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Meridian Magazine : : Home

 

Easily Offended or Easily Entreated
If someone wrote an article about Mormon crickets, the comments section would soon be filled with diatribes about the Church.

By Gary C. Lawrence

Why We Must Understand History
Why aren't those who govern us in America more worried about the impact of what they're doing? Why do they think America is so strong it can take endless abuse?

By G.G. Vandagriff

Taxpayer Abortion Funding in Healthcare Bill—Unacceptable to Catholics
Shorts from John Schroeder and Lowell Brown of the Article 6 Blog

The Catholics have recently evidenced a stance that sounds familiar: they are politically neutral, but speak out on moral issues.

Shriver on TODAY: A Woman’s Nation
The Shriver Report is probably the most interesting survey about women completed since 1963, when President John F. Kennedy directed Eleanor Roosevelt to examine the standing of American women.
By Sonja Eddings Brown

Erhu in a Chinese Stairwell
The music issuing forth from the stairwell of the underground parking garage was haunting.
By Steve Orton

Any Money Left In Your Pocket? The “Value-Added” Tax
One can only be dumbfounded when our Washington leaders dare suggest another tax.
By Sonja Eddings Brown

Why Don’t They Just Laugh At Us?
The critics should rearrange their chairs and look at this from a different perspective.
By Gary C. Lawrence

The Mettle of Elizabeth Smart
Elizabeth Smart taught her Sunday School class a lesson she had come to deeply understand.
By Sonja Eddings Brown

Dallin Oaks, Religious Freedom, Proposition 8, and…Keith Olbermann?
By Lowell Brown

Ancient Egyptian Coins Reportedly Found Bearing Name and Image of Joseph
It has been reported that coins bearing an image of Joseph of Egypt have been discovered in a Cairo museum.
By Ralph Kostant

Five Best and Worst Ideas of the Week
Every week in our world we are flooded with best events and worst ones, great ideas and terrible ones. Here’s Meridian’s pick for this week. Reader contributions welcome.

The World Unites to Protect the Family
Your suggestions are needed to create a global information resource on groups organized to protect the family.
by Gary and Joy Lundberg

The Spiritual Origins of Halloween
Children offering to pray for neighbors’ ancestors in return for a “soul cake” was the beginning of trick-or-treating.
By Gary C. Lawrence

The Imperiled Perpetuity of the Nation
As adults we should be deeply concerned about America’s future and the educational plight of the nation’s children.
By Stephen M. Studdert

A Kitchen Table Discussion about DNA
The study of DNA is still in its early stages and doesn’t tell us as much about population sources as our critics claim.
By Greg West

BYU Prof Part of Large Team that Linked Two New Genes to Alzheimer’s Disease
Brigham Young University biology professor John “Keoni” Kauwe is part of an international research team that reports the existence of two genes associated with Alzheimer’s disease in the new issue of Nature Genetics.

Washington and Zarahemla: The Beltway-Nephite Disease
The only element of king-men-ism absent from Washington today is an outright refusal to take up arms to defend the country. But there are many in power who are hobbling those who try.
By Gary C. Lawrence

Lulled Into False Security
The government says the recession is ending. Are we being told the truth?
By Stephen M. Studdert

I Told Them I Hated Poetry
A poetry-hater gets sent to China to teach poetry, only to have a love of poetry be taught to him.
By Steve Orton

Joseph Smith's Views on the Origin of Life
Joseph Smith taught that even the lowest of life forms contain intelligence and are quickened by the Spirit of God or light of Christ, which may explain life’s incredible ability to adapt to the many challenges of existence.
By Ronald P. Millett

Who Will Make Your Health Care “Choices”?
The House health care reform bill would establish a new entity called the Health Choices Administration, headed by a presidential appointee to be called the Health Choices Commissioner. Sounds wonderful, right?
The Heritage Foundation

One Pill, Two Pill, Red Pill, Blue Pill: Top 10 Reasons Obamacare is Wrong for America
The healthcare plan being proposed will profoundly affect your family. Here’s why in a nutshell.
The Heritage Foundation

Should Government Determine the Value of Human Life?
Controversial Princeton bioethics professor and philosopher Peter Singer is making waves with his article outlining the case for rationing in last week’s New York Times Magazine.
By Randy Pate
From Heritage.org

Babies Understand Dog-speak, BYU Study Finds
New research shows babies have a handle on the meaning of different dog barks – despite little or no previous exposure to dogs.

Sotomayor Pledges Impartial Justice if Confirmed
Her confirmation all but assured, Sonia Sotomayor pledged Monday to serve the "larger interest of impartial justice" rather than any narrow cause if she becomes the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court.

How Termite Hills Helped BYU Students Build Structures in Mozambique
The challenge given to this team of Brigham Young University engineering students seemed like a mission impossible.

All Honor to Jefferson
(who believed in limited government)

It is surely a sign of our times that so many Americans no longer know what the words of the Declaration of Independence mean.
By Jean Yarbrough

The Declaration of Independence
And the Distance We Have Traveled

Wilford Woodruff said in 1898, “those men who laid the foundation of this American government and signed the Declaration of Independence were the best spirits the God of Heaven could find on the face of the earth.” Why did it matter so much?
By Lincoln C. Oliphant

Pew Survey: Romney’s Favorables Improve
Former MA Gov. Mitt Romney, who hasn't ruled out another bid for the Republican presidential nomination in '12, got some encouragement from a new poll conducted by the Pew Research.

Sacrifice for Liberty
Many have paid the ultimate price that we may have a country that allows our free and unhindered worship of God.
By Stephen M. Studdert

Study: Utah’s Bankruptcy Rates Reflect Policy, Not People
What do high bankruptcy rates in states like Tennessee and Utah tell us about the people that live in those places? Not much, according to a new 50-state bankruptcy.

An Unexpected Life in an Unexpected Place
LDS Woman Starts Special Orphanage in China

She was born in South Africa, found the gospel at 19, graduated from BYU, taught seven years in Taiwan and ended up single and alone in China.  But Amanda is not alone anymore.  Don't miss reading this tender and moving piece.
By Steve Orton

Global Warming—A Clever Inoculation?
In the smothering news coverage of global warming, many who deign to grant God a possible role in the prophesied physical phenomena are more likely to interpret His message as “don’t buy SUVs” than “don’t commit adultery.”
By Gary C. Lawrence

The Church and Gay Marriage: Are Mormons Misunderstood?
Even as Mormons have become more prominent, they have struggled to overcome lingering prejudices and misrepresentations about the sources of their beliefs, according to Time.

Downtown Salt Lake City Rising
The Church is in the midst of a building program in downtown Salt Lake that encompasses the block just south of the temple where the Crossroads Mall used to be and more.  Here's a video clip showing what the final product will look like.

Our Imperiled National Promise
The relentless abundance and deepening gravity of horrendous news stories of the last week are almost unimaginable.
By Stephen M. Studdert

Behind The Scenes Of Proposition 8
The Protect Marriage Committee in California had a tough time finding a venue for a press conference following the California decision.
By Sonja Eddings Brown

Torches and Pitchforks?
Even before the California Supreme Court voted 6-1 to uphold Proposition 8, radical militants in the gay community were fear-mongering to states considering the same-sex marriage issue that (are you ready for this?) ? The Mormons are coming!  The Mormons are coming!
By Gary C. Lawrence

Politics, Same-Sex Marriage and ?the Mormon Bogey?
Playing on the electorate's fears about a minority religious faith can help you win an election.
By Lowell C. Brown

An Epic Journey of a Chinese Pioneer
Throughout the ages there have been journeys by various peoples and groups that have become significant points in history, one of which is the life and wanderings of a brilliant young Chinese monk, Xuan Zang.  Come and learn more.
By Steve Orton

Joseph Smith and the Origin and Progress of Life
The media has been abuzz with the reports of a 47-million-year-old monkey-like fossil that researchers say could revolutionize the understanding of human evolution.  This is a response.
By Ronald P. Millett

Political Blogs More Accurate Than Newspapers, Say Those Who Read Both
Political reporters aware of blogs on the right but follow blogs on the left.

Relativism is Absolutely Wrong
The 20th century was the worst arena of coldblooded evil in human history.  Yet, large numbers of young people are unable or unwilling to make the simplest distinctions between right and wrong.
By Rabbi Mark S. Miller

PBS Planning to Kick Out Stations That Broadcast 'Sectarian' Religious Programs
Recently, Washington Post reporter Paul Farhi highlighted a policy shift brewing inside PBS: the PBS Board is going to vote in June on a committee's recommendation that PBS strip the affiliation of any station that carries "sectarian" content?including KBYU.
By Tim Graham

Modest Heroes
People have more power than they may realize to promote modesty and affect the people  around them.
By Phyllis Nielsen

Courage, and the Lack of It
Carrie Prejean and Mary Ann Glendon have both recently exhibited great acts of courate, showing ? greater respect for honesty than for political correctness, and for the obligations of moral witness than for their own personal prestige.?

BYU Professor Named Editor for New Edition of Hebrew Old Testament Slated to be ?Most Accurate'
Donald W. Parry has been asked to be an editor on the Biblia Hebraica Quinta, which will compare the Dead Sea Scrolls with the existing texts.

Polar Bear Research Team on CNN.com
?Human beings are not made to survive in 50 below zero. Neither are video cameras.

What's So Great about Christianity?
The idea of the preciousness and equal worth of every human being is largely rooted in Christianity. Remove Christianity from a nation and the ideas fall too.
By Dinesh D'Souza

A Dangerous First 100 Days
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office now estimates President Obama's budget proposals will result in $9.3 trillion in deficits over the next decade. These federal budget deficits will take our national debt to about 80 percent of our gross domestic product.  Even spendthrift Europe denies membership in the European Union if a nation's debt is 60 percent of GDP.
By Stephen M. Studdert

Journalism, Religion, and Modern Politics: Always A Fascinating Mixture
Two of our favorite bloggers discuss how journalists cover religion and how dog bites man becomes the story.
By Lowell C. Brown and John Schroeder

Newsweek on ?The End of Christian America?
Undoubtedly to coincide with Easter, this week's cover story in Newsweek  has a title that is both provocative and overstated.
From the Editors

Gardeners or Engineers?
What Nobel-prize winning economist Friedrich von Hayek said of a robust economy applies also to the gospel.  If we are to share the gospel, we would do well to emulate gardeners rather than engineers--to create an environment for growth instead of applying direct action.
By Gary C. Lawrence

A Different Take on the Economy: Part Two of Two: The Real Cause
What if all of these economic factors are just the symptoms of more basic problems?  What if they are the results rather than the causes?
By Richard Eyre

A Different Take on the Economy: Part One of Two: What's Really Happening?
New York Times #1 Bestselling Author Richard Eyre takes a unique look at our crumbling economy and suggests that it's not just an economic problem.  Read part one today and part two tomorrow.
By Richard Eyre

Fox News's Mad, Apocalyptic, Tearful Rising Star
The New York Times profiles talk show host, Glenn Beck, as the voice who is capturing the feelings of an alienated class of Americans.
From The New York Times

English? China 's De Facto Second Language
Street signs in major Chinese cities are now in Chinese and English?and it is very possible to get around China without speaking their language.
By Steve Orton

The Borrower is Servant to the Lender
Today those of us who are Americans are indentured servants to staggering debt, and ?follow the prophet? never had greater urgency.
By Stephen M. Studdert

Big Love? Big Deal
Yes, Mormons are targets, but let's not get too excited about it.

Yes, Mormons are targets, but let's not get too excited about it.
By Orson Scott Card

Glenn Beck Throws Nationwide Party Celebrating Principles and Values
Glenn Beck, television show host and a Latter-day Saint, is inviting the entire nation to a gathering Friday night, to celebrate 9 principles and 12 virtues.
From the Editors

Messiah Chic in the White House
Support for a person in office is one thing, gushy adoration is something else.
By Gary C. Lawrence

Stem Cell Decision Exposes Religious Divides
When  President Barack Obama issued an executive order on Monday opening the door for federal taxpayer dollars to fund embryonic stem cell research, ?colliding interests? were brought to the fore.

Mormons Top in Gallup Poll Assessing the Importance of Religion
"Of the religious groups studied, only Mormons (85%) are more likely than Muslims to say religion plays an important role in their lives."

Going Green without Losing Your Mind: Better Stewardship of Your Own Backyard
The waste we send out to the dump could be composted into a rich soil.  Here are the techniques.
By Darla R. Gaylor

Romney's CPAC Speech Wows Conservatives
Mitt Romney impressed the conservatives at the annual CPAC conference this week.  Here is an analysis.
By John Gizzi

Upper-Income Americans Would See Tax Deductions Cut on Charity
Tithe-paying Latter-day Saints may be interested in this item in President Obama's proposed budget.

Are the Chinese Happy?
The Chinese do not live as easy a life as we do in America, but this is not to say they are unhappy.
By Steve Orton

BYU study: How an Antarctic worm makes antifreeze and what that has to do with climate change
Two BYU researchers who just returned from Antarctica are reporting a hardy worm that withstands its cold climate by cranking out antifreeze.

Religiously Mixed Couples: Cupid's Arrow Often Hits People of Different Faiths
Mormons among least likely to marry outside of their faith.
From the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life

The Battlefield of the Mind: A Conversation with Arch L. Madsen
The war in heaven has a new location—right here on earth.

Abraham Lincoln and God
Modern revisionist historians like to state their case that Lincoln was not a Christian, but his many eloquent statements of faith give a truer picture.  We remember him on this 200th anniversary of his birth.
By Chris Brewer

The Obama Administration and Faith-based Programs
Should the Obama Administration let faith-based programs that receive government grants discriminate against those they hire or serve?
By Michael Otterson

Did Abraham Lincoln Ever Meet Joseph Smith?
This fascinating article outlines the parallel events in the lives of Abraham Lincoln and Joseph Smith that may have brought them together, and then ends with a surprising punch line?a fact so interesting, you'll want to pass it on.
By David H. Leroy and Nancy A. Leroy

Going Green without Losing Your Mind: Better Stewardship of Your Own Backyard
Here is the next in Darla Gaylor's series on ?going green without losing your mind: better stewardship of your own backyard.?  How do you maximize the blessing of plastic, while minimizing its bane to the environment?
By Darla R. Gaylor

Utah 's Six ?Common Ground? Initiatives
The ?Common Ground? initiatives being pushed by activists in Utah represent a slow erosion to traditional marriage.

The Little Emperors of China
The One-Child Policy

It is a policy that is unthinkable to us in the West, but how does China's one-child policy affect every day life and the social structure of the country?  Here are the first-hand observations of one of our Meridian writers who is currently living there.
By Steve Orton

Is More Government the Answer?
As the government balloons in size and scope, the question arises, what would the Founders think?
By Spencer Anderson

Goodbye President Bush
Statement of Senator Orrin G. Hatch

Before the United States Senate
Regarding the presidency of George W. Bush
President Bush enjoyed the highest approval rating in late 2001 and nearly the lowest in late 2008?which is a reflection of political life in America.  How does Senator Orrin Hatch view the Bush presidency?  Here's what he told the Senate.

Text of Barack Obama's Inaugural Speech
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.  The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace.  Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms.  Read Barack Obama's inaugural address.

Our Wish for President Obama
Whether we voted for him or not, Barack Obama is now our President. We tire of the mean-spiritedness that has been dividing our nation for too long, and hope that his call for a united people, which is typical of the call of a new President, will be fulfilled.  Here is our wishes for him.
By Maurine Proctor

Pigs at the Trough
Like pigs waiting in line to get their snouts in the feeding trough, come many of the nation's governors -- on the heels of the mayors -- asking Washington for bailout money.
By Cal Thomas

2008 Ending on the Road to Disaster
"As 2008 draws to a close, for each of us this should be a time of cheerful season festivities and spirited anticipation for a bright new year. Regrettably, I am having a hard time with either ? as I watch our great nation slowly commit economic and moral suicide."
By Stephen M. Studdert

Elder Bruce D. Porter in Newsweek: No Case in Bible for Homosexuality
In response to a recent Newsweek cover that claims the Bible makes a case for same-sex marriage, Elder Porter has co-authored this hard-hitting response.

Going Green without Losing Your Mind
I need to give you some background before I give you some good information on Going Green. In the end, I want to influence your decision to make some meaningful changes, but I want you to do it because it is the right thing to do.
By Darla R. Gaylor

The Mormon Work Ethic
Why Utah's Economy is soaring above its neighbors.
From The Economist

A Look at the Family in China
It will come as no surprise to Meridian readers that family is important in China.  Meridian's Steve Orton is now living there and he gives us a view of the family, with photographs, that may give you some insights and views you have never had.  Come and see.
By Steve Orton

How People of Faith Voted in the 2008 Presidential Race
With the nation's longest election campaign ever finally completed, and Barack Obama emerging as a 53% to 46% victor over Sen. John McCain, a new election analysis survey by The Barna Group provides the details of how people of faith voted in 2008.
By The Barna Group

In the Face of Hatred
The controversy in California regarding Proposition 8 built to a frenzy in the days leading up to Tuesday's election and then exploded into anger and  violence in the aftermath of Prop 8's slim passage into law as thousands seiged the temple.  Numerous photos are included in this article of the demonstration.
By Paul Bishop

Proposition 8 and California 's Schoolchildren: A Primer on Falsehoods
Perhaps the most hotly-debated question about Proposition 8 is the measure's impact on schoolchildren. If Proposition 8 fails, will young children be taught that same-sex marriage is equal to traditional marriage? Opponents of Prop 8 have adamantly -- and falsely -- claimed this will not happen.
By Lowell Brown

Upholding the Constitution
On one extreme, we have the idea that the Constitution is a written document that can only be altered by a deliberately time-consuming process of amendment.  On the other extreme, we have the idea that the Constitution means whatever a group of judges says it means.
By Orson Scott Card

The Presidential Candidates and Family Values - Where Do They Stand?
Six weeks ago we published a scorecard on the candidates' stands as to family values.  Now, as we approach Election Day, less than one week from now, we publish this again so you can be intelligent and informed on your vote for President.  A letter from the First Presidency dated September 11, 2008 on political participation has been included at the end of the article.
By Maurine Proctor

California 's Proposition 8: Open Season on Mormons?
You may be amazed and disgusted at the attacks on people of faith who are only expressing their religious consciences through the ballot process, and are doing so in the most all-American ways ? grassroots organizing and small financial donations.
By Lowell Brown

Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights?
Author, newspaper columnist, and registered Democrat Orson Scott Card writes an open letter to the local daily paper ? almost every local daily paper in America.
By Orson Scott Card

Temple-Era Inscription Found Reading ?Son of the High Priest?
Palestinian leaders frequently make the claim that there never was a Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount.  They also insist that there never even was a Jewish commonwealth in the Land of Israel.
By Ralph B. Kostant

Is Anyone Really Listening?
As Rome burns, our elected national leaders remain locked in self-serving partisan bickering and inexcusable gridlock.  You think it can't happen?  Think again.
By Stephen M. Studdert

Way To Go Jordin Sparks! Standing Up For Chastity
Can I just say how infinitely impressed I am with Jordin Sparks. It's her courage and her conviction that has me cheering. I'm sick and tired of people bashing that which is good and decent. I'm sick and tired of people acting like there's no one left in the world who actually thinks it's a smart idea to save sex for marriage.
By Laura M. Brotherson

Elder Bruce D. Porter Responds in Religious Journal: Is Mormonism Christian?
How do we answer the misconception that Mormons aren't Christian?  Elder Porter has a chance to do that in a prominent religious journal.
By Maurine Proctor

Evergreen to Hold 18th Annual Conference
Evergreen International, the oldest and largest organization for faithful Latter-day Saints dealing with same-gender attraction, will hold its 18th annual conference on September 19 and 20, 2008 in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in downtown Salt Lake City.

Happy Constitution Day!
Honoring and Preserving the Constitution

Celebrate the constitution by getting a free pocketsize copy and seeing why preserving it matters so much.
By Spencer Anderson

Mormons and Catholics: What It Means to be a ?Saint?
There is sometimes a great deal of misunderstanding about the Roman Catholic position on saints and their role within the Church and salvation.
By Alonzo L. Gaskill

No One to Go Away Empty Handed
What did Brigham Young say about how to handle your food storage in time of want?  Do you share with others when you have very little, and if so, what are the consequences?
By Ronald P. Millett

Timely New DVD Helps Answer Hard Questions about Race and Equality in the Church
Issues of equality and race continue to surface regarding the Church.  When people ask you about the history of blacks in the Church, and why the the priesthood was only extended to black males after a revelation in 1978, how will you answer?
By Dana King

Open Letter from a Former Pornography Addict
A former pornography addict learns the virtues of spiritual exercise.
By Geoff Steurer

A Need for Unity ? as Citizens and as Disciples
In this election year, we would do well to consider two ways how God would have us work with one another and how we may make wise decisions in the civic arenas.
By Stephen M. Studdert

Global Warming ? Latest Excuse for the War on the Family
Global warming cultists are starting to blame religion and family as a big source of what they see as climate change?and in a recent article, the Latter-day Saints were mentioned by name.
By Don Feder

Promoting Pornography? LDS Consumers and the Apparel Industry
Most parents wouldn’t let their children wear pornographic brand clothing. Or would they?
By J. Scott Askew

Why Mccain Should Pick Romney
John Nance Garner IV, the nation's 32nd Vice President, once described the office of the vice presidency as being "not worth a bucket of warm spit."   This year things are different. At a time when our homeland security, economic health, and national condition are being daily assaulted, who McCain picks as his running mate really does matter.
By Stephen M. Studdert

New Book to Help Victims of Pornography Find Hope:  A Call for Submissions
Submission are being sought for a book that talks about the effects of pornography on society and how families have battled pornography and won.
By Cherilyn Bacon Eagar

An LDS Washington DC Insider Says America is in Danger
Steve Studdert, who has been a White House advisor to three U.S. Presidents, says that ignorance is not bliss when it comes to understand ten major dangers looming on the horizon for America.
By Maurine Proctor

New Religious Survey Reveals Youth Swelling Ranks of Unaffiliated
“If you want to understand America, you have to understand religion in America.” A new survey shows some fading in religious affiliation.
By Maurine Proctor

Religious Bias and Mitt Romney
Super Tuesday is behind us and watching Mitt Romney’s inability to penetrate the South — he consistently came in third place after McCain and Huckabee — raises the question that has haunted his campaign from the beginning.
By Maurine Proctor, Editor-in-Chief, Meridian Magazine

Mitt Romney Hits a Home Run
Mitt Romney hit it out of the ballpark yesterday at the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, as he delivered the speech about how his religious faith will affect and inform his presidency.
By Maurine Proctor

It's Not Too Late to Say Thank You
There are people in our lives who bless us, and yet their kindness is so constant or so much time has passed that they go unrecognized and unthanked. It's not too late to let them know that what they do is noticed and remembered gratefully.
By Orson Scott Card

Mormonism and American Politics
The Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University is bringing historians, political scientists, philosophers, legal scholars, award-winning journalists, documentary filmmakers, and noted public intellectuals from a variety of faith traditions to discuss the contested intersection between religion and American politics as this issue is playing out currently on the national stage with regards to Mormonism.

Romney Wins Value Voter Straw Poll
All nine Republican candidates for president tried to convince values voters they were the man this weekend at the Washington Briefing.
By Maurine Jensen Proctor

How to Civilize a Child
If you don't think your child can be civilized, you're wrong. Here is a method that can turn chaos into civilization. The success of this program only depends on you, the parent.
By Orson Scott Card

Does Civilization Begin in Sacrament Meeting?
Parents train their children to be irreverent. For children by nature can be both attentive and inattentive, obedient and disobedient, and — wittingly or not — parents choose which behavior to reinforce at different times.
By Orson Scott Card

How to Know Your Neighbor
How do you make your neighborhood so inclusive and h appy that nobody wants to move?
By Whitney Johnson

The Dangerous Lure of Stuff
It took 45 years of marriage to accumulate all the trappings of family life. But now a recently-retired man realizes that the time has come to let go of those worldly possessions and move on to other things.

By Steve Orton

How Music Reflects our Values
Once we become accustomed to particular forms of entertainment, the values embedded within that entertainment begin to become enmeshed with our own.
By Loran Howard Blood

The Aftermath of Tragedy
When things go terribly wrong, it is only natural to want to find someone to blame. But assigning guilt to others isn't always possible. And even when it's possible, it may not be the right thing to do.
By Orson Scott Card

Being in the Politically Correct World but Not of It
What we think about ourselves, our relations with others, and about the great and greatest questions of life depends to a great extent upon the way we use language. As our language is altered and corrupted to reflect the agendas of the world, we begin to confront the world more upon its own terms than upon the gospel's.
By Loran Howard Blood

When a Handshake Isn't Enough, Part 5
To the Wife of the Grieving, Depressed, or Traumatized Man

If you want a husband to lead in love, then you must follow in love. If you want him to listen and remember, then you must listen and remember. If you want gentleness and tenderness, you must give gentleness and tenderness. If you want a husband whose life is centered around gratitude, service, love, and sacrifice for his family, then you must return it in kind; otherwise you will be telling him that you no longer wish these things from him.
By Bruce T. Forbes

Lessons Children Learn from Sports
I'm glad that people who love sports have had a good time with them. But don't ever, ever say, "This is a life lesson that you just can't learn any other way." There are no life lessons that you can't learn any other way.
By Orson Scott Card

Science Takes a Leap of Faith
Is faith scientifically irrational? Scientists say yes because it involves feelings. However, when we put the microscope to faith, we discover more than meets the eye. Faith, like science, is a quest for truth involving the unseen world.
By Donald M. White and Marcus C. White

Life after Surviving the Storms of Grief, Depression, and Trauma
There are two types of people who make it through the storms of life the ones who believe they battled their demons alone, and the ones who give credit where credit is due.
By Bruce T. Forbes

Sources of Tension between the West and the Islamic World
There will always be some stress between the historically Christian West and the world of Islam, if only because of normal and predictable religious disagreements. But shared theological territory exacerbates the doctrinal differences between them.

By Daniel C. Peterson

Music to Calm the Beasts of Depression, Grief, and Trauma
When human beings are grappling with depression, music can literally save their lives. Here is one man's perspective, along with a fascinating tidbit that explains why the use of a conductor's baton may make all the difference in the quality of music in your ward.

By Bruce T. Forbes

Liberty in Law
Those who gave us our freedom were the sort "who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life." They sacrificed. Thousands died. Thousands more were maimed for life. Wives and children wept. Homes burned to the ground. Fortunes were scattered to the wind. Poverty and disease ran rampant. This was freedom's heavy cost. It always is.
By Steve Farrell

One Man?s Journey through Grieving, Depression, and Trauma
All men are different. Because we are all different, we all react differently to negative events in our lives. Don't let stereotypes tell you how you should react and then make you feel a failure because you didn't measure up.
By Bruce T. Forbes

The Nation's Top Journalists Question Richard Bushman about Mormonism
Mitt Romney's candidacy has put Mormonism in the spotlight—sometimes in ways laced with misconception and bias.  The Pew Forum recently invited Richard Bushman to field the toughest questions of the nation's top journalists.  This is a transcript of his talk and his answers.

Know Your Neighbor and Beautify Your Community
Does it really matter what the media say about members of the Church, if people who live among Latter-day Saints don't like us? It may be possible that the early Saints suffered because they became enemies with their neighbors instead of friends.
By Whitney Johnson and Roger Johnson

When a Handshake Isn’t Enough
How to Help the Grieving, Depressed, or Traumatized Man
If you think a man doesn't suffer, think again. That wall around him may be about to fracture, leaving him vulnerable and unprotected. There are ways to help.

By Bruce T. Forbes

Peterson's Rule
It isn't necessary, in considering another system of beliefs, to accept it. But it is necessary, if you truly want to understand it, to try to imagine how someone else could believe it, could find it emotionally appealing and intellectually satisfying.
By Daniel C. Peterson

A Letter to the Pastor
This letter was written by Margaret Blair Young to a pastor friend after he watched the PBS documentary The Mormons and was still unsure what members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints really believe.
By Margaret Blair Young

How to Help Troubled Children
What about the child who plays with fire, self-injures or sneaks out the bedroom window in the middle of the night? Who will give the primary caregiver respite and love such a child?
By Deborah Atkinson

So Why Know Your Neighbor?
Even after all the publicity of the Salt Lake Olympics, a poll revealed that the first thing most people think when they hear the word "Mormon" is polygamy.  As individual members of the Church, we have the power — and the responsibility — to change that image.
By Whitney Johnson

Dinner and a Mormon
Why don't people try to understand Mormons? Can't they see that we are really good people? If we could only offer those people who think negatively about Mormons the chance for "Dinner with a Mormon," how quickly their thinking might change.
By Whitney Johnson

Modern-Day Stripling Warriors
The stories of the young women who have and are choosing modesty don't make the front pages of the popular worldly magazines, but as the angels above are writing the history of the world, their headlines may include the efforts of these modern-day stripling warriors.
By Keith Halls

The Secret Curse of Hollywood 'Stars'
For every self-destructive superstar who dies a sad, early death, there are hundreds of celebrities who live profoundly dysfunctional, conflict-ridden lives. These people seem to possess everything most of us secretly covet
talent, fame, good looks, wealth, adoration. So what goes wrong? What secret curse afflicts them?
By David Kupelian

All in a Good Cause
What if you made up a lie? What if other people believed that lie and turned it into a religion?
By Orson Scott Card

Mitt Romney Makes It Official
Yesterday, Mitt Romney returned to his roots in Michigan, where he was born, to make his formal announcement and declare his candidacy for president of the United States, running as a Republican and seeking to strike an inspirational note as he called for innovation and transformation in creating a new and renewed future for the country.
By Maurine Proctor

Thinking Above the Line: How Our Thoughts can Affect Teen Behavior
If you and your wayward child are at an impasse, it may help you and your child if you lift your thoughts "above the line."
By Anne Hinton Pratt

Loving the Prodigal Child
Adam and Eve had a wayward child. Lehi had a couple of them. Alma the Elder had one. Alma the Younger had another one. Some of these wayward kids turned their lives around. Some didn't. How does a parent cope with the possibility her child might not work things out in the end?
By Deborah Atkinson

What Do We Do For Our Kids?
Most of what our children need to learn to succeed as adults, they learn simply from being in a well-functioning family.
By Orson Scott Card

Romney Raises $6.5 Million for Early Momentum
Mitt Romney gathered nearly 400 of his supporters into the Boston Convention Center on Monday for a unique National Call Day that generated $6.5 million and put contenders on notice that this is a campaign with muscle and energy.
By Maurine Proctor

Keith Halls takes on Fashion Industry
With Beautifully Modest Clothing

At Meridian, we believe in standing for something and we try to highlight people and organizations who will stand for the values that we all share. Keith Halls is one of those individuals who has taken on a whole industry with great zeal and vision, whose business is not profit driven but cause driven. Don't miss this remarkable story. Your daughters and granddaughters will be glad you read this article, and so will you.
By Maurine Jensen Proctor

A Romney Candidacy: What To Watch for in the Press
With Governor Romney's announcement of a presidential candidacy comes a wave of religious prejudice directed against Mormons. In a Q and A with Meridian, Mitch Davis, who heads Run Mitt Run, tells us what might lie ahead.
By Mitch Davis

Why a Mormon Can Be President
The media can't stop talking about Mitt Romney's religion. Will that put a damper on his presidential aspirations?
By Maurine Proctor

Building Better Children
If you want your children to get ahead, flash cards are not the answer. The best tactic in a parent's arsenal may be to stand back and let the child learn at his own pace.
By Orson Scott Card

Today?s Elections and the War on Terror
Although the moral issues at home should be enough to convince any American voter to go to the polls today, here is another reason why the stakes in today's election are so crucial.
By Orson Scott Card

Why Do We Still Get Homework?
Children and parents should start every day of every week of school assuming that unless something important comes up, there won't be any homework. So that when there is homework, it's important. It's something so major that it really can't be completed on school time.
By Orson Scott Card

Homework ? The Worst Job in the World
We made laws abolishing child labor, yet we tolerate burdening our children with a steadily increasing amount of homework at night, on weekends, and during holidays and vacations.
By Orson Scott Card

Addiction Affects Us All
The mortality rate from indulgence in tobacco, alcohol and drugs is now exceeding 500,000 deaths per year in the United States. But that's not all. People can get just as addicted to gambling, pornography, money, and other facets of modern life, creating exactly the same symptoms as addiction to chemical substances.
By Dr. Dean W. Belnap

A Brain Gone Wrong
Pornography: Molesting the Minds of Our Youth

Today's society is spinning downward into such a culture of bizarre mindsets, beliefs and practices. Sex is paraded about like the ice cream truck on a Saturday afternoon. The result is being recorded
we call it imprinting on the brains of the young.
By Dr. Dean W. Belnap

Abuse: When Home Isn't a Haven
Abuse in the family is a complex and painful tragedy. It is important to remember that the power of the gospel can greatly help both the abuser and the abused, freeing them from the pain, sorrow, and captivity they may feel.
By M. Gawain Wells and Leslie Feinauer


Da Vinci
Doubts and Reason?s Rebuke
There are so many errors of reasoning in The Da Vinci Code that no believing Latter-day Saint should get caught up in its webwork of lies.
By Karen Boren

IT'S FOUR-TWENTY
DO YOU KNOW WHERE OUR YOUTH ARE?

Okay, let’s have a show of hands out there. How many parents know what the number 420 stands for in current popular culture? Anyone? No? Okay, what if we break it down into it’s common parlance, four-twenty? Still nobody? With paucity of parental hand waving, perhaps the better question is how many of our teens recognize this term. Don't be surprised to find out that many of them know all about four-twenty.
by Paul Bishop

LDS Family Services Addiction Recovery Program Guide

If you know someone who is battling addiction to pornography or to harmful substances, find out what you can do to help.
By Dr. Rick Hawks

The Lure of the Web
Many parents fret about video games, but blogging has made the X-Box the lesser of the two evils. Written by a police detective, this is the internet article your blogging teenagers do not want you to read.
By Paul Bishop

?A Brain Gone Wrong?
How the Brain/Body Reacts to Anxiety and Stress
Understanding the truth about what occurs in the brain and body when the stress cycle remains unchecked is the first step in empowering us to break the debilitating cycles of worry, alarm and anxiety.
By Dr. W. Dean Belnap

Creation and Evolution in the Schools
Evolution and Darwinism have been treated as synonyms for so long that too many people think they're the same thing. But they're not, and never have been.
By Orson Scott Card

Espousing Politically Incorrect Doctrines ? Counsel to Unwed Parents
Despite the threat of being viewed politically incorrect, there are six points of true doctrine that, if understood and followed, would heal the pains and misfortunes of millions of children.
By Kevin Broderick, M.S., LMFT

Plain and Precious Things Restored:  Margaret Barker and the Queen of Heaven
The Mother of God, Wisdom, the Queen of Heaven. Are all the same? And what significance to they have to LDS theology?
By Kevin Christensen

Missing the Mark with Religion, Part 1
Modern Liberalism
One of the most controversial and confusing of all issues for many is, just what is the proper role of religion and morality in public life?
By Steve Farrell

Pornography: Molesting the Minds of Our Youth
Sex is paraded about like the ice cream truck on a Saturday afternoon. And the result is being recorded
we call it imprinting on the brains of the young.
By Dr. W. Dean Belnap

Window of Faith: God in Modern History
In your quiet moments, have you ever wondered why things happen the way they do? Is there an overriding purpose in the affairs of men?
Edited by Roy A. Prete

Window of Faith: Latter-day Perspectives on God in History
In a time of devastating natural disasters, including tsunamis, hurricanes and earthquakes, what could be more meaningful than to consider the role of God in history?
Edited by Roy A. Prete

The Children of Divorce
Divorce is an ever-present possibility in the world all of our children live in, no matter the condition of our own marriage. Thus every divorce makes every child at least a little less certain of the permanence of his own home.
By Orson Scott Card

Plain and Precious Things Restored:  Margaret Barker and Wisdom
The Biblical prophets Joseph and Daniel have some interesting parallels to the Book of Mormon prophet Nephi.
By Kevin Christensen

Connecting Saints with Mental Health Services
So much of what traditional mental health professionals preach is contrary to what Latter-day Saints believe that Mormons often assume there isn’t any help for them in the medical community. Fortunately, they’re wrong.
By Kathryn H. Kidd

Sexual Offenders — Serpents Amoung Us?
Thanks to Megan's Law, we can often know who sex offenders are knowledge which can be used to save or destroy families.

By Paul Bishop

The State of American Culture and What can be Done about It
The culture war must be fought more and more by organized groups, not just individuals griping or writing letters to their congressmen.
By Robert Bork

An American Litmus Test
Either life matters, or it doesn't. Either life is a right, or it isn't.
By Steve Farrell

Is Same-Sex Marriage No Big Deal?
Evidence from Massachusetts
People who say that legalizing same-sex marriage won't affect our world aren't aware of the grave consequences already evident in Massachusetts and Canada.

Excerpts from a talk by Scott Fitzgibbons

10,000 Californians Needed to Protect Marriage Now
If you are from California or know anyone to pass this article on to in California, please read this important message.

Massachusetts Marriage Petition Drive Needs You
If you are a citizen of Massachusetts, this article is very important for you.

Meridian Announces the Family Leader Network
Please join us to stand up and be counted in the great causes of our time. We've formed a new organization "Family Leader Network” so that you can stand fast for the principles of family, faith and freedom.
By Maurine Proctor

Horace Mann's Balanced Vision for Public Education
The fundamentals of what was once considered vital to a public education, here in the United States, have spiraled dangerously downward over time more than some of us care to admit, or even realize.

By Steve Farrell

Plain and Precious Things Restored: Margaret Barker and Josiah?s Reform
The lifetimes of Jeremiah and Lehi were punctuated by profound changes. Methodist scholar Margaret Barker explains the beliefs of a time in a way that bolsters Book of Mormon scholarship.
By Kevin Christensen

Education Series, Part 14: Joyce Kinmont, Homeschooling Pioneer
I don't believe Latter-day Saints can continue to send their children to schools that teach false doctrines and not put them in spiritual danger. The enemy is closer, more sophisticated, more dangerous than ever.

By Darla Isackson

U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Physician-Assisted Suicide Case
As I helped her into our car, she said, “He wants me to kill myself!” She and I were devastated. How could her physician, her trusted physician, subtly suggest to her that she take her own life?
By Kenneth R. Stevens Jr., MD

Plain and Precious Things Restored: Spiritual Blindness
Biblical prophets who lived at Jerusalem described spiritual blindness. By comparing their words, we can get a better view of what defines the condition, what wisdom was lost at the time, and what the contrasting condition of vision should be.
By Kevin Christensen

Partial Birth Abortion Fight Gears Up
The Bush administration has asked the Supreme Court to reinstate a federal ban on partial birth abortions. This will serve as the first significant test of how willing Chief Justice John Roberts is to overturn precedent.
By Austin Ruse

War on God Continues
So the courts have struck down The Pledge of Allegiance in three Sacramento, California elementary schools. What else is new?
By Steve Farrell

Plain and Precious Things Restored: Why Margaret Barker Matters
What does a female Methodist preacher from England have to say to LDS scholars?
By Kevin Christensen

Californians?Easier Instructions to Stand for Marriage
Californians: Please call or email this morning to take a stand for marriage.

Californians-Take Five Minutes to Stand for Marriage
A same-sex marriage bill just passed the California Senate on Thursday and will be voted on on Tuesday in the California Assembly. Your help is urgently needed. If you know anyone in California, please pass this on.

Virginia, Maryland Meridian Readers?We Need You
If you live near Washington D.C., you can help make a stand for family and religious freedom next week.
By Maurine Jensen Proctor

The NEA & God: A Partnership in Denial
The NEA has done an about face since it published its 1941 American Citizens Handbook.
by Steve Farrel

Constitutional Myths and Realities
As a people, we know that the Constitution is an inspired document. As John G. Roberts is soon to come before the Senate for Supreme Court confirmation hearings, are there any myths you might believe about the nature of the Supreme Court?
By Stephen Markman. Justice, Michigan Supreme Court

New Research May Point to Moral Procedure for Obtaining Stem Cells
Scientists at Harvard may have found a way to produce embryonic stem cells without destroying human embryos.
By Austin Ruse

What?s Happening in Your School?
Blindly trusting that your children's school is making good decisions regarding what they are being exposed to is not simply a foolish mistake, but a serious danger. What we don’t know could hurt our children.
By Gary and Joy Lundberg

What Even Good Kids Need to Know about Date Rape Drugs
Choosing this topic for Meridian may surprise some of our readers.  However, the problem is more prevalent than most people know.  We hope the knowledge shared in this article will alert parents and youth to a growing problem and spare some in our reading audience great pain
.
By Paul Bishop

The Forbidden Book
When your business is communizing America, it is vital that access to the truth about America's founding be denied to every student of American history, culture and law.
By Steve Farrell

God & Country in 1941: An NEA ?Coming Out? Party
If the Second Coming were to occur in a public classroom today, the NEA would insist that a cadre of psychologists swarm in on the community to undo the damage to children, teachers, and family before the school could open again.
By Steve Farrell

Steel in the Book of Mormon
The concept of "steel" (the metal) seems to derive from "steel" meaning hard or strong, not the other way around.
By William Hamblin

New Study Shows Access to Contraceptives Doesn?t Stop Unplanned Pregnancies
According to a new abortion study from the research arm of Planned Parenthood, widespread access to contraceptives does not stop unplanned pregnancies, not by a long shot.

By Austin Ruse

Spiritual Healing of Mind and Body: The Brain Gone Right
I never expected to find myself in a testimony meeting of psychiatrists in the Ivy League Halls of Harvard.
By W. Dean Belnap M.D.

The ?Right? Not to be Offended
If you want to watch human reason descend to its lowest form, tune in and observe the finger wagging parade of "experts" on the evening news.
By Steve Farrell

Teaching Vocabulary and Teaching Moments
The elderly sister just thought we were forbidden to drink alcohol, not to avoid it completely. To her, drinking an alcoholic beverage out of a glass was not the same thing as sipping it from a spoonful of fruit pieces.
By John A. Tvedtnes

Education Series, Part 13: ABCs of Homeschooling
If one of my children is being difficult, it helps me to realize that he is better off with me. I think: "If I feel annoyed, how would a school teacher feel?"
By Darla Isackson, with Diane Hopkins and Heidi Hanks

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5    Part 6   Part 7   Part 8  Part 9   Part 10  Part 11  Part 12

Videogames and Other Brain-Training Adventures
After five weeks of training, twelve out of twenty ADHD kids no longer met the clinical criteria. In other words, while they might not be "cured," they could no longer be diagnosed as ADHD.
By Orson Scott Card

The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers
"In nearly every area, using a variety of measures, Mormon young people showed the highest degree of religious vitality and salience."
By Romney Biddulph

The Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is the world's last surviving god-king, a ruler thought to have special relationships to the heavens.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Is It Bad to Be Fat?
We are a society on diets, but what do the studies really tell us about being fat?
By Orson Scott Card

The Great Pillars of American Liberty
American school children are not being taught something critical about the nation's founding--the central role of Christianity in the underlying principles.
By Steve Farrell

Shinto: the Way of the Gods
The traditional national religion of Japan is Shinto. In many ways it is more than a religion: Shinto is a reflection of Japanese sensitivities, culture, attitudes and nationalism. In some ways it could be described as the veneration of Japaneseness.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Education Series, Part 12: To Homeschool or Not to Homeschool?
Have the public schools become less supportive of the values we cherish? No doubt.
By Darla Isackson
Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4  
Part 5
   Part 6   Part 7   Part 8  Part 9   Part 10  Part 11


Always Choose Life
Is the government fulfilling its duty to protect life?
By Geoffrey Biddulph

The California Mission System
It was the very economic success of the missions that led to the end first of Spanish and then of Mexican control.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

The Riots of the Faithful
The greatest asset that Osama has is the fact that a new religious movement "politically correct puritanism" is perilously close to seizing control of the governments of most of the major nations of the West.
By Orson Scott Card

What Think You of Terrorism, Mr. Jefferson?
Adams was being honest. He never had a hand in it. Can we say the same of ourselves?
By Steve Farrell

Religious Commitment Is Lead Voting Indicator
Church attendance is a greater indicator of how one voted in the 2004 presidential election than "such demographic characteristics as gender, age, income and region" and is "just as important as race."
By Austin Ruse

Silencing the Truth for the Sake of Party
We all need an occasional reality check. It's hard not to take sides with party, when party is what defines all too many of us.
By Steve Farrell

Hillel, a Founder of Rabbinic Judaism
When Peter and the apostles were on trial before the Sanhedrin for blasphemy, Gamaliel?s plea for tolerance ? undoubtedly based in part on the teachings of his grandfather ? saved their lives.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

The Descent of the Holy Fire in Jerusalem
Symbolically the descent of the Holy Fire commemorates the moment of the resurrection, when the power of God descended into the tomb of Christ, transforming death into life.

By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Education Series 11:  Mom Schools and Co-ops
Classroom teachers can only tell children about how plants grow or what a policeman does for the community. Mothers and other interested persons can show them and give them hands-on involvement.
By Darla Isackson
Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4  
Part 5
   Part 6   Part 7   Part 8  Part 9   Part 10

Bastiat?s Christian Defense of Morality in the Law
A man's life, then, is not simply what resides in his heart, as important as this is, but how his heart reflects in his speech, his moral choices and his labor.
By Steve Farrell

Rabi?a, A Woman and a Saint to Muslims
It is said that, when death was near, she asked her friends to leave and to make way for the messengers of God. As they departed, they heard God’s voice welcoming her into Paradise.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

The Natural Family: A Manifesto
Finally, an Agenda for Us

"The only real perils our future faces are the forces eroding the foundations of marriage and family. The Family manifesto is not only a blueprint for survival, it is a bugle call."
By Maurine Proctor

Knowing History and Knowing Who We Are
One thing leads to another. Nothing happens in a vacuum. Actions have consequences. These all sound self-evident. But they're not self-evident — particularly to a young person trying to understand life.
By David McCullough

Christianity's Debt to the Vatican
What should Latter-day Saints make of such a man, and of the institution that he led? As worldwide attention now shifts to the selection of his successor, what should be our attitude toward the Church of Rome?
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Why I Miss Karol Wojtyla
He was a hero of mine. I felt better and safer about the world because he was in it, and I feel that we are just a little worse off, in a little more danger, because he’s gone.
By Orson Scott Card

A Republic, Not a Democracy
What, then, is the real object of a national educational establishment that has rewritten our history books and imposed curriculum mandates that teach the rising generation that the American Founders gave us a democracy?
By Steve Farrell

Quetzalcoatl
The conquest of Mexico was in part stimulated by the perfect faith of the Aztecs that Quetzalcoatl would one day return as promised.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Jewish Sect Finds Their Messiah
Although Schneerson apparently never made any explicit statements on the matter, many of his followers came to believe that he himself was the promised Messiah.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Saints Seek Solutions to the Education Dilemma
I was amazed at the titles and stated purposes of their textbooks. For example, a math book is titled Applying Mathematics; Learning How to Self-Govern Using Correct Principles.
Featuring Alison Holmes and Gary Arnell
Introduction by Darla Isackson
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6   Part 7   Part 8  Part 9

Whose Life Is Worth Living?
Nobody would suggest euthanizing a person because she’s suffering so terribly about choosing a table and chairs. No, we’re still slightly careful about whom we can kill and then feel noble about it.
By Orson Scott Card

Blessed Tolerance: The ?Virtue? of a Republic in Decline
Inevitably, we reap what we sow — andd so, a culture defined by selfishness breeds a nation of idlers and infidels, drunkards and dependents, scoundrels and sluts, power-hungry politicians and apathetic citizens, and by and by, a nation ripe for tyranny.
By Steve Farrell

A Brain Gone Wrong: The Essence of Agency
Part Five of a Ten-Part Series
Inner conversation can paint a new internal picture of us: What we would like to be, we can be.
By Dr. Dean W. Belnap

Cosmic Optimism
The great religions of the world are united in declaring that there are great and good things in store for the faithful, and even, in some versions, for all or virtually all of humankind.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Why Making Choices Is So Hard
Why is it that even though we live in the richest country in the world and have an enormous number of choices we can make every day, we Americans show signs of being unhappier than we were thirty or fifty years ago?
By Orson Scott Card

Religious Art: Symbols of the Divine
Throughout most of history the vast majority of art has been based on religious themes and patronage.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Denying Spiritual Man
Despots have always known that disconnecting man from God has been vital to holding him down.
By Steve Farrell

"How Can You Believe That?"
Every religion that has appealed to large numbers over extended periods of time has contained elements that appealed to intelligent people.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

America's Health Burden from Promiscuity Three Times Higher than Others
Some 7.5 percent of Americans suffer a negative health incident resulting from sexual activity, and that 1.3 percent of all deaths in America can be attributed to sexual behavior.
By Austin Ruse

In Memoriam: Hugh Winder Nibley (1910-2005)
Professor Nibley had the rare gift, not of telling his students what they should know, but of inspiring them to learn for themselves.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Ashura
Reenactments of his brutal death whip devout Shi'ites to a high pitch of religious enthusiasm, reminding them of all the injustices and usurpations they have suffered over the centuries.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Religion and Presidential Politics
If a Latter-day Saint were a serious contender for the presidency, would his religious affiliation trouble substantial numbers of American voters? Evidence and intuition both argue that it would.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Fact, Fable, and Darwin, Part 2
Darwin himself once wrote that he could not understand how anyone could even wish that Christianity were true, noting that the doctrine of damnation was itself damnable.
By Rodney Stark

Fact, Fable, and Darwin, Part 1
I write as neither a creationist nor a Darwinist, but as one who knows what is probably the most disreputable scientific secret of the past century: There is no plausible scientific theory of the origin of species!
By Rodney Stark

A Brain Gone Wrong.
The Brain Believes What You Tell It

Part Four of a Ten Part Series
Put simply, the brain believes what you tell it most. What you tell it about you – what you like, what you do, what you want, what you need ? will create you as your brain sees it.
By Dr. W. Dean Belnap

Desert Monasticism in the Judean Wilderness
When Christianity became the popular and prestigious religion of early Rome, thousands of monks fled to the Judean wilderness to practice what they felt was a purer version of Christ's teachings.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Evolution vs. Creationism
Perhaps the most educated man in this nation's history, Thomas Jefferson, saw in the Universe what your children and my children are not permitted to hear, to consider, or endeavor to prove.
By Steve Farrell
Liberty Letters, Thomas Jefferson, Letter 20

G.K. Chesterton's Modern Relevance
“The next great heresy,” wrote G.K. Chesterton, “is going to be simply an attack on morality, and especially on sexual morality. The madness of tomorrow is not in Moscow, but much more in Manhattan.”
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Education Reform from the Bottom Up
What changes at school would it take for our children to become passionate about learning?
By Lynn Stoddard, with Introduction by Darla Isackson
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6   Part 7   Part 8

Check Evil at the Door
A slumbering giant is awakening. But why did it take so long? The Founders would call our wait-for-a-crisis approach, foolish.
By Steve Farrell
Liberty Letters, John Dickinson, Letter 16

Showdown on Judicial Nominations Set for February
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is set to deploy the "nuclear option" of disallowing the filibuster if Democrats try to once again block President Bush's judicial nominees when they are brought to the floor.
By Austin Ruse

Self-Esteem and Encouragement: A Different Twist
"My siblings and I had the advantage of being raised by the champion praiser of all time. My mother is a one-woman factory of encouragement, not just to us but to everyone around her. Yet she never flattered anybody."
By Orson Scott Card

The Largest Religious Gathering in the World
The annual Islamic pilgrimage, or Hajj, has just ended. Estimates for participation suggest that more than two million people converged on Mecca from approximately one hundred nations.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

President George W. Bush?s Second Inaugural Speech
Thursday, January 20, 2005, Washington, D.C.
"On this day, prescribed by law and marked by ceremony, we celebrate the durable wisdom of our Constitution, and recall the deep commitments that unite our country. I am grateful for the honor of this hour, mindful of the consequential times in which we live, and determined to fulfill the oath that I have sworn and you have witnessed." The full text of the President's speech.

The Journal from Ground Zero Ohio, Part Two
I kept thinking, "I've toured and performed on stage with some mighty famous folks and celebrity just doesn't faze me. They're real people. But I've lived all these 54 years and have never really been this close to a world power – a U.S. President – and for this length of time in such a close setting. I know he's going to turn around any moment now and speak to me. If this never happens again in my life, what can I possibly say of any import?"
By Cherilyn J. Bacon

The Journal from Ground Zero Ohio 2004
Meridian helped recruit volunteers for both parties for the last election. Here's a first-hand report from a volunteer who worked in the election hot spot--Ohio.
By Cherilyn J. Bacon

A Brain Gone Wrong. Who is This Child?
Part Three of a Ten Part Series
Initially, the stimulation tickles the brain. But for some, far too many, just that one adventure is enough to lock in an imprint that begins the downward spiral.
By Dr. W. Dean Belnap

A Classic Book on Religion
One of the world's most eminent authorities on the varied religious life of mankind says we have written science "a blank check" and dismissed spirituality.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

A Brain Gone Wrong: Can Negative Imprinting be Reversed?
Part Two of a Ten Part Series
Initially, the stimulation tickles the brain. But for some, far too many, just that one adventure is enough to lock in an imprint that begins the downward spiral.
By Dr. W. Dean Belnap

A Letter from a Foreign Student in the U.S.
"As I was growing up, some of my relatives and friends went to the United States to pursue advanced degrees or to seek working opportunities. Many of those who went to America have never come back. I wondered why."
By Orson Scott Card

Ancient Rome: A Merging of Religious Ideas
Rome—one of the great empires and cultures of antiquity—was as important in the development of world religion as it was in many other spheres.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Religious ?Neutrality? & the Lemon Test
They'd like to say that their approach to religion in public life is what our Founders gave us, what the Constitution meant in the Bill of Rights – but they'd be lying.
By Steve Farrell

A Brain Gone Wrong: Why Today's Teen is in Trouble
Part One of a Ten Part Series
The twenty-first century faces a war with no name and no marked battleground. The casualties are our youth. They come from every address and ability and they are being squandered in what was once considered the lifestyle of only a degraded few.
By Dr. W. Dean Belnap

The Legacy of Classical Civilizations
Classical Greece and Rome have been gone for centuries. But their legacy lives on in many ways, great and small, in the cultures that have succeeded them.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher
For most Christians, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem – the traditional site of the crucifixion, burial, andd resurrection of Jesus – is the most sacred place on earth.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

The Moral Law is Fixed ? and Always Has Been
Liberty Letters, John Jay

One of the ‘enlightened’ positions I can assure you your kids have been taught is the Communist evolutionary answer to faith. Some of you may believe it yourself, and don’t even know it.
By Steve Farrell

Bethel, an Ancient Israelite Shrine
Located about ten miles north of Jerusalem, Bethel functioned as an important patriarchal and early Israelite shrine, generally associated with the modern archaeological sites of either Tell Beitin or el-Bireh.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Excommunication in Judaism and Christianity
Excommunication for both moral failures and for doctrinal errors has deep roots in Judiasm and Christian history and scripture.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Why Do We Believe in God?
The relationship between psychology and related disciplines, on the one hand, and religion, on the other, has not always been a happy one.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Anxiously Engaged in the Post Election Political Process:
What Really Won the Election?

Pundits were surprised when they saw how important moral values were to the American electorate, but a close-up from the ground shows why they played such a big role.
By Cherilyn Bacon

The Popularity of C.S. Lewis
Christians who lament the low state of the culture around them might take a break from television or the latest film hit and read C.S. Lewis.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Myths: Falsehoods, or Sacred Truths?
For believers, which myths you accept as historically true often determine membership in a given religion.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Pilgrimage: A Sacred Journey in Search of God
Just as the pilgrim undertakes a great and difficult journey in search of a hallowed shrine, so each individual must undertake his own spiritual quest to find the sacred in his own life.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

The Wisdom of the Electoral College
The Founders gave us a republic – not a democracy.  And with that republic comes a system of mixed representation with mixed electoral methods that rejected the one person, one vote philosophy.
By Steve Farrell

The Rise of Buddhism
Even as Buddhism was finding great success throughout Asia it was declining in its homeland. It had virtually disappeared in India by the thirteenth century, and only small Buddhist communities survive in India today.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Providential Destiny & Duty ? or Not?
Liberty Letters, Federalist 1, Letter 15
We have a Divine mandate to keep the good ship America going, to patch her up where necessary, to return to and defend her inspired Constitution
By Steve Farrell

New LDS Federal Judges Share Common Values
The scriptures warn against pride. These judges are models of accomplishment without vanity.
By Mark W. Cannon

The Power of One
You'd be surprised at the list of elections that have been won or lost by one vote.
By Cherilyn Bacon

The Case Against a Random Universe
The notion that the universe arose and that life originated by chance is less reasonable than expecting a Boeing 747 to emerge coincidentally when a typhoon hits a junkyard.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Record Six New LDS Federal Judges Appointed
Part 2
Though six new LDS Federal Judges have been appointed in the last two years, the number of judgeships still do not equal the percentage of Latter-day Saints in the U.S. population.
By Mark W. Cannon

The Candidates? Divergent Views on the Judiciary
The candidates for President have widely divergent views on the judiciary and they know that their most lasting legacy will likely be the influence they have over the direction of the federal judiciary. After all, presidents are only elected for a maximum of eight years, while federal judges are appointed for life.
by Timothy B. Lewis

Record Six New LDS Federal Judges Appointed
Part 1
An unusually large group of six new LDS Federal Judges were nominated by President Bush, confirmed by the U.S. Senate and sworn in during 2002 and 2003. What's surprising: this is about a third as many active Latter-day Saints as were appointed by all previous Presidents of the U.S.

By Mark W. Cannon

Anxiously Engaged in the Political Process:
The Family as the Fundamental Unit of Public Policy

Could this little handbook really be a blueprint for public policy and a rallying point for Latter-day Saints to become a people described in Mosiah 18:21?
By Cherilyn Bacon

What is Religion and How do Religions Begin?
How do religions spring into existence?
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Judicial Interpretation and ?the Consent of the Governed?
When you look at the record, it's clear that the major issue in the Revolutionary War was this principle of the 'consent of the governed.' The colonists thought they were entitled to it. The British didn't want to give it to them. And that's why they went to war.
By Gene Schaerr

The Judiciary
The Courage of Self-Restraint

The people’s willingness to abide by the decisions of those in power depends absolutely on their trust that those who wield power are dedicated to upholding, not altering, the democratic nature of our government as well as our individual freedoms.
By Kent A. Jordan

Reflections on the Holocaust
Jews were by no means the only victims of Hitler's grisly Final Solution and of the war into which he plunged the world.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

How Does Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage Hurt Marriage, Children and Society?
We always hear that legalizing same marriage will not hurt our marriages, our children and our society, but that is a smokescreen to disguise what is a radical social experiment with long-term seismic consequences.
By Sharon Slater
President, United Families International

Largest Buddhist Temple in the Western Hemisphere
To step onto the grounds of the Hsi Lai Temple is to leave the often hectic and materialistic world of suburban California and to enter an ancient culture, exotic, fascinating, and friendly.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William Hamblin

Republican National Committee Reaches Out to Latter-day Saints
The Republican National Committee is looking for a few good Latter-day Saints to help in this 11th hour. Why would they target us? Are the Democrats doing the same thing? Read on.
By Maurine Jensen Proctor

How You Can Become More Anxiously Engaged in the Political Process
Part 2 in the Anxiously Engaged Series
Some of the most frequently asked questions of Meridian and the Family News Network are, "What can I do and how can I be more involved politically--especially when the future of the family is at stake?" Here are some ideas.
by Cherilyn Bacon

Nathan the Wise-An Allegory of Religious Toleration?
The play “Nathan the Wise,” by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781), is now playing at BYU. At one level, it is a rather convoluted tale of mistaken identity, but at another level the play is an allegory of religious toleration.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

What It Means To Be Anxiously Engaged In The Political Process
The United States and nations of the world are at a critical, cultural crossroads. Decisions made on Election Day November 2nd in the United States. will bring global consequences for years to come. You can make a difference in your community and nation by standing for something good for the world to model. We hope that principles of responsible citizenship will resonate, motivate and translate into action wherever you live.
by Cherilyn Bacon

Ancient Divination and Chinese Oracle Bones
The practitioners of bird divination, known as “augurs,” attempted to determine the proper times and places for sacred events; our modern term “inaugurate” derives from this ancient practice of divining the most auspicious time for beginning any great enterprise.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Creative Combining of Options: Could Dual Enrollment Be Your Solution?
Some parents solve their children's education needs by having them in public school part-time. Readers share their experiences.
By Darla Isackson

Is Grief an Evil?
Jefferson and Adams Dialogue
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson discussed this point in personal letters between them. Does grief in God’s wisdom, have its uses?
By Steve Farrell

Petra: Sacred City of Temples and Tombs
Petra, located south of Amman, Jordan, is one of the great archeaological treasures of the world.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Life Lessons from the Constitutional Convention
Each year, Sept. 17 through 23 marks National Constitution Week, a time for Americans to celebrate our Constitution, which has stood the test of time better than any other similar document in the history of the world.
By Steven W. Allen

Constitution and Law Series #14:
What Can Be Done About Judicial Usurpation? State Checking Forces
If we are ever going to reclaim our 10th Amendment rights, it will probably have to start at the state level.
By Timothy B. Lewis of the Constitutional Freedom Foundation

Charter Schools
What are charter schools and why are so many parents excited about them?
By Darla Isackson

Lay Your Hammer Down
Hate speech and incivility are bubbling as the U.S. elections are heating up.
The head of a Washington D.C. think tank says we can do better.
By Edwin J. Feulner

Constitution and Law Series #13:
What Can Be Done About Judicial Usurpation? Congressional Restriction Of Appellate Juristiction
If judges run amuck, can Congress stop them?
By Timothy B. Lewis of the Constitutional Freedom Foundation

New Religious Movements
Today new religions are being created at an ever-increasing pace—possibly hundreds a year. In one sense, the modern world has been described as the age of new technologies, but it could just as easily be viewed as the age of new religions.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Constitution and Law Series #12
What Can Be Done About Judicial Usurpation? The President's Powers
How can an out-of-control federal judiciary be reined in? This article discusses possible, but little-used checking powers held by the executive department.

By Timothy B. Lewis of the Constitutional Freedom Foundation

Back to School: Readers Open Talk about Public Education and Tough Choices
Should you home school your child? Become the PTA President and be involved at the public school? Should you look for a private school? Meridian readers share their experiences and concerns about school options.
by Darla Isackson 

How Can an Out-of-Control Federal Judiciary Be Reined In?
This is the 11th article in a series designed to help Meridian readers better understand the Constitution of the United States so that, informed, we may recognize how far we are wandering from its original principles.In this article Professor Lewis addresses what is becoming a more urgent question, “What can be done about judicial usurpation?
By Timothy B. Lewis of the Constitutional Freedom Foundation

St. Simeon the Stylite: Religious Devotion or Excess?
In his fervor to find God, St. Simeon lived atop a column, surviving only by food that devotees brought him.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Who Was On Watch As the Dark Age Approached?
What we can never forget is that civilizations all die.
Some of them can last for centuries; some flourish and disappear in a few generations.
By Orson Scott Card

The Holiest Shrine in Shi?ite Islam
At the time of writing, members of a militant Iraqi Shi?ite militia remain holed up in the Imam ?Ali Mosque in Najaf?a mosque to which news reports continually refer as the holiest shrine in Shi?ite Islam.

By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Can Parents Counterbalance the Negative Influences in Public Schools?
You can make a positive impact on your child's education, but you have to take some important steps.
By Darla Isackson

A Medieval Muslim?s Timeless Search for Truth

Among Muslims, al-Ghazali is considered by many to be second only to Mohammed. Following a crisis of faith, he finally found peace in a place that may sound familiar to Latter-day Saints.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

A Look at John Calvin?s Institutes of the Christian Religion
Calvin's Institutes
are rarely read. There is “an odd sort of social pressure” not to read him. Yet his ideas lie at the very root of American republican democracy.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Public Schools vs. the Fundamental Purposes of Education
In order to truly see what the Lord would have us do in regard to the education of our children, we must first understand why education is so important after all. We must be clear about what we lack in order to improve.
By Darla Isackson

The Great Religious Books of Early Judaism
The Torah, the Mishnah, the Apocrypha--these are familiar names, but what part did they play in Jewish history?
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

The Author of Liberty or Not?
Just try mixing God and government in the same breath and get ready for the snickers, sneers, hisses, and guffaws
By Steve Farrell

Mary, the Blessed Virgin
For hundreds of millions of Christians around the world, the adoration of the Blessed Virgin Mary forms a fundamental part of their religious life.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

“Judge Your Higher Judges” (Mosiah 29:29)
The Federal Marriage Amendment has been the hot topic this week in the U.S. Senate, a reminder that the Book of Mormon teaches us deep lessons for such a time as this.

by Benjamin C. Olsen

It's Not Too Late to Become An Apologist!
DNA and the Book of Mormon, Masonry and Mormonism, origins of the Book of Abraham, Joseph Smith, protestors, horses, plates, language
. Have you ever been questioned about these hot topics by a friend or neighbor? Had you wished that you had the answer at your fingertips?
by Justin Hart

Mani: Gnostic Prophet of Dualism
Although the religion founded by Mani—known as Manicheism—is dead, its influence is still with us in subtle and indirect ways. 
By Daniel C. Peterson
and William J. Hamblin

The President of the United States Speaks Up for Marriage
George W. Bush Urges an Amendment to the Constitution

The debate about a constitutional amendment begins this week in the United States Senate.  The President used his weekly radio address on Saturday, July 10, 2004 to speak strongly in favor of an amendment to protect the institution of marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

The Marriage Amendment is the Only Way
Next week the Senate is voting on the Federal Marriage Amendment and now is the time to raise your voice. Meridian gives instructions on how to contact your senator and Senator Hatch updates us on the latest developments.
By Senator Orrin G. Hatch

The Misplaced "Wall" Between Church and the Federal State
The current hostility toward religion in the public square would have distressed America's Founders.
by W. Cleon Skousen

Islam, Iraq, and Democracy
What chance does democracy have in a country where the citizens believe the law was given in a complete form centuries ago?
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

The Declaration of Independence:? Inspired by God
July 4th is not just a day to play, but a day to remember.
By Steven W. Allen

The Role of Religion in the Founding Fathers' Thinking
Americans of the twentieth century often fail to realize the supreme importance which the Founding Fathers originally attached to the role of religion in the first civilization of a free people in modern times.
By W. Cleon Skousen, with introduction by Darla Isackson

The Fanatics Who Tell Us the News
Too many in the media pass their bias off as truth, and anyone who doesn't see it their way is mentally or morally suspect.
By Orson Scott Card

Liberty in Law
Our forefathers sacrificed for freedom. Succeeding generations need to sacrifice a few things too, like their vices, their pride, their arrogance, their humanistic tendency to believe ‘I did it alone.'
by Steve Farrell

The Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem
For most Christians, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem–the traditional site of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus–is the most sacred place on earth.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Living in the Latter ?Daze?
A nation that rejects the true and living God will be, to put it bluntly, a stupid nation, a people in a “daze,” who begin to embrace dumb ideas and call it progress.
by Jim Birrell

The Meaning of Rights
Constitution and Law Series #10

When someone claims they have a "right" to something, does it really mean that?
By Timothy B. Lewis of the Constitutional Freedom Foundation

Religious Art: Symbols of the Divine
Today art in many of its forms has largely been co-opted by commerce and advertising, yet throughout most of history the vast majority of artistic work has been based on religious themes and patronage.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

The Meaning of Equality
Constitution and Law Series
Equality is a winning word. Nobody much disagrees with the idea. The rub comes because too often a philosophy is sold based on "equality" that sounds good, yet has bitter social consequences.
By Timothy B. Lewis

The Rise and the Demise of Church Academies
Part 2 of Education Series
Early Church prophets warned Latter-day Saints about having a Godless, secular education, but the schools established by the church dwindled and died anyway.
By Darla Isackson

How Can a War be Just?
Can a war be just? The question ignites competing viewpoints
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

The Meaning of Justice
Article #8 in a Series on the Constitution
History has shown time and again that societies, drunken by the success established by their forebears, later became blinded to actual cause and effect relationships and lose their inherited birthright.
By Timothy B. Lewis of the Constitutional Freedom Foundation

Who were the Sicarii?
Most of us have heard the story of the noble defenders of Masada. But were they all that noble?
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Education As the Early Prophets Saw It
LDS parents are rightly alarmed about the quality of education our children are receiving in public schools. How did the early church leaders feel about this important topic?
By Darla Isackson

Mind & Morals, Freedom?s Best Team
The Founders had the correct idea about what constitutes a true education—an education in mind and in morals, in the temporal and in the spiritual, in theory and in practical reality.
By Steve Farrell

C.S Lewis vs. Sigmund Freud on Good and Evil
Is there a universal moral law, a set of rights and wrongs that is permanent and absolute and has existed in nearly every culture?
By Armond M. Nicholi, Theodore Dalrymple

Constitutional Primer #7
Property Rights

The doctrine that property ownership was essential for the enjoyment of liberty had long been a fundamental tenet of Anglo-American constitutional thought.
by Timothy B. Lewis of the Constitutional Freedom Foundation

The Republic of Malta ? A Complex Cultural History
The tiny country of Malta is neither tiny in history nor cultural heritage.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Constitutional Primer #6
The Commerce Clause And Other Power-Expanding Mechanisms
In our federal form of government, a key constitutional question is which level of government has the authority to regulate a given sphere of activity – the central government or the states?
by Timothy B. Lewis of the Constitutional Freedom Foundation

The Oracle of the Pythian Prophetess at Delphi
Among the Greeks, the most important prophet was the priestess known as the Pythia, who resided at the temple of Apollo at Delphi.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Constitutional Primer #5
The 14th Amendment and ?Selective Incorporation?
How was our constitutional form of government so radically changed without democratic input? What went wrong with constitutional interpretation?
by Timothy B. Lewis of the Constitutional Freedom Foundation

In the Name of Islam
An aberrant form of Islam has created a nihilistic cult of coercion and death in the name of one of the world’s greatest religious traditions. Muslims are beginning to speak out against this hijacking of their religion.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Varanasi: Eternal City of Light
In India, with its multitude of gods, there are many sacred cities, but few can vie with the sanctity of Varanasi.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Constitutional Primer #3
The Proper Role of the Judiciary
Perhaps one of the most misunderstood aspects of constitutional law is the proper role of judges in our constitutional system.
by Timothy B. Lewis of the Constitutional Freedom Foundation

St. Simeon the Stylite:
Religious Devotion or Excess?

He lived on a column and preached to seekers from far and wide. Who is this Saint and solitary hermit who commanded the Christian world's attention in his day?
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

White Guilt in America
History is replete with example of conquerors and the vanquished. Is any one group or race more to blame than another for brutality and racism?
by Jim Birrell

Constitutional Primer #2 ? Federalism and the Limitation of Powers
The Federalist Papers were, in effect, the intellectual sales pitch behind adoption of the Constitution. Their main theme: limited federal authority.
by Timothy B. Lewis of the Constitutional Freedom Foundation

Prodigies and Portents
Shakespeare's King Henry the Fourth speaks of "A prodigy of fear and a portent of broached mischief " What is this oldest of religious beliefs in signs and wonders?
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Who Needs God?
Have atheists thoughtfully considered the logical consequences of a society that does not believe in God? Is it really a place they want to live?
by Michael Novak

Constitutional Primer #1:
The Constitutional Convention and the Meaning of Liberty

How many of us truly understand the basic underlying philosophical foundation of the Constitution?
by Timothy B. Lewis of the Constitutional Freedom Foundation

Najaf, Karbala, and the Shi?ites of Iraq
Who are the Shi‘ites? What historical experiences have formed them? Why do they think and do as they do?

By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Romney Files Emergency Bill to Save Marriage in Massachusetts
Governor Romney is using some muscle to protect marriage in Massachusetts.

Latter-day Saints and the Constitution
Do the Saints have a divine role in supporting and perhaps even saving the Constitution of the United States?
by The Constitutional Freedom Foundation

On Fairness and Families
If someone says "It's not fair that homosexual couples can't marry," here's the perfect answer.
By Orson Scott Card

Cosmology and Atheism
Can the claim that there is no God really be defended in light of the laws of physics and the existence of the universe?
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Akhenaten: An Early Egyptian Monotheist
At first glance, ancient Egypt, with its hundreds of exotic gods, would seem the last place for a monotheistic revelation. Yet one of the earliest monotheists known to history was from Egypt.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Winning the Battle and Not Knowing It:
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of 2003
It’s not exactly the battle for Helm’s Deep, but the clash between Mormon and anti-Mormon forces goes on.
by Justin Hart

The Spirit of Australia
Although originally settled as a penal colony for England, Australia is experiencing significant growth among some of its religious communities, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints being one of them.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Marriage and the Constitution
Why We Need An Amendment

If anyone would have told me, ten years ago, that I would support amending the Constitution to include a definition of marriage, I would have laughed out loud," said Richard Wilkins. Now, we won't be able to retain marriage without it.
By Professor Richard G. Wilkins 

Passionate Ranting
Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ has stirred up all sorts of controversy in recent days, starkly revealing the great divide in modern America between secularists and believers.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Gay Marriage & Fear
With an air of 'moral' superiority, a scripted question is being parroted at the
defend marriage lobby-what are you afraid of? Much.

by Steve Farrell

Respecting the Faith of Others
How could any intelligent person believe that? Many do. It's time for some genuine understanding.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Homosexual "Marriage" and Civilization
Regardless of their opinion of homosexual "marriage," every American who believes in democracy should be outraged that any court should take it upon itself to dictate such a social innovation without recourse to democratic process. Anyone who has any understanding of how America -- or any civilization -- works, of the forces already at play, will realize that this new diktat of the courts will not have any of the intended effects, while the unintended effects are likely to be devastating.
by Orson Scott Card

Islamic Belief in the Afterlife
Islamic folklore features legends, doctrines, and suppositions regarding the greatest of human mysteries - life after death.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Senate Hearing on Defending Marriage, Judicial Activism and Democracy
Meridian?s Inside View

Nationwide the battle over same-sex marriage erupted yesterday as couples lined up for "marriage" licenses in Portland, a New York mayor vowed to defy the law, and a passionate hearing was held on Capitol Hill. Meridian was at that hearing and gives an inside look at how things are shaping up.
Text by Maurine Jensen Proctor
Photos by Scot Facer Proctor

Who Will Define Marriage, the People or the Courts?
Opening Statement of Senator John Cornyn at Senate Hearing

An on-going national conversation about the importance of marriage intensified recently when four Massachusetts judges declared traditional marriage a “stain” on our laws that must be “eradicated.” Meridian documents Senator John Cornyn's opening statement at a Senate sub-committe hearing held Wednesday, March 3.

Principle Over Party
Liberty Letters Series
Are you a Party loyal? Isn't it high time to be voting principle first and last?
by Steve Farrell

More on What the Press Won?t Say
Meridian Talks with the Los Angeles Times
When it comes to how candidly the press is covering troublesome issues about homosexuality, Meridian has made some waves--and some of them lapped onto the Los Angeles Times.
By Maurine Jensen Proctor

What the Press Won?t Say
Last week two long-anticipated studies were released on the sexual abuse scandal that has plagued the Catholic Church, and it is hard to believe that the reporters from the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and the Washington Times were at the same press conference, because they certainly didn’t get the same story.
By Maurine Jensen Proctor

Teotihuac?n: City of the Birth of the Gods
Twenty-five miles northeast of Mexico City lay one of the greatest archaeological sites of the New World, the fabled Teotihuacán.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Defined by Opposites
Why is marriage in every known culture the union of opposite sexes?

By Craig Cardon

The Pivotal Battle of Our Age Has Begun?And We Cannot Afford to Lose! 
As had been widely expected, President Bush yesterday announced his strong support for an amendment to the United States Constitution to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The President issued a call to arms. The pivotal battle of our age has been joined.
By Professor Richard G. Wilkins 

In Defense of Marriage
A friend of ours mentioned that her LDS daughter didn’t think there is one good argument against same-sex marriage. Society supports marriage between a man and a woman to encourage it—and there’s not just one good reason why. There are hundreds. Read this article that documents the studies.
By Linda Nuttall

Was Ancient Writer Paul's Famous Convert?
For over a thousand years, Dionysius was one of the most widely studied Christian writers, and his ideas helped lay the foundations for Christian mysticism.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

On Proper Spiritual Focus in a Secular Age
We are counseled to be anxiously engaged in good causes. A “good cause” is one that advances and affirms Christ and his truth in the world—nothing less.
by James R. Birrell

Is Spirituality All in Your Head?
A new area of religious study known as neurotheology attempts to map brain activity at the time of spiritual experiences.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Marriage on the Brink
On Thursday, February 12, the actions of state and local legislatures on both coasts demonstrated that marriage is in chaos.
By Richard G. Wilkins 

Runaway Judges and the Massachusetts
Marriage Crisis

The last time things were at such a fever pitch in Massachusetts the Red Coats were coming, and in the name of freedom the locals were stockpiling guns. This time, however, the tyrant isn’t King George, it’s the faceless, genteel judiciary that is force feeding a new cultural and moral agenda on the population.
By Maurine Jensen Proctor

The Sibylline Oracles of Ancient Rome
There was a legend in ancient Rome about a set of nine books which contained a predestined history of the Roman people; the Sibylline Oracles are some of these prophecies.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Virtue and the Free Society
How do we restore virtue as a national priority? First, we must make it an individual priority.
by Jeb Bush

Jefferson on Eternal Life
Liberty Letters Series
Jefferson believed that the two most important teachings of Christ, along with love of God and love of neighbor, were a belief in life after death, and final judgment.

by Steve Farrell

Politics and Peer Pressure
Engaging in the Public Debate about Same-Sex Marriage

Same-sex “marriage” is going to be a hot topic of debate this year in politics. Can you have any weight to educate and convince others about the importance of marriage in your own circle of influence? Here are some suggestions.
By Craig Cardon
Chairman of the Board
United Families International

Lao Tzu, China?s ?Ancient Master?
Lao Tzu was a mystical sage, whose teachings form the core of Chinese spirituality and religion.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Christianity in Ethiopia
The roots of Christianity are in the Near East and its teachings took hold in Africa long before it dominated Europe.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Liberation?s Children- Disobedient to Parents, Unthankful and Unholy
Part 5 - Progress or Peril?: Examining Paul?s Description of Our Day
What happens to society, especially our children, when they are no longer held in check by the invisible chords of cultural prohibitions?
By James R. Birrell

Syriac
Christian sects extend way beyond Protestant and Catholic. One tradition that is little known in the West is embodied in a language known as Syriac.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Jefferson on Finding God
Liberty Letters Series
Was Thomas Jefferson an enemy of God? Numerous anti-Christian cynics feel certain that the answer is "yes." But are they wrong?
By Steve Farrell

Ziggurats: Temple Platforms of Ancient Mesopotamia
Could the Tower of Bable have been a ziggurat? Symbolically the ziggurat represents the cosmic mountain on which the gods dwell.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

The Lists Every American Should Make
Did you know that God makes lists? All too often we regard list-making as a trivial task when it should be our first and most important priority.
by George Roche

Archaeology and Prehistoric Religions
Just what defines a prehistoric religion and what are the evidences for such religions?
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Check Power or Checkmate?
Can a democracy be tyrannical? The Founders knew that not just individuals, but bodies of men are susceptible to the corrupting influence of power.
by Steve Farrell

Christmas and the Military
Christmas is especially poignant in wartime, with families separated, longing for home, or praying for those serving on distant fronts.
By Newt Gingrich, William R. Forstchen

The Peril of Self-Deceivers
Part 4:? Progress or Peril?: Examining Paul?s Description of Our Day
To take up a hard, resentful attitude toward others is to have to live in a resented world, a world full of people who oppose and threaten us.
By James R. Birrell

The First Principle of Higher Education
In choosing a path for education and for life, Thomas Jefferson outlined a course of education that, by today’s standards, are remarkable.
by Steve Farrell

The Ten Commandments Controversy
Did Judge Roy S. Moore violate the First Amendment with the 10 Commandments monument?
By Michael Novak

The Historical Resurrection of Jesus
That a Jewish scholar and Israeli diplomat has written a book arguing for the historical truth of the resurrection of Jesus is quite astonishing. The Resurrection of Jesus: A Jewish Perspective has just been reissued.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Islamic Denominations
There are various sects in Islam just as there are in Christianity. Learn more about the origins of the two main groups: Sunni's and Shi'ites.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Led by God
Thomas Jefferson knew that public speech, public confession, and public monuments were not manifestations of forced religion, but its opposite. It's time we realized as much.
by Steve Farrell?

The Court and the Culture War: Meridian Interviews Robert Bork
Robert Bork, a pivotal player in the culture war, says that activist judges are changing the cultural landscape of the world as we have known it. Meridian recently interviewed Judge Bork. Don't miss his insights and articulation of our times.
By Maurine Jensen Proctor
Photographs by Scot Facer Proctor

The Perils of Unnatural Affection
Part 3: Progress or Peril?: Examining Paul?s Description of Our Day
Some have asked how can gay marriage threaten the stability of heterosexual marriages. They are asking the wrong question and here are the reasons why.

Faith of the Fatherless?
Freud suggested that our personal notion of God is nothing more than an exalted father figure. Paul Vitz turns that notion on its head to propose what he terms "the defective father hypothesis" as an explanation of atheism.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Bird's Eye
Faith is not a coat you throw on to make yourself look and act better. If you feel the true presence of God in your life, everything else is colored by that.
By Karl Zinsmeister

The Perils of Self-Love : Examining Paul?s Description of Our Day
Self-esteem is essential to a happy and productive life, to be sure. Then why did the idea of self-love so concern the ancient apostle Paul?
By James R. Birrell

The Blessed Dead
What about 'those who have gone before?' Can they intercede on our behalf? Many religions think so.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

No Kings in America! Paine’s Appeal to the Bible
In this day and age when Christians are being told to be silent and monuments honoring the Ten Commandments are being hauled out of public buildings by officers of the law, it seems like it is time for Christians to learn to be more effective. "Common Sense" might be a good place to start.
by Steve Farrell

African Religions
Africa is undergoing an astonishing religious transformation, and may become the focus of a new Christian revival.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Challenge to the Not So Bright
Atheists? Biddulph doesn't believe they exist. Take the challenge to see if he's right.
By Geoffrey Biddulph

The Veneration of Sacred Stones
Just what is a 'sacred' stone and what is its symbolic meanings throughout ancient cultures and in holy writ?
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Physics and Religion:? Probing the Unseen
One of the more interesting Christian thinkers writing today is the Rev. John Polkinghorne, canon theologian of Liverpool in the United Kingdom and particle physicist.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Progress or Peril? : Examining Paul?s Description of our Day
The failure of society to morally mold children will cause them to grow up self-absorbed, full of inferiority complexes, and driven by no great cause or arduous task.
By James R. Birrell

The Visions at Fatima
Three cousins in a small town in Portugal in 1917 claimed to have beheld a vision that still impacts some Catholics today.
By William J. Hamblin and Daniel C. Peterson

Icons and Iconoclasm
Sacred art is as old as religion itself. Just what are the distinctions between icons, idols and images? And are they viewed today the same as they were anciently?
By William J. Hamblin and Daniel C. Peterson 

On Parental Alertness in the Age of Progressive Education
Your children may be learning more at school than you realize.
By James R. Birrell

Joseph Smith and the Beginning of Mormon Archaeology
Did the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1842 locate Book of Mormon lands in Middle America?

by V. Garth Norman

Mahavira the ?Great Hero,? Founder of Jainism
India is a religiously complex and diverse region of the world. One of the important, yet lesser known religions is Jainism.
By William J. Hamblin and Daniel C. Peterson 

Thomas Paine - A Conversation on Christianity and America's Founding
Was founder Thomas Paine ever a Christian, and ever anything other than a man who shouted the Bible down as, “Fraud!”
By Steve Farrell

Archaeoastronomy and Religion
Archaeoastronomy?! A big name for a big idea. This new field of inquiry links the study of astronomy and religion.
By William J. Hamblin and Daniel C. Peterson 

Sept. 11 and the Lincoln Memorial
This week Biddulph asks the question, "How can religious people, good people who are peaceable followers of Jesus Christ, justify acts of violence?"
By Geoffrey Biddulph

Ten Commandments Showdown
As our society becomes more diverse in nature, the questions surrounding church and state become more problematic. Many of the courts resolutions still leave the important yet thorny issues unresolved.
By William J. Hamblin and Daniel C. Peterson 

Is Religion Irrational and Anti-Intellectual?
Modern secularists would claim that religion is inherently unscholarly and anti-intellectual. Few, if indeed any, know that the roots of the term intellect means "understanding"; to perceive and understand spiritual realities.
By William J. Hamblin and Daniel C. Peterson 

Bush Orders State Department To Stop Funding Foreign Abortion Groups
President Bush this week issued an executive order that restricts the State Department from funding groups that perform or promote abortions overseas.

Avoiding the Miseducating of our Minds
The Progressivist movement has its roots in the relativist, socialist ideals of men such as John Dewey. Dr. Birrell gives clarity to the designs and intent of such movements, and examines where such misguided thinking has lead educators today.
by James R. Birrell, Ed.D.

Junipero Serra and the California Missions
Father Junipero Serra's task, under Spanish authority, was to take Christianity to the west coast of America. By his death he had established 9 missions, and eventually a total of 21 mission were founded in what is today called California.
By William J. Hamblin and Daniel C. Peterson 

Preserving Traditional Marriage: A Worldwide Struggle
Many good people support the legalization of immoral behavior in a misdirected
attempt to secure freedom of choice and liberty for those who consider themselves "oppressed" or "marginalized" by the majority.

By Greg Slater

Paine?s Christianity: Part One
For many, Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason calls into question his Christianity. His own explanation as to why he wrote the book may surprise his accusers.
by Steve Farrell

Islamic Terrorism
We read almost daily of some new act of Islamic terrorism in the world. What motivates these extremists and can they be understood?
By William J. Hamblin and Daniel C. Peterson 

Yet Another Warning to Be Prepared
The first thing that popped into my mind when I heard about the blackouts last week in the northern United States and Canada was, “I hope all of the Saints in the affected areas have food storage.”
By Geoffrey Biddulph

What is the Islamist Movement?
With the ongoing war on terror, many people have been wondering
about Islamic fundamentalists, or, as they are more
commonly called today, Islamists. What is the Islamist
movement?

By William J. Hamblin and Daniel C. Peterson 

Participating In The Public Forum: Why The Supreme Court Can't Avoid "Mandating" Morality
Participating in the Public Forum: Why the Supreme Court Can't Avoid "Mandating" Morality
Cut: The law reflects the values of our people and teaches values to our people. Elder Dallin H. Oaks stated that “No person with values based on religious beliefs should apologize for taking those values into the public square." Camille Williams lays out the case.

By Camille Williams

Oh! Canada
In the space of just a few months, a series of events in Canada leave us poised to be only the third nation in the world to recognize same-sex marriage. If Canada takes this action, it has direct implications for preserving and protecting traditional marriage around the world. Is legalization of same-sex marriage in Canada a done deal? A group of us are working hard to ensure that it is not.
By Joann Gorham

St. Brendan the Navigator and the Paradise Over the Western Sea
We've all heard of St. Patrick, but who is St. Brendan and what is this so-called journey to the promised land? Read one of the most famous and enduring stories of Western Europe and of Brendan's voyage in search of the 'Land of Youth.'
By William J. Hamblin and Daniel C. Peterson 

Who?s Being Discriminatory and Intolerant?
It’s time for activists to let others be free. Specifically, the Boy Scouts.
By Geoffrey Biddulph

The Lure of the Primordial Religion
Our age is enamored of the new. There is almost an instinctual assumption among most of us that whatever is new is better. That's very different from what humanity used to seek when they believed that a lost Golden Age was hidden somewhere in the past.

By William J. Hamblin and Daniel C. Peterson 

Red Eye on Marriage
There is a blitzkrieg against traditional marriage and its revered place in society. Karl Marx led the charge against families by referring to the sacred relationship as 'bourgeois claptrap.' Farrell explains just how far Marx's ideas have come.
By Steve Farrell

Relativism and the Gender Agenda
America for nearly 200 years have been replaced as the timeless standards for judging appropriateness, promoting virtue, and finding salvation.? The fall from grace of Biblical truth occurred in the 1960?s and ?70?s when radicals and relativists declared the Biblical God dead; with his death went our cultural identity, clarity, and certainty as a predominantly Christian nation.?
by James R. Birrell, Ed.D.

?Amazing Grace?
Amazing Grace is one of the most recognizable and popular hymns ever written. Recorded by artists as diverse as Elvis, Woody Guthrie, Rod Steward and Tiny Tim. But “Amazing Grace” is no mere pop cultural icon. It is a testament to the potentially transformative power of religious conversion.
By William J. Hamblin and Daniel C. Peterson

Religion and Violence: An Unholy Combination
The new Krakauer book has caused quite a stir by linking Mormon theology, and religion in general, to violence. Hamblin and Peterson take a look at the historical evidence and draw their own conclusions.
By William J. Hamblin and Daniel C. Peterson

A New Religious Holiday
Mark February 2003 on your calendar. We are about to establish another holiday in the pantheon of religious holidays. I will even tell you the appropriate celebratory rituals. But before I describe how we will celebrate, let me tell you what we are celebrating.
by Michael K. Young

The National Law of the Harvest
Everyone knows it. Even the kid on the street repeats the mantra, ?What goes around comes around!?  Steve Farrell talks about the consequences of 'national sin' and our responsibility as citizens to 'stand for something.'
By Steve Farrell

God and Washington
Steve Farrell debunks some of the whoppers going around about George Washington. The religious foundations of our country and this great man are indisputable for those willing to see.

by Steve Farrell

More Than a Thread Unraveled: The Overturning of the Texas Sodomy Law
Last week’s 6-3 Supreme Court decision overturning Texas’ sodomy law has met with nearly deafening silence by Meridian’s readers. You have opinions. You are passionate. Yet, in a watershed decision that upends the moral underpinnings of society, crafted in law and tradition for centuries, the mailbox is nearly empty. We hope this doesn’t mean your response in general is flat as well.
By Maurine Jensen Proctor

Paine?s Prophetic Dream
One of the many and often untold stories about the founding of America can be discovered in a remarkable dream that Thomas Paine had, and subsequently published in 1775. Steve Farrell recounts Paine's interpretation of the dream and its connection to a country born first of faith. Read Paine's inspired dream here.

by Steve Farrell

Court?s Ruling Should Be A Call To Arms To Defend Marriage And The Family
Make no mistake about it. With the 6-3 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court last week overturning Texas’ sodomy law, we have crossed a major legal as well as moral divide, one from which there may be no return. Those of us who are determined to protect marriage and the natural family must understand that we have probably already lost the war unless we view this decision as both a wake up call and a call to arms and react accordingly.
by Professor Richard G. Wilkins

People Who Love Freedom Should Be Outraged at Recent Social Trends
In the name of freedom, there is a campaign to silence you, erode your children's moral values, and ironically--undo freedom.
This is a must-read.

By Geoffrey Biddulph

A Continent Of Orphans -- The Stay Alive Program, Latter-day Saints and the AIDS Crisis
They used to call Africa the Dark Continent, so named because we knew so little about it. Journalists did not pierce its events with their probe. It was a place, overlooked, forgotten, dismissed, far below our radar screen. In some ways, we haven’t moved too far in our ignorance. While we count every death in the disastrous Middle East crisis, a million die quietly of AIDS in Africa, a continent becomes decimated, and we hardly turn our heads. It is but a dying whisper on the wind. Meridian invites you to offer a helping hand.
by Maurine Jensen Proctor

Why Defend Marriage? Just Look Abroad
The new “cutting edge” issue for activists is passing laws to prohibit any “vilification” of conduct, imposing civil and in some cases criminal penalties.
by Professor Richard G. Wilkins

"The Venerable Bede"?Father of English History
Productive lives that leave their mark on subsequent generations can be furiously active or serenely uneventful, prominent or obscure.
by Willliam J. Hamblin and Daniel C. Peterson

Legalizing Same-Sex Marraige: A Modern Attack on the Future of America
The biggest battle yet to defend traditional marriage and the natural family is likely to begin in the next few weeks.
by Professor Richard G. Wilkins

Ashoka, the Model Buddhist King, and Religion?s Power for Good
Critics of religious faith often argue that the social effects of religion have been – and continue to be – largely if not entirely negative. And, at least on the surface, evidence to support their charge can be found virtually everywhere.
By Willliam J. Hamblin and Daniel C. Peterson

Right and Wrong and Mount Vernon
We are losing the sense of right and wrong, and the special irony of this is that it starts at the top – among our cultural elites.
By Geoffrey Biddulph

Did You Know This Is Happening? Worldwide Attack on the Family
Too many of us are in the dark about the concerted efforts worldwide to destroy the family. While we are asleep, underground movements are taking no rest, and if they succeed, we shall "reap a whirlwind.
"
By Gary and Joy Lundberg

: Fueled by Media Images or Curbed through Good Information? 
 Recent studies document physical, psychological and emotional damage from .   
By Janice Shaw Crouse, Ph.D.

Blessed Tolerance: The Virtue of a Republic in Decline
Approximately two and a half millennia ago, Plato, in his classic work The Republic, unveiled what happens to a democratic people when ?liberty-in-law,? swaps its identity for ?anything goes.?
It?s not a pretty sight.
by Steve Farrell

Relativism and the Agenda
Have you ever noticed how people who demand tolerance are often models of intolerance themselves?
by James R. Birrell, Ed.D.
Associate Professor of Teacher Education, BYU

The Pope's Division
When an advisor warned him against conflict with the Catholic Church, Josef Stalin contemptuously demanded, “How many divisions does the pope have?” The answer is: more than Stalin could imagine.
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Anti-Mormon Video Reaches National Television Audience
An anti-Mormon documentary on the book of Abraham was recently aired nationally on a religious station. It poses as a slick documentary and an objective piece of journalism, but is nothing more than a polished collection of one-sided half-truths. ?
By Scott Gordon

Should Religion and Morality Be Restricted to Private Life?
Do religious beliefs have a role to play in public policy discussions?? Or is religion simply irrelevant, or too divisive and perhaps too irrational, to be permitted in such debates? ?
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin

Relativism, Absolutism, and the Wizard of Oz
Since December, I have been arguing that those among us who seek the reward of the valiant in Christ more than the honorable of the world (see D&C 76) must pay particular attention to what is being said and done these days, least they err in many instances because they are taught the precepts of men (2 Nephi 28: 14).?
by James R. Birrell, Ed.D.
Associate Professor of Teacher Education, BYU

The Federal Marriage Amendment-Why Families Should Act to Preserve Marriage
Turn on the television virtually any evening.? Watch virtually any sitcom.? Within an hour, you will be subjected to a sophisticated form of ?sensitivity training? aimed at promoting ?tolerance? for and same-sex marriage.
by Professor Richard G. Wilkins
Director, The World Family Policy Center, Brigham Young University

Relativism, Social Justice, and our Declining Freedoms in America
"You guys have been discriminating for years. Now it's our turn!" Justice Thurgood Marshall to Justice William Douglas .
by James R. Birrell, Ed.D.
Associate Professor of Teacher Education, BYU

Bastiat’s Christian Defense of Morality in the Law
Sometimes secularism sounds legitimate.One of the more thoughtful arguments used by proponents of a secular state, or of a state which mandates the removal of all religious and moral speech and symbols from public life, is Frenchmen Frederic Bastiat’s 1840 classic treatise, The Law.

by Steve Farrell

Relativism and the Rise of Big Government in America
In the end more than they wanted freedom they wanted security and a comfortable life. And they lost all security, comfort and freedom. The Athenians finally wanted not to give to society, but for society to give to them. When the freedom they wished for most was the freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free. Sir Edward Gibbons, The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire.
by James R. Birrell, Ed.D.
Associate Professor of Teacher Education, BYU

Relativism and America’s Culture Wars
Professor Birrell responds to comments on his previous articles
by James R. Birrell, Ed.D.
Associate Professor of Teacher Education, BYU

Relativism and the New Meaning of Tolerance in America’s Culture Wars
A society that celebrates virtually anything would have to make tolerance a virtue.?
by James R. Birrell, Ed.D.
Associate Professor of Teacher Education, BYU

The Rise of Relativism and the Decline of Virtue and Freedom in America
Standing for right is not tyranny- it is compassion. The revolution of the 1960’s and 1970’s sought to establish a new relativist framework for morality and reality in America- do your own thing. This is the morality and reality of the self, i.e., each man, group or culture individually determining the nature and purpose of truth.
by James R. Birrell, Ed.D.
Associate Professor of Teacher Education, BYU

The Battlefield of the Mind
At this moment, the most fierce and destructive ideological war in all human history is being fought and is escalating hourly. We are waging it with the sharpest and most powerful communications weapons ever produced. What is this struggle? It is clearly a continuation of the war in heaven--in dimensions far beyond anything mortal man has ever before experienced. It is a battle for the hearts and minds of people.
A Conversation with Arch L. Madsen

No Sympathy for Hollywood
As hard as I try, I simply cannot summon up any sympathy for Hollywood, which has been making a fuss lately about all of the companies trying to clean up movies.
by Geoffrey Biddulph

Public Christianity
Nowadays, in order to justify each and every sin under the sun, each and every assault upon the moral fiber of a community or a nation—one approach fits all—the ne'er-do-well need only say the magic word, “privacy,” then sit down, relax and smile, while his or her “high and holy” foes—that is, any of us who dare to believe that ‘morality matters,’ that ‘unbridled license is incompatible with liberty,” that ‘unalienable rights come from God’—are forced to run and hide for cover.
by Steve Farrell

A Just War in Iraq?
In the days ahead, as President Bush and his administration turn up the volume on the drums of war to deafening new levels - it will be well to remember that some of us, even some of us conservatives, still recall and still support the early American and Christian "just war" doctrine.
by Steve Farrell

The “Wall of Separation between Church and State”: A Misunderstood Metaphor
In Daniel L. Dreisbach’s recently published Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation between Church and State, he says the “wall” has been too often misconceptualized to justify expressions of exclusion, intolerance, and bigotry toward religion.
by Daniel L. Dreisbach

The Parable of the Chess Club and Anti-Mormons
Anti-Mormons will always hide behind reasonable-sounding statements like, “we want to start a debate.” It’s amazing how many of these people who want to start a debate never go to church and try to debate actual Mormons. What they do instead is hide behind anti-Mormon web sites and books and try to pick off stragglers whose faith in the Church is weak for one reason or another. Thomas Murphy is sadly falling into the pattern.
by Geoffrey Biddulph

Time and Terror
The pro da mills are running at full tilt when it comes to "mainstream" media depictions of the Palestinian Israeli conflict.
by Steve Farrell

Christ Over Russia
Proving that not all news out of Russia persuades one that communism is on the rise again...
by Steve Farrell

Fighting for the Freedom of Others: More Than Just a Hobby?
Brother Young discusses the controversies, difficulties and triumphs of his chosen profession.
by Michael K. Young

Thou Shalt Not Profane God - Public or Private?
The laws of the land dictate some interesting things concerning profanity. What are your rights in private and public?
by Steve Farrell

Youth and Religion
The findings of the new survey could not be more straightforward: the more your teenager goes to church and participates in church groups, the less likely he or she is to drink, smoke, do drugs, skip school and participate in other self-destructive behavior
by Geoffrey Biddulph

Defending the Electoral College, Part 3: When a Majority Doesn't Work
Ending his three-part series, Steve Farrell notes, "Absolute reliance upon the wisdom of majorities without the balance and checks of other considerations, can get us into big trouble. De Tocqueville wrote in 1832: "If ever the free institutions of America are destroyed, that event will arise from the unlimited tyranny of the majority."
by Steve Farrell

In Defense of the Electoral College, Part 2: Protecting Minority Rights
Entrusting political power to imperfect human beings is rarely a safe idea. Such power tends to swell the head, corrupt the manner, afflict the soul and eventually make war on the neighbor of everyone who tastes of it.
by Steve Farrell

In Defense of the Electoral College, Part 1: A Check on Socialism
Because of all the brouhaha over the Electoral College that occurred in the year 2000, when a President of the United States was elected despite the fact that he lost the popular vote, there has been a growing chorus calling for an abandonment of the electoral college in favor of a more direct democracy, one which features one person, one vote.
by Steve Farrell

Coalition or Bust! Virtue or Vice?
Can one listen and love without tolerating or endorsing the unacceptable?. Can one reach out a helping hand to a fallen neighbor, without plunging headlong into the pit?
by Steve Farrell

License: Liberty's Friend or Foe?
Every act has a consequence. Experience, that cruel schoolmaster, teaches us that. But it's not as if the idea is lacking in proponents.
by Steve Farrell

Tough Love
A close friend of mine suffers from a common human malady - the inability to give tough love.
by Steve Farrell

Private Property: Right from God, Friend of Republics
To possess a memory is to be blessed with a priceless good. It is our link to the past, our guidepost to the present and our passport to the future. It is who we are, what we believe and how we fit in. It is that fixed vantage point in a world of confusion that gives us a degree of security, stability and moral direction.
by Steve Farrell

Enemies of Tyranny: Faith, Reason and the First Amendment
One of the great changes in thinking spawned by the American Revolution was that reason and revelation could and should work together to produce men and women of strong enough moral character that an experiment in self-government could succeed.
by Steve Farrell

Flag-Waving
When the University of California-Berkley discouraged displays of the American flag at its Sept. 11 memorial, it was a sign that student leaders just didn’t “get it.”
by Geoffrey Biddulph

When is Religion Forced?
Have you heard this one lately? 'Don't shove your religion down my throat!' In this hypersensitive age, who hasn't!

The U.S. Constitution:
Why Should we Care? Do we understand it?

Scriptures and prophets identify the U.S. Constitution, signed 215 years ago today, as monumentally significant. It should be maintained not just to protect Americans but "all flesh"! (D.&C. 101:77) This impels each of us to sharpen our understanding of, and support for, the U. S. Constitution.

The Way Out of the Wilderness
"I believe that we are in the wilderness, that we are in the wilderness because of too many lies told and too many lies believed, and that, if left unchecked, this habit of untruth will destroy us.
"
Mark Helprin
Novelist and Contributing Editor, The Wall Street Journal

Rebels They Were Not!
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Two dates in September should never be forgotten: September 17th, the date the American Founders finished their heaven-inspired Constitution, the capstone of a just revolution; and September 11th
by Steve Farrell

Why One Nation Under God Matters
Numerous principles of Constitutional law rest on the foundation belief that in America, God presides
by Steve Farrell

Gadianton Robbers and Latin America
One of the biggest mistakes of the early inhabitants of the Americas was to bring about the conditions that allowed the Gadianton robbers to prosper.
by Geoffrey Biddulph

How Far We've Come
Something remarkable happened in America's history.
by Michael K. Young

Girls Campaign for Modest Prom Attire
A group of LDS high school girls is objecting to what stores are offering for prom attire.
by Sally MacDonald Ooms
From the Overland Sun

Fighting for Families: The UN Battleground
A clash of philosophies about the future of children and families finds one of its key battlegrounds at the United Nations, and many Latter-day Saints have attended meetings there to defend the family from further erosion at the hands of those who would purposely undermine it. This is a report explaining how these meetings work and what happened at last week's World Summit for Children.
by Kathy Wall
Family Action Council, International United Nations Representative

In a Time of War, A Religion of Peace
In the wake of September 11, there was a huge increase in sympathy for religious faiths of all kinds. It did not take long for secular commentators uncomfortable with this new promotion of faith to fight back. Although many of these articles are not explicit, the message is that all religions cause extremism in God's name and therefore religions should be shunned.
by Geoffrey Biddulph

'Cheerful' Anti-religious Sentiments Flourish in Europe
by Michael K. Young

Booming Business Book
Leadership and Self-Deception (serialized on Meridian) is now a business book bestseller for a simple reason: Any book that is supposed to help a business must first help a life.

Human Rights: Brought Home from Japan
Michael K. Young, Dean of the George Washington Law School, shares his insight into international religious freedom.
by Michael K. Young

The End of Admiration
Harvard's Peter H. Gibbon talks about the media and the loss of heroes.
by Peter H. Gibbon

Q and A with Dale Van Atta, an LDS Expert on Terrorism
Dale Van Atta is an investigative reporter whose work has often taken him to the Middle East to probe the terrorists' murky underworld. For many years, he has been on the university lecture circuit speaking on terrorism where he predicted that we would face a major terrorist attack on our soil in the near future. Recently, Meridian interviewed Dale Van Atta to get his take on recent events.

An Open Letter to Americans: A Career Soldier's Reflections on the Terrorists
I was asked to look at the recent events through the lens of military history. I have joined the cast of thousands who have written an"open letter to Americans."
by Dr. Tony Kern, Lt. Col, USAF (Retired)

A Note on the Signers of the Declaration of Independence
Taken from Matthew Spalding's Independence Forever: The 225thAnniversary of the Fourth of July

The Saving Mission of Operation Kids: Do Media and Technology Have to Corrupt Our Children?
"The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children," says Dietrich Bonhoeffer. For Rick Larsen and Dennis Webb, two of the founders of Operation Kids, that is the test of morality of their company, whose goal is to use media and technology to enhance the lives of children.

Radical Theorists and Policy Makers Promote Idea of "Five Genders"
The attempt to stretch the definition of "gender" continues unabated within the halls of the UN, on college campuses and even in city governments.

A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue
Modern, "liberated" society has dropped modesty by the wayside.
by Wendy Shalit

The Population Bomb Fizzles Out
They have appeared like clockwork for decades - one United Nations report after another warning of ever-larger increases in world population, or what came to be known as the "Population Bomb."
by Elizabeth Marquardt
Affiliate Scholar

How the UN System Impacts Family Policy
The citizens of the world must be made aware—and quickly—of an important new reality: the United Nations not only sets international, but domestic, law and policy.
by Professor Richard G. Wilkins
Director, The World Family Policy Center, Brigham Young University

A World Fit for Children
Is ours a "World Fit for Children?" If not, what should be done? That is the topic of three international conferences in 2001 at the United Nations in New York City. The decisions made on these issues will affect how governments will work with children and families for the next ten years—and the documents are loaded with land mines.
by Debi Barmonde
United Families International, Executive Assistant

The United States Signs the International Criminal Court Statute: American Justice At the Crossroads
Without fanfare or advance notice President Clinton directed a United States Ambassador to sign the Rome Statute creating the International Criminal Court which raises issues of grave concern for people who value family and religion.
by Richard G. Wilkins
Professor of Law and Director, The World Family Policy Center

To "Think" or to "Feel"—That is the Question
It all begins by replacing the word "think" with the word "feel" - putting "feelings" on a higher intellectual plane than "thought" with regard to political issues and especially those related to right and wrong.
by Lisa S. Dean
From the "Endangered Liberties" Television Program

Leadership and Self-deception

Ever feel in a box, like you can't be as effective as you mean to be? A new leadership book based on Dr. Terry Warner's insights can spring you.

Leadership and Self-Deception Introduction

Part 1: Self-Deception and the "Box"
Ch. 1: Bud
Ch. 2: A Problem
Ch. 3: Self-Deception
Ch. 4: The Problem Beneath Other Problems
Ch. 5: Beneath Effective Leadership
Ch. 6: The Deep Choice That Determines Influence
Ch. 7: People or Objects
Ch. 8: Doubt

Part 2: How We Get in the Box
Ch. 9: Kate
Ch. 10: Questions
Ch. 11: Self-betrayal
Ch. 12: Characteristics of Self-betrayal
Ch. 13: Life in the Box
Ch. 14: Collusion
Ch. 15: Box Focus
Ch. 16: Box Problems

Part 3: How We Get out of the Box
Ch. 17: Lou

Ch. 18: Leadership in the Box
Ch. 19: Toward Being out of the Box
Ch. 20: Dead Ends
Ch. 21: The Way Out
Ch. 22: Leadership out of the Box
Ch. 23: Birth of a Leader
Ch. 24: Another Chance

To buy the book "Leadership and Self-Deception" and read the rest of its life-changing contents, see http://www.arbinger.com/org/index.html.

 

Participating in the Public Forum:
Why the Scouts Were Right to Ban Gay Activists as Leaders
Parents have the legal and the moral right to be concerned about youth leaders' values and conduct.
by Camille S. Williams

Can You Trust the Polls?
Something is replacing "We the People."
by Jack Anderson

UN 101
An alarm is growing ever more pitched among pro-family people that the UN is dangerously eroding the family and marriage, yet most of us know little about it. Here’s what you ought to know about the new, toxic wind that’s blowing at the UN–and what you won’t read in most reports about UN conferences. Why have Mormons suddenly taken such an interest in this international organization?
by Kathryn Balmforth
Director, World Family Policy Center

The Battlefield of the Mind: A Conversation with Arch L. Madsen
The war in heaven has a new location—right here on earth.

Honesty in Business
Without a foundation of ethics, the society falters.
Part 1
Part 2
by Marianne M. Jennings

Protecting Our Children from a Plague of Pessimism
by Michael Medved
Author, Hollywood vs. America

Lucifer on the Loose
Why all the violence? Teenagers give ten reasons.
by Jack Anderson

Morality Beyond the Excuses
The enemies to morality in the culture war somehow infiltrated my home.
by Marianne M. Jennings

 

 

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