caspianrex
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Everything posted by caspianrex
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I'm curious as to whether there is any data on the rate of "retention" of new converts. Actually, I'm not just curious about this retention rate just in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but in various Christian denominations as well. As someone who has worked for the United Methodist Church for the past 15 years, I have often thought that we don't always do a great job of instructing new members in the particulars of our faith. So, I sometimes wonder how many people who may be new to Christian faith, or new to Methodism, may end up slipping through the cracks after a while. I recall, many years ago, when my wife and I attended a church in the Disciples of Christ denomination, that it was quite common for young people to have an emotional conversion experience at a concert or something. They were welcomed, baptized, and then...we sometimes never saw them again. It's certainly a challenge for all churches, not just LDS. As the OP indicated, the Catholic Church has a long history of catechizing new believers, so I wouldn't be too surprised if they have a pretty good rate of retention.
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Reading through The Book of Mormon as a non-member
caspianrex replied to caspianrex's topic in General Discussions
I think the upcoming Annotated Book of Mormon, edited by Grant Hardy and published by Oxford University Press, is a good indication of the Book of Mormon's literary merit. Looking forward to that publication! -
A chilly day in Nashville today. And a bit dreary.
But I was busy most of the day, so it didn't get me down...
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Another lovely day in Nashville, TN, although this one is a little bit more overcast. Some storms may arrive later in the day.
But for now, it's warm and lovely!
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I listened to the NPR piece a few days ago, and I thought James Jones expressed his position quite articulately. I'm not a Latter-day Saint myself, so I don't have any skin in the game, but I think the Church would do well to acknowledge some of their earlier positions on race, and not try to pretend that everything sorted itself out just fine in 1978. (I'm not accusing ALL LDS leadership of this, but one occasionally sees responses of "Well, it was a different time back in those days" to concerns raised about racial issues, polygamy, etc. Again, not trying to criticize a Church that I'm not a member of, but just presenting my perspective as an outsider.
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The sun's out today, it's quite warm, and very breezy.
Thinking tomorrow will be a good day for a run (I don't actually have time to do it today)!
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Yesterday in Nashville was warm like summer. Today is a bit chillier and damp, more like late winter weather. Crazy.
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Just completed my THIRD readthrough of the Book of Mormon on bookofmormon.online!
(I know many folks here have read it many more times than that, but I'm not a Latter-day Saint, so the achievement is still pretty big for me!)
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Reading through The Book of Mormon as a non-member
caspianrex replied to caspianrex's topic in General Discussions
This time through, I've noticed that I'm getting a much better idea of the flow of the narrative (which can be a bit confusing for the non-LDS reader the first time around). Also, I noticed, probably about 2/3 of the way through, that I am no longer distracted by the "And it came to pass" phrases. The first time reading the BoM, I found that extremely distracting, but now I barely notice it. One thing that I find intriguing as I read the BoM is the relationship between its text and that of the Bible: Nephi's lengthy Isaiah quotes, or the variation of sorts on the Sermon on the Mount in 3 Nephi, for example. (Not to mention the numerous parallels throughout the book with statements by Paul, Jesus, and other biblical figures. I know a lot of non-LDS critics of the BoM make accusations of plagiarism and such, but I don't actually look at it in that way. Rather, I find that those connections between the texts (one of which I'm extremely familiar with, and the other of which I'm still getting familiar with), make me pay attention to the different contexts and the different nuances between the two religious texts. The BoM often reframes biblical concepts in interesting and novel ways, and often gives me new perspective on familiar phrases. P.S. I just finished my third readthrough of the text a few minutes ago!
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new Oxford Annotated Book of Mormon
caspianrex replied to Hamilton Porter's topic in General Discussions
Well, I also saw that Grant Hardy said September on his Facebook page, so maybe it's September after all. I guess, if it arrives in July (shortly after my birthday), I'll be pleasantly surprised! -
new Oxford Annotated Book of Mormon
caspianrex replied to Hamilton Porter's topic in General Discussions
The Maxwell Institute Study Edition (also edited by Grant Hardy) is excellent. But, judging from some of the proofs that Grant has shared on Facebook, this new Oxford edition will blow it away. One thing that disappointed me about the MISE was that it only came out in paperback, whereas the Oxford edition will be in hardcover. I've heard rumors that some Church leadership didn't really get behind the MISE, and so any further editions of that version seem to be out of the question. Still, I wish they would do a hardcover edition someday. I originally had the paperback of Grant's Reader's Edition of the BoM, published by University of Illinois Press, and my paperback got worn out, so I invested in a hardcover of that one, which was a little harder to find, but definitely worth getting. -
new Oxford Annotated Book of Mormon
caspianrex replied to Hamilton Porter's topic in General Discussions
Hm, the publisher's website says it starts shipping July 28. But Amazon doesn't have a release date yet. -
new Oxford Annotated Book of Mormon
caspianrex replied to Hamilton Porter's topic in General Discussions
Grant Hardy included a few shots of proof pages for the first few pages of 1 Nephi on Facebook yesterday. The page layout looks quite good, even better than the Maxwell Institute Study Edition. I think it's significant that Oxford University Press has a long history of creating study Bibles, and this layout is similar to their study Bibles. Grant has mentioned that the text base of the upcoming annotated edition will be the 1920 Salt Lake City edition, whereas the Maxwell Institute Study Edition used the 2013 Church edition. So there will be some differences from the text most folks use. But Grant's Reader's Edition from several years ago also uses the 1920 text, so that shouldn't be a huge deal for most people, I imagine. I am really looking forward to this new work by Grant Hardy. All his previous editorial work on the BoM has been stellar. -
Reading through The Book of Mormon as a non-member
caspianrex replied to caspianrex's topic in General Discussions
Oh gosh, I stumbled on an earlier version of bookofmormon.online (KC did a major update last year) back in 2013. Even though I had browsed the Book of Mormon for several years before that, I had never actually read it all the way through. So I was searching for tools that would help me track my progress. I imagine I Googled something like "book of mormon online," which led me to KC's site. I was very impressed with the layout, and found it a remarkable tool, especially for a non-LDS reader to make sense of a text that was hitherto unfamiliar. So I contacted KC, just to let him know how much I was enjoying his site. He and I have become friends in the years since that initial contact, even though we've never met in person. You can see a discussion that he and I had about the bookofmormon.online site on Steven Pynakker's Mormon Book Reviews YouTube channel. (It gives more background on my encounters with the Book of Mormon and LDS folks, and lots of info on how to navigate KC's site. -
Although I am not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I am currently reading through the entire Book of Mormon for my third time. (I'm almost 80% of the way through...towards the end of Helaman.) As I read, I'm keeping track of my reading and commenting on passages I find interesting, on KC Kern's excellent Book of Mormon Online site. (I've posted about the site in the past.) KC (who is a member of the Church) has been encouraging some of his fellow Saints to join in on the study, but I don't think he participates on this forum, so I thought I would extend his invitation here as well. Here's how he has put it in his email invitation to some of his fellow Saints: Hope to see a few of you on bookofmormon.online! Peace.
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This verse has piqued my interest. It's so oddly stated, but it does make sense. A bit reminiscent of the description of the early church in Acts.
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Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your business by the voice of the people.
-Mosiah 29:26
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As I've been dabbling with the now popular AI, Chat GPT, over the past couple of days, and I've been reading the Book of Mormon, I thought I would have some fun. I asked the AI to write a poem about the prophet Zenos. This is what it created... Zenos, a prophet of old, His teachings still ring true today, Words of wisdom taught. He spoke of Christ's return, And of God's eternal love, That brings peace to all. The parables he wrote, Still hold deep meaning for us, Guiding us in faith. From the olive tree, To the laborers in vineyard, Wisdom shines through all. So let us ponder, The teachings of Zenos, And live in his light.
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Was listening to audio version of the BoM today, when this verse came up. I have to admit, I was not ready for a mole or bat reference.
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Another site that my friend KC Kern developed several years ago is the excellent Isaiah Explorer site, a great tool for studying this prophet whose writings are so prominent in the Book of Mormon.
