More Islands and Atolls
All over the Place: Lighthearted, Mournful, Admonishing, Hopeful Thoughts on COVID-19 @ Segullah
- I don’t know how to write this post. I thought of taking a lighthearted tone since...
Segullah Spring Journal: 2020 Writing and Visual Arts Contest Winners @ Segullah
- Life feels a little quieter lately. Most of us stay home and visit no more than one or...
Announcing the Segullah 2020 Visual Arts Contest Winners @ Segullah
- We are delighted to announce the winners of the 2020 Segullah Visual Arts Contest!...
Announcing the 2020 Poetry Contest Winners @ Segullah
- FIRST PLACE Winner: Alizabeth Worley The Diving Pool My husband and I—cerebral...
The Last Plane to Shanghai @ Mormanity
- On Friday at midnight in China, a ban on foreigners entering China went into effect. What...
Come Follow Me: Enos, Jarom, Omni, Words of Mormon @ Ben Spackman
- We often assert that the Book of Mormon is historical in nature, and necessarily so, in...
“After this manner we keep the records” @ Segullah
- One day, while reading the Book of Mormon, I realized that I had found a kindred spirit....
The Great War Against the Virus: Maybe It's Time We Give Peace a Chance @ Mormanity
- I was saddened to hear the views online of some of the college students partying in...
Speaking Updates, and Joseph Fielding Smith’s Assumptions @ Ben Spackman
- The April 3 event in Provo has been canceled, at least the in-person aspect. We’ll...
Runaway Bunny @ Segullah
- Once there was a little bunny,” Margaret Wise Brown wrote, “who wanted to run away....
Hymns for a Time of Coronavirus @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- Come, Come, Ye Saints
Photo by KIM DAE JEUNG from Pexels.
Come, come, ye Saints
No...
Coronavirus: Before Courage, Pausing to Mourn @ Segullah
- Coronavirus: Before Courage, Pausing to Mourn Because of the widening coronavirus...
Suggestions for Missionaries in Lockdown @ Ben Spackman
- I have a young friend currently serving a mission in Norway, who is confined to her...
Last Nurse Standing and the Coronapocalypse @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- These are odd times. But sometimes crises have their lighter side. My daughter is a...
When Institutional Sexism Infects My Home @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- I am an infectious disease epidemiologist for a global diagnostic company that makes the...
Corona Sacrament @ Segullah
- Yesterday my husband and I – like many of you – were under “house...
President Nelson Gives a Message of Hope at This Troubled Time @ Mormanity
- As so many people struggle and worry with the craziness and uncertainty of COVID-19 and...
Come Follow Me: Jacob 5-7 @ Ben Spackman
- The previous lesson covered Jacob 1-4, and this one the lengthy allegory of the olive...
Streamlining Temple Ordinances @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- I’ve been thinking about temple ordinances and wondering if we couldn’t streamline...
COVID-19 Repsonse: Church Gatherings Suspended for Now, Worldwide @ Mormanity
- Today the Church announces that Church gatherings are temporarily suspended worldwide....
How General Conference Will Change when Nobody Attends @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- The Church announced today that the April General Conference will be held in the...
Choosing Life in an Affirming Church @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- I knew that I probably shouldn’t let myself be encouraged by the unexpected news a few...
Skip Church if You Are Ill and Other Tips for Coping with COVID-19 and the Corona Virus (SARS-CoV-2) @ Mormanity
- In my previous posts warning about the need to prepare for the Corona virus, my greatest...
Come Follow Me: Jacob 1-4 @ Ben Spackman
- Jacob marks a distinct and important break of sorts in the Book of Mormon. Why? Unlike...
The Most Important Question I’ve Been Asked, and Public Speaking Updates @ Ben Spackman
- First, a reminder that I’m part of an event in Provo on April 3, sponsored by...
March Madness! With books and deals! @ Ben Spackman
- I’ve been a user of Logos for almost 20 years. It’s my research library....
INTERSEX AND MORMON- PART 3: MY GARDEN OF EDEN @ Segullah
- Guest post by Green This is the third post in a series about my experience as a...
Praying in the Dark @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- At church today, the sermon was on healing fractured relationships. We need to go deep...
The Power of Trust @ Mormanity
- What a blessing it is to have friends who are truly honest and trustworthy! Can you...
Requesting Review from Medical Experts: Can Glucosamine Help Reduce COVID-19 Mortality? @ Mormanity
- Update, 2/29/2019: In light of helpful and competent feedback to me privately about the...
Book Review: Girls Who Choose God: Stories of Extraordinary Women from Church History @ Segullah
- I bought the first volume of Girls Who Choose God soon after it was published in 2014 to...
URLs for My Mormon Studies Articles and Essays @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- I decided it might be useful for me, if not for others, to have the URLs to all my Mormon...
Different Way the Handbook Says “Don’t” @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- I’ve noticed that there are a number of different wordings used in the Church...
I Hope You've Gotten the Message About the Corona Virus Threat @ Mormanity
- Don't treat the SARS-COV-2 virus lightly. It's surprising to me to see how many people in...
Announcement: Two Firesides This Weekend in the DC Area @ Ben Spackman
- It’s been a remarkably good Monday morning. Chilly, but I scored a $72 long-sleeve...
A Church Prepared for Crisis: The Timeliness of the Church's Emphasis on Home-Centered Worship @ Mormanity
- When the Church announced in 2018 that it was shifting to less Sunday time in Church...
Come Follow Me: 2 Nephi 11-25 @ Ben Spackman
- Today, like the Titanic and the iceberg, we arrive at the dreaded Isaiah chapters. Now,...
Rejected Names for Church Wi-Fi Networks @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- It appears that the Church will be changing the name of the Wi-Fi networks in...
Robert Alter, at BYU and on deep sale @ Ben Spackman
- Robert Alter is an emeritus professor of Hebrew, Literature, and Jewish Studies at...
Donald or Jesus? @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- In a revelation given to Joseph Smith on August 6, 1833, we find the following: “When...
How to Win an Argument with God: A Lesson Sponsored by the Corona Virus @ Mormanity
- Ever since I participated in debate competitions in high school and maybe before, I have...
Old Testament Valentines @ Zelophehad's Daughters
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Previous years: Correlated Cards for Valentine’s Day, Happy...
(Deja) View on the Corona Virus @ Mormanity
- Please keep China in your prayers. The unprecedented efforts to contain the Corona virus...
Superbowl Culture Shock @ Mormanity
- Since leaving for China over 8 years ago, I occasionally experience some culture shock...
What Vietnam Just Taught Me About Responding to Epidemics (Wuhan Coronavirus) @ Mormanity
- In China and many parts of the world, the price of face masks has jumped significantly. I...
Updates on the Wuhan Coronavirus @ Mormanity
- Concerns about the Wuhan Coronavirus may need to be adjusted upwards in light of the...
Dealing with the Wuhan Coronavirus: Some Thoughts for Those Traveling or Living in Asia @ Mormanity
- What some people may have viewed as just a normal outbreak of flu is beginning to cause...
Three Days to the Valley of Lemuel -- But From Where? @ Mormanity
- One of the things I enjoy about blogging is having readers with diverse perspectives who...
The River of Filthy Water in Lehi's Dream, and Perhaps in His Personal Experience @ Mormanity
- In Lehi's dream in 1 Nephi 8, he saw a river of water flowing by the great and spacious...
The Kindness of Two Chinese Strangers Turned Our Christmas Eve from Frustration to Joy @ Mormanity
- Sorry for the delay in posting this note which I wrote during the Christmas holidays and...
A Feast of Knowledge Awaits: New Field Work in the Arabian Peninsula Tells Us More About the Stunning Candidate Location for the River Laman and Valley of Lemuel @ Mormanity
- Prologue: Thoughts on Feasting When one eats a delicious meal prepared by a competent...
Pregnancy Prophets! @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- This guest post comes to us from Josiah of the blog Josiah Reckons.
We love babies at...
The "Hoarding" Church @ Mormanity
- Hordes of critics are wringing their hands, often gleefully, about the uncharitable...
Nacle Notebook 2019: Funniest Comments @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- This post is my annual compilation of the funniest comments and bits of posts that I read...
The Willard Richards Book of Abraham Manuscript 2: Live Dictation of Abraham 3 in 1842, or Copying Existing Text? @ Mormanity
- In an important publication from the Joseph Smith Papers Project, The Joseph Smith...
Some Sources for the Kirtland Egyptian Paper's Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language, Part Two @ Mormanity
- In Part 1 of this topic posted earlier this week, I reviewed several pages of entries in...
An Update, Barely, on Barley @ Mormanity
- A Dec. 23, 2019 news release from Washington University in St. Louis reports new research...
Some Sources for the Kirtland Egyptian Paper's Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language, Part One @ Mormanity
- One of the vital issues in Book of Abraham debates is the role of the Kirtland Egyptian...
A Christmas Surprise: An Ancient Jewish Temple at the Same Time as Solomon's Temple @ Mormanity
- The Dec. 23 newsletter from the Biblical Archaeology Society surprised me with a report...
Power and Corruption @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Corruption is in the news almost constantly these days. Of course, we’re all aware of...
How Can a Latter-day Saint Vote Republican in Trump’s America? @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- I’ve taken a bit of a break from blogging. Life’s been busy, and I’ve been working...
Statistics, Misconceptions, and the Imperatives of Millennialism @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- The Deseret News ran an article this week about the American Family Survey, an annual...
The Antiquated Second Amendment @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- One of the most confusing, misunderstood, and misapplied pieces of the Constitution is...
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...
Romanticized Notions @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- One morning in the spring of 2005, when I was a senior editor at the Ensign, the new...
Mitt and Me @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Last week we were in San Diego for a little vacation. On Sunday (June 2), we attended...
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...
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...
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...
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
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“…[scientism] is contributing to a growing trend on the left, quite as ferocious...
