I’m Pickin’ Up Good Vibrations.
I was invited to attend a drum circle recently by a close friend. It was held in a suburban back yard in south Salt Lake valley. I’ve been to drum circles before, so I knew what to expect, but I’d never been to one like this. Drum circles are based on Native...
The Restoration of God’s Authority, a portion of a talk given on Sunday, February 20, 2033
The following is a talk I gave, but the computer file is somewhat corrupted, so some areas were lost as indicated by the bracketed text. Today I’ve been asked to speak about the restoration of God’s authority. I know that people like Sister [lost] or Brother [lost]...
57: Ask a Mormon Sex Therapist Part 7
In this episode of “Ask a Mormon Sex Therapist”, Laurel and Brian talk with Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife on the topics of rekindling the desire that seems to have been lost soon after marriage and how to think about fantasy in a monogamous sexual relationship. Dr....
Apostle Wish-List
Though Mormons don't like to outright say it, it's pretty clear that it won't be too long before we'll have some new apostles among the 12. While it is a futile effort to try and guess with any accuracy who will be selected to fill any vacancies, a few of us here at...
Fairytale Life
I write to you after spending three very magical and tiring days in Disneyland. We've done princesses and rollercoasters and traumatized our children (the older ones on Tower of Terror, the youngest one on the ladybugs in the Bug's Life area). Hopefully, the happy...
I’m Not Struggling. I’m Just Different.
It’s great to have people around you who care about you enough to “check in” on you in the midst of a faith crisis. I’ve been lucky enough to have people like that in my life. At first I really needed it. It was important to me. But there comes a point where you want...
You do not belong here – a high councilor’s talk about inclusion
On Sunday our high councilor spoke during Sacrament Meeting. It was an excellent talk that I feel should be shared with as many people as possible. Personal information has been removed, but otherwise the talk is here as it was given. Italicized emphases in the text...
To Progressive LDSs on Book of Mormon Historicity
A common (but not universal) sentiment among progressive Latter-day Saints is that the Book of Mormon is valuable simply because we, as the readers, find moral value in it. It has shaped our lives and history whether or not it is truly a historical record. I think...
The Gift of Truth
“THE GIFT OF TRUTH EXCELS ALL GIFTS.” Peter Santina: "Faith knowledge & Truth" Broadly speaking there are three kinds of truth: 1) Definitional truth; All Bachelors are single men because that is how we define the word. 2) Logical truth; 2+2=4 and only 4...
56: Spiritual Watering Holes Part 1
Hearing the voice of the Holy Ghost and feeling the spirit often present themselves as elusive experiences that we want to have but just can't seem to grasp. In fact, when teaching the youth in my ward I asked the priests and laurels to rate their interest in about 20...
The Possibility of the Book of Mormon as Inspired Fiction
While critics and apologists of Mormonism disagree with each other on just about every issue, there is one matter in which they often share a moment of agreement –Mormonism rises or falls on the historicity of the Book of Mormon. As Elder Holland proclaimed in a 1994...
Reality Schmeality
Reality Schmeality The idea of multiple realities defined entirely by our circumstances was first discussed in the 60s by Peter Berger in his book, The Social Construction of Reality, which taught that every society, community, and even every family constructs its own...
Reflections on Faith and Freetown
"Is Faith Supposed to be this Exhausting?" Bro Abubakar asks. It's one of many favorite quotes I took away from the movie Freetown. I remember when I first saw a promotional video for Freetown. I was leaving the movie “Selma” in January. I had watched it with a...
THE ADAM GOD COVER-UP
Good evening. Tonight's episode features a walk through the Mormon History Department. In a corner of the Department is a closet crammed with skeletons. One of the largest and most shiver-inducing of these is the Adam God skeleton. During this program, we will...
Wandering and Choosing
The thing is, I don´t believe in a God that micro manages. We´ve all heard the stories of men who pray over what cereal to eat, what laundry detergent to use and we point and laugh, but really, we are not very far removed.
Testimony, Spiritual Experiences, and Truth: A Careful Examination
Malcolm Gladwell concluded “We need to respect the fact that it is possible to know without knowing why we know and accept that—sometimes—we’re better off that way.” Still, there are compelling reasons to question the reliability of spiritual experiences and the things that we “just know.” Finding truth requires that we scrutinize our assumptions and question our deepest held beliefs … The reward for such investigation is likely worth the discomfort—the more accurately our internal maps align with reality, the greater our ability to comprehend and either adeptly control or peacefully accept the world around us.
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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