Ben S
@BSpackman
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PhD, Am Religious History, minor Reformation+ history of science; MA, Semitics. Apple fan, LDS, francophile, bibliophile, gourmand, cyclist, husband.
Joined March 2009
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If you have questions about evolution, look to a reputable scientist. If you have questions about the history of Latter-day Saints and evolution or creationism, ask me. It's my diss topic in American religious history, but my background is Semitics/ancient Near East.
#LDS
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I find the supportive LDS reactions to Trump immensely depressing; we know exactly what he is and stands for, and none of it is good. It alienates me from my own people.
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Exmormons who gleefully publish details of sacred LDS liturgy are engaging in a religious form of revenge porn.
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I post this every year. May 4 is a significant day in LDS liturgical history, because it's when Joseph Smith introduced modern temple ordinances.
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I'm convinced that many common problems or obstacles to faith among Latter-day Saints are due to unexamined assumptions about the nature of revelation, prophets, scripture, and interpretation. We've coasted on 19th-century Protestant intellectual inheritance, to our detriment
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Teryl Givens explained the LDS practice of proxy baptism this way.
"As Latter-day Saints we believe we have a Heavenly Father who wants to gather the entirety of the human family to himself in a virtual wedding feast at the end of time,
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I'm in for Harris; to quote a GOP comedian from 2016, "she may be wrong about everything, but she's wrong within normal parameters." Say "no" to the aspiring dictator Trump in 2024.
"Why it matters: [Latter-day Saints] are a potentially decisive voting bloc because of the faith's large population in Arizona, where President Biden's 2020 gains with members exceeded his margin of victory."
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I think too many LDS who want to bear testimony of prophets end up bearing testimony of de facto inerrancy instead; we lack theological sophistication, as Elder Maxwell said.
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BYUI Religion prof (profs?) still telling students that LDS doctrine disproves and disallows biological evolution.
People need to be better informed on this issue and not merely repeat very one-sided tradition.
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/1 Latter-day Saints are not sola scriptura Protestants; both Protestants and many LDS fail to realize this. Richard Mouw gets it better than anyone. "Mormonism has also restored the kinds of authority patterns that guided the life of Israel.
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@jriddick07
@russellcrowe
My dad is a reserved guy whose read all the books. He was furious at Elf, which came out the same week and overshadowed M&C, guaranteeing it would have no sequels
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Wresting scripture to support a lawless man who has pledged to become a vindictive dictator.
So the Book of Mormon tells a tale of when, just prior to Christ's coming, corrupt judges conspired with lawyers and others in power to persecute people unjustly and let their evil buddies off the hook for crimes committed, creating a "secret combination" of lawfare to the worst
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Teryl Givens on the
#LDS
practice of baptism for the dead. "As Latter-day Saints we believe we have a Heavenly Father who wants to gather the entirety of the human family to himself in a virtual wedding feast at the end of time,
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Very pleased, and grateful to the Tanner Center, and starting to look for a place to stay!
Thrilled to announce that Benjamin Spackman has accepted the 2022-23 Graduate Fellowship in Mormon Studies!
Ben’s project is titled "The Intellectual Roots of Latter-day Saint Creation/Evolution Conflict in the Twentieth Century: Expertise, Exegesis, and Ecclesiology.”
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Over 2 years during the pandemic, LDS had the highest retention rate, 94%
When survey respondents from 2020 were recontacted in 2022, 86% of them gave the same answer to the question about religious affiliation.
But, retention varied dramatically by tradition.
LDS were the highest - 94%
Agnostics were the lowest - 64%
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On April 28, 1844, Joseph Smith approved of his brother’s preaching that prophets existed before Adam! That implies death, and the existence of human before the scriptural story begins AND that scripture should not be understood as a strictly scientific/historical record.
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BYU has taught evolution continuously since the early 1920s, and very well, too. Not as “here’s a false thing you need to understand in order to destroy.”
one of the funniest conversations I have had is when my sister in law started talking to us about how byu was going woke and I was like "oh great here we go with the gays again" and she was starts "did you know they're teaching evolution in byu biology classes???"
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we believe that it's our privilege to send out the guest list. we don't think you have to come, but we think everybody should be invited, and that's what we do, when we baptize for the dead." Host replied, "what an incredibly beautiful idea, how do I get my name on that list?!"
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When interviewing potential Stake Presidents, Elder Mark E. Petersen would ask if candidates "believed the gospel according to Joseph Fielding Smith." And this was significantly *before* Smith became President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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We Latter-day Saints tend to read scripture for meaning at the "tree" level— a sentence or two— and often miss the meaning encoded at the "forest" level of chapter or even book. Here's a prime example.
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I do not envy a 29-yr old Stake President. In Ukraine. Lots of respect and prayers for operating as a spiritual shepherd in such a hard situation.
How I Lead as Stake President in Ukraine | An Interview with Pavel Mykhailovskii
#ChurchofJesusChrist
#latterdaysaints
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This is wonderful. Broad international experience, deep empathy, and an ability to preach the Gospel of Christ powerfully.
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Yesterday the Sacrament was prepared and blessed by three young men: one with autism and a strong speech impediment (blessing on the bread), one Black (who just received his mission call), and one in ROTC uniform. United in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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Wow. Who knew the LDS creationist brigade was so active on twitter?
Gotta get my research published and out there.
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People fail to discern the full will of God if they do not live their lives in the anticipation that they will receive new revealed teachings under the authority of the living prophets."
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Headed to MHA this weekend to talk about dinosaurs, Latter-day Saints, religion, and education in 20th century Utah.
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/2 The old Testament people of God were not a people of the Book as such- mainly because for most of their history, there was no completed Book. Ancient Israel was guided by an open canon [of scripture] and the leadership of the prophets.
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/4 that even these Books are not enough to give authoritative guidance to the present-day community of the faithful.The books themselves are products of a prophetic office, an office that has been reinstituted in these latter days.
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Good article
@religiongal
but it would be more effective if the quoted LDS academics weren't always associated with the progressive left.
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Hard dissertation push for the next 2-3 weeks. Rewrite final chapter, polish the whole thing, do footnote cleanup, introduction and conclusion. Then hope it's good enough to send off to committee.
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/3 It is precisely this pattern of communal authority that Mormonism restored. Evangelicals may insist that Mormonism has too many books. But the proper Mormon response is
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What utter bilge.
@spencerjcox
is another spineless boot-licking sycophant. Trump can't heal anything.
Thank you President Trump. This is a winning message and one our nation desperately needs right now. Utah stands ready to help you heal the division in our nation.
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Public lecture on LDS and creation/evolution history, March 30 at the UofU. "'"But I have Better Grounds": Joseph Fielding Smith and Creationist Claim to Scientific Authority" Please RSVP in link below.
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Did James E. Talmage change his mind about progression between kingdoms? I found a letter that explains!
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"I insist that my decontextualized and polemical three-line summary of someone else's religious beliefs and practices must capture the eternal essence of those weirdos." That's the essence of uncharitable religious discourse, but the core of twitter, apparently.
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@SergioMarBel
My wife and I have far more "roll our eyes and turn it off" moments than "driveway moments." Attempts to deny the left-leaning reality at NPR don't convince anyone who doesn't already identify as progressive.
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A Baylor fan in Provo. "Imagine an entire fanbase/school of Ted Lassos...I’ve never met a fanbase like this before... They were just so nice, and it might have been weird if it didn’t feel genuine, but it did." A school of Ted Lassos? I'll take it.
#byu
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And to be clear, I don't think she's necessarily "wrong about everything." But she could be and I'd still vote for her, because we need to oust Trump permanently.
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This is a Man and manhood worth emulating. Not a smarmy serial adulterer, rapist, and felon.
My father was the CEO of a major car company and a three-term governor. Yet, when I asked him at age 88 what gave him the most meaning in life, his answer was: “Raising you four kids.” His dedication to family has stayed with me my whole life. To all dads, happy Father’s Day!
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@Keepapitchinin
would appreciate this tactic
This is the window of an urban researcher Lev Shevchenko in
#Kyiv
. He barricaded himself with books to keep the glass from flying into the room during the bombardment.
#StopRussia
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We aren’t childless by choice. Would have loved kids.
Ok it's interesting that 7% of parents over 45 wouldn't have kids if given a redo on life, but it’s also wild that fully 50% of childless people would have kids if given a do-over. Need to profile the 3% of childless folks who say they'd have 6+ kids if given the chance 😂.
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Published exmo narrative claims the Church publishes beauty tips, and links to... a piece of fiction, labeled as such.
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Single-factor "what-ifs" are reductionist and simplistic, but I just keep thinking, "if the left had not demonized Mitt Romney, would we be where we are?"
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David Holland at Harvard. The Book of Mormon illustrates that "when heavenly light mixes with human messengers, God’s treasure is to be found in earthly vessels. It repeatedly warns its readers not to discard the things of God because of the flaws of men." Sacred Borders, 155-56
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In 1909 when LDS leaders wanted to write a *doctrinal* statement on the origin of man, they reached outside the hierarchy to consult two PhDs in chemistry and geology. The FP thought such questions could not be answered by scripture alone.
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and we believe that it's our privilege to send out the guest list. And we don't think you have to come, but we think everybody should be invited, and that's what we do, when we baptize for the dead." About minute 21.
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"Beware of those who feel obliged to prove their own patriotism by calling into question the loyalty of others. Be skeptical of those who attempt to demonstrate their love of country by demeaning its institutions." Hugh B. Brown, in 1968-
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Given the amount of air conditioning used by LDS church buildings AND the vast acreage of blacktop parking to serve those buildings, this would be a great move by the
@LDSchurch
in Arizona
Six Flags Magic Mountain will turn its 30-acre parking lot into a solar farm. The 12-megawatt solar carport energy structure will be installed over the visitor and employee parking lot, providing shade for visitors' cars. 1/3
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"Truth must forever receive fresh interpretation.”- Joseph Fielding Smith
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I critique these gestures towards inerrancy not because of individual style, but because it creates false expectations leading to loss of faith when church leaders and history and scripture don’t measure up to the inerrantist assumptions. It's a pastoral issue.
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Are Mormons Vampires? Or just sun-averse? Come to next years MHA and find out?
#MHA
#mormonhistoryassociation
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Scripture is like a massive box of Legos; one can construct many different things with it.
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Once again, it’s a cult.
Guilty of 34 felonies. Found liable for sexual assault. Banned from doing business in New York. Tried to overturn an election to illegally seize power. Incited a violent attack on the US Capitol. And still supported completely—without reservation—by the Republican Party.
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@BillKristol
What are the odds some Senators choose not to attend, thus changing the voting math?
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/1 Yeah, it's fine. When President Hinckley's favorite uncle died, BYU professor Edwin S. Hinckley, the SP and High Council sent a hand-written condolences card decorated with crosses.
Al Fox Carraway is sporting a crucifix.
Does that feel right?
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@ProdigalSonMatt
“Come on dear Brother since the war is past... For friends at first are friends again at last.”
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Never gotten sunburned at an academic conference before. The talks were brilliant. Also… 7500 ft above sea level.
#mha
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Good trail run this morning, before I engage in cosplay impostor syndrome at my PhD Commencement tomorrow. (Still working on final revisions, hasn't gone to committee.)
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Twitter outrage is performative righteousness. Get out there and live your faith.
"how dare he live out his faith in his daily actions instead of doing performative twitter posting"
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What a week. Sent complete dissertation to committee, ran 27 miles around fantastic scenery in Nice, biked 40. But Twitter won’t take any of my photos or movies…
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“Can the ignorant lead the ignorant? Will they not both start a podcast?” Matt 15:14, 2022 Translation
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Quite the meltdown among certain kinds of right-wing Mormon twitter. Wow.
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/1 There's no Jewish tradition of a "folded napkin." Tis a faith promoting rumor with no base except KJV English. Promoting such things ultimately harms faith.
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Just another Republican with no integrity whatsoever
Nikki Haley a few months ago: Trump is unfit to be president.
Nikki Haley today: “I will be voting for Trump.”
What a disgrace!
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I appeared on the official Saints podcast, talking about Latter-day Saints, science, and evolution in the 1920s and 30s.
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/2 That is, many Americans assume Latter-day Saints are essentially like Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh-day Adventists, with all three native-born flavors of Christianity with an idiosyncratic/heretical take on what the Bible says.
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I agree. Personally, I'm much more excited about the Red Brick store because of our liturgical history there; it's where the first endowments were done, roughly, May 4, 1842. I repost this every year.
Most of the attention has been on the Kirtland Temple. The properties recently acquired in Nauvoo, I believe, are equally important. The events that took place in the Red Brick Store are significant to every Latter-day Saint around the world.
Well done
@tbtoone
.
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ABD achieved. Exciting project, and a long slog to get here, started first round of grad school in 2001.
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After eight sessions, my "Genesis and the Doctrine of Creation" Institute class has finished Genesis chapter 1.
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Young-earth creationism is, ultimately, a category error. That's it. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. (Footnote is 1700 pages long.)
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Dear
@united
and
@lufthansa
why did you cancel our nephew’s flight to Milan, and book him to Munich for an overnight instead of a later flight to Milan the same day?! He’s 16 and flying solo! Absolutely unacceptable!
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It’s awfully hard to convince someone their interpretive lenses are smudged when don’t even believe they’re wearing glasses.
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On a completely different note, I’m graduating soon, updating the blog, and doing some public speaking and teaching. Deets
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This man is a danger to the US, to the world, and to democracy.
BREAKING: Donald Trump just asked Russia to attack our NATO allies. Donald Trump is asking for World War III. Retweet to ensure the whole country knows what Trump is trying to get us into.
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A brief LDS history of "death before the fall."
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/4 By contrast, Latter-day Saints flatly reject sola scriptura for not just an expanded canon, but living prophets and a (theoretically) open canon.
Ironically, this is the Biblical model of authority.
So please, get my heresies correct.
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On so-called "literal" readers of scripture, with apologies to Antonio Banderas
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Job hunting: the cheese grater of the ego, and grindstone of the soul.
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"Just shoot them." The attitude of Trump toward Americans engaging in legal protest. This is not presidential.
“Can't you just shoot them? Just shoot them in the legs or something?"
Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper revealed that Trump wanted the military to shoot protesters in the summer of 2020
In a 2nd Trump term there will be no Mark Esper to stop Trump
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Salzburg is lovely, and my science/religion “what is Genesis actually doing” talk was well received.
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I annotated a new-ish Church essay on evolution.
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This could apply as well to LDS history; some prefer one-dimensional sweetness over depth and complexity... which could also be said of Café Rio, I suppose.
History that exalts a nation’s strengths without ever examining its shortcomings, that prefers feeling good rather than thinking hard, that seeks simplistic celebration over a full understanding — well, that’s not history; that’s propaganda.
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When we were dating, my wife and I had one argument: evolution. Science did not change my mind.
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Latter-day Saints (looking particularly hard at some of you) need to better understand the way history is written.
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@bayoulejeune
Mediocre at best. Quoting a friend, Cafe Rio is like Utah, substituting sweetness for depth and complexity.”
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@nate_oman
@AnthemBCBS
So sorry. Insurance companies just seem like their default setting is "Scrooge-y inhuman monster."
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Gotta get a “Republicans for Biden” sign.
These Mormon women are rejecting Trump, fraying GOP support in a key state
"I just wasn't quite comfortable identifying with the Democratic Party. And so for me, I said, hey, well, I'd rather do something like, 'Republicans for Biden.' "
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