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 …
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 …
Pyramids-R-US
Last week I spent a supper hour (it took that long) reading an article called “America’s Ruling Class – And the Perils of Revolution” by …
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 …
Patriarchal Hierarchy and the Kingship Model
OT SS Lesson #21 When we lived in Saudi Arabia a few years ago, I obtained a faculty position in the fairly newly-formed department of …
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 …
Nepotism in the Church – 2010 Update
To follow on with my post for the past two years, here is this year’s Nepotism in the Church installment. To find the original post, …
White and Delightsome or Pure and Delightsome? (Cognitive dissonance 2)
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 …
Mormon Myths as Transferable Charisma
Richard Bushman has recently given a presentation on ‘Joseph Smith and the Routinization of Charisma’. One of Bushman’s arguments seems to be that Charisma was …
Bombshell at the BYU Studies Symposium
A small crowd at the BYU Studies Symposium yesterday was on hand to receive Richard Holzapfel’s self-proclaimed Mormon history “bombshell.” He presented the morning plenary …
The Word of Wisdom and the Temple: Personal, Political and Prophetic Dimensions
Obedience to the Word of Wisdom, it is commonly known, was not always a requirement for entering the Temple or advancement in the Priesthood. What …
In the Shadow of the Temple by Guest
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 …
Temple Wedding Petition
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 …
Have you ever received a Christmas card from the First Presidency?
This year I received a Christmas card from the First Presidency. I have heard that Church employees get one, but it has not been my …
Brother Brigham Brother Young
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 …
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 …
How to Provide Critical Feedback to Church Leaders Church Without Getting Excommunicated
If you didn’t happen to read the February issue of Ensign Magazine in 1987, you missed some valuable instruction about how to provide critical feedback …
Great Expectations: What Are Your Hopes and Predictions for General Conference?
“It’s the MOST WONderful TIIIME of the YEARRRRRR.” The leaves are starting to change color. The evenings and mornings are a bit crisper. Even the …
In Praise of Elder Packer: ‘Let Them Govern Themselves’
It might just be the posts that I read, but Boyd K. Packer is not the most popular of Apostles in the Bloggernacle (or perhaps …
What if the Brethren decided to allow gay marriage? by Justin Perry
What if the Brethren decided to allow gay marriage? They’d have to do a lot of back-peddling to explain why they were suddenly in favor …
The Institutionally Unforgivable?
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 …
Understanding General Authorities, Part II
The current culture of the Church involves a lot of committee work where movement happens only after consensus is reached on most points. Consider, the …
Heroes Are Hard to Find
With the recent revelation of unfaithfulness of some of our politicians (not that this is all that surprising), it seems that the circle of people …
Adam and Eve: the First TBM & NOM
There have been several attempts over the years to categorize Mormon “belief-styles”: Orthodox Mormon versus Liberal Mormon, Iron Rod Mormon versus Liahona Mormon, and so …
Taking the Fun Out of Funerals
What do you want your funeral to be like? Do you care or do you figure you’ll be dead anyway? How do you feel about …
Women are from Venus, Men are from Kolob
Based on my experience, I would guess that the majority of LDS women under age 65 would say that polygamy is NOT an eternal principle …
Best and Worst of Mormonism: Quotes!
A Zen Buddhist/Freemason friend of mine has put together some great posts of “Best and Worst Bible Verses.” I have been trying to convince him …
The Problem with Tolerance
The church has a history of high level leaders making sweeping pronouncements that are later deemed incorrect, speculative, or unauthorized, yet in each case, church …
Interfaith International British DJ
OK Paul technically isn’t exactly an international DJ, not unless you consider that you can listen to his interviews on line.
Mormon Masks
Often people have a hard time with intimacy (intimacy = “into me see”) because they feel vulnerable. They would rather deal with ideas than people, …
April 2009 General Conference – Word Stats
Based on word count, what was the focus of April 2009 General Conference? Before you scroll down, see if you can guess the top 3 …
More Christ At Church
The mission of the church is to bring people to Christ (it is not the tri-fold mission of proclaim the gospel, perfect the saints and …
Why Faith Needs Reason
The tragedy of 9/11 had a big impact on my views about the relationship between faith and reason. As I watched the video footage of …
Faith vs. Doubt
“Faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other.”
Memo To YW Leaders: Thanks, But No Thanks
In our current callings, my wife and I spend a lot of time digging through Church instruction manuals. I teach both the 12/13 year old …
Help Wanted: Predicting the Next Apostle
This Thursday or Friday, someone at the Church Office building will get a phone call and make the long walk to President Monson’s office. By …
The Problem with Whistleblowers
A whistleblower is someone internal to an organization who alleges misconduct. So, what if the organization is the church? Does the church handle whistleblowers effectively …
What Advice Would You Give Our Bishops? (“Missionary Work”)
I am on the Stake Missionary Committee, and Wednesday night we had a fascinating set of meetings. I couldn’t help but think as the meetings …
In Praise Of Good Bishops
Here’s the one lesson I learned from my 3.5 year stint as an Elders Quorum President: never, ever aspire to be a Bishop. Seriously, it …
Why Mormon Doctrine Is NOT Mormon Doctrine
Many people both within the Church and outside the Church think that Bruce R. McConkie’s book, Mormon Doctrine, is the official declaration of LDS church …
The Bloggernacle: The Church’s Unofficial Complaint Department
Since I began using the Internet, I discovered both the positive and negative aspects of it. One can find a wealth of information heretofore unattainable …
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 …
Shipbuilding: Tasks or Vision?
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 …
Revelation & Things
Today’s post comes from The Teacher. Section 8 of the Doctrine & Covenants refers to “another gift” Olivery Cowdery had, called at different times “the …
The Purposes of God Cannot Be Frustrated
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 …
Oliver Cowdery Was Punk’d!
When you hear the name Oliver Cowdery, you probably think of the story that culminates in the revelation that became Section 9 of the Doctrine …
President Thomas S. Monson: First Year in Review
Today, February 3, 2009 is the 1-year anniversary of the calling of President Thomas S. Monson as the 16th President of the Church of Jesus …
Horus Bible Parallels
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 …
Glorifying “The Good Old Days”
I think it’s fascinating to watch people justify their angst over prophets by pointing out all the “weird” stuff about which prophets used to speculate, …
The Problem with Authority
Mormons are sometimes criticized for their unquestioning obedience to authority. Statements like “When the prophet has spoken, the thinking is done,” and the Primary song …
What is Good Church Leadership?
What is good leadership? How did Joseph Smith envision church leadership? How does that differ from the church today and how is it the same? …
Temperance Movement and The Word of Wisdom
For almost two centuries the Word of Wisdom is solid proven evidence to many members that the Church is true.
Betting on the House!
“What do Catholics, Jews and Mormons have in common?” “Catholics don’t recognize birth control, Jews don’t recognize Jesus, and Mormons don’t recognize each other in …
Virtual RS/PH #22: Gaining Knowledge of Eternal Truths
Mormonism has a focus on gaining knowledge that is unique in Christendom, largely due to the emphasis that Joseph Smith placed on learning. Joseph’s total …
Virtual RS/PH #21: The Second Coming & The Millenium
To the teachers out there, sorry if this one is coming a day late and a dollar short. Our ward is a month behind on …
Should we have listened to BH Roberts?
BH Roberts predicted that if church leaders did not address the historical problems of church origins and possible anachronisms in the Book of Mormon, these …
What is a Testimony?
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 Irony of Proposition 8
I hope you can stand at least one more post on Proposition 8 and its aftermath.
5 Cool Things About the Community of Christ
This post is another installment in my “5 Cool Things” series. Today I’m giving a list, again in no particular order, of some things I …
Are Sacrament Meeting Talks Rehashes of General Conference Talks Where You Live?
In my ward in a very LDS-heavy area of Arizona, I’ve been noticing a pattern in the sacrament meeting talks. I’m not sure how far …
Witch-Hunting
Halloween is just around the corner! Have you ever been on a witch hunt? Or have you been singled out by a witch hunter? Here …
This Won’t Make It Past Correlation!
Hi everyone, Welcome to my new series where I provide you, the reader, with an excerpt from an LDS church manual, uncited, which I LIKE. …
The Book of Mormon: A 20th Century Text
There are many positions on which century the Book of Mormon originated in, but most seem to fall into two general camps: the book was …
What’s Most Important to You?
We all attend church for various reasons, and in reality, no church can be all things to all people. Plus, what you get out of …
Superman vs. Spiderman
What do Superman and Spiderman have to do with Mormon history? Nothing at all. But maybe something about the two characters relates to the way …
Churches are Made for the Ninety and Nine… What About the One?
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 …
Is Pride the Only Sin?
Can all sins be reduced to just one sin: pride? Is pride essentially the root cause of all sins?
Prophetic Smackdown: Moses vs. Joseph Smith
Today’s post is from an anonymous guest blogger. The critics of the church like to point the finger at Joseph Smith, citing polygamy, concealing polygamy, …
The Other Half of the Circle
I am an over-analyzer. As a musician I listen to music in a different way than a lot of folks. I pick apart each instrument …
Virtual RS/PH #16: Revelation & the Living Prophet
Finally, a lesson that really makes you think! This is probably my favorite JS lesson this year (no one dies or has to move to …
Wealth & Worthiness
I have long believed that the Church’s reliance on a lay clergy is both one of its strongest selling points, as well as one of …
The Proper Focus of Leadership: Organizational or Individual?
This perhaps will be the only post I write that simply is a series of questions, but these questions have enormous implication for the Church …
Virtual RS/PH #14 – Words of Hope & Consolation @ Time of Death
A word to the teachers out there. I know what you are thinking. Something like, “Ugh. I got the death lesson?!” So, if you have …
The other version of the Abraham story
What if Abraham had disobeyed God? Here’s the other version of the story I dug up after breaking into secret Illuminati archives and comparing translations …
For Pioneer Day, a Prophet of Peace
Prophet of Peace This is why I love President Monson! He has the common touch and appears to love people. If you watch the video …
Becoming a Moderate Mormon
We’ve established that there are conservative Mormons (obviously) and there are liberal or “new order” Mormons. Taking the politico-religious rhetoric to its next logical conclusion, …
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 …
Paul: Apostle, Misogynist?
“I’m not bad. I’m just drawn that way.” Jessica Rabbit Plenty of criticism is heaped on post-restoration church leaders. There seems to be a tendency …
Virtual Co-Ed RS/PH: Missionary Work (Lesson 12)
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 …
Evidences and Reconciliations (6/30/08)
And when the priests left their labor to impart the word of God unto the people, the people also left their labors to hear the …
White-Washing
“Whitewashing” is an accusatory term often used against the church to describe efforts to gloss over sticky points in doctrine or history. So, does the church engage in whitewashing?
Rock the Gerontocracy!
Larry King described the Mormon faith as a “gerontocracy” (Hello–Pot? Kettle here). Being led by 15 men with a median age of 76 is a …
Offenders for a Word, Part 2 – Do Mormons Worship Jesus?
In my last post I wrote about how we are all forced to take a thought and translate it into words and that this is …
Nepotism in the Church
As I watched the press conference last week between the Sunday sessions of General Conference, I found out that the new 2nd Counselor of the …