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Not long ago I wrote about anti war activists and their use of prophet's talks. I commented that many members of the church take an unfounded view of the prophet's talk by applying too much weight to them. They then use his words as a cudgel with which to beat his opponents. They claim that all righteous Latter Day Saints agree with them. Here at the Millennial Star you see an example of that. In particular I would look at comments 45, 53, 54, and 58.
In particular I am bothered by those who take prophet's words to judge my spirituality. As I've shown several times, these anti war statements are not binding doctrine. In fact, these statements are often contradictory. So left with contradictory and nonbinding statements it is the Latter Day Saint's duty to thoughtfully consider the best course. These zealots hijack the prophets words to do the thinking for me. Then they attack me when I question their tactics. Some of the comments even suggest that the only way I can disagree would be if I were confused or wicked.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
Fed With the Flesh of Their Husbands
The following is an abstract for a potential paper. I proposed this for the Mormon Scholars in the Humanities conference. Southern Virgina University, my alma mater, hosted it this year. So I looked forward to presenting there. But my abstract did not make the cut.
Now it goes into a weird limbo stage. I have many projects on which I'm currently working, which is the subject of a future post. Yet I thought my readers might appreciate a peak into this topic. Most likely this will end up being a chapter in a follow up book on warfare in The Book of Mormon.
Fed with the Flesh of Their Husbands:
The High Spiritual Costs of Waging Economic War
The Roman politician Cicero once called money the “sinews of war”. Due to the high cost of waging war many entities have attempted to lessen this cost through the use of particular tactics and strategy. One of the most well known cost effective strategies is the “Chevauchee”, performed by medieval English leaders whose armies devastated much of France during the 100 years war.(1337-1453AD) A Chevauchee describes a march through the countryside typified by burning, pillage, rape, and murder. This allows a nation to supply its army at the cost of the opposing nation even as the attacker’s rapacious tactics undermine the legitimacy of the defending ruler and his ability to wage war. While this practice is interesting to study and certainly allows the attacking nation to wage war on a limited budget, it often disregards an important moral dimension to warfare. The Book of Mormon also relates devastating conflicts and details practices that match and sometimes exceed the devastation of a Chevauchee. As both the Nephites and Jaredites resort to these tactics in the denouement of their nations this paper will argue that the decision to wage war “on the cheap” through pillaging is both a cause and reflection of their decaying spiritual condition. And it tentatively applies these principles in a modern context.
Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more updates on my current projects and ideas.
Now it goes into a weird limbo stage. I have many projects on which I'm currently working, which is the subject of a future post. Yet I thought my readers might appreciate a peak into this topic. Most likely this will end up being a chapter in a follow up book on warfare in The Book of Mormon.
Fed with the Flesh of Their Husbands:
The High Spiritual Costs of Waging Economic War
The Roman politician Cicero once called money the “sinews of war”. Due to the high cost of waging war many entities have attempted to lessen this cost through the use of particular tactics and strategy. One of the most well known cost effective strategies is the “Chevauchee”, performed by medieval English leaders whose armies devastated much of France during the 100 years war.(1337-1453AD) A Chevauchee describes a march through the countryside typified by burning, pillage, rape, and murder. This allows a nation to supply its army at the cost of the opposing nation even as the attacker’s rapacious tactics undermine the legitimacy of the defending ruler and his ability to wage war. While this practice is interesting to study and certainly allows the attacking nation to wage war on a limited budget, it often disregards an important moral dimension to warfare. The Book of Mormon also relates devastating conflicts and details practices that match and sometimes exceed the devastation of a Chevauchee. As both the Nephites and Jaredites resort to these tactics in the denouement of their nations this paper will argue that the decision to wage war “on the cheap” through pillaging is both a cause and reflection of their decaying spiritual condition. And it tentatively applies these principles in a modern context.
Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more updates on my current projects and ideas.
Friday, February 17, 2012
What I really do...and gansta nicknames
I don't have a great deal of time to add any posts. But sadly I occasionally make it to facebook. I'm actually getting rather annoyed seeing these pictures but I did find a rather funny one. As I said there, I wouldn't mind a few more students like the bottom center. Since this is a joke thread I thought I would include some gansta nicknames I've been considering for ancient and modern prophets:
Parley P. Pratt is...Triple P.
Brigham Young is...B Yo. That might be too close to "B.O." but I'm a white guy from Utah so you'll have to work with me.
Wilford Woodruff is...Wow wow. You can hardly pronounce all those "w"s without stuttering.
Amalickiah is...Micky Long Dagger. The Irish have gangs too.
Mormon is...Mo shizzle. His long name would be Mo shizzle in this hizzle my dizzle.
B.H. Roberts is...RoBo Huh! (That is the edited version.)
Ammoron is...A to the m m run. The long version would be A to the m m run on dun to the stun gun Yeah Ba-By!
Teancum is...T Czzz. That one might end up like the "one"ders where nobody knows how to pronounce it.
Joseph F. Smith is...The Beard.
Orson Pratt is...O Po.
Aha is...generic warrior number 4.
Morgan Deane is...D Mo, Panther Cantrell if you go by my porn name, Jailhouse Baby Dupree if you go by my blues name, and Morhonda Codeine if you go by my Jedi name.
Do you have any to add? I would love to see them below.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Book Review: Parley P. Pratt and the Making of Mormonism
Parley P. Pratt and the Making of Mormonism
Edited with Contributions by Gregory K. Armstrong, Matthew J. Grow, and Dennis J. Siler
978-0-87062-401-8
Biography/Religion
Parley P. Pratt and the Making of Mormonism seeks to use the events and accomplishments of Pratt as a “window” into early Mormonism and American religious and cultural history.(11) This edited volume from Gregory Armstrong, Matthew Grow, and Dennis Siler joins the recent biography by Teryl Givens and Matthew Grow and succeeds in its goal.
The essays are good quality. Several of them, such as Jan Shipp’s introductory article, and the last article by Robert Grow represent preliminary remarks or a narrative more than an academic article. But each represents an important part of Pratt’s life and reveals his impact on Mormonism. R. Steven Pratt examines the family life of Parley Pratt and his plural marriages. The article was somewhat long in details and short in analysis. Several others examine his writings and death and place it in a tradition of extra legal violence and contested narratives. And Richard Turley’s article had a very specific rebuttal of Pratt’s influence on the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
Some of the articles drift more into fan mail category as they seem more laudatory than exploratory. But Pratt did make a big impact on Mormon history and as a polygamist he had many children with several contributing to the volume. Some other articles are somewhat dense for the non specialist. David Grua’s article on martyrdom and Turley’s rebuttal offer a great deal of jargon or detail that may make it hard for a non specialist audience to follow. Thus the book contains a good mix of articles that work together to illuminate his life and make his achievements a window in early Mormonism.
Historians studying American religious history, biographers of Pratt, and lay members of the LDS church will appreciate and enjoy this entry in Mormon history.
Edited with Contributions by Gregory K. Armstrong, Matthew J. Grow, and Dennis J. Siler
978-0-87062-401-8
Biography/Religion
Parley P. Pratt and the Making of Mormonism seeks to use the events and accomplishments of Pratt as a “window” into early Mormonism and American religious and cultural history.(11) This edited volume from Gregory Armstrong, Matthew Grow, and Dennis Siler joins the recent biography by Teryl Givens and Matthew Grow and succeeds in its goal.
The essays are good quality. Several of them, such as Jan Shipp’s introductory article, and the last article by Robert Grow represent preliminary remarks or a narrative more than an academic article. But each represents an important part of Pratt’s life and reveals his impact on Mormonism. R. Steven Pratt examines the family life of Parley Pratt and his plural marriages. The article was somewhat long in details and short in analysis. Several others examine his writings and death and place it in a tradition of extra legal violence and contested narratives. And Richard Turley’s article had a very specific rebuttal of Pratt’s influence on the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
Some of the articles drift more into fan mail category as they seem more laudatory than exploratory. But Pratt did make a big impact on Mormon history and as a polygamist he had many children with several contributing to the volume. Some other articles are somewhat dense for the non specialist. David Grua’s article on martyrdom and Turley’s rebuttal offer a great deal of jargon or detail that may make it hard for a non specialist audience to follow. Thus the book contains a good mix of articles that work together to illuminate his life and make his achievements a window in early Mormonism.
Historians studying American religious history, biographers of Pratt, and lay members of the LDS church will appreciate and enjoy this entry in Mormon history.
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