – LDS Living

Without any new major announcements or initiatives, it may have seemed like this latest General Conference didn’t have anything new to offer. But here are a few new things that you may not have caught the first time you watched.

How the Person Became a Self

Ryan T. Anderson – First Things

This adaptation of the foreword to Carl Trueman’s new book “Strange New World” is great reading by itself, and can introduce you to the general idea before you choose to buy it or not. You can also check out Trueman’s article here on Public Square.

Press quiet as a mouse when it comes to Catholic angles in this Disney-DeSantis fight

Clemente Lisi – Get Religion

While talk about Florida’s new elementary sex-education bill has dominated headlines, especially with Disney weighing in favor of schools teaching sexual orientation and gender identity to children 5-8. But Clemente Lisi points out that all of this media coverage. has rather conspicuously left out the Catholic faith of Governor DeSantis and much discussion of faith at all from their coverage.

New federal rules on abortion, transgender services may pose ‘existential threat’ to Catholic hospitals

Tom Tracy – America

Leaders at the Catholic Benefits Association are sounding alarm bells about new rules coming from the Department of Health and Human Services that may pose increasing problems for the free exercise of religion, including potentially shuttering many hospitals with religious missions. I don’t know enough to know if I should share the concern, but certainly something worth having on your radar.

Is Science of Any Help in Thinking About Heaven?

Stephen M. Barr – Church Life Journal

This article asks a very interesting question and adds some interesting thoughts about the role of the body. But ultimately, this article is likely of interest to Latter-day Saints for the sheer number of questions asked for which we have doctrinal answers. What’s the destiny of the physical universe? What will our resurrected bodies be like?

Mothers Deserve Better Than This

Politics & Law

Could You Share Heaven With Them?

A tree with prominent underground roots evokes the foundations of belief during a faith crisis.

Gospel Fare

Nourishing the Roots: An Interview with Walker Wright

The Trouble with Garment Talk

A roofline under gray skies with several crows perched along the ridge, one crow pecking near a skylight, a gutter visibly clogged with wet leaves and peanut shells, early morning light. Peacemaking grows harder when daily irritations pile up like debris.

Tolerance

The Continuous, Habitual Struggle for Peace

Gospel Fare, Tolerance

“Sanctuary” Must Mean Something Again

Dan Ellsworth

Could You Share Heaven With Them?

We may share eternity with our political adversaries. That possibility should change how we treat them now.

Amanda Freebairn

Do Women Have Agency?

Women deserve more than permission to choose. They deserve the wisdom and moral guidance to choose well.

C.D. Cunningham

Answering Tough Questions About Tithing

The spiritual impact of tithing reaches beyond budgets, investment returns, and promises of material prosperity.

Jeff Bennion

Pride and Shame Are Two Sides of the Same Coin

The choice between pride and shame is a false binary—transcending both enables a growth mindset more conducive to durable Christian discipleship.

Jacob Z. Hess

What Life Patterns Protect Against Sexual Violence?

Research points to ten life patterns that reduce vulnerability and help protect women from sexual violence.

CATEGORIES

Man w/ Flowers, Looking at Tombstone in Cemetery | Make The Good Times Stop: Pop Culture’s Fixation on Eternal Oblivion | Public Square Magazine | Eternal Oblivion

Making Meaning of COVID Loss

Job’s words, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord,” are especially meaningful post-COVID.

Ten Ways the AP Abuse Article Misrepresented the Evidence

I was surprised by how many discrepancies I found when comparing Rezendes’ AP article with the actual court documents. Here is a comprehensive list of contrasts between the two.

The Night Shift Heard Heaven First

Where is true glory found? Christmas tells a story of meekness over metrics, where angels go first to the overlooked.

Russian Priest Protests Ukraine Invasion + 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: For Russian priest protesting Ukraine invasion, a mixture of defiance and concern Jack Jenkins – Religion News Services Rev. Ioann Burdin first wrote a letter against the Russian war in Ukraine in late February. He eventually started praying for peace in his church, and within a few weeks the police were contacting his parishioners. His journey is essential reading. God’s Paradoxical Path Meagan Kohler – Mirabile Dictu Starting from a reflection on General Conference, Meagan Kohler concludes, “The world will change when you change yourself.” She bemoans those stuck in perpetual fist-shaking at the heavens. Naw! Nobody in the Title IX wars is asking LGBTQ questions about religious schools Terry Mattingly – Get Religion The Washington Post recently spoke about a new application of Title IX rules. But though the change will effect more than 7,000 religious schools the reporting on the issue ignores the question of religion entirely leaving a major hole in their reporting on the matter. The Women Who Restored Moral Philosophy Paul Dicken – The American Conservative As World War II began, four women took positions at Oxford University. They found the moral philosophy of the academy severely lacking. Watching the horrors of WWII shook them from their complacency. This fascinating story is worth your time. To the columnist who questioned why we ‘half’ to do general conference — let me answer Hanna Seariac – Deseret News In Monday’s Conference run down, I shared a quip in response to a columnist asking why we even have General Conference. Hanna Seariac takes the question much more seriously and gives it a much fuller answer, definitely worth a read.