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: 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 …
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 …
Understanding the Atonement
The atonement is to Christianity what enlightenment is to Buddhism: the foundational concept. How do you feel about the atonement? I admit to some mixed …
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 …
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 …
Faith, Knowledge, Belief, and Stochastic Theory Part 2: Inductive Reasoning
Deductive reasoning is a form of reasoning in which the conclusion can be drawn directly from the premises. The idea is to show that the …
Faith, Knowledge, Belief, and Stochastic Theory Part 1
Faith has always been a perplexing topic for me. The definitions we hear in church, and in the scriptures seem to come up short. Furthermore, …
Then I Will Believe
Our guest post today is by SilverRain, who blogs at The Rains Came Down. When Jesus was suffering on the cross at Calvary, those who …
A Control Freak’s Lament
I’m a control freak. Yep, both professionally, by training, and naturally. I like to be in control of machines, robots, airplanes, my life, my spirituality, …
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 …
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 …
Putting Things on a Shelf
People like to talk about putting things that bother them about the church on a shelf. Of course, the problem is that for some, the shelf …
Raising the Bar: The Honorably Excused
The church decided to “raise the bar” in 2002 on entry requirements for missionaries, effectively preventing those with a history of serious sin from repenting and …
Buttprints in the Sand
Today’s guest post is from Glenn. Some of you may have seen this before. I wish I could claim authorship, but no – it belongs …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Committing Spiritual Murder: Analysing Alma 39
Michael Ash in a Sunstone article entitled ‘The Sin “Next to Murder”’ has argued that Alma’s exhortation to his son Corianton (who had ran off …
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’ …
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 …
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 …
De-centralising the Spirit: Between Charisma and Bureaucracy
In a lecture entitled ‘A Historian’s Perspective on Joseph Smith’, Richard Bushman shows an interesting trend in religious cultures that surrounded Joseph Smith. This trend centers …
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 …
White Noise
Everybody blogs, right? Why not me? Looking for my niche, my angle, and the one thing that seemed to make me stand out in my …
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 …
‘I really think it would be best if you ended your remarks at this point?’
John Remy posted an interesting blog/video where a man, speaking about his concern with the Church’s practice and policy during the Prop 8 debate, was …
Do Mormon Kids Understand the Atonement?
Does the church teach that we are saved by grace or that we are saved by works? This is one of the most oft-repeated criticisms …
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 …
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 …
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.” …
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 …
What Bothers Me, and Why I Still Believe
I am an active member of the church, and a believer. I am well aware of most of the controversial issues (Book of Abraham, DNA, …
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 …
Keep Pedaling
One thing that I don’t see very often at Mormon Matters is the bearing of testimony. Some see the bearing of testimony as a form …
Half-way Mormons: A lesson from the Puritans
I hope everyone enjoyed their turkey and stuffing for Thanksgiving last week. One thing I appreciate about the Puritans, other than their fondness for a …
How Active Are You? How Orthodox Are You? A Self-Assessment
Take this assessment and find out: (Taken from D. Jeff Burton’s For Those Who Wonder : forthosewhowonder.com. Similar to a Correlation Department survey on Religion …
God, Music, and the Sabbath
2 Nephi 31:3 (emphasis added) For my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men. …
Our Foundation Stories Part II: The Meaning of the First Vision
Now that we’ve discussed the nature of the First Vision, what did it mean? There are many meanings, the most vital being those which each …
Our Foundation Stories Part I: The First Vision or the First Visit?
Do you believe that God the Father, the Son, and maybe even the Holy Ghost visited Joseph Smith in the spring of 1820? Or did …
A Testimony of the Devil
“I know that the Devil lives in outer darkness surrounded by concourses of ghastly minions amidst weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth”. Why don’t we …
Liberal Mormonism II: Why I am a Liberal Mormon
I was raised in a household of faith. My parents are believers who encouraged discussion of religion in their home. I’ve asked around and found …
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 …