I’ve been keeping up with a number of LDS blogs in my feed reader. For a complete list of the ones I read, see my del.icio.us “mormonism blog” category.
What struck me initially was the number of theologically liberal Mormon blogs there are when compared with the number of conservative ones. These are the kind of Mormons who read Dialogue and Sunstone; the kind who might be feminists and pray to Heavenly Mother; the kind who might agree with Grant Palmer that the Book of Mormon had its authorship solely in Joseph Smith. These are people who still hold to their Mormon beliefs and heritage while denying or downplaying vital doctrines and speaking out against church leadership.
Granted, there are a few strictly conservative Mormons out there who are defending their faith vigorously (Jeff Lindsay’s Mormanity comes immediately to mind), but they seem harder to find. Are they just less outspoken? Did I stumble across the wrong link lists in my initial searches? If anyone can point me to where all the conservative Mormon blogs are, I’d be much obliged.
Anyway, one of the reasons I started this post was to mention a meme practiced amongst LDS bloggers. It seems popular for LDS blogs to assume a title once used by LDS newspapers or other periodicals. For instance, there are LDS blogs called Times and Seasons, Millennial Star, and Nauvoo Neighbor. Since I discovered this custom, I’ve jokingly contemplated renaming my blog The Nauvoo Expositor1.
Of course, that’s not an appropriate name for this blog at all. I routinely speak out against vitriolic anti-Mormon literature and I try not to spend all my time here talking about Mormonism. Nevertheless, I think it would be fun to stir up a little controversy. If nothing else it would certainly be a quick way to get some attention from the Mormon blog community. I’m too chicken to do it, though, and that’s probably why I’ll never have a large readership here.
- For those who may not be familiar with LDS history, The Nauvoo Expositor was an anti-Mormon newspaper founded by some former members of the LDS church. It printed only one edition in the summer of 1844, and was promptly shut down by Joseph Smith and the Nauvoo city council on the grounds that it was a “public nuisance.” The incident led to charges of censorship and suppression of free speech and was the primary reason Smith was being held in Carthage Jail at the time of his assassination. [↩]
Actually, I also think it might be fun to name a blog the Nauvoo Expositor. However, as you mention, I don’t think it’s very appropriate for your blog. It might be most interesting if a conservative Mormon blog went by that name, don’t you think?
As for the question of “Where are the conservative Mormon blogs?”, I have a few guesses.
I’ve seen a few conservative Mormon blogs. Such blogs are probably less popular than liberal blogs because they are perceived as “less exciting.” Topics that seem “off limits” or contentious are usually perceived as “more exciting.”
Additionally, dissenters and complainers always seem to be louder than assenters and defenders. The “silent majority” can be found in politics as well as religion.
There do seem to be a lot more “liberal” mormons in the LDS blogs. Out of curiosity, how would you label the blog where I participate, The Millennial Star?
The lds periodical meme is interesting. We debated over 150 possible names before settling on The Millennial Star and held at least three instant runnoff votes. The Millennial Star was the only name that all of the particpants could at least tolerate.
Jonathan Max Wilson said:
To be truthful, I haven’t read your blog much. It was only recently added to my feedreader. I’ve seen a few posts there I might consider a bit liberal, but for the most part it seems much more conservative than Times and Seasons.
For the record, would you consider your blog toward the liberal or conservative side?
You evaluation agrees with our objective in creating the Millennial Star. Though now and then we have had some slightly liberal posts, in general we consider ourselves more on the conservative, orthodox side.
Only liberal Mormons know how to use the internet and other technology. Conservative Mormons live in rural places that don’t have internet and they reject technology. Hence why there is mostly liberal LDS WebLogs.
Mike said:
For those who may not immediately catch on, Mike is a friend of mine and his hypothesis above is entirely satirical. At least, I think it is. With Mike I can never tell.
The liberal/conservative labels aren’t terribly descriptive. However, I think it fairly accurate that By Common Consent lies close to one end of the spectrum, T&S in the middle, and M* on the other end.
I’m on M*, but I’m not sure how I would characterize myself. I’m socially conservative, politically independent, and thoroughly orthodox, to my eyes. I’ve written and am involved with both FAIR and FARMS, on a minor level. Solely in terms of Mormonism, that means I accept Joseph Smith as a prophet and Gordon B. Hinckley as his legitimate successor, a historical (but not inerrant) Book of Mormon, and the reality of the first vision. (Though I don’t know if its assumed by you or not, I also accept Jesus as the Son of God who fulfilled prophecy by dying for us on the cross, and who saves us by grace after our covenant acceptance of him.)
That may sound quite conservative. However, I cringed when I saw Mormon Doctrine and Doctrines of Salvation on your list because I see those as representing one particular wing of Mormon thought. (Given that other General Authorities have strongly disagreed with other things written therein, I think that’s a reasonable position.) I read Dialogue and Sunstone, and I strongly advocate use of non-LDS scriptural resources. I lean strongly towards a limited flood and tentatively accept the JDP hypothesis of Hebrew Bible editing.
So, am I conservative or liberal?
BTW, I’d recommend you read Mormons and the Bible by LDS scholar Phillip Barlow. He’s actually a little more accepting of critical scholarship than I am comfortable with, but he does an excellent job tracing the differing approaches to the Bible through LDS history.
Ben, you asked if you are a liberal or conservative Mormon. You said:
I think you are more liberal than some Mormons posting to this website.
I’d like to briefly defend my suggestion that Joey read Selections from Doctrines of Salvation. The copy I am currently reading has a note with the words, “This definitive volume will surely be a treasured resource for gospel study.” The note is signed by Gordon B. Hinckley, Thomas S. Monson, and James E. Faust.
Steve: The only problem I have with those two books is that they sometimes express opinions that are neither “church doctrine” nor representative of LDS thought in general. For someone trying to figure out “what Mormons believe,” it’s important to be aware of that.
I am sure you are correct that DOCTRINES OF SALVATION is not “representative of LDS thought in general” among LDS on the Internet. But as some have mentioned, online Mormons seem to be theologically liberal more so than Mormons in general. Offline is another matter. Most of the Mormons I attend Church with admire Bruce R. McConkie and Joseph Fielding Smith as much as I do. At least that is the way it seems to me.