More Islands and Atolls
Prayer and the Journey of Two Thousand Kilometers That Begins the Thousand Kilometer Trip @ Mormanity
- According to a modern Chinese proverb, a journey of a thousand kilometers begins with a...
15 Observations from a Compulsive Church-Hopper @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- As some of you know, I’ve recently found myself engaged in the project of visiting as...
Follow the Prophet(‘s Name) @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- Do Mormons name our kids after the current Church President? I’ve known some people...
Book Review, Gilda Trillim: Shepherdess of Rats @ Segullah
- I wear a lot of hats as a middle aged woman: wife, mother, teacher, congregant, school...
When Progressive Mormonism Becomes a Secular Religion @ Peculiar People
- Author’s note: in my last post, I discussed similarities between Christianity and...
Invoking My Future Wise Woman @ Segullah
- My day is unraveling. I have taken a quick shower but neither dried my hair nor applied...
Getting to know Sariah @ Segullah
- My husband and I are substituting this week for early morning seminary. In our ward,...
The religious fervor of progressive (Mormon) social media @ Peculiar People
- In the days following white nationalist violence in Charlottesville, many progressive...
Philosophy, Science and Religion: The Conflict Between Science and Religion @ Small and Simple
- A
A Correlated Excerpt from the Sermon on the Mount @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- It has come to the attention of the Church Correlation Department that many parts of the...
September Editorial and Table of Contents @ Segullah
- My daughter recently lamented that our cats were lazy and big, nothing like their former...
Artist Statement by Brittany Long Olsen @ Segullah
- I started making one comic every day for my journal back in 2008 as a college freshman. A...
Female Digestive System @ Segullah
- You used to live in there I said
When my small boy approached me, lazing on the couch
and...
Excerpt from Blood Rose Rebellion @ Segullah
- CHAPTER 1
London, April 1847
I did not set out to ruin my sister’s debut.
Indeed,...
Interview with Rosalyn Eves @ Segullah
-
Inspiration and encouragement:
I read that when you were in 5th grade a teacher...
Beloved Beads of Dirt Cheap Price @ Segullah
- Spring in Central Florida usually means daily rains, but not this year. Throughout the...
Rippled Surface @ Segullah
- Water has a skin,
a membrane thick enough
for gods to walk on
but delicate and cold as...
Provident Living Just Got Harder, Courtesy of Equifax: Some Steps You Can Take (Hint: You Need a Credit Freeze) @ Mormanity
- Equifax is one of three large credit agencies that provide a valuable public service....
Philosophy, Science and Religion: The Mind and The Religious Experience @ Small and Simple
- A
Fifty Years of Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon: The Story of Its Discovery @ Mormanity
- One of my favorite stories from the world of Book of Mormon studies is the discovery of...
Economic Insanity: Introduction @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Twenty-two years ago, Berrett-Koehler Publishers in San Francisco published my book...
Heroic Salt Lake Woman Stands Up for Law, Order, and a Patient's Rights -- and Gets Arrested by Salt Lake Police @ Mormanity
- I am a law and order guy. I was raised in a family with a mother who had a "Support Your...
Sacrament Hymns, Ranked (by length) @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- I have a priest-aged son, and seeing him administer the sacrament has made me pay more...
Ancient Temples, Shrines, and Altars Outside of Jerusalem @ Mormanity
- An old argument against the Book of Mormon is that no self-respecting Hebrew would even...
Evolution and the Fall @ Benjamin the Scribe
- I received a trio of books recently, so I’m providing some brief thoughts on what...
The Human Cost of Drawing People Away from Faith @ Mormanity
- Anti-Mormon zeal brings a high human cost, in my opinion. Sometimes I see people who seem...
Elder Holland on LDS Apologetics @ Mormanity
- Recent weeks have been interesting for the unofficial, highly heterogeneous and sometimes...
Thinking About Marriage: Dietrich Bonhoeffer @ Mormanity
- Elder D. Todd Christofferson's 2015 General Conference talk, "Why Marriage, Why Family,"...
Questions, Doubts, and Faith Crises @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- By all accounts, quite a few Mormons are leaving the faith, and many more are...
On Elder Hamula @ Benjamin the Scribe
- You have likely heard that a member of the 70 was recently released and excommunicated....
Madness in Charlottesville @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- I imagine I’m not the only one to find myself suffering from what I might call...
Science and Mormonism: An Insight from LDS.org and an Update on the So-Called 1910 "First Presidency Statement" @ Mormanity
- Science and religion are two independent witnesses of God's Creation, according to a...
Taking a Gamble on Prayer @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- I don’t know about you, but most of my prayers are not answered in the way I want....
Testimony and the Spiritual Experience @ Small and Simple
- A
FairMormon 2017 Conference, Day Two @ Mormanity
- Day two of the FairMormon 2017 Conference offered another series of outstanding speakers...
FairMormon, Some Papers, and Books @ Benjamin the Scribe
- My FairMormon presentation reiterated parts of two previous papers I have presented. That...
The FairMormon 2017 Conference, Day One @ Mormanity
- Today was my first time attending the FairMormon Conference. The 2017 event is being held...
A Thought about Faith-promoting Stories @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- Every faith-promoting story is also a faith-destroying story. I don’t mean just...
Trump Is the Best Thing That Could Have Happened to America @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- If you’ve been reading this blog for the past year, you are probably wondering if...
Announcement: MI Seminar Conference on Thursday @ Benjamin the Scribe
- The Maxwell Institute Seminar draws to an end with a public conference this Thursday....
Credit, Blame, and the Influence of the Church @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- Think about these scenarios.
—A man expresses gratitude that his experience serving in...
Unncessary Attacks, Part 2: In Defense of Grant Hardy @ Mormanity
- My previous post responded to Duane Boyce's critique of some modern LDS scholars who...
Kenton Sparks on Genre @ Benjamin the Scribe
- In the LDS Perspectives podcast, I alluded to this passage from Kenton Sparks’...
An Unnecessary Attack on Faithful LDS Scholars: Does Prophetic Fallibility Matter? @ Mormanity
- A faithful call to respect the prophets and take them more seriously is the intent of...
On the Arguments of Ruthie Robertson @ Small and Simple
- A
The End of the Bill of Rights? Civil Asset Forefeiture in the US @ Mormanity
- Burglars and other crooks across the United States manage to seize around $4 billion a...
Podcast post @ Benjamin the Scribe
- I was interviewed last year for the LDS Perspectives podcast, which I recommend. Therein,...
Pressing Forward @ Mormanity
- At a recent meeting of the BYU Management Society, Shanghai Chapter, our speaker was...
Truth, Scripture, and Interpretation of Genesis: A Conference Preview @ Benjamin the Scribe
- In a little less than a month, I’ll be speaking at the FAIRMormon Conference in...
There, but for the grace of . . . @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- A few months ago, a new family moved into a rental home up the street. For several...
Why that Peaceful Feeling? @ Peculiar People
- When I was younger, I developed a paradoxical fear of the Holy Ghost. You see, it...
The Miraculous Feeding in 3 Nephi 20: Intensified Over Mark, Who Intensifies an Elisha Theme @ Mormanity
- In preparing my recent paper on the longer ending of Mark and its implications for the...
An Ayi for an Eye: The Tragic Story of Our Maid, Now in Jail @ Mormanity
- As I contemplate the blessings of freedom on this Fourth of July here in China, there is...
A Letter for My Someday-Teenage Children @ Peculiar People
- I write all of this to you, my...
Listening to History, Science, and Evolution @ Benjamin the Scribe
- I‘ve not had a lot of time to write here recently. I have done a lot of driving and...
Another Surprise in the Dictated Language of the Book of Mormon @ Mormanity
- For those of you following the surprising findings regarding the language of the Book of...
Bows, Arrows & the Book of Mormon @ Mormon Metaphysics
- This is just a “holder” post for a discussion I was having over whether...
Elder Wickman Warns of “Powerful Coastal Forces” @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- In an emotional speech, emeritus member of the Seventy Elder Lance B. Wickman repeatedly...
Hijacking Testimony Meeting for Activism @ Small and Simple
- A
A Hundred Years from Now @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Before reading below, please listen to this audio file:Now the back story. I have this...
Confederate Symbols and the Black Flag of ISIS: Two Sides of the Same Coin @ Peculiar People
- A terrorist symbol looms over my hometown. It stands for an intolerant, un-American...
Bible Scholar Breaks Ranks and Reverses His Views on the Ending of Mark Based on Evidence @ Mormanity
- The progress of scholarship can be painfully slow when established paradigms are wrong....
Does This Life Matter? @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- Many of you are doubtless familiar with the object lesson in which you hold up a rope or...
My MHA Presentation and Reconciling Science with Scripture @ Benjamin the Scribe
- First, Zondervan has a Kindle sale on their Counterpoints series, where (mostly...
No, Basketball Fans, LeBron James is Not Better than Michael Jordan @ Small and Simple
- A
Look Who’s Talking @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- I got into a discussion recently (and by “recently,” I mean “about a...
A Shanghai Testimony on the Hidden Wisdom Behind Callings @ Mormanity
- In the fast and testimony meeting held yesterday in one of the Shanghai branches, I heard...
Trump and NATO: Lessons from Ancient Greece @ Peculiar People
- The demise of an alliance in Ancient Greece warns of the dangers of angering our partners...
"Don't Rob Your Employers": A Valuable Reminder to Priesthood Leaders @ Mormanity
- In recent training for priesthood leaders from China and Hong Kong, Elder Quentin L....
America Needs Mitt Romney @ Peculiar People
- A Senator Romney could stand up to Donald Trump without losing his seat. America needs...
Of Witches and Terrorists @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- I know I told you I was taking a break from blogging, but I couldn’t resist one last...
Another Week, Another New Semitic Wordplay @ Mormanity
- Matthew Bowen just published his analysis of another fascinating, newly discovered...
10 Things for Understanding the Old Testament @ Benjamin the Scribe
- My semester has ended, and now I enter into a busy summer of reading, writing, travel,...
Fake News of the Day: Your Bank Is Perfectly Safe. Don't Worry. @ Mormanity
- Some readers here were shocked when I suggested that US banks are not a safe place to...
Odds and Ends from One Chapter in Martin Harris's Biography @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- One of the projects I’ve been working on at BYU Studies is the edit of a biography of...
Linguist John S. Robertson Reviews Brian Stubbs' Work on Uto-Aztecan Languages and the Evidence for Old World Influence @ Mormanity
- "Exploring Semitic and Egyptian in Uto-Aztecan Languages" by Dr. John S. Robertson was...
The Rod of Iron: Part of Another Intriguing Wordplay in the Book of Mormon @ Mormanity
- In a recent article I prepared for The Interpreter, "The Great and Spacious Book of...
First-Order Myopia: What Donald Trump Can Learn from Joseph Smith @ Peculiar People
- Joseph Smith’s life was cut short because he failed to look beyond first-order...
An Argument for the Incompatibility of Free Will and God’s Absolute Foreknowledge @ Small and Simple
- A
Let's Talk Taxes @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Since it’s income tax day, let’s talk taxes. Of course nobody likes to pay taxes, but...
Unbridling Mormon Illustration: “From the Dust” – 2 of 2 @ Peculiar People
- In yesterday’s post, I discussed the relationship between Mormon illustration and...
Mormon Illustration and the Burden of History – 1 of 2 @ Peculiar People
- In his book Miracles, C.S. Lewis dwells for a peculiarly long time on the Ascension of...
Science the Key to Theology: My New book @ Mormon Organon
- Cross Posted at BCC.
This book is unusual. In more ways than one. Well, maybe in more...
Authoritarianism and Inequality @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- It seems that every few months new statistics come out showing that wealth inequality in...
What You Get When You Vote Republican @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- This past week gave us the results of two polls that, in tandem, don’t shine a very...
There Are a Lot of Counterfeits Out There, What’s in Your Wallet? @ Small and Simple
- A
Are Republican Legislators Terrorists? Some Thoughts on Rumpcare @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- I’m being only half facetious with this question. Well, maybe not at all. As Bernie...
What is the Distinction Between the Elder and High Priest Office? @ Small and Simple
- A
Eternal Misfit (Part 3 of 3) @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- This is a short story I wrote a few years ago that was published in Dialogue. I’ve...
Eternal Misfit (Part 2 of 3) @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- This is a short story I wrote a few years ago that was published in Dialogue. I’ve...
Eternal Misfit (Part 1 of 3) @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- This is a short story I wrote a few years ago that was published in Dialogue. I’ll...
The Director of the Universe @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- I hope this post isn’t too sacrilegious, but sometimes you overhear snippets of...
The Stories We Believe @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- On Groundhog Day this year, The New Yorker ran an article by Jiayang Fan1 that recounted...
Welcome to the USAF @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- No, I’m not welcoming you to the flying branch of the military. I’m referring to the...
Church Magazines (Not the Ones You Think) @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Exactly eighteen years ago today, I started working as an associate editor at the...
Some Thoughts on Certainty and Belief @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- In my ward, whenever the bishop calls young men or women to the pulpit for the purpose...
Trump and the Future of Jobs in America @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- This is an expanded version of an op-ed piece I had in the Deseret Newsearlier this...
Trump Endorses Mormonism @ Small and Simple
- A
Fleeing Babylon (Parts XIV–XIX) @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- This is a personal essay I wrote about ten years ago, just after leaving Church...
Fleeing Babylon (Parts IX–XIII) @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- This is a personal essay I wrote about ten years ago, just after leaving Church...
Peck Book Gift Giving Guide @ Mormon Organon
- So once again you are wrestling with the seasonal conundrum of which of my books to give...
Fleeing Babylon (Parts VI–VIII) @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- This is a personal essay I wrote about ten years ago, just after leaving Church...
Fleeing Babylon (Parts I–V) @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- This is a personal essay I wrote about ten years ago, just after leaving Church...
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...
Stats on LDS Retention @ Mormon Metaphysics
- Just a short post as I’m planning a longer post on this topic at T&S next week. A...
Blogging at T&S @ Mormon Metaphysics
- Just a note I’m blogging at Times and Seasons for the next while. I’ll still post...
Mormon Millennials Becoming More Republican @ Mormon Metaphysics
- Somehow I missed that UVU (just a few blocks from work) was having a religious liberty...
Gallup on Number of Mormons @ Mormon Metaphysics
- I’d missed this when it came out. Gallup does regular interviews and keeps track of the...
New Atheists and Mormon Moderates @ Mormon Metaphysics
- Over at BCC Jacob Baker put up a paper tying New Atheists with the John Dehlin style of...
Deep Geneology @ Mormon Organon
- Don’t forget to check out my post at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious...
A New Book and Discussion: Wandering Realities @ Mormon Organon
- My new book, Wandering Realities, was recently released by Zarahemla Books. I was...
Shall we discuss my story Démodé before computers do it for us? @ Mormon Organon
- Well it’s a new year and my one New Year’s Resolution was to revive this into...
How the Mother of Vampiro Rojo de Santanás Died at the Hand of the Ethicless Thing @ Mormon Organon
- I’ve been too busy of late to write any science posts, but here is a little...
Why evolution matters to LDS Theology @ Mormon Organon
- There seems to be a temptation to borrow Christian fundamentalist creationist ideas and...
Death, the Fall, and Darwin: Roman Legions of Death, Part 2 of 7 @ Mormon Organon
- So to begin. Assume that the story that science tells is tout court correct. That humans...
Death, the Fall, and Darwin: A More Harmonious Reading, Part 1 of 7 @ Mormon Organon
- This is being posted semi-concurrently at BCC (Posted there about a week earlier than...
Scholar of Moab makes Ben Park’s ‘Nearly Essential Readings’ in Mormonism for Members! @ Mormon Organon
- Ben Park has compiled a list of Essential Readings in Mormonism that includes both...
Prayer for the Senate @ Patheos
- "Eternal God, ruler of all creation, each day seems to bring more bad news than good."
The School of Mormon Theology, or The Lure of Fame @ Patheos
- The desire for a faction or party within a larger whole, a sect in the literal sense,...
ONE's Prayer for Everyone: A Worldwide Week of Prayer and Action for the Least of These @ Patheos
- Join the #PrayerForEveryone Campaign from September 24 to October 1 to help end extreme...
ONE and Heifer International in Malawi: A Photo Essay @ Patheos
- This past May, ONE and Heifer International took a group of likeminded writers to...
Coram Deo: Prayer and Life @ Patheos
- The more my life is a life of prayer, coram Deo, the more my private prayers will be...
Mormons Celebrate Easter with World's First Virtual "Hallelujah" Chorus @ Patheos
- This Easter season, 2,500 voices from around the world joined the Mormon Tabernacle...
