''By Common Consent'' (BCC) is a

group blog A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

featuring commentary and discussions, especially regarding the

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

of and

current events News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. N ...

within

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church). It was founded in 2004 and is one of several blogs in the group known as the Mormon

Bloggernacle The Mormon blogosphere (often referred to as the Bloggernacle) is a segment of the blogosphere focused on issues related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The term "Bloggernacle" was coined by individuals within th ...

. According to the blog's mission statement, BCC was founded to "provide a thoughtful, enjoyable, and reasonable place to post and discuss

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

topics."

Name

The blog is named after the 1830 revelation given to

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

, founder of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by ...

, which instructed that "All things shall be done by common consent in the church, by much prayer and faith, for all things you shall receive by faith." This statement is now canonized as

Doctrine and Covenants The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chur ...

26:2 in the LDS Church. Although "By Common Consent" was used immediately as a working title for the blog, readers were asked to give suggestions on a permanent name. Suggested names included: * "The Rameumptom" — Before moving to the current

URL A uniform resource locator (URL), colloquially known as an address on the Web, is a reference to a resource that specifies its location on a computer network and a mechanism for retrieving it. A URL is a specific type of Uniform Resource Identi ...

, the blog's URL was rameumptom.blogspot.com * "

Zeezrom In the Book of Mormon, Zeezrom () is a Nephite lawyer who, through deceit and money, seeks to gain power among the Nephites through his vocation. Alma the Younger and his missionary companion Amulek teach Zeezrom in Ammonihah. At first he resist ...

, Esq." — An homage to the heavy presence of legal professionals in the Mormon blogging community * " Cureloms & Cumoms" * "By the Regular Sign" — A reference to the custom in the LDS Church to show support for a given proposition by raising the right hand * "Fifth Nephi" — A reference to the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...

's four books of Nephi * "Times & Seasons 2" — At the time BCC was established, Times & Seasons was the dominant Mormon blog * "Pay On Gross" — A reference to a common debate among

Mormons Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's d ...

about whether

tithing A tithing or tything was a historic English legal, administrative or territorial unit, originally ten hides (and hence, one tenth of a hundred). Tithings later came to be seen as subdivisions of a manor or civil parish. The tithing's leader or ...

should be paid on net or gross income.

Content and style

Although ''By Common Consent'' was originally created to provide a place for more politically liberal members of the LDS Church to discuss issues, a vast majority of the content found on BCC is not political in nature. The topics of posts frequently address practical application of tenets of the LDS faith, Mormon history, analysis of ancient and modern scripture, poetry, music, humor, and current events. The blog gets updated daily by the "permas" (permanents) with additional posts provided frequently by guest bloggers. The blog supports comments from readers and aims to maintain an environment that fosters respectful interfaith dialogue, even though the majority of participants in comment discussions are adherents to the LDS Church. It includes articles, discussions, scholarly research, satire, devotionals, and humor.

Recurring features

Since 2004, BCC has introduced several recurring features, including: * Friday Firestorm: An open thread in which readers debate short, out-of-context passages taken from the scriptures or sermons from LDS Church leaders. * The Illuminated Matsby: A digitally manipulated image by Matt Page blending

Mormon culture The basic beliefs and traditions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) have a cultural impact that distinguishes church members, practices and activities. The culture is geographically concentrated in the Mormon Co ...

, doctrine, history, and pop culture is presented without context or explanation as "an image of faith and devotion." * Thursday Morning Quickie: An open thread in which readers debate short passages taken from an LDS youth program manual from 1956 on topics pertaining to dating, marriage, love, and related topics. * The Top 10 LDS Musicians You've Never Heard Of: A series of guest posts promoting new musical artists who do not write or perform LDS music, focusing on the artistic and musical style of the featured musician and their life experiences. * Police Beat Roundtable (PBR): A series in which 4-6 contributors discuss humorous entries from the police reports of ''The Daily Universe'', Brigham Young University's campus newspaper. * You Make the Call: As explained by permablogger Kevin Barney in the first edition of ''You Make the Call'': "A friend reminded me of those old commercials featuring a close play in an

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

game, with the tagline ''You make the call!''. The idea was for the TV viewer to pretend he is the referee and call the play how he sees it, and then compare the actual call the referee made in the game. So, in that spirit...this is a game where we examine a close play, and in the comments section of this blog, presumably without the benefit of guidance by

the Spirit The Spirit may refer to: * Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, p ...

, we state our case for the call the official should make." * Correlation: An Uncorrelated History: A series that details the cultural preconditions, emergence, historical development, and current configuration of the LDS Church's Correlation program. * Theological Polls: A poll is embedded in the blog presenting readers with a question, typically related to some obscure or speculative element of Mormon doctrine or policy, often forcing respondents to choose between dichotomous or polemic answers. * Church-Hacker: A series inspired by Lifehacker.

Contributors

Over the years, BCC has featured a number of authors from the LDS community. The contributors to the blog come from backgrounds including

homemaking Homemaking is mainly an American English, American and Canadian English, Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

social sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

, and

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

. Religiously, the contributors represent "a varied swath of their lived religion," with different approaches to faith, doctrine, and religious living. Additionally, several of the contributors write for other online or print publications on topics such as literature, politics, pop culture, and science. Note: the asterisk (*) denotes original authors.

Current (As of 2024)

Hodges B. : Holds a master's degree in religious studies from Georgetown University and works at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young. Cynthia L. : Holds a PhD in Computer Science. J. Stapley : Chemist and executive at a startup firm; also independent historian of Mormonism and member of the editorial board of the ''

Journal of Mormon History The Mormon History Association (MHA) is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the study and understanding of all aspects of Mormon history to promote understanding, scholarly research, and publication in the field. MHA was founded in ...

.'' ;John C. : Librarian and founder of the Mormon blog ''Faith Promoting Rumor'' ;Karen H.* : Washington D.C.-based attorney, holds B.A. in Russian, Masters degree in Security Studies ;Kevin Barney : Tax attorney, Mormon

apologist Apologetics (from Greek ) is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and recommended their fa ...

, and expert in Biblical languages. ; Kristine Haglund* : Editor, '' Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought''. Current research (): Mormon aesthetic theory and practice; history of Mormon women's publications, including blogs; Mormon women's and children's history; Mormon hymnody and children's songs ;Rebecca J. : Writer, mother.Russell Arben Fox : Assoc. Prof. of

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

, at

Friends University Friends University is a Private university, private Nondenominational Christianity, nondenominational Christian university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It was founded in 1898. The main building was originally built in 1886 for Garfield Uni ...

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

. From 2008, Book Review Co-Editor, ''

Dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American and British English spelling differences, American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literature, literary and theatrical form that depicts suc ...

'' ;Steve Evans* : Principal founder of ''By Common Consent''. Prolific commentator on Mormonism and new media, and, Mormonism and social memory. Wisconsin resident. Lived in Seattle with his family . ;Steven P. : Assoc. Prof., Dept. of Integrative Biology at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

, from 2000, teaching History and Philosophy of Biology and Bioethics. , authored books, poetry, a novel and essays with ''Dialogue,''

Covenant Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...

BYU Religious Studies Center The Religious Studies Center (RSC) at Brigham Young University (BYU) sponsors and publishes scholarship on the Culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, culture, History of the Latter Day Saint movement, history, Standard Works ...

, ''Irreantum'', Amer. Tolkien Society, ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' and elsewhere. ;Tracy M. : Tracy McKay, writer, graduate student at

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

(Fall 2012). ;W.V. Smith : Professor of Mathematics at

and independent historian. Author of ''Textual Studies of the Doctrine and Covenants: The Plural Marriage Revelation'' (Greg Kofford Books, 2018).

Previous ()

John C. Hamer John C. Hamer (born 1970) is an American-Canadian historian and Cartography, mapmaker. His research has focused primarily on the history of the Latter Day Saint movement, authoring several books on the topic. Hamer is a leading expert on various ...

: Independent researcher, historian, and mapmaker * Margaret Blair Young: Author and documentarian *Aaron B. Former Seattle attorney. * Adam S. Miller *Brad Kirmer , PhD candidate in

sociocultural anthropology Sociocultural anthropology is a term used to refer to social anthropology and cultural anthropology together. It is one of the four main branches of anthropology. Sociocultural anthropologists focus on the study of society and culture, while ofte ...

at the University of Michigan, with interests in

semiotics Semiotics ( ) is the systematic study of sign processes and the communication of meaning. In semiotics, a sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and unintentional meaning or feelings to the sign's interpreter. Semiosis is a ...

Marxist theory Marxist philosophy or Marxist theory are works in philosophy that are strongly influenced by Karl Marx's materialist approach to theory, or works written by Marxists. Marxist philosophy may be broadly divided into Western Marxism, which drew f ...

and

Christian conversion Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person that brings about changes in what sociologists refer to as the convert's "root reality" including their social behaviors, thinking and ethics. The sociol ...

. Contributed an article about early Mormon economics to " Mormonism: A Historical Encyclopedia" in 2010. *Kyle M. :Blogger, musician, advertising executive, former missionary in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. *Miles M :Writer, former missionary in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. *M. Norbert Kilmer: :European high school teacher. *Matt Page :Graphic designer and artist. *Natalie B. :Law student. *Ronan JH : European teacher. *Sunny Smart *Sam MB : Physician and medical researcher in Utah. *Scott B. : Economist in Southern California and proud alumni of

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal ...

Guests

BCC also features content produced by guest authors from the Latter-day Saints community, including sociologist Armand L. Mauss, biographer Gregory A. Prince, and

parenting Parenting or child rearing promotes and supports the physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and educational development from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child and not exclusively for a biologica ...

author

Richard Eyre Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre (born 28 March 1943) is an English film, theatre, television and opera director. Eyre has received numerous accolades including three Laurence Olivier Awards as well as nominations for six BAFTA Awards and two ...

. Additionally, BCC periodically posts interviews with members of the LDS community, with comedian and author

Elna Baker Elna Baker (born January 21, 1982) is an American writer and comedian. She has worked for the radio program ''This American Life'' since 2010, and is currently a producer. She has made appearances on ''The Moth'', BBC Radio 4 and ''Studio 360''. ...

, and

Michael Otterson Michael R. Otterson was the managing director of Public Affairs for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 2008 to 2016. In April 2016, the church announced that he would retire at the end of August 2016 and be replace ...

, the former managing director of Public Affairs for the LDS Church.

Awards

Since the initiation of the Bloggernacle's annual " Niblet" awards in 2005, BCC has consistently won the award for "Best Big Blog." In 2009, BCC authors won the Niblets in the categories of "Best Overall Blogger," "Funniest Thread," "Best Humorous Post," "Best Historical Post," "Best Personal Post," "Best Doctrinal Post," "Best Current Events Post," "Best Podcast," "Best Book/Article Review," and "Best Contribution to the Bloggernacle."

Alliance with ''Dialogue''

Several of the blog's long-term guest contributors are also editors or board members of '' Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought''. Kristine Haglund, one of BCC's permabloggers, is currently the Editor in Chief of ''Dialogue'', while Ronan JH and Steven Peck, two other permabloggers, serve as ''Dialogue'' editors, and other current and former permabloggers contribute to the ''Dialogue'' editorial board.

BCC Press

The editors at BCC inaugurated the non-profit book publisher BCC Press in April 2017, with the intent to publish books of Mormon-themed "philosophy, theology, history, scriptural exegesis, fiction, poetry, personal essays, and memoirs." Serving as president of the press is Steve Evans, attorney and popular Mormon blogger.

Michael Austin (writer) Michael Austin (born 1966) is an American academic, university administrator, author, and critic, specialising in the study of Mormon literature. In 2022, he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Mormon Letters. He ...

is the press's director.

''BCC Zeitcast''

BCC is also the home of the ''BCC Zeitcast'', one of the Bloggernacle's few

podcasts A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an episodic series of digital audio files that users can download to a personal device or stream to listen to at a time of their ...

. The ''BCC Zeitcast'' is typically approximately 30 minutes in length and takes the form of a

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

, with anywhere from two to five contributors participating in a given episode. The podcast consists of a free-flowing conversation on Bloggernacle meta-topics, popular culture, current events, religious topics, or news from the world of

Mormonism Mormonism is the theology and religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationism, Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to va ...

. The first ''BCC Zeitcast'' was posted on January 11, 2007, with subsequent episodes recorded and posted semi-regularly until Spring 2009. During this period, the primary contributors were permabloggers from BCC such as Steve Evans, Ronan JH, Amri Brown, and Brad Kramer, but would occasionally feature guests. The ''BCC Zeitcast'' returned in December 2009, with largely new permabloggers contributing to the new season.

References

External links

* * ;Multi-media *

on the Provo Herald's April 11, 2017 'What Say Ye?' podcast {{authority control Blogs about Mormons and Mormonism Internet properties established in 2004 21st-century American non-fiction writers