tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237022755882574439.post3979194697379730263..comments2023-06-06T10:02:21.561-05:00Comments on Weightier Matters of the Law: Ritual studiesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16544954353921319940noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237022755882574439.post-68359947648282622582008-06-18T20:02:00.000-05:002008-06-18T20:02:00.000-05:00Anonymous,Your reasoned response to this long-dead...Anonymous,<BR/><BR/>Your reasoned response to this long-dead thread was a helpful contribution. Come back when you find a name.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16544954353921319940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237022755882574439.post-85417063720323701862008-06-18T19:48:00.000-05:002008-06-18T19:48:00.000-05:00Anyone who chooses to discuss the endowment outsid...Anyone who chooses to discuss the endowment outside the temple doesn't understand it and doesn't have anything to say.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237022755882574439.post-17072583514265669002008-04-14T06:52:00.000-05:002008-04-14T06:52:00.000-05:00I'm going to toot my own horn here: At the Novembe...I'm going to toot my own horn here: At the November 2005 AAR meeting, I read a paper for a session jointly sponsored by the Ritual Studies group and the Ethics group. The paper focused on the ethics of discussing LDS temple rites in scholarly settings, as a contribution to discussions elsewhere in religious studies about the ethics of discussing religious secrets. That paper was part of a larger article which was just recently published by the <I>Journal of Ritual Studies</I> as "Concealing the Body, Concealing the Sacred: The Decline of Ritual Nudity in Mormon Temples."<BR/><BR/>So in response to the original question of whether temple rites can be brought into academic ritual studies, the answer is: Absolutely. But it does require a willingness to be more transparent in discussing the rites than church leadership prefers (as exemplified by the Boyd K. Packer quotation someone else in this thread quoted, or by the more recent injunction to silence about the latest adaptation to the endowment). The position I adopted in my article was (a) to not discuss any information specifically covered by covenants of non-disclosure and (b) to use only information which has already entered the public sphere through some kind of written source, print or electronic. As it turns out, criterion (a) is more restrictive than criterion (b), given the voluminous number of temple exposes produced over the years.<BR/><BR/>As I note in the article (and in the shorter paper I read at the AAR), the restrictions I imposed on my discussion would almost certainly not satisfy church leadership. But as I also point out in the article, the ethical question of how scholars should position themselves in response to Mormon claims about the sacred secrecy of temple rites is complicated. Competing ethical demands are made on scholars in this area. There are, on one hand, Mormons who protest that discussion of temple ritual desecrates a private religious experience. On another hand, there are disaffected former Mormons who claim that aspects of the rites constituted an invasion of the privacy of their bodies, an invasion abetted by the secrecy which surrounds the rites. Which of those claims should receive the allegiance of scholars? Sacred secrecy has political consequences which are not necessarily benign.John-Charles Duffyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08575560581349415001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237022755882574439.post-61381013481348371182008-01-10T23:37:00.000-06:002008-01-10T23:37:00.000-06:00I think there can be quality discussion about the ...I think there can be quality discussion about the temple between good intentioned people. Come visit me at <A HREF="MormonMysticism.com" REL="nofollow">Mormon Mysticism</A> and see!<BR/><BR/>-DavidDavid Littlefieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15369036998624269404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237022755882574439.post-24773474125908531592008-01-08T11:03:00.000-06:002008-01-08T11:03:00.000-06:00I apologize for posting this comment here. I coul...I apologize for posting this comment here. I could not find an email or contact form. <BR/><BR/>Feel free to delete this if you want.<BR/><BR/>REQUEST SUBMISSION At Mormon-Blogs.com<BR/> <BR/>I maintain a website which lists blogs and podcasts about the LDS Church and those published by its members.<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>It can be found at http://mormon-blogs.com/<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>I would like to include your site with your permission.<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>If you would like to have your blog included, I would appreciate it if you would submit your blog's information at <BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>http://mormon-blogs.com/submit<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>I do not share any submitted information. I only post the name of the blog, its URL, and tag it by category and, if you include the information, what country and stateor province the blog originates from.<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>Generally, I classify LDS Blogs as blogs that are generally about LDS themes, the Church, doctrine,and culture.<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>Mormon bloggers are what I call blogs that are published by latter-day saints but are not necessarily about LDS subjects.<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>More information and a blog badge can be found at http://mormon-blogs.com/about.<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>Please let me know if you have questions.<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>Best,<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>David H. Sundwall<BR/><BR/>www.mormon-blogs.com<BR/>www.asoftanswer.comDavidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01162160848031566770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237022755882574439.post-36596054394570420732008-01-07T19:38:00.000-06:002008-01-07T19:38:00.000-06:00The place of ritual studies on Mormonism is one I'...The place of ritual studies on Mormonism is one I've been thinking of lately (<A HREF="http://summatheologica.wordpress.com/2007/12/28/the-role-of-ritual-in-understanding/" REL="nofollow">I've written about it here</A>). I do think in generally there is less of a focus on ritual in Mormonism relative to other kinds of studies within a religious studies framework. I agree with Bradford who noted that "the study of the ritual or ceremonial dimension of Mormonism, in everyday life and worship, is of vital importance in gaining a better appreciation of the tradition as a whole. This aspect also needs to be studied in comparison with patterned celebrations and formalities manifested in other traditions." I think comparative studies on baptismal and sacramental rituals in Mormonism vis-à-vis other faith traditions have much to offer in deeping our understanding.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237022755882574439.post-14066972832629403692008-01-07T18:59:00.000-06:002008-01-07T18:59:00.000-06:00#4, it was my own neglect and ignorance that lead ...#4, it was my own neglect and ignorance that lead me to ignore the historical rituals you speak of. I was thinking only of contemporary rituals of baptism and the sacrament, which I don't think are fertile ground for analysis. However, if we look at how those rituals originated and have changed over time (both in their form and significance for the community), then there would certainly be some work to do.<BR/><BR/>I'll look up that Flake paper.Arielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17998788616208049784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237022755882574439.post-46194358320684475212008-01-07T18:57:00.000-06:002008-01-07T18:57:00.000-06:00smallaxe,your comment #2 seems to lead to the ques...smallaxe,<BR/>your comment #2 seems to lead to the question that I should have put explicitly into the main post. If the endowment ordinance is secret, what exactly constitutes the ordinance? For example, I do not think that the narrative portion of the endowment ceremony can properly be considered part of the ordinance. For one, the rest of the ordinance could be conducted without it, or without a large portion of it, and we are not invited to respond to it, at least not in any external way.Arielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17998788616208049784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237022755882574439.post-54672702376208735802008-01-07T12:34:00.000-06:002008-01-07T12:34:00.000-06:00Kathleen Flake's paper in Ritual Studies on the Te...Kathleen Flake's paper in <EM>Ritual Studies</EM> on the Temple is excellent. I disagree with you, however, on the other rituals of the Church. There is a tremendous amount of work to do beyond the modern endowment. Kris and I just finished a history of Baptism for Health and we are starting more of a Ritual Studies piece on the development of Mormon healing ritual to 1846. The Mormon Liturgy is complex and deep.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237022755882574439.post-48774252053006959882008-01-07T10:01:00.000-06:002008-01-07T10:01:00.000-06:00On this larger issue of ritual studies however, I ...On this larger issue of ritual studies however, I find some interesting implications for LDSs. We tend to interpret our rituals symbolically, but parts of the field of ritual studies (lead by Bell and others), put forth "performative" theories of ritual, where participation in ritual is a training or embodied learning which inculcates the participant with certain skills of performance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237022755882574439.post-73156265740624616282008-01-07T09:40:00.000-06:002008-01-07T09:40:00.000-06:00We discussed some of this a while back at FPR. htt...We discussed some of this a while back at FPR. http://faithpromotingrumor.wordpress.com/2007/01/08/is-temple-prep-really-preparation/<BR/><BR/>It was in the end difficult, however to get past one quote from Boyd K. Packer in Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple (linked in comment #21):<BR/><BR/><I> We do not discuss the temple ordinances outside the temples. It was never intended that knowledge of these temple ceremonies would be limited to a select few who would be obliged to ensure that others never learn of them. It is quite the opposite, in fact. With great effort we urge every soul to qualify and prepare for the temple experience. Those who have been to the temple have been taught an ideal: Someday every living soul and every soul who has ever lived shall have the opportunity to hear the gospel and to accept or reject what the temple offers. If this opportunity is rejected, the rejection must be on the part of the individual.<BR/><BR/>The ordinances and ceremonies of the temple are simple. They are beautiful. They are sacred. They are kept confidential lest they be given to those who are unprepared. Curiosity is not a preparation. Deep interest itself is not a preparation. Preparation for the ordinances includes preliminary steps: faith, repentance, baptism, confirmation, worthiness, a maturity and dignity worthy of one who comes invited as a guest into the house of the Lord.<BR/><BR/>We must be prepared before we go to the temple. We must be worthy before we go to the temple. There are restrictions and conditions set. They were established by the Lord and not by man. And, the Lord has every right and authority to direct that matters relating to the temple be kept sacred and confidential. </I>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237022755882574439.post-2129320319959527862008-01-07T01:02:00.000-06:002008-01-07T01:02:00.000-06:00i think the endowment is pretty clear as to what s...i think the endowment is pretty clear as to what should not be discussed outside of the temple. all else should be open game for discussion.the narratorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10774503436545764912noreply@blogger.com