Not wanting to cause trouble (yet), I thought I’d start off with something light….

On my way to the kitchen yesterday, the always closed door to my daughter’s bedroom was wide open exposing me to filth and chaos on levels only seen on the Hoarders. The piles of clothes and shoes and paper and wrappers made it impossible to pass. I waded two feet into the mess and was forced to retreat. For my own health and safety. Even her bed was piled high with clothes, both dirty and clean. Where is this kid sleeping? (more…)

Reading from Jacob in the Book of Mormon tonight, we were struck by this verse, near the end of Jacob’s writings, just before he dies:

And it came to pass that I, Jacob, began to be old; and the record of this people being kept on the other plates of Nephi, wherefore, I conclude this record, declaring that I have written according to the best of my knowledge, by saying that the time passed away with us, and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream, we being a lonesome and a solemn people, wanderers, cast out from Jerusalem, born in tribulation, in a wilderness, and hated of our brethren, which caused wars and contentions; wherefore, we did mourn out our days.

I don’t know why I never noticed this verse before, but tonight it hit us like a brick, my wife and I in particular. Maybe because we’re finally getting close to the age Jacob might have been when he wrote it, or maybe we just know a little more about what Jacob is talking about now, or maybe we’re just getting sappy, but the epic sadness of it just cried out from the page for the first time. My wife started crying while reading and had to stop. (more…)

Do you remember when Babe Ruth played for the Boston Red Sox? Of course you don’t, you only remember watching him play in rival Yankee pinstripes. So in the spirit of poaching a rival’s superstar, Nine Moons (a.k.a. Haters of all things misogynistic) is pleased to announce that we have acquired our Babe. Welcome to the team mfranti!!

As you know, mfranti has been hanging around the ‘nacle for years and writing at Feminist Mormon Housewives since 2008 (and has since left. We didn’t actually steal her, she was the top free agent on the market.) We’re not only excited for her thoughts and ideas but hopefully we can pick up some of the coveted “you go girl!” traffic we are so low on here at Nine Moons.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, that adding another perma will overwhelm our readers with too much content. But I would like to assuage your fears. I have personally asked everyone but MCQ to cut their posting frequency from “Pretty Much Never” to “Who?” which will open up the bandwidth so we can all enjoy mfranti’s posts without distraction.

Join me in welcoming mfranti!!

As Mormons, we are musical snobs.  There is approved music and unapproved music.  The borders of the musical promised land and the musical slums are as hard and fast as any railroad tracks that separate the good part of town from the bad, and that extends to instruments as well.  Or at least that has been the case within my memory.  You don’t get to play much music other than Hymns in the chapel.  And no matter what you play, you better play it on an approved instrument.  The list of instruments that you have heard in your chapel is probably as short as the list of instruments I have heard in mine: organ, piano, violin or viola, cello.  Maybe, if you’re lucky, you’ve heard an occasional flute or bass viol, but not much else.  Is there a good reason for this? (more…)

As has now been widely reported, one of the key players (who I won’t name here) on the BYU basketball team has been dismissed from the team for doing something that most college students (perhaps especially athletes) consider to be a normal part of college life (had consensual sex with his girlfriend, according to ESPN).  This player was raised in Provo, so he knew what he was getting into at BYU, but that doesn’t make his fate any less tragic for him or his team. (more…)

Definitely an idea whose time has come! 

Stan Beale suggested a T-shirt idea which I thought was great and would go right along with some other great ideas for ‘naclewear.  We already have some T-shirts out there, like the BoH inspired shirt above, and I came up with the following items, which should sell like hotcakes.  Feel free to add your own ideas for the gift shop in the comments.

(more…)

President Obama has recently announced that the federal government will no longer defend legal challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”), which allows states to decline to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.  The President’s decision was based on a recommendation from the DOJ that the law is unconstitutional.  GOP, and some democratic, lawmakers have lambasted the President’s decision as a dereliction of his duty, saying that it’s up to the courts to decide what laws are unconstitutional and that the executive branch must defend the laws passed by congress regardless of its opinions about the laws’ constitutionality.

This comes at a time when the tide (to me at least) seems to be turning more in favor of same-sex marriage and against the patchwork of laws (like California’s prop 8) which prohibit it.  The Church has been fairly silent on this issue for some time now.  What do you think?  Are we at the point when same-sex marriage is going to begin to see more widespread acceptance?  Is the President’s decision correct?  Should the Church weigh in on this issue again, and if so, how?

Update: The results of the President’s Action

For as long as I can remember, our sacrament service has included organ music that is played at the conclusion of the sacrament, during the time that the deacons and priests are returning to their seats.  I don’t know how wide-spread this practice has been, and I never even knew what it was called, until this past Sunday when the practice was abruptly discontinued, apparently due to a change in the CHI, which now prohibits it. 

The bishop announced the change, calling the music “sacrament postlude music.”  He professed a certain lack of understanding about the reason for the prohibition, but said that the ward was discontinuing the practice anyway, out of obedience to the clear requirements of the CHI.  He speculated that possibly the music was seen as an interruption of congregants’ ability to continue to feel the spirit of the sacrament, by unnecessarily marking a conclusion to the ordinance where none was necessary or intended.  But that was only speculation as no reason for the change has been announced or is likely to be forthcoming. 

Is this a big deal?  No, not really.  You would have to be a pretty observant participant in our worship services to really notice the change, but it’s significant to me and, more importantly, I don’t like it.  I don’t know if my dissatisfaction is based on the fact that I will miss the little musical interlude or because I really don’t like mandated changes that are unexplained, but whatever the reason, I find myself irritated by this.

What are your thoughts?  Did your wards have this practice and, if so, has it been eliminated?  Have you heard, or do you have any additional explanation beyond what I have stated above?  What’s going on here?

• There are too many faithless Mormons paying tithing
• Jmax writes one of his signature stupid posts
• Both appropriate sarcasm and intelligent counter-argument ensues
• Most of it is deleted
• Aaron B. Cox disguised as Jmax responds
• Jmax is M*’s friend so he’s allowed to call people hypocrites
• Blah…
• Geoff B reminds us (as do the Greg Olsen paintings on the wall) that M* is not our living room
• Seriously? You are going to edit THAT comment??
• If you don’t like America (or M*) JUST LEAVE!!
• Fondue with the Tanners
• Blah….
• Scripture as bludgeon
• DKL
• Those who call themselves Christians
• Blah…
• Blah…
• Chain of events inspires Rusty to write something for the first time in forever
• [yawn] Zzzzzzzzzzzzz…

This depresses the hell out of me.

After reading this story, I began to wonder what the 2012 campaign will be like if Romney and Huntman are both running.  If both run, as seems likely, it will be the first time that two members of the Church will be in the race for president with a realistic chance to win.  UPDATE:  Here’s an interersting graphic. (more…)

This Sunday, I’m teaching a Sunday School class which is a special course geared toward teaching members to be better missionaries.  I’m teaching this class as part of my calling as a ward missionary.  The class is a four-week course and this week is the second week in the course.  The title of the lesson is: “Finding Comfortable Ways to Share the Gospel.”

So maybe you can see my dilemma. (more…)

Some folks loooove the hymns. I don’t. I’ve always appreciated and enjoyed singing them in church, but I’ve never considered them very good for listening. Like, I’ll never put them on my iPod. Sure, they’re nice to sing while I’m wrangling my 2-year old in the pew, and even better when someone prepares a special musical number. But even then, they’re just a little too…I don’t know, serious? Righteous? Of course, I’ve never had any other expectation. I mean, we’re a bunch of God-worshipping lay-singers with “serious-face”, how else am I supposed to sing them? (more…)

I like this post over at Mormon Mentality, and thought we should follow up here by making our own lists.  I like setting goals this time of year, and I agree with a lot of ESO’s goals.  I’m not going to lay out clothes the night before (cuz that just ain’t me), and I’m not going to do sign language (I would suck) or learn primary songs (my kids are teens) or go to relief society (I’m a dude), but other than those things, I’m adopting her list right here and now. 

In addition, I hereby resolve that in 2011 I will:

1. Increase my income.

2. Learn a new song on my guitar.

3. Run a marathon in under 4 hours.

4. Climb Kings Peak.

5. Complete a triathon.

Join me sluggards!

At Christmas, we all hear that it is better to give than receive, and so we look for ways to give.  We strain our budgets to give to our children family and friends, sometimes with gifts that we know will be little used and not long remembered.  We want to give, so we do it anyway, because it’s traditional and because we want to honor the savior and the greatest gift of all.  It is right that we should do this, especially if we find meaningful ways to give to those who are truly in need.

But sometimes we need to be reminded how to receive as well.  This Christmas has been one of learning to receive for me and for my family, because my wife has had to undergo surgery and, though she is recovering well, she is unable to move much and so, as members of our church do, our ward members have given us many good meals and visits and wonderful wishes and prayers.  It requires some humility to receive rather than give.  I think most of us are much more comfortable being the giver than the receiver, but it is good for us to be reminded that we are all recipients of the freely given gifts of God, our Heavenly Father, who gave us his son, not because we earned it or deserved it, but simply because he loves us.  I have felt that love this Christmas and I wish that feeling for all of you on this holy Christmas eve.  Merry Christmas.

Part of my design education focused on editorial design. Magazines. I designed three different magazines in undergrad and one in graduate school (it was my thesis, actually). I was nourished with the editorial design work of Alexy Brodovich (Harper’s Bazaar), Fred Woodward (Rolling Stone), Fabien Baron (Italian Vogue), Kalman & Toscani (Colors), George Lois (Esquire covers) and even David Carson (Beach Culture) among others. At the time magazines like Wallpaper and Nest were new and hip and cool. To my young, idealistic mind, concept and aesthetic were king.

So you can imagine as a design student at BYU I didn’t care much for the design of the Ensign (or any other Church publication for that matter). Not only was the typography dreadful, the images were (always) literal (and generally bad), but there seemed to be little consideration for concept. The designers/editors weren’t challenging me, they weren’t giving me anything to think about. It was like the bad Gospel Doctrine class where you only get (the same old) answers and no good questions to actually chew on.

Well, they’ve made a few adjustments since then, as have I. And through years of experiencing the real world I’ve come to understand that managing the design of large brands not only requires a realistic understanding of who your true consumer is, but also a realization that communication is king. Aesthetics and concept are merely tools that assist the communication. Of course, none of this is to say the design and/or editorial of the Ensign is good. Far from it. I mean, if there’s any magazine in the world that should be inspiring, this is it, right?

So, this is where you come in. Let’s say that you’ve been hired by the Church to completely overhaul the Ensign (or any of the Church’s publications). What would you change in the design? And the editorial? Do you like the features and departments as they are? What would you toss? What would you add? And keep in mind, this is the Ensign, not Dialogue or Sunstone.