Miles at 100

On May 26, 1926, Miles Dewey Davis III was born in Alton, IL. The son of a dentist and a music teacher, he grew up in a racially mixed neighborhood in East St. Louis. By the time he was in high school, Miles was gigging locally with other jazz musicians. At some point, he heard Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, early progenitors of bebop, and knew that was what he had to do. To do bebop, though (or, at least, to hang out with Bird and Dizzy), he had to…

https://bycommonconsent.com/2026/05/26/miles-at-100/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

That Time Belle Spafford Slapped Down 3,500 Bishops

Belle Spafford had been president of the recently renamed Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for just 18 months when the reports began to come in. Despite clear instructions in the Welfare Handbook, bishops were not calling on Relief Society Presidents to do in home needs assessments for struggling families. Records showed ...

https://bycommonconsent.com/2026/05/24/that-time-belle-spafford-slapped-down-3500-bishops/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

Shaking with style: at the movies with Mother Ann Lee

Fifty-six years before Joseph Smith* gathered a small band of followers in Fayette, New York to establish his own Church of Christ, Ann Lee and eight other “Shakers” — the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing — arrived in New York City from England.

https://bycommonconsent.com/2026/05/19/shaking-with-style-at-the-movies-with-mother-ann-lee/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

America’s 250th: Lesson Strategies for Challenging Classrooms

If you're like me, you may be anticipating problems with the May 31 Fifth Sunday lesson. It seems to me that a teacher could plan a simple, meaningful lesson to build unit cohesiveness as you celebrate the blessings of freedom together. Here's what I'd do:

https://bycommonconsent.com/2026/05/16/americas-250th-lesson-strategies-for-challenging-classrooms/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

America’s 250th: Defending our Divinely Inspired Declaration?

Both Michael and Sam have shared some thoughts about how to approach the material provided by the Church as a guide to the upcoming “special 5th Sunday lesson” planned for May 31st. Those materials insist that the aim of the Church in instituting this special event isn’t to provide “a history lesson or a political discussion,” but rather to invite members to rejoice in the blessings of religious freedom. But…

https://bycommonconsent.com/2026/05/14/americas-250th-defending-our-divinely-inspired-declaration/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

Book Announcement: Latter-day Eloquence

We're happy to have this guest post from Ben Crosby and Isaac Richards, the editors of a new collection of LDS Sermons. The book is magnificently wide-ranging (as you can see from the preview here, including the voices of church leaders like Eliza R. Snow, Emmeline Wells, and James E. Talmage; politicians like Jeff Flake and Mitt Romney, as well as Romney's mother Lenore; scholars like Kate Holbrook, Melissa Inouye, Spencer…

https://bycommonconsent.com/2026/05/12/book-announcement-latter-day-eloquence/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

America’s 250th: The Finger of God and the U.S. Constitution

On Sunday, May 31, the Church has asked congregations across the United States to use the second hour to "discuss the importance of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and how these documents support religious freedom and our God-given agency." MDH has already offered some thoughts on the video that the Church has provided; a handful of the rest of us also want to chime in and discuss ways…

https://bycommonconsent.com/2026/05/11/americas-250th-the-finger-of-god/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

America’s 250th: Reactions to the Christofferson/Cook Video

The Church recently released a video/discussion guide that is to be used in Wards and Branches across the United States on May 31st. It is connected to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. I watched the video. Here are some quick reactions: 1. President Christofferson and Elder Cook frame their entire conversation within the context of "moral agency." For me, this framing is honestly, a…

https://bycommonconsent.com/2026/05/09/americas-250th-reactions-to-the-christofferson-cook-video/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

On Turnip Greens and Temples

We fought an angel and finally agreed to build a temple in Mississippi.

https://bycommonconsent.com/2026/05/07/on-turnip-greens-and-temples/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

AI Slop and the Superlative Church

Maybe you've seen it---a couple days ago, a pseudonymous account over on former-Twitter posted about the LDS Church's humanitarian1 efforts throughout the world. So impressive is the Church's work in this regard that, according to this account, the Church's humanitarian efforts "led all faith-based donors and provided more in total expenditures than the EU and the United States." Per the screenshotted list provided, UNICEF, World Food…

https://bycommonconsent.com/2026/05/05/ai-slop-and-the-superlative-church/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social