Does the LDS Church Believe the Priesthood Ban was of Divine Origin or Not?
When the LDS Church's Gospel Topics essay "Race and the Priesthood" was released in late 2013, large numbers of my fellow Mormons -- particularly moderates and progressives -- rejoiced that the Church had, among other things, finally distanced itself from its...
Creative Worship
Creative Worship I can't help but grimace whenever I hear someone say they're dancing or shooting hoops for Jesus. It's cruel. And I can't help myself. I wish I could... Even when I firmly believe there is no purer form of worship than creatively performing one's...
WE ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE FOR ORLANDO
A guest post by Robert A. Rees, Ph.D. “It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do.” --Moliere We are all responsible for what happened in Orlando. I am responsible for what happened in Orlando. The morning of the Orlando...
A response to Ordain Women from the Council of the First Presidency and the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. (fiction)
The office of the First Presidency June 28th, 2016 (about time) Dear Sisters and Brothers of the Ordain Women organization, We are moved by your continued...
Cafeteria Morality
For some reason, it seems that conservatives tend to send “Thoughts and Prayers” for issues of morality that can be helped with liberal approaches, but actually get to work whenever they think an issue can be alleviated by conservative policy.
What the…
The Seeing Eye Dog – A Weekly Comic to Lead the Blind Where ‘ere They Go. By Jack Naneek
My Reframing of Sin in Terms of Happiness
One of the miracles of human life is the incredible diversity of subjective experience. Each one of us experiences life in a different way. Each one of us experiences the sacred in a different way. I want to share with you a small part of my own spiritual journey....
Why I Stay Mormon….
For this post, I decided to ask myself a rather difficult question. So, why do I, as a convert, remain LDS despite my struggles with certain aspects of Mormonism? As it turns out, I have some good reasons, and the positive far outweighs the negative. Here are my...
Book of Mormon Bedtime Stories
Sharing the Book of Mormon with my kids I read a lot to my kids. But it can be really hard to share the scriptures with them. The LDS church released picture books of the scriptures are ok, but the style of the pictures is very uniform and the action uninteresting,...
Way Better
The Seeing Eye Dog – A Weekly Comic to Lead the Blind Where ‘ere They Go. By Jack Naneek
We Are Just Not That Friendly
I’ve come to a surprising realization recently. Mormons, it turns out, may not be very good at making friends. I know you’re already thinking of plenty of objections right now. You have lots of friends. Your kids have lots of friends. You live in a super-friendly...
New Temple Recommend Questions
Before conducting my first baptismal interview on my mission, I sought the advice of my mission president. I knew what the right answers to the questions were but felt there must be something more to the interview - something ineffable that I was nonetheless supposed...
In The Midst of Madness
I have avoided social media for most of my day. Originally I had written an entire post about the Church’s push for legislation here in Mexico- Enrique Peña Nieto decided to make gay marriage legal in the entire country. The way it currently works here (in Mexico) is...
The Horror of the Empty Tomb
“But what if we imagine that a slice of those fears–just a tiny fraction, buried deep enough in their psyches that even they aren’t conscious of it–is the fear that Jesus’ empty tomb is the sum total of the most unspeakable horror that humankind could ever be confronted with? Something so horrible that we have taught ourselves over many millennia to desire it above all other things in order to avoid a truth so terrifying that truly contemplating it could drive us mad? Which is: Life will go on.”
What Logic Is This? Men, Sex, and Sexual Assault
Since men are the primary builders, maintainers, and supporters of these institutions–and particularly because men are overwhelmingly those who sexually assault–what they believe about rape and rapists is particularly important. I think these often include false beliefs about the equivalency of rape with sex, which allows responsibility to be imputed to victims, having the effect of both traumatizing victims further but also in softening responses to rapists.
MORMON RAINBOWS
With the advent of June comes LGBT pride month. It’s a time of celebration, of scantily clad bodies, of liberation, and of rainbows. This tradition has penetrated even into the heart of Mormondom, so that the spires of the great Salt Lake Temple can observe the...
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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