video

Liveblog: 178th Semiannual General Conference

1 Comment
LDS Conference Center

LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah

In my most ambitious liveblogging yet, I’m going to attempt to liveblog General Conference.  I must admit, this will probably be more of a notetaking project for me than anything else, but it might turn into something interesting and fun if we start getting other people participating online here (like you!).  You will be able to enter your name, and your comments, all live and in real-time.

Clearly, I will not be rewriting everything that is being said.  The Church’s English video stream will be embedded alongside the liveblog, so you can watch and listen while participating in a discussion and commentary about what is being said at the same time.  If you visit TempleStudy.com over the next two days the homepage will display the video and liveblog and nothing else to distract.

I am looking forward to learning at the feet of the Lord’s prophets and apostles over the next two days.  How blessed we are to live at this time, and to be instructed by prophets, seers, and revelators!

Update 10/5/08: The liveblog notes from Conference are below. Click on the circular replay button in the center below to read them.

Pōwhiri and Hongi of New Zealand’s Māori: a Sacred Ritual

3 Comments
New Zealand Maori exchanging the sacred act of hongi, the breath of life.

New Zealand Maori sharing in the sacred act of hongi, exchanging the ha or breath of life.

The title is a bit of a mouthful, but let me explain.

I have been a ballroom dancer since I was about 12 years old, or about 15 years.  It has been quite an experience being involved with this subculture of ballroom dance, which has made up a large portion of my life.  During the summer of 2005 I had the opportunity to tour with the BYU Ballroom Dance Company to the South Pacific, during which we visited Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, and Tahiti.  My wife was also fortunate to join us on the trip.  It was a singular experience which has burned a place in my memory.

Naturally, as part of these tours we were also able to learn much about the locations and people of the places we visited.  One of the places that really struck me for its beauty and uniqueness was New Zealand.  Going to New Zealand was like stepping into a different world.  The indigenous people of New Zealand are known as the Maori, and the customs and traditions of these people were quite different than what we were accustomed to.  Some of the things we experienced with the Maori were very spiritual in nature, which immediately caused me to ponder, and which I have had opportunity to think about for several years now.  Specifically, the Maori ceremonial greeting tradition that they conducted with our BYU group as we arrived in New Zealand was one of the most significant experiences I had with the group.  This rite or ceremony is known as the powhiri, and has insightful elements for Latter-day Saints to consider.  [Read more…]

Videos: Mormon Theology Seminar Conference on Alma 32

1 Comment

These are videos of the presentations given at the Mormon Theology Seminar’s Conference entitled “An Experiment on the Word: Reading Alma 32.”  It was held from 9am-4pm on Friday, September 19th, 2008 in B192 of the Joseph F. Smith Building on BYU campus.  I introduced my liveblogging this conference here.

Unfortunately, I did not have a good wireless signal in the conference room, and so the quality of these videos is poor, being broken into parts and some are missing.  But I learned a great deal about what to change for my next liveblogging/broadcasting to make it much better, so in that way it was beneficial.

Julie Smith:
Part 1

James Faulconer:
it failed to record, unfortunately

Adam Miller:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

Jenny Webb:
Part 0, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8

Joseph Spencer:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Robert Couch:
Part 1

Margaret Barker Interview – Part 7b (Temple in the Modern World)

2 Comments

“We have to try to get through the filter of the later editing… But deep down, there was something there.  I’m mean this [the temple] is a cultural icon, it’s shaped our pictures of the garden of Eden, it’s shaped our pictures of what it is to be a human being.  Because Adam is the great high priest, and everything that happened within that setting, for better or worse, has shaped the Western world’s idea of what it means to be human.  It’s a huge thing to discover…”  —Margaret Barker