Some thoughts, questions, and predictions regarding the new handbook policy
Much has already been written about the recent changes to LDS Handbook 1 that define entering into same-sex marriages as apostasy and preventing children in same-sex marriage families from being baptized and participating in other ordinances. I have little to add...
82: The Policy Amendment (that never should have happened)
Have heard about the new policy designed to protect children and inspired by all the confusion surrounding the churches position on gay marriage? Well we'll tell you about it and you can read the amended policy (as if you haven't already) right...
All Children Are Alike Unto Me
A change in the Church’s Handbook 1 contains new language that bars the children of same-gender couples from receiving a name and a blessing and from being “baptized and confirmed, ordained, or recommended for missionary service” without approval of the First...
OxyMormons #1
This is the first in a beginning series of cartoons that will be published here at RationalFaiths. This was set to publish later, but due to the extreme relevance of this particular cartoon, we decided to publish it now. Enjoy and look for more in the future! You can...
Obedience \= Righteousness
“It is this fundamental belief of my Mormonism that tells me I have a moral and a covenant obligation to question the men who lead this church when they fail their stewardship. And I have a standing obligation to call them on it.”
What Manner of Healing Is This: A Conversation on Womanist & Postcolonial Healing
The recent release of 2 essays (and subsequent responses) regarding Heavenly Mother as well as women and the Priesthood revealed differences between the concept of the divine feminine in LDS theology and culture versus concepts of the natural and supernatural rooted...
How An Interpretation of Josephine Theology on the Process of the Preexistent Embodiment of Spirits Helped Me Chill Out About My Parental Bonding Issues
My family and I recently welcomed a pair of adorable twin girls into our family. It was especially welcome as they arrived only after several years of battling infertility obstacles. Our first daughter came only after two years of ART (Assisted Reproductive...
Public Morality vs. Private Morality
The World Congress of Families is setting up camp in Utah, marriage equality is the law of the land, the Church's new essays on Mother in Heaven and the priesthood are still hot off the presses, and the 2016 presidential race is officially under way. This means that...
Emma Smith’s Teachings about Priesthood, Temple, and Men
Men and women enjoy many opportunities for service in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, both within local congregations and at the Churchwide level. Among other things, Latter-day Saint men preach sermons in Sunday meetings and the Church’s general...
81: Navigating the Landscape of Online Mormonism: A Presentation From Sunstone-Kirtland Oct 2015
At Sunstone Kirtland 2015 a few of the Rational Faiths folks presented on the topic of online Mormonism. Benjamin Knoll, Thomas Hatton and Brian Dillman each presented on the topic for about 15 minutes each and then fielded a Q&A session moderated by Brian...
Church Business
The purpose of a business is to generate a profit to be exchanged for commodities, which will sustain life and make it enjoyable. A secondary purpose might be to provide a product or service, which will improve the lives of fellow humans. The compensation for adopting...
MORMONISM’S NEW GHOST
When was the last time you heard someone tell a “real-life” ghost story in church? I can’t remember the last time, personally. Maybe I live in a boring ward. It seems that even though ghosts are a plausible part of our religious worldview, secular culture has had...
WHAT OF WOMEN AND THE PRIESTHOOD?*
On Friday, October 23, 2015, the Mormon internet world blew up with the release of two new Gospel Topic Essays. I will be addressing one aspect of the essay entitled, Joseph Smith's Teachings about Priesthood, Temple, and Women. For a much more thorough and balanced...
IGNORING MY MOTHER
This is an email between my Father and me: Me: “Hey Dad, I have some great news! Jeff and I have decided to get married. We are engaged!” Father: “That’s wonderful news! Your mother and I are so happy for you!” Mother: “Please call me, honey. I’m excited to hear the...
Petitioning Heavenly Mother and the Call to Faithful Agitation
As I was reviewing the 1991 Ensign article "Daughters of God" by Gordon B. Hinckley, then First Counselor in the First Presidency, I began to see a correlation between Hinckley's prohibition against praying to our Mother in Heaven and the later call to "faithful...
Heavenly Father
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that all human beings, female and male, are beloved spirit children of heavenly parents, a Heavenly Mother and a Heavenly Father. This understanding is rooted in scriptural and prophetic teachings about 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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