Culture
Anonymous bad behavior: Are you guilty?
Internet anonymity can have both good and bad consqeuences. Some people can fall in love, yet never meet in person. Others, can engage in sociopathic behavior that they would not do without the cloak of anonymity. This blog came about because I wanted to ask provocative questions that I didn’t feel safe to do in […]
What’s the difference between Arabs & Persians?
Ok, I will confess that I love learning about the Middle East. I love learning more about Jews, Muslims, Arabs, etc. I have so much to learn. I’m a grad student working on some genetic studies (one of my many jobs). As part of the genetic study we are doing, we have our study participants […]
Errand of Angels
There is a new movie out in theaters called Errand of Angels. A preview can be found here, and it is available in Utah theaters Aug 22. This will be at least the 3rd5th “Hollywood LDS Missionary” movie, coming since God’s Army, and The Best Two Years, Other Side of Heaven, and States of Grace […]
Gods in Embroyo / My First Sunstone
I attended my first session of Sunstone today. I have to say it was really nice to be around people who wanted to talk about some things where I really respected the opinions of the speakers. It was energizing. I was able to meet some of my favorite mormons, such as John Dehlin, and D […]
Interesting Day at Church
I want to give a shout-out to my friend April. She has a blog called Normal Mormons. April is a relatively recent convert living in Idaho, and I have enjoyed hearing her observations about mormons, our sometimes strange culturalisms, and her efforts to become more Christ-like. I comment on her blog occasionally, and have often […]
Indiana Jones and Book of Mormon Archaeology
I need a change of pace, so I thought I’d do a little pop culture for a post. My wife and I went to see the new Indy movie the Friday morning after it came out. I’m a big Indy fan. I liked the movie, but it wasn’t as good as #1 or #3, but […]
Emma Smith: My Story
I saw a sneak preview of the upcoming movie, “Emma Smith: My Story” at the LDS Film Festival in January. It is due to be released in about a week–April 11 here in Utah. I highly recommend it. It was commissioned by the Joseph Smith Historical Society, and has many of the same actors and […]
Why do I go to Church?
I have left messages on this and other blogs about how boring church can be. This has prompted the question, “Well, if it’s so boring, why do you even bother to go?” First of all, let me state that I am a believing mormon. I believe Joseph Smith was a prophet, I believe in the […]
Diversity in the Church
First of all, let me say that I am truly sad about Pres Hinckley’s passing. He is a true inspiration, and I, as well as the church will greatly miss him. His humor, and candor will be greatly missed. Newsweek has an interesting article found at http://www.newsweek.com/id/105857/page/2 It talks about diversity in the church, and […]
Why are the 12 Tribes of Israel important?
The LDS Church has a list of 13 general beliefs, which was composed by Joseph Smith in the 1830’s. It does not cover everything the church believes, but is a good guide. In the 10th article of faith, it states, “We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten […]
Mormon Heretic 