More Islands and Atolls
Building My Empty Nest Support Team @ Segullah
- At the start of the summer, I knew that all of my children would launch eight days...
President Nelson Shares Some Background Information for Recent Policy Adjustments @ Mormanity
- While some within and without the Church will disagree with the Church's position...
Rethinking Enemies @ Mormanity
- One of the challenges for me as I gradually prepare to return to the United States, after...
Revelation, Adaptation, and the Temple: “Everything is a Remix” @ Ben Spackman
- However the divine inspiration or divine origin of the Torah might have worked, it...
Book Review: Bridges: Ministering to Those Who Question @ Segullah
- I grew up in a little Italian neighbourhood in New York. When I was in primary school,...
Stay @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- I’ve heard it said a lot in fringe and ex-Mormon spaces that General Authorities...
The Book of Mormon's Interesting Uses of Isaiah 25:8, "Death Swallowed Up" @ Mormanity
- There's no question that the Book of Mormon has great intertextuality with the Bible,...
Discussion of the Name of the Church in Conference @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- Last fall, after President Nelson made it a point of emphasis that he didn’t want...
Drenched…with Joy? @ Segullah
- Yesterday it snowed for the first time this winter season. Yep. We go from summer to...
Statistics, Misconceptions, and the Imperatives of Millennialism @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- The Deseret News ran an article this week about the American Family Survey, an annual...
Genre… and the Temple @ Ben Spackman
- If you follow me, you know I talk a lot about the importance of recognizing genre in...
Rising and Falling @ Segullah
- You shouldn’t have to be dating when you’re 39. I know this because when I was 13 I...
The Effects of a Modern Translation @ Ben Spackman
- If you’ve followed me at all, you know I’m a huge booster of reading the...
Bad Math and the Premature Dismissal of Brian Stubbs' Work on Uto-Aztecan Languages @ Mormanity
- In my previous post on the negative review by BYU professor Chris Rogers regarding Brian...
Further Thoughts on John Gee's Article at The Interpreter @ Mormanity
- John Gee's recent article at The Interpreter on the Joseph Smith Papers volume on the...
On the Corner of Busy and City @ Segullah
- I’ve read a few mini-memoirs lately and I think they’re charming. I’ve felt...
Family History and Elusive Data Points @ Segullah
- I’ve spent the last hour trying to find a birth record for James Cunningham. He...
2 Corinthians @ Ben Spackman
- 2 Corinthians constitutes the first preserved “sequel” in Paul’s letters. In...
Intersex and Mormon- Part 1 @ Segullah
- Guest post by Green This is the first post in a series about my experience as a...
WORDS FALL IN- A Segullah Podcast with Markay Brown @ Segullah
- Markay Brown has wisdom. She has lived a life of love and loss. In our podcast, she tells...
Old Testament for Pre-missionaries in Phoenix, Az @ Ben Spackman
- Beginning September 12, I’ll be teaching a class called “Old Testament for...
Guest Post from Brian Stubbs: A Response to Chris Rogers’ “A Review of the Afro-Asiatic: Uto-Aztecan Proposal” in the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies @ Mormanity
- I'm pleased to offer an important guest post from Brian Stubbs, one of the world's...
Updated List of Items Prohibited at Church @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- Now that the Church has upgraded firearms in church buildings from “inappropriate...
Is There Direct Evidence that the Early Saints Had Heard of Champollion? @ Mormanity
- In previous posts (here and here) on the Book of Abraham and in my article for The...
John Gee's Troubling Review of the Joseph Smith Papers Volume on the Book of Abraham @ Mormanity
- Update, Aug. 29, 2019: There has been an important and welcome update to John Gee's...
There May Be Far More Earthlike Planets Than We Imagined @ Mormanity
- A Hubble photo of interacting galaxies from NASA.gov. As one looks at the endless fog of...
Becoming One Through His Word @ Segullah
- Did you know that the word atonement only appears once in the English version of the New...
Church Rhetoric on Abortion and Why Members Are Generally Pro-life @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- Is the LDS Church more pro-life or pro-choice when it comes to abortion? This is an easy...
Sariah, Our Sister @ Segullah
- I’ve spent a great deal of time recently reading about the restoration of the Gospel...
The Making of a Myth: A Possible Explanation for the Mysterious Ignorance of Champollion (Among Scholars) @ Mormanity
- I've been puzzled several times by the mysterious ignorance of Champollion in the early...
Royal Skousen's Interesting Theory on the Book of Abraham and Its Relationship to the Papyri @ Mormanity
- A reader raised an interesting question after reading Dr. Royal Skousen's C.V. at BYU,...
Theological Twinkies and our Spiritual Diet @ Ben Spackman
- The scriptures contain a number of food metaphors. I’ve been working for a few...
1 Corinthians 11-16 @ Ben Spackman
- The latter half of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians has a definite flow and...
1 Corinthians 1-10 @ Ben Spackman
- This week, we’re all in one place, 1 Corinthians, which is a smorgasbord of...
The Antiquated Second Amendment @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- One of the most confusing, misunderstood, and misapplied pieces of the Constitution is...
Ignoring Christian Refugees from Iraq @ Mormanity
- While many people seem to think that the US has liberated Iraq, first from Saddam Hussein...
Ifs, Ands, or Buts: A Reminder on the Origins of the Book of Mormon @ Mormanity
- In a past Maxwell Institute publication, Daniel Peterson made a great point about the...
Most Viewed Conference Talks on YouTube (Part 2) @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- A few weeks ago, I posted about the most viewed General Conference talks on YouTube. In...
Covenant and law, grace, works, and faith. @ Ben Spackman
- I’ve updated this post with a new section and handout, after the overview. It...
A Few Reasons Why Hugh Nibley Is Still Relevant for Book of Abraham Scholarship @ Mormanity
- I'm grateful to the Interpreter Foundation for publishing my lengthy, controversial, and...
The Twin BOA Manuscripts: A Window into Creation of the Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language? @ Mormanity
- While I believe there is significant evidence showing that the twin manuscripts...
Some Thoughts on the Mueller Report @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- It took me a while, but as of Friday I can say—unlike most Americans and unlike 99...
The Book of Mormon Critical Text Project @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- One of the interesting aspects of my job is that I am the primary proofreader for Royal...
Kirtland's Rosetta Stone? The Importance of Word Order in the "Egyptian" of the Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language @ Mormanity
- There may be an important story hidden in one of the easily-overlooked details in the...
Most Viewed Conference Talks on YouTube (Part 1) @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- What are the most liked General Conference talks? I wrote a post a few years ago where I...
The Twin Book of Abraham Manuscripts: Do They Reflect Live Translation Produced by Joseph Smith, or Were They Copied From an Existing Document? @ Mormanity
- A number of critics of the Book of Abraham and even some LDS scholars have alleged that a...
R-E-S-P-E-C-T! Find out what it means to President Nelson! @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- In April Conference, President Nelson said the following to the men and boys in...
The New Hauglid and Jensen Podcast from the Maxwell Institute: A Window into the Personal Views of the Editors of the JSP Volume on the Book of Abraham @ Mormanity
- The Maxwell Institute recently revamped their website after roughly a week of downtime,...
Romanticized Notions @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- One morning in the spring of 2005, when I was a senior editor at the Ensign, the new...
Lost Treasures from the Maxwell Institute? @ Mormanity
- I noted with some anxiety last week that my many hundreds of links to archived articles,...
Beatles Songs, Mormonized @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- At the Sunstone Symposium this year, Todd Compton, Harold Peterson, and Clair Von Barrus...
BYU: A Beautiful Solution for the Needs of Many Families and Students in China @ Mormanity
- I've come back to Utah for a few weeks to start an exciting and challenging new job....
Update on Inspiration for W.W. Phelps' Use of an Archaic Hebrew Letter Beth for #2 in the Egyptian Counting Document @ Mormanity
- I previously noted that one of the Hebrew books Oliver Cowdery brought to Kirtland, Ohio...
13 Years of Ziff @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- Note: This post is straight-up navel gazing. Consider yourself warned.
This month marks...
News! @ Ben Spackman
- It’s been a long several months. I have passed my written and oral exams, and am on...
Mitt and Me @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Last week we were in San Diego for a little vacation. On Sunday (June 2), we attended...
Inspired by Utah: A Warm and Encouraging Welcome for My Temporary Return @ Mormanity
- I've been in Salt Lake City, Utah for a few days as part of my transition to an exciting...
More Connections Between the Kirtland Egyptian Papers and Prior Documents @ Mormanity
- In a previous post, I discussed William Schryver's 2010 presentation that pointed out...
How to Make a Chinese Woman Cry (Please Try This!) @ Mormanity
- Last night my wife and I had the pleasure of speaking with a large group of students...
Two Songs I Hope Don’t Make It into the Children’s Songbook @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- Chad Nielsen’s recent post at T&S on updates on the hymn book revision process...
He Whose Name Cannot Be Spoken: Hugh Nibley @ Mormanity
- Whether you agree with Hugh Nibley or not, those doing research on the Book of Abraham...
De Facto Infallibility and the Difficulty of Deciphering Spiritual Manifestations @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- The reversal of the POX has highlighted a growing problem for the Church. Church leaders...
A Parable @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- A distinguished professor has a son who gets accepted to a prestigious university on the...
Dwelling in Righteousness with No Poor among Us @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- So, I led a discussion on Sunday using the questions I listed in the last post as a...
One Heart and One Mind @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- The ward I work with on the high council is having ward conference in a couple of weeks,...
Misinformation and Fearmongering @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Because the Democrats are proposing to actually do something about global warming, health...
Excerpts from Bruder: The Perplexingly Spiritual Life and Not Entirely Unexpected Death of a Mormon Missionary @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- As I mentioned in my last post, BCC Press has recently released a rather unusual mission...
Mission Memoir, Ultimate Tourney, and Other Random Stuff @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- It’s been a while since I posted anything. I’ll explain that in a minute, but first a...
Pyrric Victories @ Mormon Metaphysics
- JSTOR on Pyrric victories and the origin of the term.
Jerusalem’s Economy in Second Temple Period @ Mormon Metaphysics
- I’ve always had the assumption that the Jerusalem region was fairly poor — perhaps...
Chris on Religious Evolution @ Mormon Metaphysics
- Chris Goble has an interesting Twitter thread on the emergence of monotheism in axial...
Getting the Blog Back Together @ Mormon Metaphysics
- I’ve been posting regularly at Times and Seasons and plan on continuing with that....
Moth and Rust and Pulmonary Hypertension @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- I’m a big fan of book reviews. We publish them in each issue of BYU Studies Quarterly,...
Changing Political Parties @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- As should be clear to anyone who has been reading this blog, I am a Democrat. But I used...
"What Is Heaven Like?" @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- In the First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional earlier this month, President Nelson...
The Trouble with Tax Cuts @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Everybody likes tax cuts. What’s not to like? But there is a proper time for tax cuts,...
The Moral Obligation of Latter-day Saint Voters @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- This year is an important year for Latter-day Saint voters, the large majority of whom...
“Too Frequent Repetition of His Name” @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- In the ongoing discussion regarding President Nelson’s instruction to use the full name...
To the People Defending the Church’s Decision to Ditch the “Mormon” Nickname @ Peculiar People
- First, I want you to know that I respect your decision to call yourself something other...
The Women Who Enable Abusive Men @ Peculiar People
- After the Kavanaugh hearing last Thursday, an image went viral that depicted a row of...
“What Boy Hasn’t Done This in High School?” Brett Kavanaugh and the Rotten Goose Egg Party at Oaklawn Park @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Failed Florida congressional candidate Gina Sosa is probably looking for a rock to hide...
Joseph, Potiphar’s Wife, and the Truth about False Allegations @ Peculiar People
- In response to multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against Brett Kavanaugh,...
Robert Kirby and Edgy Mormon Men @ Peculiar People
- Like many progressive Mormons, I’ve enjoyed Robert Kirby’s self-deprecating...
To the Men Who Grabbed McKenna Denson and Dragged her away from the Pulpit @ Peculiar People
- To the men who grabbed McKenna Denson without her consent and dragged her away from the...
Why Would a Feminist Keep her Father’s Name? @ Peculiar People
- Back in April I wrote about my experience with software systems and institutions...
The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- By now, Rudy Giuliani’s infamous declaration to NBC’s Chuck Todd (“Truth isn’t...
Mormon: The New Shibboleth @ Peculiar People
- Here’s hoping Lindsey releases a new, revised video: I’m a member of Church...
Sorry to Bother You: The (Human) Body as Technology @ Peculiar People
- This review contains major spoilers for Boots Riley’s 2018 film Sorry to Bother You....
Do Married Mormon Men Understand Consent? @ Peculiar People
- Image obtained through creative commons. I was 28 years old when I got married...
$2,200 for a Screwdriver, and the Military Didn’t Buy It @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Well, it has been an interesting summer, to say the least. On Memorial Day, I was playing...
Economic Insanity: Chapter 8 (part 2) @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Competition Restrained by a Higher Good (Part 2)Who Really Believes in Unfettered...
Economic Insanity: Chapter 8 (part 1) @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Competition Restrained By a Higher Good (Part 1)The fundamental question of management...
Remembering June 9, 1978 @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- In honor of the fortieth anniversary of the announcement of the revelation that ended one...
Making Ministering Holy @ Peculiar People
- My priesthood lesson prompt was very open-ended: “ministering.” My mind leapt to the...
What Will Combined MP Quorums Mean? @ Small and Simple
- In a shocking announcement during the Priesthood Session of the 2018 March/April General...
How Can Anyone Remain a Mormon in the Face of All the “Facts”? @ Small and Simple
- One of the things that you will see sometimes in anti-Mormon forums is what appears to be...
About That Taylor Christensen Video @ Small and Simple
- There is a video making the Mormon facebook circuit by Taylor Christensen. He starts...
The New York Times Thomas Monson Obituary and Fake News @ Small and Simple
- The president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently died, and the...
Perfect College Football Playoff System: 2017 Version @ Small and Simple
- Several years ago I published to the world the perfect college football playoff system. ...
Moderate Worship Losing Ground @ Mormon Metaphysics
- While it’s not really new news, Sociological Science had an interesting story on how...
Philosophy, Science and Religion: The Divine Hiddenness Argument @ Small and Simple
- The fourth week of the Coursera course on Philosophy, Science and Religion focuses on the...
Philosophy, Science and Religion: Friendly Disagreement, Testimonial Knowledge, and the Importance of Fellowship @ Small and Simple
- The third week of the Coursera course on Philosophy, Science and Religion addresses...
Philosophy, Science and Religion: The Conflict Between Science and Religion @ Small and Simple
- In the second week of the Coursera course on Philosophy, Science and Religion, professor...
Philosophy, Science and Religion: The Mind and The Religious Experience @ Small and Simple
- I am taking an online course through Coursera on Philosophy, Science and Religion. In...
Testimony and the Spiritual Experience @ Small and Simple
- I was raised in the religious tradition of my parents, which happens to be The Church of...
Bows, Arrows & the Book of Mormon @ Mormon Metaphysics
- This is just a “holder” post for a discussion I was having over whether...
Salvation in Mormonism @ Mormon Metaphysics
- Robert at Scriptural Mormonism does a good job discussing the place of grace in “old...
Terryl Givens on Mormons at the Forefront @ Mormon Metaphysics
- Terryl Givens has up an essay at First Things called “Mormons at the Forefront.”...
God and Evolutionary Psychology @ Mormon Metaphysics
- Evolutionary psychology suggests God makes more sense than not. I’m not sure he sees...
PEL on Scientism @ Mormon Metaphysics
-
“…[scientism] is contributing to a growing trend on the left, quite as ferocious...
