Wednesday, February 6, 2008

BiV's Blog of the Month

The hottest Mormon blog I've seen in the first month of 2008 has got to be

Mormon

Matters
.





And I don't say that just because I have a crush on the cool and erudite John Hamer.♥
I really think John Dehlin has another winner in this blog. First of all, he has chosen several (21 right now, and growing!) bloggers to join him on what used to be a podcast dedicated to--you guessed it--Mormon matters. The podcast was lively and entertaining, but didn't reach nearly the audience that it does now as an active posting medium. And when I say active, I really mean it. There are sometimes 3 or 4 posts a day that go up on the site. So far they have all been of interest. Mormon Matters deals with diverse topics such as Chris Heimerdinger's new film, early patriarchal blessings, non-member family members at temple marriages, and the Church's position on biblical interpretation, to name just a few. The comments are just as well-informed and fascinating as the posts.

I'm sure most of my readers are familiar with this blog by now. But don't miss all of its awesome features:

The handy author profile on the sidebar allows you to view Chris Bigelow in a tie-dyed T-shirt, and ponder such things as how Jeff Spector could have joined the Church in June 1982 and been sealed to his wife in the Oakland Temple in August 1982.

The "Notes From All Over" are more numerous and comprehensive than those found on the sidebars of other blogs. They include calls for papers, announcements of retreats and conferences, studies and national coverage of the Church, as well as YouTube picks and humorous anecdotes.

I think that with this blog, John Dehlin has accomplished his goal in having informative discussion on all aspects of Mormon history and culture from all sides of the idealogical spectrum, while remaining positive toward the LDS Church. I expect that the podcast will continue as well, and I'm hoping that John will add more females to his cast of bloggers.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

"and I'm hoping that John will add more females to his cast of bloggers."

Are you volunteering?

Clay said...

Thanks for the love! I, too would like to see more female bloggers on our panel. Although we have a large panel now, odds are that will eventually thin out to a more normal size, as some folks' initial enthusiasm wains or personal lives make it hard to keep blogging. That is all based on totally generic odds-guessing.

Bored in Vernal said...

Knowing John, I'm sure that females are not being disregarded. I'm confident that the sex ratio will get better as time goes on.

John Hamer said...

Hey BiV, Thanks for the shout out & the endorsement. I drove through Vernal last summer on my way to Sunstone and I was looking for a picture to post to prove it. I took a bunch of pictures of the temple, but none of me there. I guess I'll have to go back!

John Nilsson said...

Thanks for your rave review! It's nice to see others are catching on to the new format. I will read the details in the other blogger's bios more carefully from now on!

Stephen M (Ethesis) said...

Thanks for the link!

Bored in Vernal said...

Just look at all those boys sending thank-you letters! I'd say they've been taught well by their mothers!

Jeff Spector said...

"Jeff Spector could have joined the Church in June 1982 and been sealed to his wife in the Oakland Temple in August 1982.

How did it happen??? One word--- typo. And, John paid us to come here and thank you for highlighting our blog. But we all refused his money. We did it because we love you!

Bored in Vernal said...

Darn it, Jeff. I was hoping for a more interesting story than that!