EGG ON MY FACE: Kathleen Flake is LDS. My fault for leaping to the assumption that a professor of religious history at Vanderbilt was not LDS. Thanks for the comments that corrected me. Sigh….

As Latter-day Saints, we (well, I, but I suspect most of you as well) reflexively brace for misunderstandings and misrepresentations in non-LDS coverage of our doctrines, society, and practices. So it was refreshing — and moving [but mistaken on my part!] — to read this insightful piece by Kathleen Flake from the On Religion website about President Hinckley’s funeral:

The Latter-day Saints buried their prophet on Saturday. Thousands attended the service in person and millions more faithful watched in chapels around the globe, as well as on the internet. What they saw was an unusually personal ceremony for a very public man who led and to large degree defined the contemporary Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Notwithstanding the numbers and titles of participants, Gordon Hinckley’s funeral was a family affair both in word and sacrament. It was an extraordinary display of what makes Mormonism tick.

Be sure to read the whole thing. Hat tip to the Deseret News LDS Newsline. ..bruce..