OT SS Lesson #36 LDS Sunday School students will soon take a quick leap through 66 chapters of Isaiah in five forty-minute lessons. All too …
Mormon.org FAQ: Race Restrictions
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 …
The Blog that Ate Religion
“The Blob” was one of those horror movies from the 1950’s that I, as a young boy, found right on the boundary of “too scary …
Mormon.org FAQ: Homosexuality
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Resolving the Conflict between the TBM and the ExMo
Today’s guest post comes from Ulysseus, a frequent commenter at Mormon Matters and elsewhere in the b’nacle. His website can be found here. To take …
Mormon.org FAQ: Polygamy
The church has initiated a new online profile campaign on mormon.org in which those interested in the church can “meet” actual members who’ve posted pictures …
Why Do People Struggle? (With Poll!)
Through my time in the church, I’ve known many who have left the church, many others who have seemingly never had an issue, and a …
Facebook and Marital Fidelity
A Salt Lake City news report in early 2009 shared some troubling statistics. One in 5 divorces in Great Britain cited Facebook in the contributing factors that …
Spiritual Guidance: A GC Talk Review
I wanted to try a new feature – going through some of the previous GC talks to discuss some of the ideas put forth. I …
Latter-Day Morality
You may not be aware of this if you grew up Mormon, but the LDS definition of morality is rather different than that which is …
Ward Cliques
Does your ward have cliques? Are cliques a good or bad thing?
When the Fourth of July Falls on the Sabbath
Yesterday’s activities began with a Pancake Breakfast over at the Church, followed by a softball game. We loaded up several of the kids from the …
Faith, Knowledge, Belief, and Stochastic Theory Part 4: Finding Truth – An Optimization Problem
In part two of this series I discussed Bayesian inference. Specifically, I discussed how Bayesian inference provided us with a mechanism for deciding in what …
Priesthood as a Puberty Rite
A unique aspect of Mormonism is that all males over age 12 can hold an office of the priesthood, and that they are expected to …
Faith, Knowledge, Belief and Stochastic Theory Part 3: Putting It All Together
In part one I introduced the problem I see with our current understanding of faith, introduced some basic statistics, and weakly drew a comparison to …
Mormonism: Nature Religion or Social Religion?
“God against Man. Man against God. Man against Nature. Nature against man. Nature against God. God against nature–very funny religion!” ~Dr. D. T. Suzuki. Is …
Official Doctrine vs. Personal Speculation
Mormonism, in its very short history, has a rich tradition of theological speculation. The foundations of the Church were based on burning desires to know …
Faith & Doubt
Today’s guest post is by Glenn. When I was at BYU, I got interested in the study of folklore – the way that traditional culture …
Mixed Belief Marriages
What should a church member do if their spouse is a non-believer? This is something that many couples encounter, either because one spouse ceases to …
Absolute Truth, Inclusivism, Lumen Gentium, and Emeth
Guest post by Thomas In C.S. Lewis’ final Narnia book The Last Battle, there is a powerful scene of an encounter between the Christ-symbolizing lion Aslan …
Facebook Declarations
Today’s guest post is by Matthew Workman. I lived a few blocks from Venice Beach for many years, so I thought I’d seen quite a …
Eternal Progress vs. Eternal Increase: A Poll
One of the distinct LDS doctrines is that of eternal progression: the idea that we continue to grow and develop as individuals throughout eternity unless …
How Being a LOST Fan and a Church Member is Pretty Much the Same
New Convert: “I watched them all back to back this year on DVD. And I’m very glad I did. And I’d do it again.” Dogmatic: …
AZ Immigration Law vs. LDS Interests?
A recent article in the Arizona Republic highlights the negative impacts to the LDS church of the new Arizona law that steps up enforcement of …
Binding the Broken-Hearted
Nothing is more painful than a broken heart. When this kind of sorrow gets deep into a person’s soul, all troubles are magnified, blessings are …
The Death of McConkie’s Mormon Doctrine
Last night on KUTV in Utah, an announcement was made which signals the end of an era. It was reported that Bruce R. McConkie’s Mormon …
Feminist Musings on the story of Jephthah
OT SS Lesson #19 You are going to talk about the Biblical Judges in this week’s Sunday School class, and the lesson’s got it pretty …
Church Vernacular and the Magical Worldview
It is Sunday, and Mike and his new bride, Valerie, are up visiting Mike’s family for the weekend. Mike is a physics major and has …
A Rational Theology Part 2: The First Four Principles and Ordinances of the Gospel
In my previous discussion of “A Rational Theology” by John Widstoe, I discussed two methodologies of deriving a full LDS theology in use during the …
What if the “Sunday School Answers” were:
First, do no harm Be kind Help others I see nothing but good coming from praying, reading the scriptures, and keeping the commandments. But it …
The God of the OT vs. the Golden Calf
OT SS Lesson #14 Sometimes I have a hard time with the Jehovah of the Old Testament. I’m not always sure how much of the …
Joseph and Muhammad
I have been fascinated by other religions! The cultures, customs, and beliefs vary wildly from religion to religion, and yet, so many have common threads, …
Temple Recommend Assumptions
Maybe it was an upcoming family wedding. Or maybe it came out some other way. Have you ever been in a situation when you became …
If Easter Be Not True
I’ve learned a few things from teaching swimming lessons to tiny children for over 30 years. One of the most obvious is that some kids …
Radical Retention
Our guest poster, Jason M. Brown is a life-long ‘Niblian’ Mormon who grew up in Southern California. He served an LDS mission from 2001-2003 in …
What I Learned in Nursery
Many of us have been told that no matter what the calling you have, you will learn from it and grow. I imagine that’s probably …
The Relational Definition of Sin
One of my favorite experiences at the BYU Studies Symposium was listening to a set of two talks on the subject of sin. That might …
You’re the Bishop #6: A Poll
Bishop Bill with a situation that happens to probably every bishop. Read on.
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 Virgin and the Whore: Thinking Beyond Dinah and Potiphar’s Wife
OT SS Lesson #11 Lesson 11 in the Old Testament manual employs several stories from Genesis 34-39 to develop the theme of sexual morality. Joseph’s …
You’re the Bishop #5 (Poll)
Bishop Bill again, folks. Now for one that has nothing to do with the ward.
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 …
You’re the Bishop #4 (Poll)
OK, Bishop Bill here again with a really difficult situation.
Church as a Social Network
There are those among the disaffected who would like to reap the benefits of the church as a community although they may no longer share the …
Memorialising the Holocaust: Post-memory and the Latter-Day Saints
According to Arrington and Bitton, “most individual responses of modern Mormons involve a kind of tie with the past”[1] . History is central to the …
Putting an Edge on Abraham
OT SS Lesson #9 This story is so very, very familiar to us that I think it’s important to look at it with a fresh …
Is God Still Progressing? (Poll Included)
Last month, one of the RS/PH lessons was about the nature of God. Since the lesson was only about a page and a half long, …
You’re the Bishop: Poll #3
Bishop Bill back with more. We’ve had fictionalized situations in the last two installments with a YW and a YM. Now, let’s have a situation …
Sod, Seed, Salvation: Abrahamic Covenant and the Claim to Palestine
OT SS Lesson #7 Sod, seed, and salvation — it’s how I like to describe the Abrahamic Covenant. There were three promises in the covenant. …
You’re the Bishop: Poll #2
Bishop Bill back with your next installment of “You’re the Bishop.” Just to be clear, the examples I am using have been changed enough that …
Abstainers vs. Indulgers
Mormons dig abstinence. Like many other highly committed Christians, we abstain from premarital sex. But, that’s not all; we also abstain from tobacco, alcohol, coffee, …
True or Bizarre: A Poll
While there are moral truths that all religions tend to share (don’t kill, don’t steal, be nice to people, etc.), religions also include “bizarre” differentiators …
“They Don’t Really Belong” – The Story of Doubting Jews Caught In Between Worlds.
I recently came across this story on the BBC Website and felt that I had to return to Mormon Matters to write a few comments …
Dysfunctional Families or Church?
Exit stories are the tales told when someone leaves the church. The internet is full of these stories, and in many, there is drama in …
Follow the [blank]: A Poll
In the church, we learn how to be good followers. There are many things we are told to follow: the prophet, good examples, our parents’ …
Chosen or Posin’ ? Abraham, Buffy, and Other Choice Spirits
OT SS Lesson #2 This was an interesting lesson to read after last year’s brou-ha-ha over an alleged “generals in the war in heaven” quote. …
Richard Dawkins, God and Santa Claus: Belief as a Form of Abuse
Between Christmas and New Year I had the opportunity to meet with some friends and at one point during the evening we began discussing the …
Top 10 Ways GAs Eat Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
I was inspired by jmb275’s recent post on the Mormon Cultural Articles of Faith, so I thought I’d post an oldie but a personal favorite. …
Sex Ed: A Poll
Which is more effective at preventing unwanted pregnancies: abstinence education or conception education?
EQ to HPG: Rites of Passage
Whether you are 18 or 88, married, single, widowed, or divorced, with or without kids, and regardless of your socio-economic status, if you are an …
‘Christmas’ or ‘Winter Festival’: I’m not sure I care!
This must be the the third year that I have heard people bemoan government plans to change the name of Christmas to ‘Winter Festival’ or some …
The Church in 20 Years
Where do you see the Church in 20 years? Today’s guest post is by David Heap.
Is Morality Universal?
Is morality a social construct or is it universal, transcending time and culture? Or is it a little bit of both? Read on to find …
10 LDS Things I’m Thankful for
Thanksgiving is, IMO, the perfect holiday: good food, a day off work, and no presents to worry about. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I wanted …
Musings on Modesty & Mormonism
Today’s guest post is from Reuben Collins who also blogs at Single Speed.
To Those Struggling In Their Faith
There are many within Mormonism who struggle daily with their faith. They have been exposed to historical information they were not aware of, they were …
“Knowing” It All
Mormons love to use the word “know.” We say we know God lives. We say we know that Jesus is the Christ. We say we …
Ghosts: What Are They?
Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever had a ghostly encounter? If you do believe in ghosts, what do you think they are doing? …
Was Jesus a Buddhist?
The NT doesn’t give much insight into Jesus’ life between age 12 and 30. Did he encounter Buddhism and seek personal enlightenment? Or are these …
Approaching Isaiah 58: Fasting as a Spiritual Practice
Sometime ago Jana Reiss wrote a column for Sunstone entitled ‘Mormonism as Praxis’[1] in which the writers attempted to explore what Mormonism means in terms …
A Jungian View of the First Vision
The First Vision is often viewed as a literal visit from two Heavenly beings during Joseph Smith’s waking hours. Yet, he consistently refers to it …
Saturday Session Thoughts
These are just a few quick observations from today’s sessions, not every talk, though, nor every observation. I also want to direct attention to the …
“Moderation in All Things”: A Poll
The phrase, “moderation in all things” is a euphemism usually (but not exclusively) associated (by Mormons at least)with the Word of Wisdom. It usually means …
The Genius of Mormonism: Ordinances
This is the next installment in my series about what gives Mormonism staying power and makes it an effective religion at winning and retaining adherents.
Too Much of a Good Thing: A Birth Control Poll
Does the church discourage birth control? Are couples encouraged to breed as quickly and frequently as nature allows? Take this poll to share your feelings …
Prosperity vs. Religion
There was a great article in Newsweek called (Un)wired For God. It was a follow up on a prior article that had talked about the …
Insiders & Outsiders
When it comes to Mormonism, do you feel more like an insider or an outsider?
Belief vs. Action
Which is more important – belief or action? Is faith without action better than action without faith? Is belief without action better than acting despite …
Unleashing the Analyst. A Personal Story
As I have already posted a few times, I think it’s time I introduce myself. So, this is my story, Mormon Story style (only without …
Liars, Damned Liars and Statisticians
Is the church growing or shrinking? Is it even possible to measure church growth accurately? Is this a case of statistical confirmation bias? Read on …
Gender vs. Sex
The Proclamation on the Family states: “Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.” What is meant by gender? …
An Outsider’s Look at the United Effort Plan
If you were in downtown Salt Lake City today, you may have noticed a large rally of over a thousand peacefully protesting polygamists. What is …
Is Prayer About God?
What does prayer mean? What is its purpose in our lives? Today’s guest post is from jmb275.
Science vs. Religion: A Poll
When there is a seeming conflict between science and religion, people tend to make a mental choice that either favors religion or science. Which is …
The Doctor Is IN: An Interview with The Mormon Therapist
Natasha Helfer Parker is a licensed therapist who has counseled the LDS community for 12 years. In 2009, she began a blog called The Mormon …
Early Mormonism in Context
We tend to view Mormonism in the context of its current contemporaries: Baptists, Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists, and atheists (among many others). But how does Mormonism …
The Genius of Mormonism: Israel is Back, Baby! (POLL incl.)
One of the attractive components to Mormon theology was the notion that Mormons were a chosen people, and both figuratively and literally part of the …
I Have Seen the Axe
Alice Walker, who wrote about the heartbreak of female genital mutilation quoted an African proverb in the beginning of her book Possessing the Secret of …
Voting — 2008 Niblet Awards
And the nominees are . . .
David Foster Wallace
Totally worth the read if you haven’t read it before. http://www.moreintelligentlife.com/story/david-foster-wallace-in-his-own-words It’s a commencement speech given a few years back by a famously gifted author …
Groupthink
“Groupthink” is what naturally happens when a group becomes sedentary and sluggish. When change is introduced or new people are introduced, they challenge the “groupthink.” …
Bloggernacle Rankings: BCC is #1!
According to alexa.com, By Common Consent is currently the top ranked site in the Bloggernacle. Congratulations to our esteemed colleagues; you have earned the distinction …
The Genius of Mormonism: Missions
I wanted to do a series of posts on aspects of the LDS church that I consider to be sheer religious genius. These are religous …
Spirituality, Rationality, Mentality, Duality
Today’s guest post is by jmb275. In my first guest post, I talked about intellectualism and faith. A few of the commenters pointed out that …
Looking Forward to the Good Life
I’ve spent some time over the years thinking about questions that remain in regards to the logistics of the afterlife.
Family First?
In a pro-family church, why doesn’t family always come first? We state that family comes before church, and yet there seem to be many in …
Intellectualism and Faith: A Would-Be Marriage!
It is easy to think yourself out of a testimony. It’s as simple as saying “well I can’t prove God exists, or doesn’t exist, therefore …
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 …
Bloggernacle Personality Survey
The bloggernacle seems to attract a specific subset of Mormon culture, and as a result, opinions and comments are often different from those we hear …
MM Poll: Your Favorite Scriptures
Mormon Matters has installed a new polling feature, so thought I’d get the ball rolling with a fairly simple one, so here goes.
This Won’t Make It Past Correlation!
Our quote this week is from another church manual predating Correlation. Who wrote this, and why would the Correlation Committee disapprove?: Just what is the …
This Won’t Make It Past Correlation!
Another week, another great uncorrelated quote from an LDS Church manual that would never see the light of day in today’s church: Every discussion of …
Evidences and Reconciliations 8/11/08
I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat …
Spiritual or Just Religious?
Is your spiritual journey the same as your religious journey, or is religion just one of the facets of your spiritual life?
A letter from my sister…
Perhaps our feelings about tomorrow’s letter were abreacted in last week’s multifarious and sporadically acerbic discussion. My purpose here is to highlight some of the feelings …
My Top Ten Non-Mormon Lives
Not long ago I was watching a Tyler Perry movie and found myself applauding an action of one of the characters. This was an action …
Putting the Fun Back in Fundamentalist
Another chance to turn your brain off…and laugh.
“The Gods Too are Fond of a Joke.” -Aristotle
A chance to turn your brain off…and laugh.
Krista Tippett Interviews Robert Millett on Mormonism for “Speaking of Faith”
I love Krista Tippett’s “Speaking of Faith”, and I love Mormonism — which makes this a must-listen. I hope it’s good. What did you think?