Dave Banack : November 2008 Archives

At Summa Theologica, a real treat: discussion of and links to the video of a presentation by Dr. Craig Blomberg relating how he came to collaborate with Dr. Steven Robinson of BYU in their interfaith dialogue book How Wide the Divide? [Blomberg presented Evangelical positions; Robinson presented LDS positions; and they jointly authored sections presenting doctrines and beliefs common to both Evangelicals and Mormons.] The book is on my Now Reading list a couple of clicks down the right sidebar; I plan a couple of posts on it over the next few days.

While in Salt Lake City this afternoon, I managed to fit in a visit to Temple Square for a couple of hours. It's always fun to visit the center place of Mormonism (which is a rather different category than "sacred ground" or "holy site"). I browsed through the South Visitors Center and its exhibits showing how massive granite blocks were hammered, drilled, and blasted out of Little Cottonwood Canyon, then transported twenty miles by wagon (later, railroad) to the site of the LDS temple. Just across the street, the Museum of Church History and Art has a temporary exhibit showing the details of the construction of the Tabernacle, which went through several architectural upgrades before attaining the fine sound quality offered by the rounded dome design.

Funny what post-election behavior reveals about people. Republicans who lost the presidential race are quietly supporting a smooth transition of power to the incoming Obama administration; Prop 8 opponents are busy organizing angry marches and targeting Mormons for retribution, using misguided rights talk to justify this unfortunate response. A National Review Online piece, "Legislating Immorality," is a good place to correct some of this misguided rights talk.

We're here in Utah for Thanksgiving. I was part of the group shopping expedition to Salt Lake today. The parking lots were full and there were people in the stores. I managed to suppress the urge to buy while browsing at Deseret Book, but made a significant contribution to the state's consumer spending at Costco. About every third cart sported a big-screen TV; we invested in "consumer staples." How did everyone else fare on Black Friday?

We missed the deer but got the turkey. I'm now basking in that pleasant two-hour lull between dinner and pie, with nothing particularly clever to add about this uniquely American family holiday. If you're looking for clever, here are a few links to brighten up your day:

• "For Thanksgiving: My Saints Don't Just Go Marching In," at Juvenile Instructor.
• "Thanksgiving in 3 Minutes," at By Common Consent, complete with home movie.
• "Mom, the smoke is on the ceiling now." A short tale from Six LDS Writers and A Frog. As always from the 6 Frogs crew, well written and entertaining.