Ethics
Please Give Me Advice for a Calling I Don’t Want
After a few pleasantries, including how busy my life is, here’s the gist of a conversation with a counselor in the bishopric. Counselor: Brother, the reason why you are here is that we have prayed on our knees, and the bishop feels inspired to call you to be the building coordinator. Now you don’t have […]
Having “The Talk” with your Parents
If/when your parents sat you down to discuss the facts of life, it was probably pretty awkward. Turnabout is no fun either. I’m afraid that my siblings and I have to have an uncomfortable talk with my parents, and I am not looking forward to it at all. If you have any advice, I would […]
Drunk Driving in Utah
The National Highway Transportation Board (NTSB) is encouraging all states in the U.S. to change the threshold of drunk driving from .08 to .05. Back in 1983, Utah was the first state to drop the limit from .10 to .08, which became a nationwide federal mandate in 2000. The NTSB wants Utah to be first […]
Gays & the 2nd Article of Faith
There was an interview released last week where Paul Reeve admitted being the source behind the Race & Priesthood essay at LDS.org. While I think that was a nice scoop, there was another part of that interview that I think is very important and may have gotten lost in the headline. I have been very vocal […]
Yes or No to the Inauguration?
On Dec 22, the LDS Newsroom announced that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has agreed to sing at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. This has drawn fierce criticism from many, and the Deseret News reported that reactions were mixed to the announcement. Many of my friends on Facebook were appalled at the announcement. One friend […]
Can the Nation Heal?
In 2015, a Vox article noted that it is now socially acceptable to discriminate based on political affiliation. Some excerpts: “Political identity is fair game for hatred”: how Republicans and Democrats discriminate The experiment was simple. Working with Dartmouth College political scientist Sean Westwood, Iyengar asked about 1,000 people to decide between the résumés of […]
A Different Take on the Samaritan Story
I want to subtitle this post: Defending the Priest and the Levite. Not long ago, we had a lesson in priesthood on the Good Samaritan. This is one of my favorite parables, but the lesson quickly devolved into the traditional platitudes. People began to point fingers at the “hypocritical” priest and the Levite walking past the […]
Are Cops in Schools a Good Thing?
With the recent school shootings, many have called upon armed police officers to be stationed in schools as a protection measure for students from school shooters. Of course nobody wants mass shootings. Many of the people calling for police officers don’t seem to address the issue of how much extra tax money it will take […]
Church for Saints and Sinners
I really enjoyed an interview a few weeks ago with Nadia Bolz-Weber. She is a Lutheran Pastor who founded The House of All Saints and Sinners, and she prides herself on literally welcoming the outcasts to her church. These people include junkies, drag queens, and transgender. Here are some excerpts from the interview. How is she […]
Mormon Heretic 