Entries Tagged 'Movie/Book Reviews' ↓

A few months ago, I posted a topic about Marriage Fitness.  This has become my New Year’s resolution.  I went ahead and bit the bullet by puchasing the Lone Ranger course.  The author is Mort Fertel, and he makes no illusions that his method is a quick or easy solution to a better marriage, but he does guarantee it works, if followed.  Part of the package includes a book with the same name.

He has an interesting perspective on the Biblical story of Rachel and Leah.  As we all know, Jacob (who later changed his name to Israel), greatly loved Rachel.  After working for 7 years to marry Rachel, he was duped into marrying Rachel’s sister Leah, and then had to work another 7 years to marry Rachel.  Fertel makes an interesting note that Jacob didn’t complain that he married Leah, and was satisfied to know that he could still have Rachel.

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I talked previously about the Wise Men and their part in the Christmas Story.  Not much is known about them, but there are quite a few interesting legends.  For example, we assume there are 3 Wise Men, but some ancient painting sometimes show as few as two, and sometimes as many as four.  Names and legends have even sprung up to provide more information about these men.

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I just finished a book called “DNA & Tradition”, by Rabbi Yaakov Kleiman.  The book discusses evidence of Hebrew DNA, and talks about the science and religion of Judaism.  As part of the discussion, I learned these interesting facts.

The oldest diaspora communities are in Assyria, later conquered by Babylonia (now modern-day Iraq) and Persia (now modern day Iran). They have been there for 2000-2500 years.

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This is an unusual post for me on 2 counts.  (1)  I generally hate lessons on tithing, because I don’t think there’s much new to say on the topic.  (2)  I tried to read “The Screwtape Letters” by CS Lewis a few years ago, and just couldn’t get through the book.  I’ve heard many people quote CS Lewis, especially from this book, but I just didn’t like it.  However, I did like the movie “Shadowlands” which was based on some true stories of Mr Lewis.

A friend of mine gave me a copy of Sunstone, the magazine.  I’ve never read it before, and have really wanted to get it for quite some time.  I am very grateful to my friend for giving it to me.  I read the articles he suggested, as well as many others that he didn’t, and came across a really interesting one by Jeff Burton.

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There is a new movie out in theaters called Errand of Angels.  A preview can be found here, and it is available in Utah theaters Aug 22.  This will be at least the 3rd5th “Hollywood LDS Missionary” movie, coming since God’s Army, and The Best Two Years, Other Side of Heaven, and States of Grace (God’s Army 2).

I saw this movie at the LDS film festival back in January, so I thought I would give a movie review.

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Ok, this is an email I received, and I thought it sounded quite interesting.  Zelph, I couldn’t help but think of you when I read this.  I think it sounds interesting to read myself, and I think others may find it interesting.

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The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR) would like to announce the publication of Shaken Faith Syndrome (www.ShakenFaithSyndrome.com) by Michael R. Ash.

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I need a change of pace, so I thought I’d do a little pop culture for a post.

My wife and I went to see the new Indy movie the Friday morning after it came out.  I’m a big Indy fan.  I liked the movie, but it wasn’t as good as #1 or #3, but better than #2.

Anyway, I don’t want any plot spoilers, and I don’t think this is, so if you haven’t seen the movie, you may want to stop reading here, but if you don’t care, read on.

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Ok, I probably won’t get too many comments on this, but it is an interesting topic for me. For some quick background, I previously posted on this topic. I recently purchased a copy of “Quest for the Lost Tribes” by Simcha Jacobovichi. In this documentary, he tries to make a case where he identifies most of the lost tribes, and their possible locations throughout the world. He comes up with some startling conclusions.

What is interesting to me about these lost tribes is the connection to the Book of Mormon. The BOM claims that the Nephites were descendants to the Tribe of Manasseh. So I was interested to see what insights the movie might have on this tribe in particular.

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I saw a sneak preview of the upcoming movie, “Emma Smith: My Story” at the LDS Film Festival in January. It is due to be released in about a week–April 11 here in Utah. I highly recommend it. It was commissioned by the Joseph Smith Historical Society, and has many of the same actors and actresses who appeared in “Legacy“, which used to show at the Joseph Smith Building. The producers even received permission to use some of the unused footage from Legacy. For those of you in Utah, I really encourage you to attend during the opening weekend. This makes a big impact on how long the film will run. It is a highly professional production, and it is a truly inspiring story. Continue reading →

Most Mormons believe that President Kimball’s revelation in 1978 was the first time black church members were able to hold the priesthood. However, in 1836, Elijah Abel was ordained an elder, probably by Joseph Smith himself. Elijah helped build the Nauvoo Temple, tried to rescue Joseph from jail, and served several missions for the church. His sons and grandsons also received the priesthood as late as 1934.

Darius Gray makes the case that there have always been a few black members holding the priesthood since Elijah Abel was first ordained. He granted an interview on Mormon Stories podcast that I think many will find interesting. He documents early black church members including Green Flake, and Jane Manning James. To me, these stories are very inspiring. Continue reading →