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