Under The Banner Of Heaven or Abuse?
“…Watching the hit series, Under the Banner of Heaven, take liberties to correlate pervasive domestic abuse with uniquely Mormon religious beliefs has seemed to strike an unexpected chord with society at large. Except it’s not unexpected at all—at least not for those members who have encountered the garden variety of similar situations portrayed…”
Rules For Men Who Want To Be Decent Humans
“…I want to be clear here: Men are continually operating under the assumption that their feelings and comfort must always take precedence over the participation and safety of women within the community. And this hurts women. Period. This makes our community unsafe. Period. This creates a lot of the same problems we all experienced in the church. Period…”
What The Christmas Message Means to Me
The Christmas message is always inspiring. A young, first-time mother facing social ostracism gives birth in the most humble of circumstances far from home after a long journey. Surrounded by farm animals and their smell, laying in hay Mary gave birth to our Savior. The Christmas story is one of hope for a brighter future, of love for the immigrant, the refugee, and the cast out, of strength in the face of adversity, and of devotion to our God.
An Exploration of Exploitative Spiritual Practices Within The Mormon Cultural Context
“. . . I struggled greatly to decide what was ultimately more important–my spiritual beliefs that were precious and to my heart or my own self-worth and dignity that would be preserved by honoring the truth of what happened in the bishops office that night. There was no right answer in my mind, as denying what happened felt like a betrayal to myself, while sharing it felt like a betrayal to my religion . . . “
Interview with Matt Page about new comic series, Future Day Saints
If you've been following Mormon culture for the last few years, chances are you've heard of Matt Page. Whether it was through his amazing Mormon-themed photoshop memes, or his prayer candles for important individuals in Latter Day Saint history, or General Conference...
“Panpsychism”: is the universe alive with consciousness? Some parallels with early Mormon theology.
“Thus, Joseph believed that ‘spirit’ (in the traditional Christian sense) is itself comprised of some type of material matter. He also believed some version of the idea that spirit, which is conscious and self-aware (D&C 93), is material at the most fundamental level (D&C 131). This is not too different from the idea of panpsychism now being discussed by mainstream physicists and philosophers.”
— Once and future permablogger Benjamin Knoll illustrates some parallels between early Mormon theology and a recent physics theory of consciousness.
Christ Kept His Scars–And We Can Too
“…It our our scars, our mistakes, our blemishes, and our darkest moments that lend itself to true and genuine empathy, connection, love, acceptance and belonging–all of the things Christ taught and all of the things he embodied…”
Is Being Headstrong And Unruly A Bad Thing?
Three years ago. It happened. I have replayed the events in my mind a thousand times. Even doing trauma work (a lot of it) to disentangle them from the gray space where they seem to be stuck, bouncing around like ping pong balls that never stop. I was injured, harmed....
The Salvation Experience- Mormon Style
Growing up Baptist in the Southern Bible Belt, I was constantly faced with one critical question: Are you saved? I could not escape that question, whether in church or at Christian school. And it was a matter of your eternal destiny: heaven or hell. The problem with...
Survey analysis shows Latter-day Saints are generally supportive of the Trump policy agenda, but not as much as Evangelicals
“Stronger religiosity matters a little in driving a few Latter-day Saints away from Donald Trump and his policy agenda, but for the most part religion matters less than partisanship in driving the political attitudes of American Latter-day Saints when it comes to Trump and Trumpism.”
— Permablogger Benjamin Knoll discusses a recent analysis of religion and support for President Trump’s agenda
Who Mary Is To Me: A Survivor’s Story
“….How many times did Mary whisper ‘Me Too’ in the quiet corners of the ally ways to other women who faced a plight she knew too well. Did other women find her, seek her — was she their rock? Did she share her story in hushed tones, telling other women, “I believe you. Yes, for some survivors — Mary didn’t just birth the Savior, she simply is a savior….”
Dear Church: Stop The Trauma And Start The Healing
“…You may have heard of Trauma-Informed Care. It is all the rage right now and for good reason. More organizations and faith communities are adopting trauma-informed policies in order to ensure the health and well-being of their members. But one that hasn’t, at least not yet, is my church: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints……and the non-trauma informed….”
Three Lesbians and a Bisexual Woman Receive Revelation
A little over five years ago, I could finally be honest about my sexuality. Prior to that, my life was pretty much what one would consider very active and faithful in the LDS church. I went on a mission and served in many leadership callings, solidly focused on living what I thought at the time was God’s will for me.
Call Him and Tell Him to Come Home
Why do we assume missionaries should stay in the field when a family member dies?
BY THEIR FRUITS YE SHALL KNOW THEM
In 2014 Elder Henry B. Eyring gave a talk in Rome in which he spoke of his feelings before marrying his wife decades earlier. He told the story as evidence of the happiness and personal fulfillment that can come with marriage. As a single man whose work...
Dear Church: Stop Preaching Forgiveness Without Teaching Boundaries
“…Forgiveness should never be taught or framed as a necessary requirement for healing in situations of abuse, profound mistreatment, or exploitation. Instead, a clear and distinctive caveat should be made that in abusive situations in which a person has been victimized and traumatized, the requirement for forgiveness is absolved from the victim’s burden and the primary focus should be on safety and healing, however and whenever that may come organically to the victim…”
LGBTQ Mormon Crisis
Two Printable handout for bishops and stake presidents that talks empirically about LGBTQ suicides:
The LGBTQ Mormon Crisis: Responding to the Empirical Research on Suicide
Youth Suicide Rates and Mormon Religious Context: An Additional Empirical Analysis
The Barker Brothers’ Projects
These videos were created for Latter-day Saint parents and allies to voice their love for their LGBT brothers and sisters, sons and daughters. They want to give a message of comfort and support to other parents who are navigating the difficult conflicts that can arise in families around this issue.
“Cogito!” (“I think!”) follows the intellectual adventures of a recovering academic outside the walls of academia.
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