Is the Temple Troubling?
Someone recently asked me the following:
Perhaps you can explain how a person who finds the [temple experience] to be … troubling should express those feelings.
This was my reply, with additional edits: [Read more…]
discussion
What Do You Want To See on TempleStudy.com?
Some of you may remember the survey I posted here on TempleStudy.com back in May. It was a huge success. Many of you responded to my request for feedback, even those of you who don’t normally comment. Some of you gave me great compliments, for which I am very thankful, and many also gave suggestions of improvements to the blog and topics that you’d would like to see addressed here, including many “other” requests. I have taken those suggestions to heart and have already written on several of the topics that you submitted. Thank you for your participation!
The feedback went so well that I would like to make it a more permanent feature of the site. I have integrated a service called skribit that will allow just that. This new service will facilitate interaction with all of you in multiple ways, including the following:
- Submit Suggestions – You may submit any topic that you’d like to see addressed on TempleStudy.com – i.e., themes you’d like me to write about, ideas that you have, questions you may have, suggestions for improvement to the site, etc. I have already added 15 suggestions that were given in the prior feedback (some of which I’ve already blogged about somewhat).
- Vote – Once suggestions are added, you can all vote on them. If you see a suggestion that you’d also like to see written about or changed on the site, then just click the little green arrow next to that item to add your vote. Those items that receive the most votes will be higher on my list to write about or do on TempleStudy.com.
All of the above can be done anonymously. You don’t need an account or a login to submit suggestions or vote on them – anyone can add suggestions or vote. If you sign up for an account with skribit, you can also do the following:
- Discuss – Each suggestion allows a discussion for that item. If you’d like to add your comments to a suggestion, click on the suggestion or on the “discuss” link next to it, and then add your comments in the box provided.
- Notification – If you submit a suggestion or question while you are logged in, then you will be notified by email when I write a post about it, or do whatever thing the suggestion is about. This will help you easily stay on top of whatever you submit, and be made aware if I ever address it.
To access the suggestions feature, go to this link, or just click on “Suggestions” on the top navigation bar. I only ask that you skim the already listed suggestions first before adding a suggestion, in case yours has already been added by someone else.
Let me know if you like this new feature or not in the comments below.
Added ShareThis to TempleStudy.com
I have added a new feature to TempleStudy.com. It is called ShareThis. This is a really great tool for sharing things about the temple that you read here with your friends, family, coworkers, associates, ward members, and anyone else you might like to pass along these articles to. Each article now has a little green icon with the words “ShareThis” at the bottom of every post. Clicking on this icon will allow you to share TempleStudy.com articles via:
- Social Web – share or bookmark the article on Facebook, Digg, del.icio.us, Technorati, StumbleUpon, Google Bookmarks, and a host of other social bookmarking sites.
- Post – post the article directly to your profile or blog on Facebook, Blogger, WordPress, Twitter, LiveJournal or others.
- Send/Email – share the post with others directly by email, SMS (cell phone text message), instant message MySpace friends, or instant message AIM friends.
I hope you find this new tool useful, and that you will help spread the word about TempleStudy.com and help others learn more about the LDS temple.
Opening up Comments at TempleStudy.com
When I first started TempleStudy.com I wanted to be absolutely sure that this blog would not turn into a place of defamation and profanation. I take my temple covenants very seriously, and did not want detractors from posting comments that would destroy the Spirit, the Gospel message, or the insightful discussions that would take place here. Consequently, initially I turned on comment moderation for all comments, so that all comments would have to be approved by me before appearing on the blog.
After having the site for several months now, and having more experience with other blogs that hold comments for moderation, I have found that it seems to be a significant deterrent from not only commenting, but perhaps even returning to the website after an initial visit. I want TempleStudy.com to be a place where we can talk about these fascinating subjects, and where people can add their own insights. I want people to want to return to the site. I want it to be a resource for people to learn more about the temple, in an appropriate and respectful setting, within the bounds the Lord has set.
Therefore, I have turned off comment moderation, so that any comments posted will appear immediately on the site. This will allow more real-time interaction with my readers, and between readers, on the site. To be sure, I will still be moderating comments, and I still hold the right of complete editorial control over what is said and how, but it will be after the fact. If there are inappropriate comments, they will be swiftly deleted. Comments may also be edited for content from time to time.
I hope this adjustment will help TempleStudy.com grow and be a place where we can learn how to appropriately discuss, study, and share the incredible insights that modern LDS scholarship has provided us on the holy temple. And there is still much yet to discover.
Elder Christofferson on the Sacred
I received this quote today in my inbox by Elder Christofferson, our newest apostle, in a talk he gave to the CES on November 7, 2004:
The importance of having a sense of the sacred is simply this–if one does not appreciate holy things, he will lose them. Absent a feeling of reverence, he will grow increasingly casual in attitude and lax in conduct. He will drift from the moorings that his covenants with God could provide. His feeling of accountability to God will diminish and then be forgotten. Thereafter, he will care only about his own comfort and satisfying his uncontrolled appetites. Finally, he will come to despise sacred things, even God, and then he will despise himself.
On the other hand, with a sense of the sacred, one grows in understanding and truth. The Holy Spirit becomes his frequent and then constant companion. More and more he will stand in holy places and be entrusted with holy things. Just the opposite of cynicism and despair, his end is eternal life. (((D. Todd Christofferson, “A Sense of the Sacred,” CES fireside for young adults, Nov. 7, 2004))
In fact, the entire talk is good. In referencing the sanctity of the physical body he said: [Read more…]