Mormon
Uninspirational Missionary Farewells
I attended my nephew’s missionary farewell this weekend, and it got me thinking about missionary farewells in general. It used to be that a missionary family would invite his family to speak, there would be special musical numbers, often advice from an older brother, and bishop’s remarks about the missionary. While some meetings went long […]
Is it Time to Update the Word of Wisdom?
Fair warning: I know that Thursday is Thanksgiving, so this post will probably be a killjoy. The Word of Wisdom was written in Joseph Smith’s day and primarily concerned the major health problems of the day: alcoholism and and tobacco. These were industries of “conspiring men in the last days.” But obesity is turning out to […]
Is ISIS our generation’s version of Nazis?
Edmund Burke was an Irish political philosopher, Whig politician and statesman who is often regarded as the father of modern conservatism. His most famous quote: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” How involved should the U.S. be? Hitler invaded Poland, Austria, and Czechoslovakia in 1939, and […]
The Crucible of Doubt
Many religions are losing adherents to atheism, or people a simply choosing to abandon organized religion. Mormonism is no different. Deseret Book has recently published The Crucible of Doubt by Terryl and Fiona Givens in order to address those Mormons who doubt truth claims made by the church. I liked some of the points that […]
Utah’s Ferguson Problem
While most of the country is focusing on the shooting of a black man in Ferguson, Missouri by a white police officer, the small town of Saratoga Springs, Utah has a similar controversy brewing. Several people called the police about a 22 year old black man, Darrien Hunt, who was walking around a shopping center with […]
Big Week for LDS Media
This was an amazing week on the LDS websites. The LDS Newsroom published a video in which they showed both temple garments, as well as the temple robes that are worn. The Church emphasized that many religions have religious clothing, and said that it is derogatory to refer to LDS garments as “magic underwear.” Some […]
The LDS Drug Problem
I watched Lisa Ling’s program on CNN Saturday night dealing with the LDS Drug problem. (A short preview is available here.) On the one hand, it was unremarkable. Drug users (in any community) say that they want to stop doing drugs, but are very flaky and keep doing them. LDS users are no different. On […]
Ordain Women Round 3: Success or Setback?
Last October, Ordain Women announced its intention to attend the males-only General Priesthood session, and repeated the intention this past April. In response, Church leaders excommunicated Kate Kelly in June of this year, announcing that Temple Square was off limits for this “protest.” Furthermore, the Church decided to ban media from both the Women’s meeting […]
Mitt Running in 2016?
Never mind that midterm elections are just over a month away, let’s start speculating about 2016! There is increasing speculation that Mitt will run for president in 2016. Does this mean the Mormon Moment will be revived? The Washington Post gives a timeline that Mitt is backing down from his denials. After the Mitt Documentary […]
Mormon Heretic 