Shame, Modesty, and the Doctrine of the Body
In 1986, Elder Boyd K. Packer taught a significant truth about the power of doctrine. “True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the Gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior....
We Made This World, But God Will Make the Next?
If you've been Mormon long, you know this story. God didn't make the world. He told Jehovah to make it, and Jehovah got a bunch of other people together to do the real work. We made the world, or if not us, some of our brothers and sisters. We had instructions, sure,...
Family Tragedies: How to Know if a Loved One is Contemplating Suicide
Death or illness of a loved one or the breakup of a family unit can be difficult to handle. If you have experienced a family tragedy, learn how to tell if a loved one is considering suicide. Have you experienced a recent family tragedy? If so, it can seem impossible...
New Donation Category On Tithing Slip Announced
We are living in dark times when the family is under constant attack. As the Church has sought to be a beacon in these perilous times, it has become a target for the adversary, who would seek to corrupt the tightly woven non-stretchy fabric of society. Recently the...
Frontier Grit – a Review
“Frontier Grit is certainly worth a read, and the tenacity of the women represented in the book is worth emulating.” Guest poster Lana Bean reviews Marianne Monson’s new book.
#TodosSomosFamilia
The above picture was taken this past weekend in Mexico- in one of the 100 marches that took place across the country to defend “traditional families.” This (approximately) 12-year-old boy went and stood there against an entire cavalcade and personification of this...
Who is Lucifer Really?: A Rebuttal
As Mormons, we believe that Heavenly Father presented a plan for his spirit children in the preexistence. In this great Council in Heaven, Jesus was selected to be the one through whom redemption would be brought about through his intense suffering. However, Lucifer...
Reflections on the 50th anniversary of “Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought”
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. A conference and gala event are being held on September 30th to commemorate this anniversary. In that spirit, I offer a few reflections on the impact Dialogue has had in my...
An Atheist in Relief Society
(Photo Credit: Lonely Speck) In Relief Society, we recently studied Lesson 16: Marriage—An Eternal Partnership. First, I want to commend the instructor for not making any comments about traditional marriage being under attack. The lesson could have easily been swayed...
“Mormon Women Stand”…On Shaky Science
By Dr. Mikle South, Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Brigham Young University In the past couple of days, a number of friends have asked for my opinion on a recent blogpost from Mormon Women Stand (MWS) entitled “Groundbreaking Research on Sexual...
The Flow of Information
I’m reading Thomas Friedman’s The Lexus and the Olive Tree. It is basically Friedman’s love letter to globalization. In the book, he includes a conversation about the flow of information and how that has changed for countries and organizations. He creates a parallel...
What Mormonism Can Be: A Gay Couple’s Story
The Manoa Ward was our spiritual home for several years. At the end of our last sacrament meeting in the ward, the bishopric invited Spencer and me to join them on the stand. The entire congregation stood up and sang “Aloha Oe” to us. I buried my face in my hands and...
Reading Towards Change
The understanding gap between white and black is hurting and killing people. If you don’t want to understand the cultural differences, or if you think you don’t need to, you are the problem. If you do want to understand, you’ll have to drop some unconsciously held...
Spiritual Slaughter in Zion
In church lessons and talks, we often hold up the stories of Mormon expulsion - from New York, Ohio, Missouri, and Nauvoo - as moral lessons about brave pioneer ancestors following prophets, keeping covenants, and being preserved by the hand of the Lord. But they are...
From “Oh, My Father” to “Restless Weaver” – Ola is the New Eliza!
er It seems everyone in the LDS world is familiar with the hymn “Oh, My Father” by Eliza R. Snow. For Mormons, this hymn is unique in the sense that it both mentions Heavenly Mother and functions as a prayer in its own right: In the heav’ns are...
Unpacking the Temple Recommend Questions
I recently had a temple recommend interview and I have to admit to being a bit apprehensive going in. My faith has changed fairly dramatically over the past four years or so and I recognize now that while my perspective has shifted dramatically, I still accept and...
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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