Welcome to the Bloggernacle back bench: a comfortable place to observe, learn and discuss.

The Bloggernacle, if you don't know, is the unofficial title that has been given to the world of Mormon-themed Internet blog sites. The topics range from the general to the specific. Some are individual musings while others are collective efforts. And the themes extend from the intensely orthodox to the stunningly controversial.

Why a back bench? People covet the back bench of the chapel. Whether you are late, need a quick exit for a fussy child, want extra leg room or hope to catch a quick snooze, the back bench is the place where you can pay attention to the meeting without the meeting paying much attention to you. This same philosophy governs this column since I will be your unofficial back bench guide through the last week's Bloggernacle posts. If we were sitting in a meeting, I would be the whisperer who told you what you missed during that quick snooze.

If you read on, you will find what I call my Power Picks, Insightful Comments, Forgotten Gems, New Blogs and more. Click on the links to jump into the blogs for additional information or to join the dialogue. And what's fun is that the Bloggernacle is not only ever-changing, but it's ever-growing.

EmWJ is my blog alter-ego. Nice to meet you. Now enough of this intro, we have blogs to discover!

Power Pick — As you might expect, the death and funeral of President Gordon B. Hinckley and the reorganization of the First Presidency dominated the Bloggernacle this past week. Many blogs posted the news, including A Bird's Eye View and Temple Study posted the news, some within minutes of it breaking. Just a few numbers to consider: 40/50, or 40 posts on President Hinckley's passing out of 50 clicked-thru blogs. And 18/50, or 18 out of those 50 blogs, mentioned the reorganized first presidency. And I'm sure there were many more reminiscences about President Hinckley as well as reaction to the reorganization scattered throughout the Bloggernacle. This is not even counting all the comments!

Powerful? Yes. The blogs serve as a gathering place for the online Mormon community to reflect, in the case of President Hinckley's death, or to discuss, in the case of the new First Presidency announcement. So cool!

For more numbers, check out "Internet Activity Around President Hinckley" on LDScio.org.