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). …
Wandering Mormons as Nephites
More than two years ago, the Holy Spirit began insisting that I re-read the Book of Mormon. Of course, I didn’t immediately recognize the impulse …
Homosociality and the Friendship Between David and Jonathan
OT SS Lesson #23 The story of David and Jonathan is one of the most inspiring examples of true friendship anywhere. Our LDS SS manual …
Choice Seer, Spokesman, and Scribe
Guest Post by Christopher C. Smith Chris has a BA from Fresno Pacific University in Biblical Studies, an MA from Wheaton College in History of …
You Can’t Ride Two Donkeys With One Ass: Saul and Spiritual Rebirth
OT SS Lesson #22 Ever since I was introduced to the word “liminal,” I have claimed it as my own. This word describes a threshold …
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 …
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 …
Circumcision Rock & Roll
OT SS Lesson #18 The advantage of blogging the SS lessons instead of teaching them is that I get to cover the chapters that are totally skipped …
The Angel and the Ass
OT SS Lesson #16 The story of Balak and Balaam is a study in the marvelous complexity and richness of Biblical literature. The pericope includes …
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 …
Joseph Fielding McConkie and the Lens of Literalism
In a recently published book ‘Between the Lines: Unlocking Scripture with Timeless Principles’ (2009), Joseph Fielding McConkie tries to deal with the issue of discerning …
What Dreams May Come
OT SS Lesson #12 Whether dreams come from the unconscious mind or directly from God, they are valuable sources of revelation. Dreams can tell us …
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 …
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, …
The Creation Accounts — Unharmonized
OT SS Lesson #3 Several years ago I did a study of Joseph Smith’s different accounts of the First Vision. It was fascinating to see …
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. …
Dialogue Subscribers and Book of Mormon Historicity?
In 2005 Dialogue conducted research among it’s subscribers. There was over a 1,000 responses which (assuming that everyone answered every question) is a fairly good …
This is my Work and my Game Plan
OT SS Lesson #1 With Jeff’s interesting introduction to the OT course of study, I’m sure many of you have peeked at the first OT …
The Church in 20 Years
Where do you see the Church in 20 years? Today’s guest post is by David Heap.
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 …
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 …
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.
Lyrics as Scripture
First of all, I’d like to bring attention to a new publication that has recently been published called Mormon Artist (http://mormonartist.net). It seems to be …
The Book of Mormon: For Our Day
Ezra Taft Benson taught that “the Book of Mormon … was written for our day. The Nephites never had the book; neither did the Lamanites …
God’s Hit List in the Book of Mormon
One of the most unseemly and disturbing images in the Book of Mormon is when Nephi is commanded to cut the head off of Laban who …
Putting Away Childish Things: My Evolving View of God
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a …
Liberal Mormonism I: Diagnosis
Let me be clear about a few things. First, I have been diagnosed as a liberal Mormon. Second, liberal Mormonism has been discussed before in …
How Mormons Are Buddhists & Vice Versa
A few months ago, I gave a talk in Sacrament meeting in which I discussed how studying other religious faiths and their scriptures had enriched …
Gathering God’s Words to “All Nations”: When, Where, How, and Who Cares?
At a recent General Conference, Elder Oaks reiterated the Book of Mormon prophecy that “the Lord will eventually cause the inspired teachings He has given …
The Unfinished Restoration: A Global Vision
Mormons tend to think of the Restoration as a discrete series of events that began with the First Vision and concluded with the Martyrdom. Because …