On a recent Speaking of Faith episode, The Spirituality of Parenting, (Read more and listen here.), Rabbi Sandy Sasso discussed the challenges of people from a variety of points on the spiritual spectrum fostering their children’s spirituality and answering the tough questions. Though I’m not a parent, I found all of it relevent to my own spiritual journey and experiences. One particular quote from Rabbi Sasso stood out to me:
“Don’t let the people who gave you a bad impression of your religious tradion be the only ones to define it. You, too, are a part of that tradition and you’re not just a descendant, you’re also an ancestor and you helped to create the future of that tradition.”
Continue reading ‘Musings From “The Spirituality of Parenting”’
Have you ever wondered what your calling was? I’m not speaking of a calling you recieve from your local priesthood leader, but a vocation—some special pursuit toward which your unique talents and desires orient you.
Continue reading ‘What’s Your Calling?’
I’m sure that virtually none of you will remember my rant about FAIR, and how mean-spirited, unproductive and even counterproductive I have found many apologists to be, and specifically, how poorly behaved I felt many of the contributors were on its message boards.Well, it’s a glorious day for FAIR (in my opinion), because apparently they are now divesting themselves of their message board (read below).May I be among the first to shout: “HALLELUJAH!!!!!!”====================CHANGES COMING TO THE FAIR MESSAGE BOARD Continue reading ‘FAIR to Divest Itself of its Message Boards. Wooooo hooooooo!!!!’
I sent the following email to Dr. Mauss, and am hoping that he will come to discuss.
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Dr. Mauss,
A bit ago I started a group blog called: http://www.theculturalhall.com . The main purpose is to provide those who do not have traditional LDS testimonies, but who still wish to remain in the church, both a community and some coping strategies to help them remain within the fold in a constructive, productive way. Similar sites can be found at http://www.newordermormon.org and http://www.forthosewhowonder.com , as I’m sure you’re aware–though the former (I’ve found) struggles at times to remain constructive, and sometimes gets pulled into the exmo territory a bit.
Also, just to clarify, when I say “non-traditional testimony” I mean things like:
Continue reading ‘An Open Letter to Dr. Armand Mauss about “The Middle Way”’
A scene from Galaxy Quest– the crew of the spaceship, who are really the cast of an old science fiction show, pressed into service as a real spaceship crew, is watching a group of cute little blue aliens come out from a tunnel….
Gwen: Oh, they’re so cute.
Guy: Of course they’re cute NOW. But in a second they’re going to turn MEAN and UGLY somehow and then there are going to be a million MORE of them!
Continue reading ‘But words can break my heart…’
Today’s lesson in RS and Priesthood in my ward was on David Bednar’s infamous “be not offended” talk from October General Conference. Since I don’t attend General Conference or read the Ensign, I had only heard about this talk second hand, and the reviews were not flattering.
My husband was teaching the high priests, and we had some vigorous discussion about the lesson on Friday night and again yesterday. My DH is no apologist, but you don’t teach the high priests unless you have a faithful perspective on things. The discussion with him left me eager to attend the lesson today.
Continue reading ‘Speaking of Elder Bednar’
Some of you may have heard of the term “The Middle Way” within a Mormon context. It denotes (to me) a rejection of the notion that you must either be a TBM (True Believing, Literalist Mormon) or an ex-Mormon. It means staying active within the LDS church, while not necessarily accepting all of the doctrinal or cultural teachings. And to be clear–for me, it does NOT denote a requirement of staying silent on the most important issues.
In this excellent RadioWest interview,
Continue reading ‘Facing East–Carol Lynn Pearson as a Pioneering, “Middle Way” Mormon’
A Thanksgiving thought, by Gibran Khalil Gibran (props to my friend Abbass):
“See first that you deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving.
For in truth it is life that gives unto life – while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.
And you receivers – and you are all receivers- assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.
Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;
For to be overmindful of your debt is to doubt his generosity who has the free-hearted earth for mother, and God the father
The Cultural Hall is looking for a few, really good NOMish Permabloggers.
Qualifications?
- Active in the LDS Church, but with a “non-traditional” testimony
- Interested in forming a community around “making it work” in the church
- Has some interesting thoughts or points of view
- Willing to post at least once a week on an interesting topic, and to participate in the discussions via comments
- There may be podcasts in the works, where we discuss fun issues in audio format
If interested, please email: theculturalhall@gmail.com
Cheers!
John Dehlin and theculturalhall.com clan!!!
I have a new calling. I’m the chorister. Yeah, I know; nobody pays attention to the chorister unless she stands at the front and yells, “Sing, you idiots! Sing!” But I really enjoy it anyway, mostly because I get to pick the music.
Yesterday’s songs were all Thanksgiving songs. The opening was “Prayer of Thanksgiving,” a traditional song from the Netherlands, ca. 1626. It has stood the test of time. I particularly enjoy singing traditional Protestant and Catholic songs; flashbacks to my childhood and to my brief sojourn among the Methodists five years ago.
Continue reading ‘Choristing’
Every week someone emails or calls me, and asks me why/how I stay in the LDS church–as a non-traditional, non-literal believer. Last week, during a dinner with 2 good friends, I tried to distill my thinking down to something very simple. Here’s what I came up with.
Continue reading ‘If you’re gonna leave the church…..and why I stay.’
For me, this song (and accompanying lyrics) capture the spirit of my aspirations for this blog and community.
I also hope that those of you who might be struggling w/ the LDS Church can find hope and meaning within the message.
[audio:http://www.johndehlin.com/music/05HolyNow.mp3]
Holy Now, by Peter Mayer
Continue reading ‘From the Cultural Hall D.J., a dedication–Holy Now’
The following is one of my favorite poems. It gives us all something to reflect on during this upcoming Thanksgiving weekend.
Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front by Wendell Berry
Continue reading ‘Manifesto…’
Saturday night is my ward’s Thanksgiving dinner. There will be a talent show after.
My DH and I are doing something he has wanted to do ever since we got married. I am singing Tom Lehrer’s “The Elements,” while my DH points to the corresponding elements on a periodic table that is being shown on an overhead projector.
We are such dorks. It’s a wonder we managed to reproduce.
In the spirit of B.H. Roberts, Lowell Bennion, T. Edgar Lyon, Eugene England, Richard Poll and others, we welcome you to The Cultural Hall.
This blog has been created by a community of Mormons. All of us have struggled at one point or another within the LDS faith. All of us considered leaving (or have left) at one point or another. Yet none of us have been able to leave Mormonism behind.
And so we present to you this blog and community. Our promises to you:
- To deliver thoughts and feelings from the heart.
- To provide interesting discussions about all things Mormon, including: culture, history, doctrine, media, politics, etc.
- To avoid unconstructive criticism, and unfriendly discourse.
- To ultimately build a community of support for those who are not traditional believers in the LDS Church, but have decided (for whatever reason) to remain within the fold.
Thanks for joining us, and we look forward to building a community with you.
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