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aml-list-digest       Friday, February 15 2002       Volume 01 : Number 614




----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2002 16:45:41 -0800
From: "Jerry Tyner" <jerry.tyner@qlogic.com>
Subject: RE: [AML] Depictions of Jesus

Mike South wrote:

>> My father (who is 5'5") has always held the theory that after the
>> resurrection everyone will float around at eye-level so height won't =
be
>> much of an issue anymore.

Why every time I think of this I get the vision of Superman and Mr. =
Mxyzpptlk? I'm not being flip or anything (maybe just a little) but I =
get the feeling that all the height differences caused by genetics and =
environment will go away in the resurrection. I have lots of things that =
need to be fixed when that day comes.

Jerry Tyner
Orange County


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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2002 16:49:28 -0800
From: Jeff Needle <jeff.needle@general.com>
Subject: Re: [AML] Race Issues in Mormonism

Hoping to abide by the list rules, I post a big thank you to you, Kathy, 
for the thought-provoking post.  It brings many issues into focus.

>I'm going to take a stab at this, while logging in with my opinion of the
>whole race issues in mormonism.  I've read every scriptural and modern
>excuse ever given for the reason the blacks were not allowed the
>priesthood prior to 1978. I've also read Pres. Kimball's biography, in
>which he stated that he, like every president before him (I don't recall
>how far back he meant, but at least the several prior to him) he had
>prayed mightily that the Lord would change the policy toward blacks and
>allow them the full blessings of membership in His church.  I remember a
>story of a black woman who joined the church in Joseph Smith's day who
>throughout her life had asked every single prophet since him if the time
>had come yet when the priesthood could be given to her people.  Each
>prophet answered her with great compassion, and some with the same
>puzzled sadness she felt, that no, the time hadn't come.  This comforted
>me to know that the prophets HAD in fact been praying for revelation that
>would change things, and were refused until Pres. Kimball.


- ----------------
Jeff Needle
jeff.needle@general.com






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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2002 14:41:35 -0700
From: "Sharlee Glenn" <glennsj@inet-1.com>
Subject: Re: [AML] A Mormon _Fiddler on the Roof_

Rob Lauer wrote:

> Why attending the Y in the late 70's/early 80's, I often heard ordinary
> Saints say, "Someone should write a Mormon 'Fiddler on the Roof.'"
> My reaction then was that most Mormons would never stand for it; they'd
> label such a story "anti-Mormon."

<snip>

> marry outside of this tradition. Then at the climax, the father realizes
> that his love for his daughter is stronger than his Jewish orthodoxy. The
> story ends with his making a move towards his daughter and AWAY from his
> previously held religious convictions.

I have to disagree with you here.  You make it sound like this is an
either/or situation--either Tevye must renounce his daughter or he must
renounce his previously held religious beliefs.  Yes, Tevye softens toward
Chava at the very end of the play (if you call muttering "God bless you"
under his breath as Chava says good-bye to her family, probably forever,
softening), but that doesn't mean that he has abandoned his convictions.
One can, in fact, love the sinner while abhorring the sin.

> Are Mormons ready for a story in which a devout man (say a Bishop or Stake
> President) compromises on his belief that the Lord intends for all Saints
to
> be married in the Temple? Such would be the message of a "Mormon 'Fiddler
on
> the Roof'."

Phooey.  First of all, that wouldn't be the message.  Acceptance of a child
who chooses not to marry in the temple in no way equals a compromise of the
belief that the Lord intends for all Saints to be married in the Temple.   A
Mormon audience would be very open to a play that emphasized love and
forgiveness in this manner.

I say yes! to a Mormon "Fiddler on the Roof."  So, who's going to write it?
Thom?  Eric? (Oh, I forgot.  You hate musicals.  :-)   Marvin and Steve?  If
you all wait too long, my daughter may end up beating you to it!

Sharlee Glenn
glennsj@inet-1.com






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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2002 23:41:56 EST
From: DiannRead@aol.com
Subject: [AML] Re: [AML-Mag] Olympics Opening Ceremony

Eric,

To borrow a line from scripture, "O ye of little faith."  I'm glad your lack 
of faith was thoroughly put in its place.

That seems to be a big problem with groups like AML.  We have become so 
accustomed to literature/music/drama, etc. being less than skillfully wrought 
that mediocrity is now expected, even in world-class events.  The very 
existence of the Tabernacle Choir should be proof of LDS capability when the 
right people with the right talents are involved.  And yet cynicism reigns.  
How sad.    

My non-LDS friends here in Texas who watched the ceremonies the other night 
were thoroughly delighted with the whole thing.  I expected to be delighted, 
too, and I was.

And, btw, Elder Maxwell's name is spelled Neal.

Diann Read
San Antonio, TX





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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2002 22:15:51 -0700
From: "Scott Parkin" <scottparkin@msn.com>
Subject: [AML] re: Race Issues in Mormonism

Ethan Skarstedt wrote:

>>> Group guilt.  Why should I feel guilty about the way other people treat
other people?  I am not responsible for other people's actions.  I am
responsible only for my own. <<<

Since I think this is a response to my post, let me suggest that I think you
should feel however you want to feel--however your conscience demands that
you feel. I can't tell you how to feel, and I wouldn't dream of trying. All
I was trying to express was my own feelings.

I expect no other person in heaven or earth to feel as I do. That I feel a
guilt that you find silly only proves that we are, in fact, different people
and underscores my belief that good Mormons come in a pretty wide variety of
packages and have a pretty wide variety of responses to their world (the
debate about whether I qualify as a good Mormon is outside the scope of this
list and will have to be deferred to another time and place...).

For me the issue isn't how other people treat other people, but rather how
anyone treats members of my own community--the wide variety of races and
ethnicities represented within Mormonism, and further within Humanity. In my
mind it's all Us rather than Them.

Maybe it's silly, but it's how I feel. Maybe I don't have a right to my own
guilt and can add enormous presumption to my lengthy list of personal sins.
My only defense is that I do it with good intentions.


>>> Even though the people that commit/ed terrible acts in the name of
racism live/d in the same country I now live in and were/are of the same
skin color as I, I had/have no control over their actions and bear no
responsibility for their actions.  An apology from me for those actions
would be the worst kind of sentimental sophistry. <<<

I feel sorrow for much pain that I have not caused. Just the other evening
as I was talking to a friend he bit his tongue and experienced a moment of
intense pain. I didn't cause that pain, but I expressed my sorrow for it. I
don't take any responsibility for his pain, but I do have a desire to ease
it if I'm capable.

In this case, the only remedy I had was to say "I'm sorry," regardless of my
guiltlessness at causing the pain. Expressing that sorrow does indeed ease
my own sympathetic pain, and is indeed a reaction born out of the utterly
selfish desire to make myself feel better. Which certainly calls into
question the purity of my own motives in offering that apology. But it in no
way changes the fact that I meant well with it and hoped to offer some
small--though probably ineffective--remedy for his pain.

I suppose I could have ignored his pain, but that strikes me as cold and he
is my very good friend. I could have told him that it was his own fault for
not paying attention, but I didn't see much theraputic value in that--for me
or my friend. I could have mocked his pain, but again it would have given
neither of us joy or relief. So I said "I'm sorry" because I sorrowed for
his pain. And yes, I couldn't help but feel that if I hadn't been there
talking to him the random confluence of events that led to his bitten tongue
might not have happened.

I feel a certain guilt at American racism because I haven't personally done
more to eradicate what I consider to be a reprehensible institution. I feel
a certain guilt at Mormon racism because I too am a Mormon and believe that
we should know better than to hate on the basis of race. Wasn't at least
part of the point of Jesus's first coming to do away with the strict racial
limits and open the covenant to all peoples and races and nations (Peter's
vision)? And yet we debate the question of his color here on this list, a
question that seems largely irrelevant to me because whatever his racial
characteristics, the critical fact for me is that he was the Christ, the son
of God, the redeemer come into the world to save us from our sins.

But the social dynamic isn't that black and white (pardon the pun). Some of
my brothers and sisters are in pain because other of my brothers and sisters
hate (or ignore or dismiss or pity) them for the color of their skin. Some
don't have direct experience with racism, but do live in a context where
racism's historical fact creates questions and tensions and barriers to
acceptance--both in their own minds and in the minds of others.

I can't undo the hurt, but I hope I can help create a wider sense of
community that enfolds race and celebrates ethnic or racial origin at the
same time that it celebrates common hope and belief. It doesn't matter
whether the pain is justified according to my definitions; what matters is
that I mourn with those that mourn and that I try to comfort those in need
of comfort. My individual conscience demands that I at least try to help
create a community of direct and specific inclusion within the larger Mormon
community that I love.

To me the apology is not an attempt to take responsibility, but rather an
attempt to recognize pain and to indicate my desire to help ease it. It's a
recognition that issues exist and that I'm willing to subsume my own rights
or desires or concerns for a little while and make the concerns of others my
first priority. It's my proof of sincerity, not some attempt to emotionally
manipulate.

In my case, I mean it as a step toward common ground. If it's taken as the
worst kind of sentimental sophistry, I can only express my sorrow at what I
believe is a misinterpretation of my intent.

Scott Parkin




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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2002 20:45:25 -0700
From: "Nan McCulloch" <mcnandon@hotmail.com>
Subject: [AML] Judaism: Race or Religion?

My very well educated Jewish friends have always been incensed when people
refer to Jews as a race of people rather than a religion.  She is descended
from Spanish Jews and he Polish Jews.  I would like to write an essay
exploring this theme.  Have any of you dealt with Judaism--race v.s.
religion?

Nan McCulloch
- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Clark Goble" <clark@lextek.com>
To: <aml-list@lists.xmission.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2002 3:55 PM
Subject: RE: [AML] Race Issues in Mormonism


> ___ James ___
> | Your benign racism is anything but; the idea that race determines
> | character, ability, etc is merely the old form of racism, ie
> | the standard belief of all humanity since the Tower of Babel.
>  ___
>
> Hmm.  Exactly how does the above differ from more or less denying the
place
> of genetics in human characteristics?  Now certainly within the categories
> we call races there is great diversity.  And what constitutes a "race" is
in
> many ways socially defined.  We pick certain traits/geographic locals and
> then define a race.  Yet upon close examination those break down.  Yet
there
> still are characteristics within races that are generally the case.
>
> I think we worry about race more than we should.  However at the same time
> all evidence points to genetics making up a sizable portion of what makes
us
> who we are.  So long as we don't ascribe "superiority" to our heritage I
> don't see the problem.  Yet there is a danger that because of the many
many
> abuses in the name of racism that some deny race any place at all.
>
> Further the notion of "race" as it used seems to include a kind of social
> entity as well as physical characteristics.  Consider for example the
> Semetic race which includes many more social features than anything that
> could likely be tied to genetics.  In that sense Mormonism probably could
> have become a race, had we remained isolated long enough.
>
> I bring up this social aspect because I think the concern in Mormon
> literature, especially the scriptures, is with a combination of
> social/heritage race.  Consider the promises and covenants of the Book of
> Mormon.  That is essentially a promise to a given race.  Likewise the
> doctrines of blood Israel, especially as it relates to priesthood and the
> Holy Ghost, are tied to race.  Call that "racism" if you wish.  However
> perhaps a better term would be heritage, given the place the word race has
> come to take.
>
> So, while we might not be racists, we definitely are heritagists.  <Grin>
>
>  ___ Konnie ___
> | I can believe that we are placed where we are on this earth
> | according to how valiant we were in the preexictance.
>  ___
>
> I think that it is the notion of a pre-existence that still causes us the
> most concern in this regard.  It seems like our place on this earth is
> determined by two factors.  The first is what use we could be to the Lord
> (our valiance) and then what things we need to learn (our growth).  By the
> end of our sojourn here and in the spirit world, we'll all have equal
> chances.
>
> The danger is that successful Mormons can come to take a kind of Calvinist
> view that our place is our blessing due to pre-existent righteousness.
Yet
> that need not be the case.  It might simply be that we needed to learn
> something different from others.  Elder Ashton gave an excellent talk on
> this in the early 90's.  Basically he affirmed the basic doctrine of
> blessings and curses but pointed out that our judgments of what was a
> blessing or curse was often determined by the values of the world.  A
person
> living in the poor rural south, for instance, might well have been blessed
> by that birth more than had they been put into a rich Mormon home in Utah.
> Indeed, given the activities of many rich young Utah Mormons, they might
> well learn the gospel better as well.
>
> Going along with that, consider the work for the dead that Wilford
Woodruff
> did.  The founders of our country were not born into the covenant, but
> certainly were among the valiant in the pre-existence.  Further the old
> testament often portray Cyrus as one of the chosen ones of the Lord.  I
can
> well believe that figures like Malcom-X or Martin Luthor King, for all
their
> flaws, were also valiant in the pre-existence.  (Are their foibles really
> worse than those of our founding fathers?)
>
> My point is that I think the problem with all this isn't the doctrine, it
is
> how we decide to apply the doctrine.  We tend to look at what is good or
bad
> from a narrow cultural field.  The view from God's council might well be
> quite different.
>
> While I am glad to have been born in the church, I'm not sure that it has
> made my personal challenges less than were I to be born in different
> circumstances.  Given how much of my personality is a result of my
genetics
> and upbringing, I can't say what I'd be like having been born an African
> American living in Atlanta in the 1950's.  I'd like to think, however,
that
> there was some purpose for my birth.  Hopefully whatever it is I need to
> learn I can learn and whomever I'm supposed to help I can help.  While my
> Patriarchal blessing tells me many things were blessings, overall I have a
> hard time separating blessings from curses.  Given that God seems to like
to
> build character I often think that blessings and curses are the same
thing.
>
>
>
> -- Clark Goble --- clark@lextek.com -----------------------------
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature
> <http://www.aml-online.org/list/index.html>
>




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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2002 22:21:26 -0800
From: jltyner@postoffice.pacbell.net
Subject: Re: [AML] Olympics Opening Ceremony

I too, watched and waited to see how the Opening Ceremony would shake
out.  Would we be, as is often the case, too heavy-handed, too obvious,
too schmaltzy?  But early on I knew it was going great.  Yeah, I thought
Jay Leno was right, the icicle things looked like the KKK.  But such
quibbles aside, I thought the blend of showmanship with Native 
American spirituality meshing with LDS belief and theology to be a great
balance, very touching with just a mention of the Mormon Pioneers.

I thought another great moment came after the President opened the games
and was still in the group of American athletes and got handed a cell
phone so someone could prove to the folks back home they were hangin'
with the Prez, and to his credit he took the phone and talked to whoever
was on the other end, that was a choice moment.  I loved it when they 
had so many pairs of athletes past and present carrying and passing the
torch, when it was nearly the end I turned to my husband and said, "It's
going to be Eruzione", and it was, but I was happily surprised when he
called out the rest of his teammates and they lit the Olympic Torch in
that group hug thing.  

But perhaps the outstanding, defining moment for me was at the end
when it all came together, the fireworks are bursting, and the Mormon
Tabernacle Choir was singing Beethoven's Ode To Joy, (I think that's
what they were singing), the crowd is waving and cheering, it was one
of those rare moments in mortality when it all comes to together in
a Kismet-like moment and everything is perfect, even if briefly.  I
thought the choir never sounded better than that night.  The Utah
Symphony too.  It just felt right.

There are probably other moments, but those are the ones that stuck
out for me.  Hope the Closing Ceremonies are able to come close.

Kathy Tyner, Orange County, CA




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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2002 23:32:23 -0700
From: "Thom Duncan" <ThomDuncan@prodigy.net>
Subject: Re: [AML] Olympics Opening Ceremony

- ----- Original Message -----
From: "bob/bernice hughes" <bobernice@hotmail.com>
To: <aml-list@lists.xmission.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2002 7:37 AM
Subject: Re: [AML] Olympics Opening Ceremony


> >From: "Thom Duncan" <ThomDuncan@prodigy.net>
> Can anyone explain to me why anyone would be willing to put themselves
> through such agony, fight those crowds, etc. to see something in a venue
> which, regardless of their seats, could never offer a view better than
that
> they could get on TV?
>
>
> Its like watching Les Miz (or whatever your favorite production is) on
> video. You can't beat the view in front of the television for that
> performance, can you?

It aint't the same.  In Les Miz, at least the audience members are seated in
their seats, the lights are down, and your reaction to the show is purely
individual between the actors and you.  You don't have all this mass
hysteria stuff that takes place in concerts and sporting events.  Peer
pressure has never moved me, even if they are many hundreds of peers.  I
will give a standing ovation when I think the play deserves it (to me, a
standing ovation is like a testimony -- I don't give it unless the "spirit"
literally pulls me to my feet. ).

Thom Duncan





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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2002 23:44:50 -0700
From: "Thom Duncan" <ThomDuncan@prodigy.net>
Subject: Re: [AML] Race Issues in Mormonism

- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Willson" <bmdblu2@attbi.com>
To: <aml-list@lists.xmission.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2002 2:30 PM
Subject: Re: [AML] Race Issues in Mormonism


> Marvin Payne
>  Alpine, Utah
> Wrote:
> >snip>
>
> I wonder how the discussion would be going, how we would be feeling, if we
> were living back in the days when the  priesthood Included only a very
small
> segment of God's children, the Levites.
>
> >snip>
>
> I don't see what the big deal is anyway. Sure I felt bad, and everyone
else
> who was capable of feeling, felt bad.

I don't know about you, but I was instructed by no less a personage than
Marion G. Romney on how to treat black people one might happen upon while
tracting in France, circa 1968.  "Pretend you've got the wrong address," he
said.  That's right.  Don't mention your a missionary for the church, just
lie. We were further told that we were not to teach Blacks unless they
sought us out and "begged" us to teach them.

Equating the withholding of priesthood from blacks with the Levite situation
doesn't wash.  For one, the Levites didn't teach that other tribes were
unworthy to hold the Priesthood, that they had done something wrong in the
pre-existence, that they were "cursed." The Levites held the priesthood of
God because they did. The other tribes had other things to do that were
equally as important.

> But does any of the other churches on the earth today have this sort of
> guilt trip over the priesthood? No. The priesthood in other churches is
only
> conferred on those who actively seek it and even some of those who seek it
> are denied the privilege.
>
> In our church,  "Many are called but few are chosen." What we have to
> remember is God is in charge. Who are we to question him?

We don't need to question God.  But the last I checked, the church's leaders
were human beings, and since they are still with us on the earth, we can
aassume they have not yet reached the moral perfection required to be
translated. This implies that, yes, they can be mistaken on certain things,
or in absolute error in other things.  This is where the Holy Ghost comes
into play, helping us to understand what our leaders say, adapting it to our
own needs.

Thom Duncan





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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2002 01:38:13 -0700
From: "D. Michael Martindale" <dmichael@wwno.com>
Subject: Re: [AML] Re: "National Review" on The Mormons

[MOD: I have to say that my reaction was similar to Michael's. I doubt this 
was the author's intent--but the article sure made me wonder.]

Larry Jackson wrote:
> 
> The article is at:
> 
> http://www.nationalreview.com/weekend/culture/culture-shiflett020902.shtml

What a fascinating study in stealth smearing!

I have no idea what the author's true intent was, but if he had intended
to smear Mormons while keeping his skirts clean, he did a masterful job
of it. He poses as someone defending Mormons, while parading out all
sorts of negative comments about the church, its doctrine and history.
This parade of mudslinging is balanced out by very little in the way of
positive statements about Mormons--well, none actually, except pity for
what they went through and admiration that they survived it.

I congratulate columnist Dave Shiflett for a cleverly constructed piece
of rhetoric.

- -- 
D. Michael Martindale
dmichael@wwno.com 

==================================
Check out Worldsmiths, the new online LDS writers group, at
http://www.wwno.com/worldsmiths 

Sponsored by Worlds Without Number
http://www.wwno.com 
==================================




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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2002 13:53:41 GMT
From: "pdhunter" <pdhunter@wt.net>
Subject: [AML] Re: [AML-Mag] Dishonest Singles Ward Ads

I'm a big fan of Eric D. Snider, but there are some factual
errors in his piece about "The Singles Ward" ad:

Ogden Standard-Examiner review did not give "The Singles
Ward" 2 stars. It gave the movie 2 1/2 stars.

It is not accurate to say that there were not favorable
reviews. The favorable reviews of the movie include the
review by the Ogden Standard-Examiner, an extremely positive
write-up by the Utah County Journal, as well as an "A" grade
and a positive review by the Utah Statesman:
http://utahstatesman.com/main.cfm/include/detail/storyid/174
653.html

plus a positive review by Meridian Magazine.

As the "Utah Statesman" is the newspaper of a state
university, Utah State College, and Daily Herald, Tribune,
and Deseret News are non-governmental newspapers, one might
say even that "The Singles Ward" is a state-sanctioned
movie.

Also, the practice of picking out words or phrases from
reviews in order to create a wildly inaccurate impression of
a review is widespread. This was reported on 4 or 5 months
ago when the deal about the non-existent reviewers was in
the news, and Ebert (and other journalists) have written
about this multiple times, although usually with more
bemusement than shock.

That fact that Hollywood movie hucksters do it doesn't
necessarily make it a smart or accurate thing to do. But
when I read the ad I took it as a very, very inside joke
(although, admittedly, a joke that only Eric D. Snider, Sean
P. Means, Jeff Vice, and myself would get).

If the Salt Lake Tribune had a problem with the ad (which
quoted its own critic), it should not have run it.

And of course the ad is not "illegal."

As for leaving out a couple middle initials being
"attribution errors" and complaining about adding "Provo" to
"Daily Herald"... Come on, Eric, that's grasping at straws.

I'll continue to read Eric D. Snider with relish. Mistakes
in what he wrote were a result of remembering incorrectly
(Ogden's number of stars) and his not being familiar with
all the reviews that were out there (and perhaps not
thinking of these other publications "major" newspapers,
hence not checking their reviews out regularly.

Preston Hunter
www.adherents.com


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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2002 10:53:01 -0500
From: "Tracie Laulusa" <tlaulusa@core.com>
Subject: Re: [AML] Race Issues in Mormonism

[MOD: Interesting article. I don't know how another professional linguist 
would respond, but the evidence he cites seems at least respectable.]

There was an article in the Ensign in 1994 that discussed this theory.  I'm
not a linguist so I can't comment on its scholarly validity, but I found it
fascinating at the time.

Terry M. Blodgett, "Tracing the Dispersion," Ensign, Feb. 1994, 64

This is the link at the top of the page but I have no idea what you will get
if you use it.

http://library.lds.org/library/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=main-hit-h.htm&2.0

Tracie Laulusa

- ----- Original Message -----
Richard Hopkins originally wrote:

>The Northern
>Europeans are, in large measure, descendants of the lost ten tribes and you
>know how pale the Scandinavians are.

I know this is an idea that was very popular (I believe) in the 19th
century and early parts of the 20th century, and is still cited by some.
I'd be very cautious, however, about accepting any
such conclusions.  My sense (although this is not an area I have studied)
is that this is not a view that is held by professional contemporary
historians, archaeologists, or comparative linguists.  A lot of the
"evidence" that is cited for this comes from a time when many wild (and
since disproved) ideas were thrown around.  I'd be very cautious about
citing this as fact without some contemporary mainstream scholarship to
validate it.








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Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2002 13:55:52 -0700
From: "Sharlee Glenn" <glennsj@inet-1.com>
Subject: Re: [AML] Olympics Opening Ceremony

> >(Katie and Bob certainly weren't aware--they never even mentioned
> >who was conducting, and barely mentioned the names of the symphony
> >and chorus),
>
>
> Just a small point of correction here: One of them did mention it was
> Craig Jessop conducting the Utah Symphony. I remember it distinctly,
> because I had been curious who it was, and they finally said it, and
> I was curious no more.

Yes, but that was when the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was singing.  I doubt
that Jessop was conducting the Utah Symphony as they played the Shostakovich
piece during the lighting of the cauldron.  Would it have been Lockhart?  Or
maybe John Williams again?
Anybody know for sure?

Sharlee Glenn
glennsj@inet-1.com






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Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2002 09:32:34 -0700
From: "Mary Jane Jones" <mjjones@xelent.com>
Subject: Re: [AML] Olympics Opening Ceremony

>Fascinating, for all the reasons Mary mentions.  But I think, actually, =
it was John Williams ripping off =20
>Shastakovich.  Williams, of course, is a notorious borrower.

I checked with the symphony, and they did play the finale from Shostakovich=
 Sym No. 5 (in an adaptation beginnning with "Ode to Zeus" by Samura).  =
The symphony played John Williams' new Olympic piece earlier in the =
ceremony (with Williams conducting). =20

In response to Eric D., they must have been changing conductors regularly, =
because I recognized Keith Lockhart conducting at one point.  Craig Jessop =
may have been conducting at a different time, and of course Williams =
conducted a segment.  Rotating conductors...

Mary Jane Ungrangsee






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Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2002 10:25:12 -0700
From: Christopher Bigelow <Chris.Bigelow@UnicityNetwork.com>
Subject: RE: [AML] Dishonest Singles Ward Ads

When I noticed these bogus blurbs in the ad for The Singles Ward, it struck
me as primarily an attempt at revenge humor, and I thought it was gutsy and
funny, not really dishonest. I imagine most people who look at newspaper
movie ads also read the reviews and will remember that The Singles Ward was
panned, won't they? In the age of that nonexistent Sony reviewer being
exposed, it's hard to imagine the filmmakers would actually think they were
fooling anybody. All those ellipses are a dead giveaway. . . and technically
they are accurate. However, I could be persuaded that if more
non-media-savvy people are fooled by it than there are people who get the
joke, then maybe it is dishonest.

Chris Bigelow


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Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2002 13:48:27 -0500
From: "Debra Brown" <debbro@voyager.net>
Subject: [AML] Fw: MN LDS Performers Help Welcome the Olympic Torch: Excel Entertainment Press Release 9Feb02 US UT Prov A2

 LDS Performers Help Welcome the Olympic Torch

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- Braving cold temperatures and even colder 
wind chill, artists from Utah performed in downtown Salt Lake City 
last night for 40,000 people waiting for the arrival of the Olympic 
torch.  Artists to take the stage included Utah favorite Julie de 
Azevedo.

"It's so exciting to perform in association with the Winter Games," 
said de Azevedo. "This has been one of the highlights of my career as 
a performer."

Hosted by KSL-1160 radio duo Grant and Amanda and held on a stage at 
the City-County building, the evening featured performances from de 
Azevedo, Peter Breinholt, Northern Voices, Seven Nations, Jenny 
Jordan and Gladys Knight.  SLOC President Mitt Romney and Salt Lake 
Mayor Rocky Anderson also made appearances.

Freezing temperatures couldn't keep the crowds away from the 
festivities which ended in the arrival of the Olympic Torch carried 
by former Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi, Jazz all-star and 
two-time Olympic gold medalist John Stockton and silver medal skier 
Steve Mahre.  That trio assisted Paralympian Chris Waddell to the 
stage, where the five-time gold medalist lit the caldron.

"We have been talking about the Olympics for so long, and now they 
are finally here," said de Azevedo. "History is being made where we 
live, and it's thrilling to take part."

The weather was so cold that by the time de Azevedo was performing 
her second song, she couldn't feel her fingers strumming her guitar. 
"I had to look down to make sure that I was even hitting the strings 
at all," she said, laughing.

Security surrounding the event was tight, as it will be with all 
events surrounding the Games over the next three weeks.  According to 
de Azevedo, it was the first time she had ever gone through metal 
detectors or been searched on her way to a gig.

"Each of the performers had escorts that stayed with us the entire 
evening.  The whole event was very well organized, and I felt safe," 
she said.

###


Source:
Utah Performers Help Welcome the Olympic Torch
Excel Entertainment Press Release 8Feb02 A2







>From Mormon-News: Mormon News and Events
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Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2002 11:17:10 -0800 (PST)
From: "R.W. Rasband" <rrasband@yahoo.com>
Subject: [AML] SLOVER, _Hancock County_ (Review)

"Hancock County", a play by Tim Slover; playing at the Pardoe Theater,
Harris Fine Arts Center, Brigham Young University February 13-March 2,
2002

"Hancock County" is a very fine play; an intelligent, thrilling,
tightly-drawn courtroom drama/tragedy that unfolds into a meditation on
America, violence, and forgiveness.  It bears comparison to Robert Bolt's
"A Man For All Seasons" (if I'm not mistaken a line from that play, about
how swearing an oath is like taking your soul in your hands, is alluded to
in "Hancock County".)  HC concerns the trial of the assassins of Joseph
Smith in Illinois in 1845.  Slover gets a rollicking, frontier,
Mark-Twain-like quality to the story that draws you in like good
historical fiction.  The clash of visions between competing groups in
America is a subject that will never go out of style, and those who follow
the current state of "identity politics" will find much to think about
here.  The slipshod application of justice will also remind you of the
Simpson case and other trials where fairness and expediency collide.

The cast is excellent.  Marvin Payne is the hard-drinking,
rumored-to-be-corrupt prsecutor Josiah Lamborn.  He brings a rawboned,
hard-bitten worldliness to the role that eventually dissolves into a
humble acceptance of truth and fate.  Jeremy Selim is Orville Browning,
the lead defense attorney (and eventual co-founder of the Republican
Party.)  His oily sanctimony is made worse by his total sincerity--he's a
nightmare of the lawyer run amok (and a devastating comment on the
intolerance of some 19th century Protestant Christians.)  J. Scott Bronson
makes a doughty, smart Brigham Young.  Robert Gibbs is the nasty Tom
Sharp, the editor of the "Warsaw Signal", who egged on the Smiths' murder.
 His flag-waving patriotism conceals a ruthless greed and self-interest. 
Anna McKeown and Stephanie Foster Breinholt poignantly portray the
struggles of women on the edge of society; they look like pictures of my
great-grandma's.  And Bob Nelson is Judge Richard Young, opportunism
personified.

Slover deftly deals with the folklore of retribution that grew up around
the "fate of the persecutors."  He reminds us that justice in this world
is seldom so neat.  The heart of the play is, interestingly enough, the
King Follett discourse of Joseph Smith.  Lamborn eventually comes to
realize that Smith's enemies *had* to kill him because they could not
stand the responsibility Joseph's vision would place on them.  And Brigham
Young finally comes to realize that sometimes you just have to "let go" in
order to move on--and that sometimes they way of the Lord will get you
hurt (one of the toughest lessons we have to learns and accept in this
life.)

This is not a play that appeals just to the parochial interests of LDS
audiences.  Non-Mormons should find much to appreciate here; the
magnificently drawn character of "gentile" Josiah Lamborn should be a
vehicle through which many people can get a grip on what happens.  Indeed,
he contributes the central insight of the story: no one is just "one thing
or the other."  A crucial scene occurs when Eliza Graham must testify
about her knowledge of the murderers' boasting.  But she has also become
aware of the secret system of "spiritual wifery" in Nauvoo and the pain it
has caused the women, and she has been embittered by it.  Lamborn tells
her that everyone is human, even prophets; and "ain't that what you're
supposed to do, forgive?"  It's a powerful moment in a play that is full
of them.  If there were any justice in this world, someone would make an
indie movie out of "Hancock County", it would become a hit and Tim Slover
would become as famous as Neil LaBute.  But as this play reminds us,
justice is a slippery thing in this world.  DON'T MISS THIS PLAY IF YOU
CAN POSSIBLY GET TO IT!



=====
R.W. Rasband
Heber City, UT
rrasband@yahoo.com

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Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2002 12:33:40 -0700
From: "Eric R. Samuelsen" <ERSAMUEL@byugate.byu.edu>
Subject: Re: [AML] Race Issues in Mormonism

[MOD: Okay--A few follow-up messages today to take care of dangling threads. 
Dangling strings on the thread? Dangling posts on the fence? Whatever. As of 
end of the day today, though, I'll expect any posts on this topic to address 
the more specifically literary dimension of race issues in Mormonism.]

I haven't much to add to my previous posts on these issues.  A few =
clarifications, perhaps.

1) Margaret has done a wonderful job describing Joseph's views on race.  =
What I find remarkable is his assertion that black people were "fully =
capable of progressing as much as whites--given proper education" as =
Margaret paraphrased it.  Very few mid-nineteenth century Americans would =
have said anything like that.  John Brown (one of the most enigmatic, =
complex and fascinating characters in American history) would have.  =
Abraham Lincoln would not have. =20

2) I do not believe that all prophets were racist and wrong for not =
seeking a reversal of the priesthood policy.  I do say that they were =
products of a racist time, and that it likely would not have occurred to =
any of them to seek counsel on this question.=20

3) I wonder where we get the idea that Cain was cursed with black skin.  =
Cain was cursed with not being able to farm anymore,and he had it coming, =
the murdering jerk.  He was 'given a mark' as a special blessing from God =
so that people who saw him wouldn't kill him.  Nowhere in scripture does =
it say that his 'mark' was black skin, and, whatever the mark was, it =
certainly wasn't a curse.  (BTW: Try reading the Cain stuff in Moses =
aloud, only every time Cain talks, preceed his dialogue with the word =
"dude."  "Dude, am I my brother's keeper?"  Clarifies his character =
big-time.)    =20

4) I think that when The Book of Abraham says that Pharoah wasn't able to =
have the priesthood, that doesn't mean anything. I got the priesthood from =
my father, who got it from the missionaries who taught and baptized him, =
who can, in turn, trace it back to Joseph Smith, Peter, James and John and =
from there to Jesus.  That's my 'priesthood lineage.'  Pharoah and his =
line couldn't have the priesthood because nobody ordained him to it.  =20

5) One last thing.  President Hinckley has said, regarding the priesthood =
policy, 'it's in the past."  So why cling to and attempt to defend =
statements from the past that aren't relevant anymore?  What's relevant =
now is that black members of the Church hear silly stuff about how there =
were fence-sitters in the pre-existence, quite properly take offense, and =
leave the Church.  So why gratuitously insult a brother in the gospel?  =
=20

Let me summarize my sense of President Hinckley's approach in this regard: =
 "there was once a policy in the Church that excluded black people from =
the priesthood and temple.  That policy no longer exists."  And when =
people say "why did you have such a policy," his reply is "those were =
different times."  And when people say "so and so said such and such about =
racial questions," he replies "those were different times.  We do not =
believe that."  I may wish that he'd go further.  I may wish that he'd =
directly repudiate specific statements that do continue to give offense.  =
But I'm not a prophet. =20

Eric Samuelsen






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