Category Archives: The Political Surf

Baptisms for health were once more common than baptisms for the dead

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Doug Gibson

(To see Cal Grondahl’s cartoon that goes with this post, click here.) Most of us know about the ubiquity of the LDS Church performing baptisms for the dead in church temples. And every week in many locations there are baptisms … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged "They Shall Be Made Whole": A History of Baptism For Health", Baptisms for health, Jonathan A. Stapley, Journal of Mormon History, Kristine Wright, LDS temples, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | 10 Comments

Ghostly tales of Ogden’s 25th Street arrive to haunt readers

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Doug Gibson

“Tales From Two-Bit Street and Beyond … Part II” is another collection of ghostly short stories that mix spooky chills with the colorful history of Ogden’s Historic 25th Street. A disclaimer: I have a story in this anthology, titled “Yehudi,” … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged Anthologies, Drienie Hattingh, Ghostly tales, Historic 25th Street, Ogden, Ogden history, Tales Book Publishing, Tales From Two-Bit Street and Beyond ..., Tales From Two-Bit Street and Beyond ... Part II | Leave a comment

Willard Bean, Mormonism’s ‘Fighting Parson,’ did have an admirable pro boxing career

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Doug Gibson

(To see Cal Grondahl’s cartoon that goes with this post, click here.) A lot of Mormon lore has surrounded Willard Bean, a professional boxer (at right in a Salt Lake Tribune 1902 photo boxing Fireman Jim Flynn, Bean is at … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged Boxing, Deseret News, Fireman Jim Flynn, Hill Cumorah, Jack Christy, Joe Choynski, N.Y., Palmyra, Salt Lake Telegram, Salt Lake Tribune, Willard Bean | 1 Comment

LDS apostle Boyd K. Packer is correct that virtue can be turned into a vice

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Doug Gibson

(To see Cal Grondahl’s cartoon that goes with this post, click here.) The very old, extremely conservative LDS Apostle Boyd K. Packer is slowly but consistently seeing his influence diminish. Because he fulfills the role of bogeyman by many of … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged Elder Boyd K. Packer, Gay marriage, Intolerance, Tolerance, Vice, Virtue | 35 Comments

Obama administration is best ally the GOP has in its hunt for scandals

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Doug Gibson

If politics is a game, the Obama administration has gone through three relief pitchers and allowed Republican batters to clear the bases more than once. The sight of high-level IRS official Lois Lerner taking the fifth at a hearing today … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged Benghazi, Chicago Tribune, Fifth Amendment, Fox News, IRS scandal, James Rosen, Lois Lerner, Obama Justice Department, The Associated Press, The Obama Administration, The Pentagon Papers | 6 Comments

Idea that righteous parents can save wayward children a consistent doctrine in Mormon history

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Doug Gibson

Although doctrines and decrees change in the LDS Church — think polygamy and blacks — one consistent teaching from the time of Joseph Smith to today is that the righteousness of parents can provide salvation to wayward (read: unrighteous) children. … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged Boyd K. Packer, Brigham Young, Doctrines of Salvation, Exaltation, James E. Faust, Joseph Fielding Smith, Joseph Smith, Orson F. Whitney, Righteous parents, Salvation, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Wayward children | 18 Comments

Review of three indy books include Mormon presence, and scholarship

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Doug Gibson

I like novels and books from small presses, the independents, those that rely on Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, word-of-mouth … for sales. I read two novels and one scholarly book, from respectively, Strange Violin Editions, Leicester Bay Books, and Xlibris. They … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged Byuck, German Leaves: Opposing Nazi Cannons with Words, Independent books, Leicester Bay Books, Ralph P. Vander Heide, Stephen Carter, Strange Violins Editions, The Hand of Glory, Theric Jepson, Xlibris | 5 Comments

Mormon one-size-for-all Sacramental goblet was a casualty of the progressive era

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Doug Gibson

(To see Cal Grondahl’s cartoon that goes with this post, click here.) I was talking to an elderly woman in my LDS ward and I asked her if her father had mentioned partaking of the Sacrament in a large ward … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged 1890-1930, Common sacramental goblet, Journal of Mormon History, Justin R. Bray, President Heber J. Grant, President Joseph F. Smith, Progressive era, Sacrament Cup, Sacramental trays and tiny cups, Seldon Clawsen, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Lord's Supper During the Progressive Era | 11 Comments

FAA reversal on “sequester cuts” likely ends the scare tactics

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Doug Gibson

I’ve seen comments and cartoons casting the reversal of the FAA air traffic controller cuts — which were supposedly due to sequestration, or the process of trimming a couple percent or so from federal spending –as a folly of congressional … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged Air Traffic Controllers, Budget cuts, Entitlements, FAA, Sequestration | 2 Comments

Flurry of new fiction helps authors get Mormonism out of their system

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Doug Gibson

(To see Cal Grondahl’s cartoon that goes with this post, click here). There’s an extremely profane scene in “Multiple Maniacs,” one of filmmaker John Waters’ earliest films, that takes place in a Catholic church and involves the actors Divine, Mink … Read More