A recent visit at FMH and John Dehlin’s Mormon Stories interview with fmhLisa (Butterworth) has made me realise something about myself that I am not very proud of. Therefore, in the spirit of a post I wrote for another blog, I want to confess something. I am sexist. Continue reading…
A recent post by Cr@ig on Main Street Plaza caused me to reflect on the strength of interfaith marriages. I had hoped to generate a follow-up post on 
this topic at MSP. However, since the comments on the Cr@ig’s post devolved into a blame game of whether the believer or non-believer was more responsible for marital dissolution, I decided it was probably best to avoid a second opportunity for mud-slinging.
Differences in religious belief can be the death knell to a marriage. For that reason, many organized religions strongly advocate against being “yoked with unbelievers”. This is not only a Mormon phenomenon; you see this in any faith tradition that teaches that they alone have exclusive access to God. Even before marriage, it is rare for the unmarried, devout Mormon to even consider dating (let alone marrying) a non-Mormon; most LDS women raised in the Church are taught from an early age to make a temple marriage to a returned missionary their primary goal. Continue reading…
There is an interesting character on Youtube who calls herself “The Non-Muslim Hijabi”. She wears a head scarf even though she’s not Muslim. I felt a kinship with her, since I’m a Non-Mormon Word of Wisdom follower, and generally live all the other commandments. (The lifestyle teachings, not the ordinances.)
In one of her videos, the Non-Muslim Hijabi said something like, ‘Don’t just do something because the Koran says so. Find out the reasons for yourself and do it because you feel the benefits.’ One Muslim woman responded, ‘What is wrong with doing it only to show your obedience to God?’ Continue reading…
I would like to introduce Madam Curie which many of you know her by on her replies at Mormon Matters she also has her own blog Third Wave Mormon . She has shared with us what I think is a very interesting and thought provoking article.
Is a “believing heart” really a positive attribute?
“Blessed are those that have not seen, and yet have believed.” – John 20:29
“Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” – Hebrews 11:1
Having a “faithful” or “believing” heart is greatly prized among the religious. Those who uncover less savory aspects of LDS history are frequently told to “Just have faith,” even in the face of opposing evidence. As I have pondered the question of faith, I have begun to question whether a “believing heart” is really a positive attribute, or where and when it should be applied. Continue reading…
A temple wedding petition to is being circulated to promote love and happiness in the family by changing the church’s stance on civil marriages preceding temple weddings. The petition requests that the leadership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints make it acceptable to have a civil marriage ceremony first, if desired, and then giving the couple the necessary time to attend the temple for the sealing ordinance as they do in those countries whose laws require it. (The petition is not endorsed by Mormon Matters; this information is being shared for discussion as a news item).
In the following video which lasts about 2 minutes, Jean talks about the stigma some members may feel if they choose a civil wedding ceremony. The other preseding videos last approximately 2 minutes each.
Temple Wedding Petition 3 Here
I’ve always taken it as a given that Mormonism’s view of the afterlife shuffle has always been more universalizing than most of the other alternatives. Our formulation of heaven intuitively accommodates for the varying levels of understanding people can achieve in this life and in the spirit world: instead of a binary — heaven and hell — we have glories of heaven. So, we can safely say that although most people aren’t Mormons, most people won’t go to “Hell,” or at least, not the kind of Hell that many non-LDS religious people want to posit for nonbelievers of their religions. Regardless of people’s disagreements with the particulars of exaltation for the celestial aspirants, things actually look pretty good for the rest of us non-celestial people.
That being said, we do know that there is a divider between the glories and the non-glories. We have that ominous concept: Outer Darkness. But what does it mean? Who is it for? Continue reading…
“For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, 
and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;” (D&C 58:26 – 27) Continue reading…
Jeff Spector wrote a post on Agency a few months ago which I enjoyed alot. The discussion led me down a slightly different path and I wanted to write a supplement to his ideas in light of some of my own thoughts on agency and how they relate to accountability. My major contention is that the notion of individual accountability is a fallacy, or, perhaps more accurately, it is not the whole story. Continue reading…
A year ago my wife and I were struggling to find ways to teach our children the importance of helping those in need, and lamented the fact that despite our knowing there are millions of families around the world who need help, we felt virtually powerless to make any significant difference in their lives. And although we were grateful for the opportunity to make monetary donations to the Church’s humanitarian program, we felt that writing a check quite wasn’t enough to help our children understand the challenges so many of the world’s families face; nor did it allow our children to witness the results of our family’s contributions. Continue reading…
Are Mormons more often criminals than members of other similar religions? This is a question we will never answer with precision. After all, one’s religion is not asked when booked for a crime. For an accurate assessment of interreligious rates of criminality, such data would be a necessary condition to doing some per-member calculations.
However, we might estimate an answer by examining court opinions arising from criminal prosecutions. This method is admittedly a soft proxy. Criminal opinions reflect only a small portion of all criminal prosecutions, and they refer to a defendant’s religion only when it is somehow injected into the proceedings. Still, what these opinions say about the relative criminality of certain religions is interesting, as is the examination of how these cases vary over time. By looking at the number of “Mormon defendant” criminal cases, we might see whether there is an uptick in Mormon-committed crimes or different ways in how Mormons, compared with members of other faiths, choose to defend themselves when charged with crimes. Continue reading…
As a fan of Mormon Studies I value the opportunity to discuss and, sometimes, disagree. In this regard, I have been particularly inspired by the vision of J. Bonner Ritchie. He has repeatedly argued for openness and honesty regarding the Mormon Experience. However, I wonder whether Mormon thought really has space for this kind of openness when we retain the LDS version of the pre-mortal Grand Council as our archetypal council meeting? Continue reading…
The third ward verses the seventh ward. Us verses them. Insiders verses outsiders. My buddies and I were third warders. We were full of ourselves. But why wouldn’t we be? Our ward display case was full of softball trophies. Our scouting program was full of Eagle scouts. Our report cards were full of A’s. And our bulletin board was full of missionary photos. By comparison, the guys in the seventh ward had few of those things. I needed those guys, but only to remind me how low they were. The lower I made them out to be, the higher I stood. Loving my neighbor didn’t apply to the seventh ward. Continue reading…
The message of the Gospel of Christ could be encapsulated in a few adjectives, such as: love (Charity), repentance, forgiveness and service. But how should we forgive? Should we follow the example of God, who promises his saints that when they repent he will remember those sins no more (D&C 58:42). The Church as an institution does not seem to think so as it seems to have a pretty good memory when it comes to the sins of its members. Is this consistent with the Gospel message? Continue reading…
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