More Islands and Atolls
Keeping the Stars Apart @ Segullah
- here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the...
Video Interview about Seminary, Complexity, Manuals, and Other Fun Stuff @ Ben Spackman
- There’s a large group on Facebook for Seminary teachers, where they ask questions,...
Travel Tip for the Netherlands: Visit the Amsterdam Ward! @ Mormanity
- Some of the best experiences on my travels to various parts of the world have occurred...
Much Ado About Creation Ex Nihilo @ Mormanity
- Robert Boylan in Ireland makes some salient points in his review of a recent debate...
Come Follow Me: Hebrews @ Ben Spackman
- Hebrews is fun and different. Note that it comes at the end of Paul’s letters...
Blooming out of Bitterness: Julia Mavimbela @ Segullah
- “Let us dig the soil of bitterness, throw in a seed, show love, and see what fruits...
Skipping @ Segullah
- “If I dismiss the ordinary– waiting for the special, the extreme, the...
Caffeine Update: Prenatal Risks @ Mormanity
- Many members of the Church interpret the Word of Wisdom's prohibitions on tea and coffee...
God’s Light in an Atheist Country @ Segullah
- “Are you going to go to church in China?” A friend asked. I was flabbergasted by the...
An Alphabet TO the Book of Abraham: What Did Joseph Mean? @ Mormanity
- Here's another look at some minor issues around the Book of Abraham and some of the gaps...
Book Review: Crossings, by Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- Necessary disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for...
Newborn Missionary @ Segullah
- We took my oldest son to the MTC this week, to learn Cebuano in preparation for his...
Come Follow Me: Philemon @ Ben Spackman
- Philemon used to be covered with Philippians and Colossians, and consequently, it went...
Scary Edgar Allan Poe and Me: Super-Weird or Super-Power? @ Segullah
- After a recent rereading of spooky old classics, I reached a disturbing realization:...
Speaking Announcements: Harry Potter and Faith, Complexity in Church, Plus a MHA Preview @ Ben Spackman
- First, Nov 9 at the LDS Institute in Mesa, I’ll be speaking and participating in a...
Conference Review, October 2019 @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- This post has some of my favorite and least-favorite things from this last General...
Words Fall In: A Segullah Podcast featuring Lisa Bickmore @ Segullah
- Lisa Bickmore wields words like a master craftsman. In this interview, she describes her...
Romancing the Rio Wreck: Evidence for Ancient Transoceanic Contact in the Americas vs. a Romantic Notion of Peer Review @ Mormanity
- As a Ph.D. linguist providing his peer-review of Brian Stubbs' work on linguistic...
The Importance of Earnest: What Judah and Tamar have to do with Baptism, the Spirit, and Buying a House @ Ben Spackman
- Three cryptic times in the New Testament (Ephesians 1:14, 2Co 1:22 and 5:5), Paul speaks...
Mine is a Home @ Segullah
- The author of today’s post lives in the Mountain West with her family. The first...
Come Follow Me: 1-2 Thessalonians @ Ben Spackman
- We’re moving into some dense historical, textual, and doctrinal territory today, as...
Tell Me So @ Segullah
- Maybe it’s the cold, moving in like an unwanted neighbor, that has we me curling inward...
BYU Studies, Evolution, and Faith: Some Clarification @ Ben Spackman
- We recently put forth an open call for abstracts for a special issue of BYU Studies...
Re-Thinking the Covenant Path: What Baptism in the Episcopal Church Meant to Me @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- (This is adapted from something I recently wrote for a writing group.)
A phrase that...
John S. Robertson Offers Strong Support for Brian Stubbs @ Mormanity
- Recently Brian Stubbs, a leading and widely respected expert on the Uto-Aztecan language...
Old Manuals, Unintended Consequences, and the Optimistic Turn of “Come Follow Me” @ Ben Spackman
- At an amazing S&I address a few years ago, Elder Ballard described past curriculum as...
Puzzling Statement from Joseph Smith III May Raise a Book of Abraham Question: Could More of the Original Papyri Have Survived? @ Mormanity
- After a long trip from Shanghai to Amsterdam via Dubai yesterday, I awoke this morning...
Understanding Evangelicals and Scripture @ Ben Spackman
- A friend asked me for some references on how Evangelicals think about scripture, so I...
Feeling Blue About the Red Sea in the Book of Mormon? @ Mormanity
- Criticism about the Book of Mormon's references to the Red Sea came up in some recent...
Holy Ground: Motherhood and Midlife in Darlene Young’s Homespun and Angel Feathers @ Segullah
- I love roller coasters — the anticipation and rise to great heights, the gut-lurching...
The Temple and Genre, part 2: Presidents Lee and McKay on History and Temple Preparation @ Ben Spackman
- BYU has published a short piece by Judge Thomas Griffiths, called “Imagination and...
Some Thoughts on the Changes in One of the Temple Recommend Interview Questions @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- President Nelson introduced an updated set of temple recommend questions in Conference on...
Great New Temple Recommend Questions @ Mormanity
- The Church has announced a revision in the temple recommend questions. These are the...
Nathan Arp on an Apparent Egyptian Wordplay on the Name of Moses @ Mormanity
- One of the joys of living in Shanghai is just how much from around the world comes to...
The Book of Mormon's Ties to the Northern Kingdom of Israel: New Research from Dr. Richley Crapo @ Mormanity
- One of the more novel arguments I've seen against the Book of Mormon was the graduate...
The Selfish Gene (-ral Authority) @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- How often do General Authorities call their relatives to also be General Authorities? A...
Stunning Revelation about the Building Blocks of Life, Amino Acids @ Mormanity
- Foreordained or predestined: complex theological debates have raged around these terms...
Book of Mormon Story Titles, Very Slightly Revised @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- Earlier this year, I wrote a post where I rewrote familiar Mormon titles by adding,...
Keeping Up with the Book of Abraham: The New Pearl of Great Price Central Website @ Mormanity
- For those interested in the Book of Abraham, a great new website provides regular...
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...
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...
Statistics, Misconceptions, and the Imperatives of Millennialism @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- The Deseret News ran an article this week about the American Family Survey, an annual...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
“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...
