July 2008 Entries
By: The Baron
There’s no question: Church members like seeing other Church members become famous.
Having famous Church members in the news in a variety of professional fields--business, sports, singing and dancing—provides a certain comfort to Latter-Day Saints who can see fellow Saints be successful on a national stage, even beyond the simple “good PR for the Church” standpoint.
By: Eric Nielson
Before I get into this, I want to make it clear that I believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth, and declaring this is among the most important things we can do. I gladly served a mission for the church in Georgia, and enjoyed it very much. I have been directly involved with getting one individual and one family to join the church since my mission.
Now after having said all that, it seems evident to me that I feel less urgency regarding missionary work than some people seem to feel. Particularly the inviting part. I suspect that my level of urgency in inviting is lower than it should be. I would like to review some of the reasons why this might be, and I welcome your corrective advice.
By: The Baron
[Part 6 in a brief series about movie content and ratings. Links to earlier posts: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5]
“You know, if the Bible (or Book of Mormon) was a movie, it would be rated R…”
A commonly heard phrase…notwithstanding they HAVE made movies based on the Bible and the Book of Mormon and most of them were not rated R...
By: Belladonna
For the past six years I've attended church in a ward that had exclusive use of its building. I have just moved into a different ward that has three congregations sharing the same facility on a rotating basis. That means the time of day that I go to my meetings will switch every year.
By: The Baron
[Part 5 in a brief series about movie content and ratings. Links to earlier posts: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4]
Editing movies for content has been a controversial idea from the beginning...
By: The Baron
[Part 4 in a brief series about movie content and ratings. Links to earlier posts: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3]
Originally, there were four ratings for movies: G, PG, R, and X.
Then came Steven Spielberg...
By: Starfoxy
I'm a tense sort of person, and I carry my stress in my shoulders. I have lots of trouble relaxing. I've often thought that it would be good for me to get a massage. Not just the sort where my husband half-heartedly rubs my shoulders for five minutes, but the sort where you lay down on a special table and get a high quality rub-down from a trained professional for a good half hour or so.
While the whole thing sounds very appealing, it also squicks me out.
By: The Baron
[Part 3 in a brief series about movie content and ratings. Links to earlier posts: Part 1 | Part 2]
Conventional wisdom says the US—and particularly the conservative watchdogs who discuss movie content the most— are far more tolerant of violent content than sexual content.
Before we discuss whether this should be the case or not—is one of either sex or violence worse than the other?—first let’s see if this is, in fact, true. Are movie ratings in the US more ‘lenient’ for violent content than they are for sexual content? Let’s do some research…
By: The Baron
[Part 2 in a brief series about movie content and ratings. Links to earlier posts: Part 1]
The movie rating system has taken a lot of abuse over the years, most of it deserved. However, it’s worthwhile to try to look at the current movie rating system objectively—considering both the pro’s and con’s—and see what the alternatives are, if any.
By: The Baron
[Part 1 in a brief series of posts about movie content and ratings from an LDS perspective]
Question: Why are Church members encouraged to keep standards when selecting movies to watch?
Answer: Because many movies contain profanity, sexual images or dialogue, and violence.
Question: Okay, but why avoid profanity, sex or violence (PSV) in the first place?
By: Stady Canton
I've read many an application of religious principles in the last few years, from the bizarre to the beautiful. (Ah, the joys of the bloggernacle!) The Baron wrote an excellent series on science & religion earlier this year, refuting the 'it can only be one or the other' fallacy. I hadn't realized just how deeply some people out there are firm in their position that anything that says the earth is more than 6500 years old is a ploy by Satan to steal our souls and destroy all faith in a Creator. Until a recent e-mail exchange, that is.
Now I believe.