White and Delightsome or Pure and Delightsome? (Cognitive dissonance 2)

Jamesaccountability, apologetics, apostasy, Bible, blacks, book of mormon, burdens, conference, correlation, Culture, curiosity, Discrimination, faith, families, Folklore, historicity, lamanites, LDS, LDS lessons, Leaders, Logic, Mormon, mormon, Nephi, plan of salvation, questioning, race, righteousness 60 Comments

I’m 1/16 th Chippewa and don’t even look a little Indian! I figure from my knee down is pure Chippewa and  for whatever reason  I …

In the Shadow of the Temple by Guest

guestapologetics, apostasy, apostles, baptism, Bloggernacle, book of mormon, burdens, christianity, church, cinema, Culture, curiosity, depression, Discrimination, doctrine, doubt, education, faith, families, Folklore, General Authorities, Happiness, historicity, LDS, Leaders, liberal, Logic, marriage, media, Mormon, mormon, obedience, ordinances, polygamy, questioning, resignation, righteousness, spiritual progression, temple, tesimony 283 Comments

A close friend of mine who wishes to remain anonymous recently saw in the shadow of the temple his story follows: In October, I was …

Brother Brigham Brother Young

Jamesabuse, adultery, Anti-Mormon, apostasy, apostles, baptism, blacks, burdens, Charity, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, death, depression, Discrimination, doubt, eternity, excommunication, faith, historicity, LDS, Leaders, marriage, media, Mormon, Mormons, obedience, ordinances, polygamy, Priesthood, prophets, race, repentance, salvation, tesimony, thought, Utah, women 6 Comments

Recently I drove up Little Cottonwood Canyon with my brother and nephew.  This is the canyon in which many of your ancestors pulled out  the …

A Personal Interpretation of Elder Hafen’s Remarks

jmb275apologetics, apostasy, Charity, christ, Culture, gay, General Authorities, homosexuality, LDS, love, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, orthodox, questioning, religion, resignation, sexuality, spirituality 225 Comments

At the Evergreen conference held September 18-19, 2009, Elder Bruce Hafen gave a talk regarding homosexuality. The talk was reprinted on the official LDS Church …

Poly-What?, or, a Contemporary View of LDS Plural Marriage

Aaron R. aka Ricoadultery, apostasy, love, marriage, Mormon, polygamy 34 Comments

Being from England, we do not really have a Polygamous Pioneer heritage like some from the US. However, we do have something a little more contemporary. I was speaking recently to a single woman who had a few children and had divorced been for some time and as we were speaking about the Church’s history in this area she explained to me a few of her recent experiences with people who wanted to practice Polygamy.

Mormon Masks

Hawkgrrrlapostasy, Asides, Beatitudes, Bible, Charity, children, christ, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, Discrimination, diversity, doubt, families, fear, Happiness, inter-faith, Jesus, LDS, Leaders, love, marriage, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, orthodox, parables, Peace, questioning, religion, testimony 17 Comments

Often people have a hard time with intimacy (intimacy = “into me see”) because they feel vulnerable.  They would rather deal with ideas than people, …

Faith vs. Doubt

Hawkgrrrlapostasy, Asides, burdens, Charity, christ, christianity, church, conference, Culture, curiosity, depression, Discrimination, diversity, doubt, education, faith, fear, General Authorities, General Conference, inter-faith, joseph, LDS, Leaders, liberal, Logic, love, mercy, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, orthodox, President Monson, prophets, questioning, religion, restoration, scripture, spirituality, testimony, theology, thought 48 Comments

“Faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other.”

Big Love -Big News

Jamesabuse, adultery, Anti-Mormon, apologetics, apostasy, baptism, Bloggernacle, book of mormon, burdens, Charity, children, christ, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, Discrimination, diversity, doubt, education, faith, families, fear, FLDS, general, God, Happiness, history, inter-faith, Jesus, joseph, marriage, media, meetings, Mormon, Mormons, movies, news, obedience, ordinances, orthodox, polygamy, Priesthood, prophets, religion, resignation, RLDS, salvation, scripture, spirituality, television, temple, testimony, theology, thought, Utah, women 33 Comments

Filtered Visions by guest Reuben Collins

Jamesapostasy, baptism, Bible, Bloggernacle, book of mormon, books, christ, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, death, diversity, doubt, education, faith, families, fear, Folklore, general, General Authorities, historicity, liberal, Logic, love, marriage, Mormon, Mormons, obedience, prayer, religion, sacrament, salvation, spirituality, temple, tesimony, theology, thought, Trinity, women 9 Comments

I’ve been thinking about Levi Peterson’s The Backslider lately (SPOILERS AHEAD).

Go to Church or Die!

Hawkgrrrlapostasy, Asides, Charity, church, Culture, curiosity, death, diversity, doubt, faith, families, fear, Happiness, Humor, inter-faith, LDS, meetings, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, prayer, Priesthood, questioning, religion, spirituality, testimony, theology, thought, Word of Wisdom 11 Comments

A recent article in Time discusses several studies about the correlation between faith and health.  Does church attendance contribute to a healthier, longer life?  Is …

Shipbuilding: Tasks or Vision?

guestapostasy, Asides, burdens, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, diversity, doubt, faith, fear, General Authorities, God, Happiness, LDS, Leaders, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, obedience, orthodox, parables, Peace, questioning, religion, spirituality, theology, thought 9 Comments

Spending a week in the Pacific Northwest on vacation, surrounded by boats and the vastness of the sea, when I read this quote from Antoine …

The Purposes of God Cannot Be Frustrated

guestAnti-Mormon, apologetics, apostasy, Asides, book of mormon, christianity, church, curiosity, doubt, faith, historicity, history, joseph, LDS, Leaders, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, polygamy, prophets, questioning, religion, repentance, righteousness, sexuality, smith, testimony, theology, thought 20 Comments

The title is from DC3:1.  Today’s guest post is from Bouvet and is in reference to this year’s Doctrine & Covenants manual, Lesson 4 is Remember …

Horus Bible Parallels

JamesAnti-Mormon, apologetics, apostasy, Bible, Bloggernacle, book of mormon, books, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, diversity, doubt, education, evangelicals, faith, fear, Folklore, general, history, inter-faith, international, Jesus, LDS, Leaders, liberal, marriage, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, movies, new order mormon, orthodox, parables, questioning, religion, scripture, Sermon on the Mount, spirituality, tesimony, theology, thought, Uncategorized 22 Comments

Recently I saw Religulous here and he touched on Horus here and a few of the parallels between the story of Horus and Jesus. Many …

Nipples, Sexism and Racism

Hawkgrrrladultery, apostasy, church, Culture, curiosity, diversity, fear, feminism, Folklore, Humor, LDS, marriage, missionary, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, news, pornography, questioning, race, racism, religion, sexuality, thought, Utah 95 Comments

There was an interesting article in Time recently about Facebook’s censorship of pics with nips, specifically eliminating pictures of breastfeeding moms (and, in their defense, a few …

Can you be a Unitarian and a Mormon at the Same Time?

JamesAnti-Mormon, apostasy, Bible, Bloggernacle, book of mormon, catholicism, christ, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, death, diversity, doubt, education, faith, families, fear, general, God, Happiness, inter-faith, international, Jesus, LDS, liberal, love, media, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, new order mormon, obedience, orthodox, prayer, prophets, service, theology, thought 27 Comments

We should gather all the good and true principles in the world and treasure them up, or we shall not come out true Mormons. Joseph …

Temperance Movement and The Word of Wisdom

Jamesapostasy, Bible, book of mormon, christianity, church, conference, Culture, curiosity, diversity, doubt, faith, fear, Folklore, general, General Authorities, General Conference, Government, Happiness, history, international, jehovahs witnesses, LDS, Leaders, liberal, media manipulation, missionary, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, orthodox, religion, restoration, testimony, theology, thought, Word of Wisdom 63 Comments

For almost two centuries the Word of Wisdom is solid proven evidence to many members that the Church is true.

Unity, Diversity and Conformity

Hawkgrrrlapostasy, Asides, burdens, Charity, Culture, curiosity, Discrimination, diversity, doubt, education, faith, families, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, new order mormon, orthodox, questioning, service, temple, theology, thought 7 Comments

How do we create and maintain unity at church while valuing diversity and avoiding conformity?  Do we have to embrace the diversity of those who …

What is a Testimony?

guestapostasy, Asides, BYU, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, diversity, doubt, faith, fear, Happiness, LDS, Leaders, love, missionary, missions, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, prayer, questioning, religion, salvation, scripture, spiritual progression, spirituality, temple, testimony, theology, thought 10 Comments

Ironically, some of you with “strong testimonies” may think that those struggling with their testimony make only a small percentage of us here today. The …

The Church as a Tool

guestAnti-Mormon, apologetics, apostasy, Asides, Charity, christ, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, depression, diversity, doubt, education, faith, fear, God, Happiness, history, LDS, mormon, Mormons, new order mormon, obedience, orthodox, parables, Peace, prayer, Priesthood, prophets, questioning, religion, testimony, theology, thought 21 Comments

What is the church to you?  A family you must learn to love?  A path you must follow?  A checklist of items you must do …

Churches are Made for the Ninety and Nine… What About the One?

Clay Whipkeyapostasy, christ, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, depression, Discrimination, diversity, doubt, faith, General Authorities, Happiness, Jesus, Leaders, love, Mormon, obedience, orthodox, parables, questioning, repentance, spiritual progression, surviving, testimony, thought 37 Comments

Believers and non-believers. The faithful and the doubters. Religious conservatives and religious liberals. TBMs and NOMs. These are ways we describe the differences in our …

In Defense of Apologists

HawkgrrrlAnti-Mormon, apologetics, apostasy, baseball, Bloggernacle, christianity, church, curiosity, Discrimination, doubt, eschatoloty, evangelicals, faith, historicity, history, LDS, liberal, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, new order mormon, orthodox, questioning, religion, testimony, theology, thought 52 Comments

The term “apologist” is often used derisively like the terms “lawyer,” “statistician,” or “telemarketer.”  Why are apologists so derided?  Is it warranted or just a …

Virtual RS/PH #15: Establishing the Cause of Zion

Hawkgrrrlapostasy, Asides, christ, church, Culture, faith, families, Happiness, Jesus, joseph, LDS, love, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, new order mormon, obedience, orthodox, plan of salvation, repentance, restoration, scripture, smith, spiritual progression, testimony, theology, thought 22 Comments

Okay, last week I said the death lesson was going to be tough.  Frankly, I think a Zion lesson is no picnic either.  I’m looking …

Obedience: Virtual RS/PH #13

HawkgrrrlAnti-Mormon, apologetics, apostasy, Bloggernacle, book of mormon, christianity, church, evangelicals, faith, God, grace, inter-faith, Jesus, joseph, LDS, Leaders, missionary, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, obedience, orthodox, plan of salvation, politics, polygamy, prophets, questioning, religion, salvation, scripture, smith, spiritual progression, temple, testimony, theology, thought 22 Comments

Welcome to the second virtual co-ed 3rd hour.  This week’s lesson is a topic that is often a seething hotbed of Mormon Matters controversy:  “Obedience:  When …

Virtual Co-Ed RS/PH: Missionary Work (Lesson 12)

Hawkgrrrlapologetics, apostasy, Bloggernacle, christ, christianity, church, faith, history, inter-faith, joseph, LDS, Leaders, missionary, missions, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, prophets, religion, salvation, scripture, testimony, theology, thought 10 Comments

Welcome to the first ever Virtual Co-ed Relief Society/Priesthood Lesson (at MM anyway)!  Here’s why you should join the discussion: Virtual – you can participate …