Mormon Heretic’s post on forgiveness from a few weeks ago touched me deeply, but I needed time to get my thoughts together about it before I could respond. I once had the neighbor from hell. I use the expression with theological intent. Smart and relentlessly treacherous, he was somewhere on the spectrum from malignant narcissist to full-fledged sociopath, and I had no desire to observe closely enough to find out where. I do not know what horror had befallen him — if anything more significant than a stray cosmic ray hitting the genome at the wrong time — but...
all decisions are emotional
I always have to laugh when people claim we Mormons (or even believers in general) make our decisions based on “feelings.” What they don’t realize, is EVERYONE makes EVERY decision, at least in part (and often mostly) due to their feelings.
the Authority of Paul
For some reason, I was thinking about the structure of the New Testament Church after the ascension of the Savior. What is clear is that Peter is the Chief Apostle and the one left in charge by Christ. By LDS theology, Peter held the Keys of the Kingdom as “President of the Church” although two LDS Church Presidents, David O. McKay and Spencer W. Kimball, likened his position more as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. But who succeed Peter after his death? And as a second thought, what of all the doctrine taught by Paul?...
Duality, Doctrine and When Less is More
D&C Section 77 and its companion section 113 have an interesting history. An “older” high priest was publicly debating with local ministers about doctrine and was winning the debates. Local church leaders felt he was espousing false doctrine and decided to excommunicate him. At his trial he had a surprise advocate who spoke passionately in his defense, even though he was 100% wrong on the doctrine. The advocate who completely turned things around: Joseph Smith (whose corrections became those two sections). He gave what is one of my favorite sermons about how we have freedom to believe and how...
Mormon Therapist on “My husband is homosexual.”
Several years ago, my husband confirmed my worst nightmare. He sat down and said that he is homosexual and receiving counseling. He has suffered from addiction to pornography and has battled it all of his life. Now, years later, I am unable to confide in him or be intimate with him. He doesn’t try either and so we lead a celibate life. I do not talk with him about the problem and I don’t ask what he does on the computer. Often, I turn away from the slightest show of affection. At this point, I wonder how we will...
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 some interesting stories about President McKay and the Word of Wisdom.
Mormon.org FAQ: Prophets
We’ve explored some of the answers members have posted on the mormon.org site in the church’s new profiles campaign. So far, we’ve discussed member answers to questions about polygamy, priesthood, politics, and parenting. Today, let’s see what members had to say about prophets.
Duality and Divinity
In both theology and religion, there is a concept called “dualism”, which — to avoid confusion later — I’ll note now has nothing much to do with “duality” as understood within modern physics. The former concept involves the notion that there are two aspects of reality which may either be diametrically opposed, mutually inconsistent, balanced or unbalanced, or even complementary — but always conceptually separable such that they refer to two different things. Good or evil. Material or immaterial. Mind or matter. Spiritual or physical. Even male or female. As this article from the Jewish Virtual Library describes, many...
Job, Healing and Elder Oaks
Elder Oaks General Conference talk on healing has ended up as one of the talks widely used for an alternate week priesthood and relief society lesson. I almost got derailed into posting about the Book of Job and neo-Calvinism (the rich get that way because of the grace of God rewarding them for their merit, the unlucky, poor and distressed get that way because of their sins — that is the message of everyone in the Book of Job who God repudiates at the end …) but Elder Oaks talk was what I originally planned to write about.
Mormon Therapist on Cutting Self
I first noticed signs of depression and anxiety when I was in Jr. High School. I am now happily married with two young children. With the help of counseling and medication, I am as stable and well adjusted as the next girl. My friends would never guess I had such a rough patch in my life. The scars in my heart have healed, but unfortunately, the ones on my arms have not.
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. Members pointed him to a Bishop Clay Sannar, father of 6. Ward shot Bishop Sanner, and then fled. A few minutes later, he called police, confessing to the crime. As police arrived, he opened fire. Police killed the assailant. It is a truly senseless act. More details can be found at the KSL website. Please pray for his family.
Mormon.org FAQ: Role of Husbands & Wives
We’ve explored some of the answers members have posted on the mormon.org site in the church’s new profiles campaign. So far, we’ve discussed member answers to questions about polygamy, women& the priesthood, and politics. Today, let’s see what members had to say about gender roles.
Unsolved Puzzle
A few years ago I wondered what it means to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I wondered: is it ok if my testimony dwells down to, “I really don’t believe in all of this spiritual stuff, but from an organizational perspective, I believe that the church is great at moving and shaking…and it has moved and shaken me to be a better person”? I concluded that was not ok. A religion isn’t just a collection of practical life advice and a church isn’t just the hub to receive and practice such advice....
Book of Mormon Geophysics
When most people use their rational faculties to test their testimonies about their religious scriptures, they tend to concentrate on things like history, archeology, or textual development. A number of writers on this site and elsewhere in the bloggernacle have far more expertise in those areas than do I. So I have to take their arguments second-hand. Instead, I like to test my scriptural canon in the disciplines where I have my own professional training in college or experience on interdisciplinary teams later in life. So rather than argue about Mesoamerican artifacts, I like to look instead at Mesoamerican...
What kind of “Mormon” are you?
TBM? NOM? Ex? Post? Orthoprax & Unorthodox? Deist? Liberal? Conservative? Orthodox? Fundamentalist? Faithful? I’m not sure what category, if any, I fit in. Sometimes I think categories are only useful or good for those who are doing the categorizing. I suppose this post should be titled, “Tell me what kind of Mormon you think I am.”
Favorite and Most Difficult Church Callings
What have been your favorite and most difficult Callings you’ve had at Church? In some cases, they may be one and the same, but likely, they are different.
Ok, time to speculate on gender essentialism
There are lots of ways to start this off. I could start with the more than forty sexes of slime molds (why stop at 4 or 5 gender types when you can have 47 sexes). Or I could start with race and culture differences and variety and how they relate to sexual differences. Or how about the differences between the terms gender and sex as the words were used in 1770, 1970, 1990 and 2010. Should I dredge up fetish behaviors and the animal companion marriage movement? And just what does it mean to be human? How much difference...
Yom Kippur and the Symbolism of Jonah’s Spiritual Journey
OT SS Lesson #33 If your ward happens to be just a little bit behind on the Sunday School lessons, you might experience the synchronicity of having the Book of Jonah read on Yom Kippur. This year, the Jewish holiday falls on September 18 (close enough to Sunday the 19th!) and Jonah is traditionally read as part of the celebration. Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) is the holiest and most widely observed day on the Jewish calendar. It is a day of fasting, lengthy confession of sins, prayer, and repentance. Jonah’s prophecy is included in the liturgy for...
Mormon Therapist on Internet Infidelity
I have been happily married for 7 years. I recently came across this anonymous chat website that lets you chat with a random stranger at the click of a button. It has become almost an addiction for me. I have problems making friends because of shyness, self-esteem issues but I am able to be freely and truly myself on this silly website. However, several of the best conversations I’ve had have been with men. I find it thrilling to know that they find me interesting and even sexy. The only one I’ve ever felt I could do this for...
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 of the ordinances of the endowment as far as they had then been revealed.” . There are 2 important pieces of Mormon doctrine to consider here: (1) baptism for the dead, and (2) children that die before the age of accountability (and baptism at age 8 ) will inherit the Celestial Kingdom. Since it is a short section, let me quote it entirely. This section is only in the LDS version of the D&C,...
Mormon.org FAQ: Political Parties
We’ve explored a few of the mormon.org profiles’ answers to tough questions on polygamy and women & the priesthood. Today let’s take a look at another topic not suitable for dinner conversation: politics!
Our Day of Rest
The seventh commandment, Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8) seems like a fairly simple statement on the surface. But, in practice, its interpretation is as wide as the Grand Canyon.
Where Have All the Revelations Gone?
Lesson 17 of the Gospel Principles manual in use today for Priesthood and Relief Society is entitled “The Church of Jesus Christ Today.” Under the heading, “New Revelation from God” is this quote: “…Since that time the heavens have not been closed. Revelation continues to this day through each of His chosen prophets. Joseph was to be the one to help restore the true gospel of Jesus Christ.” I do believe and accept the Church is receiving inspired counsel from on high. Not just the President, but at all levels down to families and individuals. However,...
Viewpoints, Part Two
A viewpoint can change things. Consider Sir Thomas More, famous as a model of honesty, integrity and virtue. A man for all seasons and a Catholic Saint. He is also the man truly responsible for William Tyndale’s being burned at the stake for translating the Bible into English in addition to those he was able to prosecute and burn directly for owning copies of the scriptures in English such as John Tewkesbury.
Adversity: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
OT SS Lesson #32 After the Satan figure is given permission to afflict Job as a test of his faithfulness, three of Job’s friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, come to visit him, sitting with him in silence for seven days. On the seventh day, Job speaks, beginning a conversation in which each of the four men shares thoughts on Job’s afflictions and adversity in general in profound poetic statements. This is a lengthy dialogue between characters who alter their moods, question their motives, change their minds, and undercut each other with sarcasm and innuendo. Although Job comes closest to...
The Mormon Therapist on Teen Suicide
Recently a 16-year-old young man from our ward hung himself. It was a horrendous shock for everyone, as this was a handsome, well-liked boy. The young man’s family began immediately to say that it was an accidental death, but it was ruled a suicide by the coroner. Why does someone do something like this? Does the method of suicide give any clues? This apparently happened in a closet, and it was not a long closet. He REALLY wanted to end his life and it must have been a horrendous death. I appreciate any insight you may have on this...
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 gave a presentation titled “Dating Fanny Alger”, a bit of a play on words. I remember he gave a funny line to the effect of “By all accounts, she was hot!” Anyway, Bradley tried to pin down when the “affair” happened. Apparently, Emma discovered Joseph and Fanny late at night in the barn. According to Bradley, Alger appeared pregnant. Emma threw a fit, and threw Alger out of the house. (Apparently Alger had been...
Mormon.org FAQ: Women & Priesthood
Last week we looked at some of the cool profiles on mormon.org that are part of a new effort to make members real and accessible for potential investigators. And we talked about the difficulties of giving members an open mic on some of the tough questions. This week let’s look at another tough topic: Women and the priesthood.
The Mormon Therapist on Confession
The following is part of an answer I gave to a woman in response to a question dealing with “Do I need to tell the bishop?” I get this type of question often:
Sophia of the Proverbs and the Feminine Divine
OT SS Lesson #31 Feminist readers of the scriptures are well aware of the passages in Proverbs 8 which personify Wisdom (GK Sophia, HEB Hokhmah). These passages affirm that Sophia was there when God made the earth and acted as a partner with God in the creation. This idea fits in well with my conceptualization of the male/female duality of the Divine. The passages can be interpreted as instructions to the earnest seeker to discover and follow the promptings of a Heavenly Mother:
WHY our meetings are dull for some, and great for others
Okay, so our meetings are dull. Complaining about it is dull. I’ve been wondering though, what about the wards that have better meetings? What makes them better? Whenever this topic arises, people want to toss around blame. Either the church or the individual members are responsible. After all, if the church is run by God, if the meeting is boring it must be YOUR fault. I think there may be some truth to that.
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