More Islands and Atolls
Do people make more temple appointments during Conference weekend? @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- I thought this might be an interesting question because if ever people are going to be...
Acceptance @ Segullah
- Acceptance is the key to everything. That’s the mantra I typed into the reminders...
Summer Travels and Speaking, Recent and Future @ Ben Spackman
- It’s been quite a semester.
I continued working on my dissertation, and finished...
Cooking After the Storm @ Segullah
- There many things I love in life. One of these things is food, and another is history. ...
A Pitchers’ Duel That Will Never Be Equaled @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Just for a change of pace from
politics and religion, I want to reminisce in...
I'm a Mormon @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- I suppose I understand why
President Nelson has placed such an emphasis on using...
Fractured Thoughts on the Holocaust @ Segullah
- On a recent trip to Amsterdam I signed up for a tour to visit the Holocaust Names...
Why no Christmas-and-Easter Mormons? @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- My tween daughter recently asked me about people who attend church only at Christmas and...
Sabbath Speeches: Dirt and Dung – Salt of the Earth @ Josiah Reckons
- I gave a contracted version of this talk, in Polish, in the Warsaw Branch, in Poland on...
“Acting as a Man” and Other Less-than-Useful Frameworks for Talking About Prophets @ Ben Spackman
- I tend not to use the words “fallible” or “speaking as a man” or...
A Heretic Reviews General Conference, April 2023 @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- Fastest hymn: “I Believe in Christ,” Sunday morning.
Slowest hymn: “I...
God the GA @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- Growing up, I think I basically imagined God as being somewhat akin to a General...
April 19 Lecture, Henry Eyring Sr. vs. Melvin Cook: Chemistry, Creationism, and Competition for the Authority of Science at the University of Utah @ Ben Spackman
- On April 19th at 7pm, I’ll deliver a lecture, “Henry Eyring Sr. vs. Melvin...
Revisiting New Children of Record Data @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- I wrote a post last year after April Conference about the new children of record counts...
“But I Have Better Grounds”: Joseph Fielding Smith and Creationist Claims to Scientific Authority (video and notes) @ Ben Spackman
- I’ve linked below to the video of my recent talk at the University of Utah, and...
Church Announces New Cryptocurrency: WritCoin @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- On the eve of its 193rd annual General Conference, the Church of Jesus Christ of...
In the crosshairs @ Segullah
- So this is what it feels like in the crosshairs. As the grandmother of a transgender...
Takagi on Latter-day Saints and Capitalism @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- The most recent issue of the Mormon
Studies Review (vol. 10) contains a couple of...
Mormons: To know us is to love us (or not) @ Zelophehad's Daughters
-
Pew released a report last week on a recent survey where they asked American...
I don’t want to wear a party hat @ Segullah
- I don’t want to go to birthday party for Relief Society. I mean…. I love...
I Don’t Believe in Faith Crises @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Frankly, I don’t
even know what “faith crisis” means. I understand that...
@ Segullah
- My husband Chris Kimball has a new book out called “Living on the Edge of the...
Topics We Will and Won’t Hear about at General Conference @ Zelophehad's Daughters
- General Conference is less than a month away. What topics do you think we’ll hear...
Tales from the Archive: Edwin S. Hinckley and the Cross @ Ben Spackman
- I’ve been devoting the vast majority of my time to the dissertation, and...
Dual Relationships at Church @ Zelophehad's Daughters
-
I really enjoy Alison Green’s workplace issues advice blog Ask a Manager. One...
Traits of Come Follow Me Podcasts @ Segullah
- I have been unwilling to listen to audiobooks or podcast despite their rising popularity...
Is It Possible for a Believing Latter-day Saint to Be a Republican? Part 17 @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- The Isms
If you’ve been following this
series of posts, you might be thinking I...
Yet More Correlated Cards for Valentine’s Day @ Zelophehad's Daughters
-
Previous years: Correlated Cards for Valentine’s Day, Happy Valentine’s...
Creativity @ Segullah
- Last year my very talented cousin, Laura McCarrey, took on a project to post a photograph...
Is It Possible for a Believing Latter-day Saint to Be a Republican? Part 16 @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- The Debt Ceiling and Balancing the Budget
Since the Republicans took control
of...
Is It Possible for a Believing Latter-day Saint to Be a Republican? Part 15 @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Political Dysfunction
Last week, Ezra Klein had a
fascinating column in the New...
Metaphors in the Gospel of John @ Segullah
- John’s gospel bears testimony of the divinity of Jesus the Christ. The manner of his...
Is It Possible for a Believing Latter-day Saint to Be a Republican? Part 14 @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- A Regressive, Backward-Looking Philosophy
If we look at the underlying...
Modernising the standard works with machine learning (part II): ChatGPT AI @ Josiah Reckons
- How would ChatGPT modernise the standard works? Would there be doctrinal changes or loss...
Is It Possible for a Believing Latter-day Saint to Be a Republican? Part 13 @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Guns
With this past week’s 15-vote
misadventure of the GOP in the House...
Come Follow Me: Genealogies in Matthew and Luke @ Ben Spackman
-
Arvo Pärt’s magnificent Magnificat, one of many songs based on the Latin...
Studying the New Testament: Cross-cultural Contexts @ Ben Spackman
-
As we begin our year in the New Testament, we naturally start with the Gospels…...
Is It Possible for a Believing Latter-day Saint to Be a Republican? Part 12 @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- “Ultra”: Insurrection in America, Then and Now
During the holidays, I’ve...
Sacrament Service in Slippers @ Segullah
- When 2022 began, I never imagined that before 2023 arrived, I’d find myself in a...
Is It Possible for a Believing Latter-day Saint to Be a Republican? Part 11 @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Distrust of Science and
Expertise in General
The COVID-19 pandemic not...
Studying the Bible: On Strong’s Concordance and Biblical Languages @ Ben Spackman
- Let’s talk about languages, particularly, Biblical languages: Greek, Hebrew, and...
Studying the New Testament: Top 5 Books @ Ben Spackman
- This is the first of several posts talking about studying the NT and resources to do...
Covenants and Kinship: Jesus as the Father? @ Ben Spackman
- I chat with a lot of missionaries, and have heard this question repeatedly recently. I...
Is It Possible for a Believing Latter-day Saint to Be a Republican? Part 10 @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Abortion
There are many Latter-day Saints
who are Republican for one reason only:...
Is It Possible for a Believing Latter-day Saint to Be a Republican? Part 9 @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Corporate Self-Regulation
If I could recommend just one book
for you to...
Is It Possible for a Believing Latter-day Saint to Be a Republican? Part 8 @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Government Is the Enemy
At a press conference on August 12,
1986,...
Is It Possible for a Believing Latter-day Saint to Be a Republican? Part 7 @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Health Care
Among all developed countries and
many un- and underdeveloped...
Is It Possible for a Believing Latter-day Saint to Be a Republican? Part 6 @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Tax Cuts
For a variety of reasons, we are
experiencing a bit of economic...
Is It Possible for a Believing Latter-day Saint to Be a Republican? Part 5 @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Racism
Is the Republican Party racist? Is
even asking this question out of...
Is It Possible for a Believing Latter-day Saint to Be a Republican? Part 4 @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- The Anti-democratic Party
There was a time when the
Republican Party was the...
Do babies need a name to be blessed before the church? @ Josiah Reckons
- I can imagine D&C 20:70 being followed to the letter, but in a variety of different...
Is It Possible for a Believing Latter-day Saint to Be a Republican? Part 3 @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- Global Warming
In Salt Lake City, since
temperatures have been recorded, there...
Is It Possible for a Believing Latter-day Saint to Be a Republican? Part 2 @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- The Party of Disinformation
Politics doesn’t
have a reputation for honesty. Even when...
Latest from the New Blog at AriseFromtheDust.com @ Mormanity
- In late June 2022, Mormanity officially moved to Arise From the Dust at...
Is It Possible for a Believing Latter-day Saint to Be a Republican? Part 1 @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- In a newspaper interview in
February 1974, Ezra Taft Benson, president of the...
Strengthen ye the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees @ Josiah Reckons
- When I was a deacon, I sometimes passed the sacrament to older people whose hands...
Taking half the sacrament @ Josiah Reckons
- We were late for church on Sunday. We use public transport, and there is no direct route...
COVID, Motorcycles, Mormonism and Rebellion @ Small and Simple
- Our unnecessary and absurd over-reaction to COVID had a dramatic effect on me. In the...
Rights, Responsibilities, and the Case for Repealing the Second Amendment @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- This year we have once again been
shocked by the endless string of mass murders of...
Mormanity is Moving to AriseFromTheDust.com @ Mormanity
- I've been wondering how to abandon the name "Mormanity" for a while. As a member of...
Will a man rob God? Tithing and temples @ Josiah Reckons
- "Paying a full and honest tithe leads us to the temple." - Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi
Modernising the standard works with machine learning (part I) @ Josiah Reckons
- Could we use the KJV and another version of the bible as training data, and create a...
Preparing for Inflation and Yearning for Zion: Thoughts From My Visit to Turkey @ Mormanity
- The New Mosque (Yeni Cami) in the Eminönü quarter of Istanbul, on the Golden Horn at...
Lessons from Bulgaria: The Dangers of Censorship @ Mormanity
- During the Communist era in Bulgaria, the annual May Day parade was a major spectacle...
Spare the rod @ Josiah Reckons
- "I am persuaded that violent fathers produce violent sons." - Gordon B. Hinkley
What Day Was Christ Crucified? Dr. Jeffrey Chadwick Argues That the Book of Mormon Provides Valuable Information @ Mormanity
- An archaeologist and professor at BYU, Dr. Jeffrey R. Chadwick, published an article...
What to Make of "Plagiarism" of the Bible in a Purportedly Ancient Text? A Jewish Scholar Offers a Thoughtful Perspective @ Mormanity
- The Book of Mormon's frequent "plagiarism" of passages from the Bible is one of the most...
About That Burial Marker in Yemen for a Man Named Ishmael: Impossible That He Was a Hebrew? @ Mormanity
- In a November 2021 post, "Recent Discoveries and Advances Published by Interpreter, Part...
The Uchtdorfs visit Warsaw branch @ Josiah Reckons
- "Jesus was a refugee" - Elder Dieter F Uchtdorf
Prayers for China @ Mormanity
- A view from Xi'an, China, the beginning of the Silk RoadChina has been in my...
The Words of Gad the Seer: Thoughts on a "Lost Book" Preserved by the Jews at Cochin, India @ Mormanity
- The cover of the Hebrew edition ofMeir Bar-Ilan's The Words of Gad the SeerAn old Jewish...
News from Mount Ebal: An Ancient Hebraic Inscription on Metal, a Chiasmus, Possibly Dating to the 13th Century BC or Earlier @ Mormanity
- An ancient Hebraic text dating to the 13th to 14th century BC has been discovered by...
Dinner with One of Africa's Richest Women @ Mormanity
- My wife and I are friends with one of Africa's richest women, at least by her accounting....
Special Issue of BYU Studies Quarterly on Good Government @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- The new special issue of BYU
Studies Quarterly (61.1) is, in my opinion, the best...
Ye shall not print any marks upon you @ Josiah Reckons
- Does scripture forbid tattoos?
"O Captain, My Captain": Walt Whitman's Surprising Role in the Ultimate Refutation of All Book of Mormon Evidence @ Mormanity
- Fond Memories from Before the BlastBack before a massive nuclear logic bomb wiped out...
Be Glad Trump Is Not President @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
- As bad as things are right now, at
least we can be glad that Donald Trump is not...
Preparing for War: The Folly of Trust @ Mormanity
- The Folly of Trust: A Medical Perspective Some of my more painful experiences in life...
Time and Thought @ Mormonomics & Mormonethics
-
Stephen C. over at Times and
Seasons has a post this week on time and God that...
An Update on Maps of the Arabian Peninsula Showing Nahom-related Names @ Mormanity
- In 2008, James Gee published the results of his extensive search for the rare European...
Taliban Hackers Hijack Salt Lake Tribune Website, Call for Totalitarian Oppression of Unvaxxed @ Mormanity
- Thanks to certain contacts across Asia and the Middle East, I've heard off the record...
Do I Dare Join the Woman in the Boat? @ Mormanity
- "Woman Reading in a Boat" by Arthur Becher, ca. 1910. I just awoke from a dream,...
Science as a Faith: Do We Need Another Restoration? @ Mormanity
- One of our nation's leading bodies of scientific influence, the Center for Disease...
Many Questions about Dementia and Just One Answer So Far @ Mormanity
- An expert on senior care, Professor Thomas Kitwood, once quipped that "when you've met...
May We Follow the Science and Stand for Life @ Mormanity
- From The Chosen, "The Messengers"I began my Christmas Day by watching the "Messengers"...
Recent Discoveries and Advances Published by Interpreter, Part 1 @ Mormanity
- If you aren't following the journal Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and...
Let's Have Some Compassion for Our Untouchables @ Mormanity
- If you grew up in a nation with a formal caste system, would you let society dictate how...
Institutional Bullying and the Question of Religious Exemption from Vaccine Mandates @ Mormanity
- I received a call this week from a father with two children facing intimidation and...
Zeal Without Data: Blaming the Church for Utah's Allegedly Low Vaccination Rates @ Mormanity
- Romans 10:2 speaks of those who "have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge."...
Medical Tyranny? When Your Government Tells You to Abandon Freedom and Personal Choice, It's Time to Speak Out @ Mormanity
- Victory BoydThe mainstream media has largely ignored a chilling story about disrespecting...
A Google Earth View of a Candidate for Bountiful, Khor Kharfot on Wadi Sayq @ Mormanity
- Here is a beautiful view from Google Earth of a leading candidate for the Book of Mormon...
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....
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 humor...
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 that...
Mormon: The New Shibboleth @ Peculiar People
- Here’s hoping Lindsey releases a new, revised video: I’m a member of Church of Jesus...
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 – an...
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...
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...