If the Church came to me for therapy
In preparation for the 2nd annual Mormon Mental Health Conference (July 29, 2015), I've been reflecting on my work as a therapist within Mormon culture as I'm sure are many of my colleagues who will be presenting to other mental health professionals at the...
How Shall We Continue in The Silencing?
Imagine how Mary Magdalene must have felt on the morning of the Resurrection, being the first person to see the risen Christ. Imagine too how she must have felt later on when she would be forever silenced for her testimony: “I have seen the Lord: such is the story of...
11 Signs You’re Dating an RM from the 19th Century…It Took Me a Minute to Get #3!
The Mormon dating world is rife with expectations and standards. One of the most golden ones has been that women should seek out an RM (returned missionary) for any worthwhile long-term relationship. Apparently the longer the name-tag is worn, the more sin and error...
Straight and Narrow not Same and Narrow-minded
My last post was supposed to be a one paragraph introduction to this idea: The exaltation of the Gods depends on allowing us--Gods in embryo--to travel as many paths to Godhood as possible. This conclusion follows closely the belief that Gods evolved. Evolutionary...
66: Ask a Mormon Sex Therapist Part 9
In this episode of “Ask a Mormon Sex Therapist” Brian talks with Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife about how the high desire partner can best contribute to a relationship that is sexually dysfunctional but also in the process of healing (hint: not necessarily just being...
We are not (religiously) free until we’re all (religiously) free
I have tried to start this piece dozens of times, each one coming up short. The thing is, there is no easy or comfortable way to confront the reality that is the terrorism sweeping black churches in the United States. This latest wave all starts with the Emanuel...
Is the LDS Church in Apostasy?
In recent years, more and more Mormons have publicly voiced the opinion that the LDS Church is in a state of apostasy. Elder Dallin H. Oaks jetted to Boise, Idaho to douse such allegations in a 15 June 2015 tri-stake fireside, where his argument consisted of a...
65: Top Ten Books on Mormon History – More Wives Than One
Polygamy, polygamy, polygamy! We can't get enough of polygamy! Nohing has captured the attention of the world about Mormons more than the practice of polygamy. Our second book in the list dealing directly with polygamy is a work produced by Kathryn Daynes called More...
Boy Scouts, Mormonism, and Me
I come from a proud tradition of Eagle Scouts. My father and his 10 brothers hold the world record for most Eagle scouts in a single family [1]. It’s a record so unimportant the family remains unsuccessful in getting the Guinness Book of World Records to take notice....
LDS Church Responds to Supreme Court Monogamy Decision
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 10, 1879 As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we acknowledge the recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court Reynolds vs. United States which holds that men may be married to one woman and one woman only. While...
It’s not the America I Thought it Was
With the celebration of Independence Day this weekend, I found myself reminiscing about how I used to feel about this holiday. In my early adulthood, I was wildly patriotic, having grown up in a culture that values this kind of zealotry for the motherland. I...
The New LDS Anti-Gay Marriage Letter
There is a theory that if a person traveled back in time and confronted her earlier self, the universe would explode. This appears to be what has happened with the new anti-gay marriage letter put out by the LDS Church and set for widespread distribution this Sunday...
Of Prophets and Porn
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard that the Supreme Court of the United States ruled this week that gay marriage is now legal in all 50 states. You would have had to have been living under said rock for a very, very long time to be unaware of what...
What About the Confederate Flag?
The Confederate battle flag has long been controversial, but has witnessed unprecedented attention since nine parishioners at the Emanuel African Episcopal Methodist Church in Charleston, South Carolina, were gunned down by a deranged man seething with racial hatred....
Through the Valley: Theodicy and Black Suffering in America
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of...
“Thank you for our many blessings”
As Mormons we often pride ourselves on avoiding “vain repetitions” by not reciting set prayers (except, you know, those ones we say every Sunday for the sacrament). Occasionally we also pause to consider our oft-repeated phrases – the “harm-or-accident” 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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