A number of the bloggernacle’s luminaries descended on the party town of Sacramento, California, last weekend for the 2008 conference of the Mormon History Association …
Birds & Bees in Utah County
Not too long ago I went to “maturation training” in Lehi, Utah, with my 11-year-old fifth grader, who was definitely already showing signs of puberty …
The Fallout Story
The Fallout Story is a rule of etiquette (that I made up) that I hold sacred for discussing breakups. The rule is: the dumpee owns …
Certainty: Blessing or Curse?
Speaking to a group of Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo, Joseph Smith once said that if he had the lungs for it, he would preach a …
Taking Back Sunday: A Call To Put Up Or Shut Up
Beyond white shirts, facial hair and Coke — the Bloggernacle’s equivalent of the Holy Trinity — nothing gets Mormon bloggers’ collective knickers in a twist …
Surviving Early-Morning Seminary
My third son just graduated from seminary. My three sons have all gone to early-morning seminary. They stagger to class at 6:15 in the morning, …
Our Foundation Stories Part I: The First Vision or the First Visit?
Do you believe that God the Father, the Son, and maybe even the Holy Ghost visited Joseph Smith in the spring of 1820? Or did …
6 Minutes 44 Seconds
This could be the most meaningful six minutes and 44 seconds that you spend today.
Evidences and Reconciliations 5/26/08
And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. Exodus 33:11 No man hath seen God at any …
Nurturing Humor
Currently there are four active humor blogs in the Bloggernacle. The Snark! Latte Day Saints Trash Calls The 9th Ward Amazingly, all of them delete …
Mormon Christians
A guest post by our friend Dan Does the label “Mormon” truly explain who we are? Does it truly embody everything that we believe in? …
all we can do
“We know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” Many of us seem to break out into hives when …
The Church and US – Guest Blog by Michael Albert from Znet
I was recently in Europe, partly for a vacation and partly for a series of talks in Austria. During the trip I had the pleasure …
Breaking News: Texas State Court Says Children Improperly Seized
John Nilsson just mentioned this in his post, but I wanted to start a separate thread for this news. Also, John Dehlin suggested to our panel that …
MormonNews: The End Of Temple Work As We Know It?
According to the Utah Catholic bishop, John Wester, the Vatican has issued a directive to not release parish records to LDS researchers (who then use …
Shadows and Spirituality
It seems, sometimes, that the lessons I learned on my mission are the ones I see again and again. One of the things I learned …
Hunger and Thirst After Righteousness
A guest post by our friend Ray I view the purpose of this life as becoming like Jesus was in His mortal life – and …
People Who Helped Me Stay Mormon Part II: Roger Keller
There are BYU professors, and there are BYU professors. Brother Keller is in a class by himself. His life story alone fascinates me. Converted to …
Is there always a Trigger before Revelation? – James Leverich
I’ve always felt in my own life there needs to be a need before I get divine help or inspiration. For example if I’m having …
Evidences and Reconciliations 5/19/08
I intend this to be the first entry in a regular series, something you can look forward to on a Monday afternoon. Like all series, …
“Knowing” & Other Leaps of Faith
I’ve been thinking lately that perhaps the greatest difference between Mormons along all points of the spectrum is not the degree of faith they have …
The Book of Mormon: For Our Day
Ezra Taft Benson taught that “the Book of Mormon … was written for our day. The Nephites never had the book; neither did the Lamanites …
Dealing with feelings of betrayal — when your spouse apostatizes
I end up talking with people on this theme several times a year. There are people who feel terribly betrayed. Especially when a spouse leaves …
Offenders for a Word, Part 2 – Do Mormons Worship Jesus?
In my last post I wrote about how we are all forced to take a thought and translate it into words and that this is …
What Would Jesus Buy – Come Confess Your Shopping Sins!
Mickey Mouse is the Anti-Christ!!! 🙂 NOW….hold up your credit card to the screen
New Same-Sex Marriage Ruling; Same Old Polygamy Stereotypes
Unless your last name is Van Winkle, you likely already know that, yesterday afternoon, the California Supreme Court concluded that the state’s law prohibiting same-sex …
A Child’s Prayer: Are we doing enough?
Are we satisfied just paying tithing and fast offerings?
People Who Helped Me Stay Mormon Part I: Jeff Burton
Before John Dehlin, there was Jeff Burton.
An Hour of Peace and Rest
I usually enjoy going to church. I look forward to it, despite talks that are occasionally less-than-dazzling, overly-perfumed women in the pew in front of …
R-LOVE-ution
PRESS PLAY AND THEN READ. 🙂 Creating Zion requires 2 things: 1) A Vision of what it is like 2) Faith we can achieve it.
Give Said the Little Revenue Stream
Do Mormons do less charitable giving due to the commitment of paying tithing? Three months of the year, you can rest assured there will be …
James Madison on the Inadequateness of Language
I deeply apologize for having three posts nearly in a row, but while doing research for my “Offenders for a Word” series, I came across …
How Progressive Mormons Are Actually Retro Mormons
In the year 2035, how will Mormon beliefs compare to previous generations? If “progressive” Mormons have their way, Mormon beliefs in 2035 will more closely …
Affliction (final post in the series)
The last part of the picture that frames affliction ties into the purpose of life. The only true affliction would be something that denied us …
Offenders for a Word – Part 1 – Is Jesus God?
I love words – I love to read, write, talk – but I think words leave out almost everything. That [is] frustrat[ing]… feeling that what …
A Jewish Rabbi Defines Monotheism
Only months into my mission we stopped to meet a man that had grown up Mormon but had left the Church and was now attending …
Believing Christ
Christ said: Ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth …
How Change will Occur in the Church
This post is not intended to be a historical look at changes that have happened in the church throughout the years, but more of experiential …
Theology Quiz
Here is a fun quiz I’ve seen on other Bloggernacle sites I wanted to try out on my pals at Mormon Matters. It’s fairly quick …
Through the Ears of a “Gentile”
“I’m so glad I was born in this, the one true church of God.” “Please bless the party leaders tonight [of the Republican Party] that …
A Latter-Day Tower of Babel?
Here’s something that gives me pause: people making up creative names or nontraditional spellings of traditional names for their children. This seems to be a …
Mormon Miracles: Seeking for a Sign
How much does God intervene in our lives? More than we give credit to Him or less than some would like to believe? Why do some require evidence of God’s …
When Obedience Doesn’t Bring Happiness
As Mormons, we are constantly taught and reminded that obedience brings happiness. So what are we to conclude when we’re obedient but still aren’t happy?
The Nature of God and Bible Bashing Sharing
Like many members of the church, I believe that humankind is of the same species as God; that our Heavenly Parents are like us only …
Why a Testimony of the Gospel is Not Enough
I have been under the impression over the last 26 years in the Church that if one had a pretty strong testimony of the Savior, …
The Mormon Urge to Glurge
glurge (GLURJ) n. A sentimental or uplifting story, particularly one delivered via e-mail, that uses inaccurate or fabricated facts; a story that is mawkish or …
Local Priesthood Keys – Our Religious Lynchpin
From the devout to the skeptic to the disaffected, our experience with the Church is personally contextual. We take issue with belief systems as well …