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Mormon Doctrine Project
Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 10:16 pm
by _sethpayne
Friends:
I am embarking on a project to collect short articles on subjects related to Mormon Doctrine.
I operate
http://www.mormonstudies.com and plan to post these short articles there.
The overall goal of the project is to provide those interested in Mormonism with access a short and concise reference on the wide range of topics.
There are a few guidelines I would like to put in place for these short articles:
* Articles should be between 300-500 words
* These articles should be fair and accurate. In other words, they should not be devotional nor polemical.
* References and corresponding links to references are highly desirable.
* The tone of the articles should be academic but also accessible.
All contributors will be asked to provide brief bios and links to their personal blogs/websites.
If anyone is interested in helping me edit submitted articles, please contact me.
sethpayne@gmail.comThose of you who would like to submit articles please visit this link and input your name, email address and the topic on which you would like to write.
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreads ... E6MQ#gid=0Thanks!
Seth
Re: Mormon Doctrine Project
Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 10:46 pm
by _cinepro
sethpayne wrote:Friends:
I am embarking on a project to collect short articles on subjects related to Mormon Doctrine.
Just to be clear, you mean "the teachings and beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", and not the book "Mormon Doctrine", right?
Re: Mormon Doctrine Project
Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 11:14 pm
by _sethpayne
cinepro wrote:sethpayne wrote:Friends:
I am embarking on a project to collect short articles on subjects related to Mormon Doctrine.
Just to be clear, you mean "the teachings and beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", and not the book "Mormon Doctrine", right?
That is correct. I do mean the teachings and beliefs of the LDS Church.
Re: Mormon Doctrine Project
Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 11:20 pm
by _sethpayne
cinepro wrote:sethpayne wrote:Friends:
I am embarking on a project to collect short articles on subjects related to Mormon Doctrine.
Just to be clear, you mean "the teachings and beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", and not the book "Mormon Doctrine", right?
So, topics could include:
The Book of Mormon
Seer Stones
Priesthood
The KJV
Pearl of Great Price
Articles of Faith
The Wentworth Letter
Edmunds Tucker Act
The Manifesto
The Law of Tithing, Consecration etc...
United Order
Revelation
The Joseph Smith Papyri
The September Six
Mother in Heaven
Deification
Temple Worship
etc......
Re: Mormon Doctrine Project
Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 12:06 am
by _Aristotle Smith
Just to prepare you for the inevitable, I wanted to be the first to say:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=19009
Re: Mormon Doctrine Project
Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 3:04 am
by _bcspace
Since LDS doctrine is only that which the Church has published, why not simply refer them to LDS.org? All one has to do is click "Study" and then "Study by Topic".
Just to prepare you for the inevitable, I wanted to be the first to say:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=19009
Naw. though I did post in it. This is one is probably better:
http://mormondiscussions.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=18067
Re: Mormon Doctrine Project
Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 6:55 am
by _sethpayne
bcspace wrote:Since LDS doctrine is only that which the Church has published, why not simply refer them to LDS.org? All one has to do is click "Study" and then "Study by Topic".
Hi BC,
Thanks for posting.
I understand your position on what constitutes official correlated LDS doctrine but I think you too narrowly define Mormon Doctrine when you limit it to simply "official" or what Armand Mauss might call "authoritative" doctrine.
I discuss Mauss' 4 categories of Mormon Doctrine here and think this is a more robust and realistic way of looking at Mormon Doctrine holistically.
http://www.sethpayne.com/?p=346Also, I'll quote what I posted on MDD when asked by Doug the Hutt why the articles I'm collecting would be "better" or even necessary given that the Church publishes its official correlated teachings LDS.org:
I don't think it will be any "better", but perhaps different in purpose and tone.
For example, a person has expressed writing about seer stones and folk magic in the early 19th century. This is an interesting topic that helps us understand the ethos of Joseph Smith's days growing up in Upstate New York. Another person would is going to write on the Joseph Smith papyri in an academic way similar in tone to what was presented by WS at last year's FAIR conference. These may not be subjects that the correlation committee writes about.
Also, some find it interesting to compare and contrast the views of different LDS leaders/thinkers on subjects like the creation, the fall etc.... My hope is that these short articles will not only introduce people to what today's Church believes and teaches, but also to how the LDS Church's beliefs/understanding/practices have both changed and stayed the same over the years.
Indeed, I would love to show how LDS beliefs on peripheral topics such as the flood, pre-adamites etc... vary. Many people have this crazy idea that Mormons all think and believe the same. This obviously isn't the case as evidenced by the lively discussions on this board!
I would hope that these short articles may act as a jumping point for those so inclined to look at the writings of Bushman, Mauss, Bokovoy, Peterson, etc....
If memory serves, you hold some non "official" views in regards to the creation/flood etc... In my view, your beliefs, although non official, still make up the tapestry of Mormon Doctrine.
Re: Mormon Doctrine Project
Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 4:20 pm
by _bcspace
I understand your position on what constitutes official correlated LDS doctrine but I think you too narrowly define Mormon Doctrine when you limit it to simply "official" or what Armand Mauss might call "authoritative" doctrine.
It's not my position, it's the Church's own position.
If memory serves, you hold some non "official" views in regards to the creation/flood etc... In my view, your beliefs, although non official, still make up the tapestry of Mormon Doctrine.
I do hold some nonofficial views and even some ontrary to official doctrine. But I am quick to point out that fact rather than (and I'm not accusing you of this) claiming my views are doctrine or denying LDS doctrine.
Re: Mormon Doctrine Project
Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 5:04 pm
by _sethpayne
bcspace wrote:I understand your position on what constitutes official correlated LDS doctrine but I think you too narrowly define Mormon Doctrine when you limit it to simply "official" or what Armand Mauss might call "authoritative" doctrine.
It's not my position, it's the Church's own position.
If memory serves, you hold some non "official" views in regards to the creation/flood etc... In my view, your beliefs, although non official, still make up the tapestry of Mormon Doctrine.
I do hold some nonofficial views and even some ontrary to official doctrine. But I am quick to point out that fact rather than (and I'm not accusing you of this) claiming my views are doctrine or denying LDS doctrine.
I think the crux of our disagreement is that you maintain that the Church *alone* defines doctrine and, I agree that in an "official" of authoritative sense this is true. However, I maintain that Mormon Doctrine is constituted of much more than what is given the official stamp of approval by the correlation committee. Doctrine is defined by culture, practice, folk beliefs, politics, etc... not just for Mormonism, but all faiths.
So we do agree that official doctrine is determined by institutional edict (publication in your view). I think you should consider the fact that cultural and folk beliefs - especially those that have heavy influence on members of the Church -- are also part of Mormon Doctrine.
Re: Mormon Doctrine Project
Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 5:29 pm
by _Doctor Scratch
This seems like an interesting project, Seth, though like Doug the Hutt and BCSpace, I'm a little perplexed as to what you're hoping to accomplish. Or, maybe it's more accurate to say that I'm worried about the likely outcomes of this. As I think you realize, this will likely put you in the crosshairs of some of the more militant TBMs.