richard bushman, professor of history emeritus, columbia universityamy and i have had some very interesting and invigorating spiritual discussions this past year. it has been a lot of fun talking with her and reasoning out our thoughts and beliefs on a variety of subjects.
the catalysts for these discussions has been her purchase of my father's day ipod. no, we haven't been receiving spiritual confirmations from my personal music collection. in fact, 50% of my music in unlove-ed by my better half.
we have been listening to a couple new podcasts.
one podcast we have enjoyed is mormon stories. this podcast is hosted by an active mormon computer programmer who fell into inactivity while teaching seminary and learning about church history he had never heard before. he has since climbed back into church activity and this podcast started as his labor of love in searching out and discussing the truth of poignant moments in church history in a faithful way. one recent series of podcasts that sticks out in my mind as particularly poignant is his series of interviews with richard bushman. author of rough stone rolling (the new biography of joseph smith). bushman has become the recent face of mormonism in the mainstream media as they look for answers to questions about what mormonism is and how it fits into the broader american culture. here is a transcript of a session he attended at the pew forum of religious and public life in which journalists from several of the major american news outlets asked him questions. their questions and his responses are fascinating.
aside from interviews with bushman, mormon stories contains interviews with a byu history professor, a black member of the church whose membership spanned the 1978 revelation, gregory prince, todd compton, an endowed master mason and many other fascinating interviews. each of the interviews allows the interviewee to tell their story in a supportive environment and each interview is moderated by john dehlin--a sympathetic, active lds member.
i wonder if any of you have already listened to any of these interviews. do you have a favorite? for those have never heard of mormon stories...do they sound interesting to you? is it something you would try if you got bored of listening to 'all things considered' (or if you are tired of grant and amanda...?) is it something you think should be avoided?
26 comments:
incidentally, if you wanted to try out an interview and you own an ipod then just search for 'mormon stories' in itunes and click on 'subscribe'.
if you don't have an ipod you listen on your computer. a description of how to do this is here
in retrospect, i think john's interviews with bushman lag in the middle. if you want the quick and inspiring. try the first, fourth and fifth interviews.
my personal favorite is still his recounting of his own mission. i love the gregory prince interviews, especially since his book--which paul gave me for my birthday--should be essential reading for any lds member. actually, his podcast about masonry really enlightened me on the temple and helped me become more comfortable with some of the things that happen in the temple that I originally didn't understand.
and i think jonny would be fascinated with the buckley jepson interview--which would go along nicely with his post of last year....
I have loved these podcasts. They have expanded my understanding and way of reasoning about the gospel and church culture. I have found valuable the clear division they help me make of the culture of the church and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
At first I was a bit resistant. The podcasts tackle some of the most frustrating/controversial parts of Mormon history and folklore. But it always seems to become resolved within the context of the core truths of the gospel.
I highly recommend them. Matt, you would really love them. Libby & DJ, you can download them and listen to them while you run on your treadmill. Jonny and Mel would love listening to them on the way to and from SLC.
My favorites have been the ones about blacks and the priesthood, the series about women and the church, and Richard Bushman's interview.
Let us know if we've turned your ear to them!
I have been a little inactive on the blog of late. I didn't have much opportunity at Philmont and was a little overwhelmed when I came back with the house, the yard and the choir retreat. I wish I had an ipod to download to or I wish I even knew how to download. I am still trying to download all my summer pictures. I know it's not that I have a low IQ because I took the internet test and I scored in the genius range (ha ha) so much for internet IQ tests.
Dehlin was just announced as the new director ofSunstone.The paper reported that Sunstone lost 70% of its members when the church advised against dissenter groups. His statement to the press was to try to appeal to active Mormons. Shauna and I canceled our subscription about 15 years ago.. Uncle Ron
it's true...dehlin announced his position as sunstone director within the last month.
John's words on the subject can be found here. He said in comment #51 the following, "I can say also (for the record) that I am pro-LDS, and that every discussion I’ve ever had w/ the leadership team and board of directors at Sunstone (and I mean EVERY one — for over 2 years now) has followed our motto: “Faith seeking understanding.”
Sunstone, at its core, is pro-Faith, pro-Mormon, and pro-LDS (in my opinion)..."
Elder Ballard said, "let us beware of false prophets and false teachers, both men and women, who are self-appointed declarers of the doctrines of the Church and who seek to spread their false gospel and attract followers by sponsoring symposia, books, and journals whose contents challenge fundamental doctrines of the Church." November 1999 ensign.
The answer is not straightforward as the church sponsors multiple symposia: FAIR, FARMS, Mormon History Association to name a few. Richard Bushman held a Joseph Smith Symposium the last several summers at BYU to further explore Joseph's life and times with up and coming LDS historians.
So while I don't agree with much of what Sunstone has represented in the past (and frankly still represents), I don't think John Dehlin's recent affiliation with them should count as an a priori count against him and a barrier to enjoying the solid work he has done in crafting these interviews...
hi mom! thanks for stopping by. sorry you are so busy...hopefully it is an enjoyable busy?
mom: the ipod! finally apple gets something truly right:)
APPLE COMPUTERS ROCK!
YEAAAAAAH!
wait...can anonymous people leave comments on this web log? paul: we can burn mom all the mormonstories on cds and in that way she can listen to them while she is traveling...
the anonymous comment was surprising to me. i didn't think you could comment anonymous on a private blog...
i didn't think so either...although i agree with that person....
All you have to do is click the anonymous box.
permissions to get in and then the anonymous box.
-posted by petey.
(although the first one wasn't. and yes i agree too.)
Anyone else still want to talk about Harry Potter?? I finally got to read all the spoilers and add my own...
Notice the time. You made me stay up. I started reading Richard Bushman's interview at 10:35 and see what time it is. Fascinating. Well-done. Parallells (I can't remember how to spell this word) my own experience in Philmont.
meaning there were lots of question about the church while you were at philmont?
i'm glad you read pops. i have been really impressed with richard bushman. amy gave me a diary of his experiences surrounding the publishing of the book and the book tour. it has already brought tears a few times. you can find it here...
did i say 'brought tears'? i meant 'music to my ears'. i wouldn't have cried reading a book about a historian...
i am interested to hear about ron and shauna's break with sunstone. is there no hope for sunstone? does affiliation with sunstone taint a person? is dialogue more respectable?
paul:
FYI: i'm pretty sure my parents don't check old threads.
i did speak to them a little more about sunstone on friday night while i was home for a bit after our conversation in CA. but i don't feel authorized to speak for them in this forum...
petey: with the new and improved 'recent comments' sweetness on our sidebar they may yet make it over to this old thread...
Paul you might be interested to know this---as you know, I'm slightly involved with John Dehlin's Mormon Matters podcast series, and he recently proposed to the group that we cross-promote Mormon Matters from his platform at Sunstone. I advised him strongly not to play up the connection between Sunstone and the podcast, precisely because I think he'll alienate a lot of potential listeners just like Uncle Ron and Aunt Shauna, who might otherwise enjoy the series. Although I've enjoyed some things that I've encountered in Sunstone over the years (I don't subscribe and have not read regularly), I tend to feel that the Sunstone brand might be irrevocably broken. I just don't know whether he'll be able to rehabilitate it and win back the trust of mainstream Mormons. Branding missteps stick around for a long time. In some ways it might be better to start all over again with something new---which is why I was attracted to Mormon Matters to begin with, because it didn't have any ideological baggage. On the other hand, our generation feels entitled to freely distributed information, so we're unlikely to pay to subscribe to a magazine---so the entire magazine model might be broken, too.
John is a super-nice guy, I met him in Utah two weeks ago.
i was happy for john in his promotion, but the day i heard the news my heart sunk a little. not so much for concerns of affiliation with sunstone (i'm removed enough from past events that sunstone evokes no emotion from me). i was sad because it became very likely that mormon stories and mormon matters might take a back seat to sunstone work.
he is such a pure and honest interviewer. he is so earnest and interested with his questions that people really relax and open up to him. the testimony that toscano bore of the book of mormon was really remarkable to hear.
anyway, mormon matters has also been fun to hear thoughtful discussions of how mormonism relates to the broader current culture.
i agree with you rosalynde. the less cross promotion he does from the mormon stories and matters podcasts the better. his panels and interviews are powerful and stand on their own. they have little to gain from an association with sunstone (and potentially much to lose). sunstone may not gain much from a mormon matters/stories endorsement as they are still fledgling. there is enough sunstone plugging from the panelists and interviewees that those who are interested will find sunstone without explicit endorsement...
but it sounds like you have already voiced a similar opinion rosalynde. and i agree.
i must say though, i loved your points made during the history of feminism discussion that assigning morality to historical findings too early is damaging. so often, this is where mormon history is potentially damaging to faith. making moral judgments on partial information is not fair and carries potentially eternally damaging consequences. no man knows another man's thoughts.
that being said, i love the idea that our full and blemished history should be thoroughly combed through and we should confront that history honestly. as a believer, confronting the history allows a better understanding of how god directs his people. i'm glad for the openness currently being shown in church publications.
and i too am sorry we didn't get to talk dutcher and card at the reunion. lame of me i know.
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