The Book of Mormon...the Musical!!

Since I was just posting information on the LDS Church not 30 seconds ago, I thought it might be enjoyable to talk about the Book of Mormon, the musical!  While not quite the same as the actual Book of Mormon, obviously, this musical has been a huge success.  Here's a synopsis from a Broadway website: "The Book of Mormon follows two young missionaries who are sent to Uganda to try to convert citizens to the Mormon religion. One missionary, Elder Price, is an enthusiastic go-getter with a strong dedication to his faith, while his partner, Elder Cunningham, is a socially awkward but well meaning nerd whose tendency to embroider the truth soon lands him in trouble. Upon their arrival in Africa, Elders Price and Cunningham learn that in a society plagued by AIDS, poverty and violence, a successful mission may not be as easy as they expected."  Funnily enough, it was written by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone as well as Avenue Q's Robert Lopez.  This information should provide any viewer with an inkling as to what type of humor is present in the musical- it has been called an "equal opportunity offender."  No surprises there for something out of the heads of the guys who made South Park.  The Mormon Church issued this response as a reaction to the musical: "The production may attempt to entertain audiences for an evening, but the Book of Mormon as a volume of scripture will change people's lives forever by bringing them closer to Christ."  Unsurprisingly, it seems that they might not find the musical that amusing.

 

The Mormon Church

I was looking up Mormonism for the final and figured I might as well do a blog post on them while I was at it. I knew quite a few people from my hometown that were Mormons but I never quite understood what exactly they believed. So, I thought it would be interesting to do a bit of background info on them! The LDS Church (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) was officially established in 1830 by Joseph Smith in upstate New York. There, Smith, who apparently was only a farm boy, became to be seen as a prophet when he received visions from God and discovered what would become the Book of Mormon on some gold plates buried in a hill. http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/History_of_the_Church
After leaving New York, the Mormons, under Brigham Young, eventually settled in Utah and, today, Salt Lake City is the center of their church. Mormonism is a faith centered almost exclusively in the U.S. and today they have over fourteen million members. The basics beliefs of the LDS Church were laid out by Joseph Smith himself in “The Thirteen Articles of Faith” and include a belief that both the Bible and the Book of Mormon were divinely inspired. They also absolutely believe in revelation and visionsand follow strict rules concerning chastity, modesty,virtue, etc. They do not hold with the doctrine of original sin, and they believe that the New Jerusalem will be built upon the American continent.
http://www.religionfacts.com/mormonism/beliefs/13_articles.htm

Divine Science

I randomly came across a religion called Divine Science the other day and I didn't know much about it.  So, here we are.  I thought I might as well post some background info about it! It was founded in 1887 by Nona Lovell Brooks, Fannie Brooks James, and Aletha Brooks. While practicing the belief of the Omniprescent of God, they came into contact with a woman named Malinda Cramer in San Francisco who was practicing a similar principle. Both woman began practicing this principle after having experienced almost miraculous healings. The two similar schools of thought came together and Divine Science was born. Thus, Divine Science in the U.S. started in two places: San Francisco and Denver. It is basically a spiritual religion that believes in the “oneness” and omniprescence of God with the goal of releasing material desires and becoming one with this God. It is practiced by “turning attention from the outer visible effects of this world to the inner world of the First Cause” and some examples and teachings of Jesus Christ are followed as well. Divine Science is still around today, and is estimated to have around 5,000 members.

http://www.divinescience.org/index.html

The Shakers...and love!

I believe they were briefly brought up in class a few days ago, so I thought I might post something about this article.  But first, let's do a bit of background information on the Shakers themselves.  The Shakers were a new religious movement founded in the 19th century by Mother Ann Lee and are more formally known as the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing.  In a nutshell, their core principles are: restorationism, celibacy, communitarianism, pacifism, simplicity, and God as a father-mother.  Although at their height there were nearly 5,000 members, today there are apparently only three Shakers left, all of whom reside in Sabbathday Lake, Maine.  Due to the celibacy rule, it's hard for them to get new members.  However, there used to be four Shakers until very recently.  This article below describes the love story between a Boston Globe journalist, Stacey Chase, and the youngest of the remaining Shakers, Brother Wayne.  Apparently, Chase was sent to the Sabbathday Lake community to write a story on the Shakers when she met Wayne Smith.  This started what sounds like a romance straight out of some random movie.  You know, the whole star-crossed lovers, secret phone calls, "forbidden love" type thing.  Anyway, what eventually happened was that Wayne renounced his vow of celibacy after 26 years and married Stacey at a Methodist Church in Vermont.

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2010/02/28/he_left_the_shakers_for_love/

Catholic Church Excommunicates Brazilian Priest

Yet again, my daily excursion through Yahoo news has provided me with a blog post.  This article deals with a Brazilian priest that has been excommunicated by the Catholic Church for possessing views seen as too liberal.  Father Roberto Francisco Daniel, aka "Padre Beto," was accused of heresy and schism after "betraying the promise of fealty to the church."  Evidently, Father Roberto had defended homosexuality and open marriage in several online videos.  Seen by some as a "rebel son" who habitually "crosses the line," Daniel did not seem to be that upset about his excommunication.  On the contrary, he stated that "I feel honored to belong to the long list of people who have been murdered and burned alive for thinking and searching for knowledge."
http://news.yahoo.com/catholic-church-excommunicates-brazil-priest-liberal-views-212205334.html

China Comments on Religion

While conducting my usual routine of scrolling through the Yahoo News articles, I came across one that dealt with China and religion, called "China says aims to banish superstition, promote knowledge."  Apparently, China experienced more than just an economic boom in recent years.  It also has experienced an explosion of religion, having an estimated 100 million believers- half of which are Christian and Muslim while the other half are Buddhist/Daoist.  Head of the State Administration of Religious Affairs, Wang Zuoan, hypothesizes that this has occurred because people are desiring reassurance in an "increasingly complex world."  Although the Chinese government, ruled by the Communist Party, is officially atheist, they have conceded the fact that sometimes religion is capable of producing social harmony.  However, that still isn't stopping them from trying to get their citizens to establish what they see as a "correct world view," and to deal with problems scientifically instead of superstitiously.  That being said, they have accepted the fact that this will be a long process because, as Zuoan puts it, "Religion has been around for a very long time, and if we rush to try to push for results and want to immediately 'liberate' people from the influence of religion, then it will have the opposite effect and push people in the opposite direction."
http://news.yahoo.com/china-says-aims-banish-superstition-promote-knowledge-055415307.html

Messiah

One of the most famous and beloved pieces of music ever written is Handel's Messiah.  It is normally played at Christmastime (although it premiered on Easter), and is most recognizable through the Hallelujah Chorus.  While George Frederic Handel was considered a successful German composer and one of the most notable composers of the Baroque time period, the writing of Messiah still seems to be kind of an unlikely story.  Born in Germany in 1685, Handel first moved to Italy in attempt to compose opera.  This was largely a failure, however, so Handel moved back to Germany and then eventually to England, where he would write and perform for King George himself.  However, this relationship was often up and down, and Handel eventually fell out of favor.  In 1737, he apparently had a debilitating stroke that both caused blurry vision and paralyzed his right arm, making it impossible for him to play or conduct.  On top of this, he was not the best businessman; this left him rather deep in debt.  It was in this situation and state of mind that Handel came across a liberetto by Charles Jennens, which was divided into three parts and dealt with all aspects of the story of Jesus Christ, the Messiah.  This story would provide the inspiration that would lead to Handel's unlikely composition of a Christian oratorio- this oratorio would become one of the most celebrated Christian musical pieces of all time: Messiah.  In fact, while writing the most well known part of this composition, the Hallelujah Chorus, Handel claimed that "I did think I saw heaven open, and saw the very face of God."
http://blog.beliefnet.com/bibleandculture/2009/12/handels-messiah----the-story-behind-the-classic.html

Here's a link to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing the Hallelujah Chorus:
http://youtu.be/S4BWhvIlFVE