What Latter-day Saint Christians Should Know About the Old Testament
WHAT LATTER-DAY SAINT CHRISTIANS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE OLD TESTAMENT Note: Although I use academic studies throughout this post, I have moved all of the bibliography to the end of the document in order to facilitate a more convenient reading for those not interested...
What the Hell did Joseph Mean By Translation?
WHAT THE HELL DID JOSEPH MEAN BY TRANSLATION? by Michael Barker This post was provoked by three things: The LDS Church's recent statement on the Book of Mormon Translation (click here to read the statement). Dan Wotherspoon's Mormon Matters episode where a panel...
The Lord’s Side of the Line – A False Dichotomy – There is no effing line!!!
The video was brought to my attention yesterday morning and I thought I would share a few thoughts. If you haven't seen it yet please take the time to watch it so that we can discuss it. At the opening of the video we hear a young man ask Elder Bednar the following:...
God in the machine
When God and Science collide, what is the collateral damage? In the bold new field of neurotheology they are colliding on a regular basis. The studies and debates of the field regularly find themselves picked up in the news due to the polarization and high emotions...
You Can’t Smash the Internet
This post is a continuation of a post I wrote last year where I discussed my research on innovation within the church, and the disruptive potential of the Internet. In this post I hope to expand on those ideas. In the previous post I addressed the use of Clayton...
Requiem for an Apostate
Requiem for an Apostate A Review of “Passing the Heavenly Gift,” by Denver C. Snuffer, Jr. Denver Snuffer, Jr. was excommunicated in September of 2013 for “apostasy.” The reason for his excommunication was his publication of a book titled, “Passing the Heavenly...
Combatting Cultural Lies about “Ambitious” LDS Women
Guest Post by Naomi Watkins I’ve written before about the negative (and ridiculous) things I’ve been told by people over the years concerning my educational and professional aspirations and achievements. When people hear these stories, their reactions often...
Joseph Smith, Richard Dawkins, and the Language of Translation
Note: This essay first appeared on the Interpreter blog. We have received permission from the Interpreter board and from the author, Stephen Smoot, to republish this essay here. Please click here to visit the Interpreter website. A follow-up post can also be read...
Letters to a Young Mormon: A Review
Title: Letters to a Young Mormon Author: Adam S. Miller Page Count: 78 pages Publisher: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, Living Faith Series ISBN: 9780842528566 You may purchase a copy of this book here Honestly, there is no proper way to review...
Arguing Doctrine on the Internet: Rhetorical Tactics of the Bloggernacle
28 ... And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been. 29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of...
Old Testament – There’s Better Books Out There
Old Testament – There's Better Books Out There As 2014 grew closer I began thinking about Sunday School and the upcoming study of the Old Testament (link). A week ago I walked into Seagull Book and was overwhelmed by the number of Old Testament commentaries for sale....
Mormonism’s Bishop
Mormonism's Bishop by Michael Barker I used to be the Young Men's President in my ward. When I first sat down with my counselors, I told them explicitly that I would be approaching some of the sticky issues with our LDS Church history. This caused concern with one...
Race and Priesthood – A Lesson by a Mormon Bishop
Race and The Priesthood by Bishop Joshua Wallace Lesson Topic: Race and the Priesthood Note: This lesson was given Sunday, December 30th to the Medford 4th Ward, Central Point Oregon Stake of Zion in a combined Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society meeting. Here...
A Conversation with the Exponent II blog
A CONVERSATION WITH THE EXPONENT II BLOG Q: Why the blog? A: We started the blog to support the Exponent II organization. We felt that a blog could help connect the younger generation of Mormon feminists who interact online with this oldest Mormon feminist...
New Year’s Resolutions: Breaking Bad
If books like Not Even Once Club are any indication, we Mormons hold ourselves to some pretty strict standards. As I’ve mentioned before, we often forge these standards as weapons and use them against each other. We create a picture of what a good Mormon looks like,...
Leaving the Garden and Companying with Sinners.
Most of my Mormon friends aren't actively involved with the church. More than half of my core group of friends from high school haven't participated since college. A surprising number of the friends I made on my mission and at BYU are now disenfranchised to some...
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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