Apples and Oranges and Ligers…..OH MY!!!
Recently we have had two excellent posts, one written by Kelly Andersen (click here to read) and the other written by Chris Brewer (click here to read) that addressed the issue of how, as a Mormon culture, we tend to deify our leaders. This along with the...
Divine Family Modeling
Several weeks ago, I read an essay by Margaret Toscano entitled “Is there a place for Heavenly Mother in Mormon theology?” [fn 1] After an insightful analysis of the institutions surrounding Mormon theology, she answers, “No.” To critique her conclusion, I recruited a...
Teaching the Apostasy and Restoration to 14 & 15 Year Olds: A Lesson in Keeping it Simple Stupid
Introduction: I am not the regular teacher of the 15 and 16 year old youth in my ward. I was called earlier in the week and asked if I would help teach about the Great Apostasy and the Restoration. My concern is that the historical data does not necessarily point...
Is Ashtoreth Mrs. Yahweh?
Is Ashtoreth “Mrs. Yahweh”? By Tom Roberts, PhD For centuries, the people of God had fought an uphill battle attempting to defend the one God concept. Monotheism is defined as the belief in one deity. Amenhotep of Egypt believed the Great Monad was the sun...
Mormons, Catholics and Dirty Feet
A week or so ago I remember reading headlines about the newly ordained Pope Francis riling up traditionalists by washing the feet of some prisoners in Rome. Under the headline was a picture of Francis kneeling on the stone floor kissing the tattooed feet of...
The Inclusivity of Spanish Weddings
The Inclusivity of Spanish Weddings By Clara Molina I still clearly remember a YW’s class I had back in 2004 when we (the YW) were told about the possibility of the temple sealing ceremony being considered as legal marriage in Spain. Everyone was excited about the...
My Daughters, Our Church
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf: "...the benediction will then be given by Sister Jean Stevens, First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency..." My wife and I had told our eleven and seven year-old daughters that a woman would be praying for the first time...
Elder Holland’s Opus
With the semester winding down I have been really busy lately so I haven’t really gotten an opportunity to do a post in a while. Even now, I should be doing schoolwork, but I have to put it off in order to write something here today. I sort of intended to poach an old...
Transcending Fickle Language
One Sunday a couple years ago, I found myself standing with arms folded and my back against the zig-zag partition of the rear overflow of the cultural hall amidst the bustling chit-chat before Priesthood Opening Exercises. A fellow brother joined me at my side,...
More Changes for Sister Missionaries: Something (Mostly) Good This Way Comes
Once upon a time, before I was born, but after I was conceived, my father had a dream that I would be a great missionary. And because of that dream, he told my mom that I would be a boy. To my mom's credit, she exclaimed, "Girls can be great missionaries too!" To my...
A Woman’s Prayer
-11:50 AM. 60 W. North Temple. LDS Conference Center. - A chorus of 21,000 voices (and many more throughout the world) have just said "Amen" to Sister Jean A. Stevens' prayer, marking the first time a woman has ever prayed in General Conference. It has been 35 years...
Conference Pong
Before we introduce Conference Pong, a bit of news for you twitter peeps - RationalFaiths will be live tweeting General Conference this weekend. So if you are on Twitter follow us, here is our twitter handle @rationalfaiths. Conference Bingo is old and tired. It's...
How Mormon are They?
The following is a selection of "They're so Mormon" jokes, curated from a top-secret location on the internet. They're so Mormon, they can turn around two wagons in a single Salt Lake City lane.They're so Mormon, they eat funeral potatoes at funerals AND...
Biblical Allusions to Asherah
"And the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the deep" (Genesis 1:2) Part 2 (see my introduction to this discussion in Part 1) As I mentioned in Part 1, the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible’s description of Israelite religion as focused on the worship of Yahweh alone to...
On Two Commandments Hang the Law
The man speaking at the pulpit in sacrament meeting uses a phrase I haven’t heard before and I am instantly drawn in. Almost against my will, I am pulled toward an unexpected answer to every question I’ve ever had about who I am and who God intends me to be....
The Hole in Our Gospel – A Book Review
I first read The Hole in our Gospel, by Richard E Stearns in the spring of 2011. It was highly recommended to me with the amazing promise of how it would change my perception of the scriptures and my place in the world. But it also came with the warning that it...
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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