The Field is White
I have known several people who have been excited about their job or education opportunities outside of the state of Utah because they wanted to be “in the mission field”. My husband and I, both part of two different infamous “bubbles” in Utah had the wonderful...
Young Women – Please Help My Sons Stay Clean & Pure
I want to take a moment on behalf of all men to personally thank the virtuous women who dress modestly so that we can keep our thoughts pure and clean. I am so grateful for the virtuous women throughout my life that dressed modestly so I wouldn't have bad thoughts....
A Fearless Moral Inventory
Step four of the twelve step program requires one to [have] “made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves”. Steps one-three focus on admitting helplessness in the face of addiction and turning it over to God’s help. Step four requires that one now look...
Banishing the Cross
Almost every argument that Mormons have used to justify their opposition to the cross was promoted by Protestants before the cross taboo emerged in Mormon culture.
The Nephite Ministry of Jesus Christ—Part 3
A Little Background This is the final of three articles. The first article looked at how Jesus’ ministry to the Nephites begins with three chapters quoted from the New Testament, being the Sermon on the Mount as found in Matthew 5-7; how those chapters are not...
Drunk Nurses and Scantily Clad Men
God spoke. Then he was silent. Eight years later, he spoke again. Then, all hell broke loose. Her mother accused her of having “a secret love affair with some ‘low vulgar surgeon (44).’” Others told her that they had “never known a nurse who was not drunken” and...
The Barkers Go to the Local Catholic Church
Last Sunday I showered and put on my garments. Next came the slacks, button-up shirt, tie, sweater, and finished off with my brown wing-tipped shoes. Sounds like an ordinary Sunday for a Mormon man. But it wasn't. About two months ago I asked my Catholic friend,...
Magical Medical Marijuana
Medical Marijuana is in the news again, this time with a Mormon Connection. This article tells the story of a Utah mom whose son, Stockton May, has a rare epileptic syndrome called Dravet syndrome. These children have a horrible, heartbreaking epilepsy that medication...
Changing the Word of God
It’s pretty much guaranteed that this scripture will show up in my Facebook feed every time general conference rolls around. What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass...
The Real Problem with “Doubt Your Doubts”
Much has been written in the few days since President Uchtdorf delivered his recent General Conference address, but few things have caused as much of a stir as his advice to “doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.” Mere seconds after he had uttered these...
Sacred Circles
SACRED CIRCLES By Cami Alex Thurman Ashby There I was, a young Beehive, bubbling with excitement... it was my first Girl's Camp in Young Womens! A taste of Sisterhood, seasoned with laughter, skits, music and love; Always to be enjoyed with a side of scary camp-fire...
Malachi and Isaiah in Third Nephi–Part 2
My last article showed how three chapters from Matthew (the Sermon on the Mount from Matt. 5-7) are quoted at the beginning of Jesus’ Nephite ministry, and thereafter incorporated into his teachings approximately 15 times. Bookending these three New Testament...
Broken Things
Guest Post by Heather Duncan Note from Melody: My dear friend and poet, Heather, penned this beautiful verse many years ago. One of the recent general conference talks captured similar imagery, suggesting that being broken is a natural state for mortality. It is a...
My Wrestle With the Issues Surrounding Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage
The greatest joy in my life is my wife and (one day) my children. This is a very sacred and very moral joy; it’s not like my greatest joy in life is something immoral. If you take away the greatest joy of someones life (the opportunity to be a family with the person you love the most), it then becomes their greatest loss. How can someone take away the opportunity of another’s greatest (moral) joy? If it is not good for man to be alone, then why is the church pushing that on homosexuals? Why is celibacy good for some (homosexuals) but not the majority of people?
Knocking at the Tabernacle Door: Waiting in Line with Ordain Women
I really did not expect to be waiting in the standby line for Priesthood Session. When Ordain Women came out with their website, I felt no call to join them. Quite the opposite, in fact. I wished Kate Kelly had waited, and given people like me more chance to share the...
The Moral Force of Men
Men bring with them into the world a certain virtue, a divine gift that makes them adept at instilling such qualities as faith, courage, empathy, and refinement in relationships and in cultures. Years ago, while living in Mexico, I recall a particular young father,...
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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