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 …
The Mormon Therapist on the Color Gray
Natasha Helfer Parker is a Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist and a member of the Church with 13 years of experience working with LDS …
The Doctrine of Grace: After all we can Do?
The doctrine of grace is one of those things not very well understood within Christianity. While most traditional Christian denominations accept the doctrine of “Salvation …
Jacob’s Ladder: More on Faith Vs. Works
OT SS Lesson #10 Though it’s only an “additional teaching idea” in Lesson 12, Jacob’s ladder has captured my imagination due to some conversations I’ve …
Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up?
David W. Bercot, a Texas attorney and Evangelical Christian, embarked on a quest to discover what Christians believed and practiced before the Nicene Creed. What …
Learning and Understanding Vs. Winning Arguments
Why do you read and comment on blogs? What is your goal? Do you want to make points and debate with others? Is it more …
Is Accountability a Good or Bad Thing?
I am struck regularly by how many members fail to focus on the life of Jesus and, thus, fail to realize that there are incredible …
When Evil-Speaking Creeps Unawares Among Us
Last week, there was some heated debate here about More Open Mormon History. I don’t want to open that exact same discussion all over again, …
Gender: A State of Mind
This is a post written initially on my own blog. It was reprinted on Feminist Mormon Housewives a while back. It created a very lively …
The Age of (Un)Accountability
NOTE: This is the first post for a new Guest Author – The Faithful Dissident. We look forward to many more to come. Growing up …
Little Lord Jesus, No Crying He Makes
Sometimes, I have to say to my creedal Christian friends, in all sincerity: We really do worship a different Jesus than you do. I mention …
The Good News!
. You dropped down into this crazy, frenetic, gloomy world; stumble and trip in the darkness, trying to feel your way through the valley of shadows. Nothing seems to work …
Homosexuality, Politics, and Looking to November 5th
On the eve of another election in the United States of America, many historic events are looming, both encouraging and daunting; Whatever happens, we will …
Psalms 55:22 – Cast Thy Burden Upon the Lord
I had an interesting insight during a prayer a few months ago. In all my years as a member of the Church – in all …
Poor Pontius Pilate
I usually post about music here, but this particular entry is something I’ve been considering for a couple weeks. I remember when I was younger …
Stopping Time for the Unconverted
I had an interesting conversation with a woman today. Missionaries would call it a bash. I called it posing and answering meaningful questions. It prompted her …
My kind of Evangelical
As a Mormon kid growing up in the area of Southern California largely settled by Dust Bowl migrants from Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri, evangelicals (we …
Feeling Comfortable at Church
Recently someone noted that the covetous feel comfortable at church. Indeed, neo-Calvinists tend to embrace the doctrine that you don’t need to choose between God …
Common Scriptures in Review: “Come Unto Me”
While pondering the concept of spiritual poverty earlier this year, something struck me that I hadn’t considered previously quite in that way. I have believed …
Foundations of Becoming: Thoughts on Spiritual Poverty
Matthew 5:3 says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” As I was pondering the phrase “poor in spirit” …
Righteous Judgment
The seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew begins with: “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”
Obedience: Virtual RS/PH #13
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 …
Common Scriptures in Review: Remembering
As I’ve said previously, although I truly enjoy intellectual analysis, what grounds me are my experiences – things that are so vivid and unexplainable that …
Praise, Honor & Glory Be to God
I have been struck for a long time by the different ways that people interpret and speak of praise, honor and glory – particularly how …
“All we can hope for is for God to bring us home.” (Thanks, Stephen.)
1) There is a man in my ward who is a dean at a major college in our area. He is a brilliant scholar in …
Sin and Transgression vs. Morality
[NOTE: I must be a masochist. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE read the questions asked in this post and stick to those questions when you comment. I …
The Bright Night of My Soul
Andrew wrote a beautiful and moving post recently – “Dark Night of the Soul“. In reading that post and the subsequent comments, I had an …
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 …