I posted this at my blog, but wanted to see reactions here at MM. Over the past few weeks, I have driven by a billboard …
Comparing Correlation with the Supreme Court
As I mentioned before, I am enjoying Greg Prince’s biography of David O McKay. Under the McKay Administration, correlation of LDS church materials made a …
Mental Illness and Suicide
My sister recommended that I should listen to John L Lund’s three-talk set called How to Hug a Teenage Porcupine. This isn’t the normal type …
Coke, Rum Cake, and President McKay
I just started reading Greg Prince’s book, David O McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism. It’s been a great read so far. Prince tells …
Mormon Bishop Killed at Church
There was very sad news from Visalia, California on Sunday. A mentally ill man named Kenneth Ward walked into a church looking for a leader. …
If They Tarry…
D&C 137 records a vision of Joseph Smith “in the temple at Kirtland, Ohio, January 21, 1836. HC 2: 380–381. The occasion was the administration …
Sunstone 2010 – A Feminist Recap
I really enjoyed the last day of Sunstone, since I was able to attend all day, rather than a session here or there. Don Bradley …
Religious Archaeology and Evidence
I’d like to discuss both Biblical and Book of Mormon archaeology. Most people believe the Bible is on solid archaeological footing, but that isn’t actually …
Hanging Out with Apostles at Sunstone
Sunstone has been going on since Wednesday here in Salt Lake City. It ends tomorrow, and I thought I would give a few words about …
Elder Brown Defines Political Extremism
There are a large majority of Mormons (especially here in Utah) that think the Church is wedded to the Republican Party. A very interesting letter …
The Moral Panic Causes Trouble in Zion
Kenny Ballantine is in the process of producing a documentary called Trouble in Zion. The documentary discusses the events leading up to the 1838 Mormon War …
Songs That Touch Our Hearts
Since yesterday was Pioneer Day, I thought I’d share my thoughts on one of my favorite Pioneer Hymns. Most of you are probably familiar with …
Tackling the Mormon Myth about Alice Cooper
If you’re Mormon, you’ve probably heard the myth that Alice Cooper was a Mormon. Most of you have probably dismissed the myth as complete hogwash. …
Strangite Q&A
As I mentioned previously, I really enjoyed the Strangite session of the Mormon History Association meetings a few weeks ago. Vickie Speek, John Hamer, and Mike …
Eastern Orthodoxy: Theosis/Deification
Covenant Theological Seminary is a Presbyterian Seminary. They have online courses that you can listen to for free! If you pay tuition, you can get …
A Horrific Tale of Forgiveness
I really miss my book club, but I am participating in the Stay LDS Book Club. The first book that we have decided to read is Left …
Joseph and Sidney: A Strained Friendship
The friendship between Sidney Rigdon and Joseph Smith is very fascinating. Sidney was one of the earliest, and most impressive converts, joining the church in …
United Order vs Consecration
I always thought the United Order and Consecration were the same thing. I’ve been reading a book called Great Basin Kingdom by Leonard Arrington (former church …
Are you sure you’d like to live the United Order?
We had an interesting discussion on my Prayer and Politics post. (Unfortunately, we talked more about politics than prayer.) The discussion focused on economic policies. …
A Schismatic End to the Mormon History Association meetings.
I attended the Mormon History Association meetings in Independence, Missouri this past week. I thought I’d share some pictures. If you’d like to read more …
Prayer and Politics
A few years ago, I read a book by Larry King (yes–the one you are familiar with), called Powerful Prayers. It is one of my …
Joseph Smith’s Presidential Platform
So, I came across an interview of Richard Bushman at the Pew Research Forum, about both early and modern Mormon politics. I’ve also been reading a …
Questions About the Exodus
For more than 1700 years, Christians have been looking for Mount Sinai, the place where Moses received the 10 Commandments. Constantine’s mother, Helena was probably …
Book of Mormon on the Baja
When I think of the Baja California Peninsula, I think of the Baja 1000 off-road race where people take lots of vehicles and cross the …
Is prayer a form of “deity panhandling”?
I’m teaching the Priesthood lesson today. You may have had this lesson already; we may be a week behind you. Before I get into the …
Rachel and Leah: A Modern Perspective
Last year, I posted a topic about Marriage Fitness. The author is Mort Fertel, and he makes no illusions that his method is a quick …
Dueling Wordprint Studies
This is the 3rd post reviewing By the Hand of Mormon, by Terryl Givens. I’ve taken a bit on an interest in wordprint studies. Givens …
Are Mormon Academics Winning the Debate with Evangelicals?
I’ve been reading Terryl Givens book, By the Hand of Mormon. While acknowledging archaeological data isn’t as strong as other aspects of the Book of …
Home Teaching the Mentally Ill
I posted a longer version of this on my blog. Last month I had the most unusual experience I have ever had in regards to …
Mormon Missionaries Die in Romania
I want to let everyone know of a very unfortunate situation in Romania. According to this Deseret News article, Elder McKay Choy Burrows, 20, of …
For God’s Sake, Blog!
I wish I could claim credit for the title of the post, but it actually comes from this MSNBC article. Apparently the Pope is encouraging …
Mormon Innovations: the Pre-Mortal Life
I’m teaching the Gospel Principles lesson #2 tomorrow. I’m going to attempt to utilize proper sources, only utilizing personal experiences and church magazines. We’ll see …
Did Mormon Influence Increase over the Decade?
My wife brought this to my attention while reading the front page of the Deseret News: 2000s: The First Decade-Mormon Church Influence Soars. Without providing …
Virtual PH/RS Lesson: Elder Eyring’s talk and the New Year
I was asked to teach the lesson in Elder’s Quorum on Elder Eyring’s General Conference talk from October: Our Perfect Example (click here for video.) …
Christmas Gifts: Gold, Frankincense, Myrrh
Many lament that Christmas has turned into a commercial gift-giving holiday. However, the Bible shows that gift-giving happened right after the birth of Christ. The …
12 Days of Christmas and 3 Kings Day
Everyone is familiar with the Twelve Days of Christmas. It’s a funny song where the gift-giver gives strange gifts of “lords a leaping”, and various …
A Different Perspective on the Wise Men
The Wise Men are a big part of the Christmas story. Oddly, they come in and disappear. The Bible seems to indicate that they were …
Peruvian Setting for the Book of Mormon
It’s been some time since we talked about alternative Book of Mormon geography theories. For those new to the site, you may want to see …
Hate Crimes up for Gays, Religious
So, what do you make of this? This AP article says that Hate crimes up against gays, religious groups – “Overall, the number of reported …
Michael Smith Suspended for Iran Comments
Ok, I am when someone who get bothered when someone makes disparaging comments about another ethnic group. Fox suspended LA Clippers announcers Ralph Lawler and …
Utah Happiest State in Nation
Andrew Ainsworth did a post back in March wondering if Mormon Culture is Depressing Utahns? If we can blame depression on Mormon Culture, apparently it …
Carthage Conspiracy
*Note–This was posted this morning. Due to a technical glitch, it was erased. Some comments may have been erased from this morning as well. I …
Similarities between Lehi and the Lemba
The History Channel has a show called “Digging for the Truth.” In season 1, they did an episode called “The Lost Tribe of Israel”, which …
Pres Monson Accepts Honor From “School of the Prophets”
I saw this interesting photo in the Deseret News today, and just had to share. In the paper edition of the Deseret News, President Monson …
It Is Possible to Effect Some Changes in Your Stake
I’ve enjoyed Andrew Ainsworth’s recent posts on (1) being a loving critic of the church, (2) in a way that doesn’t get you excommunicated. I …
Trading Polygamy for Statehood
If one searches around the bloggernacle, you’ll find a snarky comment about how the church traded polygamy for statehood, or that the church just wimped-out …
Scripture Inerrancy, Literalism, and Pres Veazey
There are those (especially among Evangelicals) who believe that the Bible is inerrant and literal. For example a scriptural literalist will claim that Noah’s flood …
A Case for Slavery
A few years ago, John Dehlin did a few podcasts about the Priesthood Ban. I wrote up a post which combined about 3 of John’s …
Why do you go to Church?
I have left messages on this and other blogs about how boring church can be. This has prompted the question, “Well, if it’s so boring, …
What if Christ’s Bones Were Found?
I don’t know why, but I love to learn about archaeology, especially religious archaeology. A few years ago, Simcha Jacobovici came out with a documentary …
Joseph Smith is a Ute!
I posted this on my blog, but wanted to share with more people. I always got a kick out of the signs in the student …
Book of Abraham and Gospel of Judas
Ok, comparing these two books might seem a bit odd, but let me explain. First of all, I’ve already done a few posts on Abraham. …
Bushman’s Take on Polygamy
A few weeks ago, here at Mormon Matters, I posted on My Perspective on Polygamy (with a longer version found on my blog.) I hinted …
John Hamer returns (sort of)! A Look at the CoC
Over the last year, I have come across a few bloggers who are members of the Community of Christ (formerly known as RLDS). I have …
A South American Setting for Book of Mormon
A few weeks ago, we had quite a discussion on the Malay Theory. While I heartily acknowledge that Mesoamerica is the most widely believed setting, …
Is Mormon Matters Balanced?
Over the last week, we’ve received quite a few critical comments, ranging from a pro-mormon commenter about “another blog better left unwritten” to an anti-mormon’s …
A Memorial Day Jack Mormon
With Memorial Day upon us, I wanted to highlight a person that people know a little about, Alexander Doniphan, who was known as one of …
My Perspective on Polygamy
I have long avoided talking about polygamy on my blog. It is a source of tremendous discomfort for me, but it keeps coming up, so …
Mother’s Day
As you know by know, I often like to talk about history. So, I thought I would try to learn a little about Mother’s Day. …
Debunking the Spaulding Theory
In my previous post about Unconventional Book of Mormon Geography Theories, Doug G made a comment claiming that the Book of Mormon is related to …
Why are the 12 tribes of Israel important?
The LDS Church has a list of 13 general beliefs, which was composed by Joseph Smith in the 1830’s. It does not cover everything the …
History of Baptism/Mikvah
Since my last post was quite speculative and controversial, I thought I’d go for a change of pace and talk about something we’re all familiar …
Unconventional Book of Mormon Geography Theories
It’s been over a year since someone posted something on Book of Mormon geography, so I think it’s about time. Most of you believe that …
Mainstream acceptance of the Mormons’ Easter Story?
Around Easter 2004, National Geographic produced a documentary titled In Search of Easter. The producers interviewed a wide range of scholars about the Resurrection story …
What’s your position on Euthanasia?
First, we need to go over some definitions, because different organizations have different definitions. The 2 most interesting definitions for me are the LDS church’s …
What do you think about Evolution?
I know the LDS church has no official views on evolution. I had someone ask me what I thought about it, and frankly, I haven’t …
The Difference Between Persians and Arabs
This is a post from my blog I did previously, with some updates. I will confess that I love learning about the Middle East. …
St Patrick, a Wonderful Missionary
Since today is St Patrick’s Day, I wanted to write a quick post about St Patrick. Few people know his story. I know that Mormons …
Positive Black History in the Church
Much has been made of the LDS Church’s unflattering history regarding the priesthood ban. But there are some positive stories. I’d like to address some …
More Open Mormon History
I attended a few Mormon History Conferences last weekend. I gave a more detailed account on my blog, but wanted to see how Mormon Matters …
RS/PH #28: Missionary Service: A Holy Calling, a Glorious Work
Missionary Work—When I first saw the topic, I thought “Ugh, what a boring topic.” But I was pleasantly surprised, and learned some things about early …
Virtual RS/PH Lesson #27: Beware the Bitter Fruits of Apostasy.
Since Hawkgrrrl does not offer Virtual RS/PH lessons anymore, I thought I’d try my hand at it this one time. My wife was preparing Lesson …
Joshua’s Unholy War
Admin Note: This is our first guest post from Mormon Heretic. When most of us hear the word “jihad” or “holy war”, we immediately know …