Even More Islands and Atolls
The Pain of a Shining Light @ Rains Came Down
- When I began this blog, I really had no idea how much rain could—and would—come...
Walking like Grandpa: Memories and his Last Words @ Grace for Grace
- Recently, I read a post a lady shared about a road trip with her 90 year old father and...
Happy Easter-Favorite Songs of Jesus @ Grace for Grace
- Today in our Easter Church service at the Castlewood Canyon Ward, a brother shared an...
Trowels and Muskets @ Rains Came Down
- I was 17 years old when I first walked into my dorm room at BYU. The last two years had...
Why you can't fast your way into getting what you want.... @ Rains Came Down
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On the 7th of April, 2020, President Russell M. Nelson joined the Catholics on Good...
Ad Astra: A movie review @ Expert Texperts
- It's been a while since I opened blogger for any reason other than deleting spam...
Child Abuse and the New Training Module @ Rains Came Down
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The new training for leadership of youth isn't great, but it's not terrible. A few...
I, the Samaritan @ Rains Came Down
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In many ways, I have been richly blessed in my life.
The Spirit led me to a career...
Is "Violence" Really the Right Word? @ Rains Came Down
- He sat across from me, behind a desk. He was soft-spoken, the quintessential shy guy in...
When Charity Causes Death @ Rains Came Down
- Have you ever felt that you fail at doing the right thing? Maybe you have tried to be a...
Yep, made the change @ Adventures in Mormonism
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Ever since Pres. Nelson’s talk last year about re-emphasizing the proper name of...
More Changes to Nutritional Guidelines Support WofW @ Religion and Science Blog
- Once again, as science increases its understanding of what's best for humans...
Changes in the Church: Separating the Wheat from the Tares @ Rains Came Down
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Sistas in Zion posted this to their Facebook page not long ago. It is a sentiment that...
Living with both fear and faith.... @ Rains Came Down
- I lived in an almost constant state of fear for years. October is a hard month for me,...
Where Culture and Doctrine Collide—The Cult of Positivity @ Rains Came Down
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"There is a truth deep down inside of you that has been waiting for you to discover...
Ministry and Suffering Alone @ Rains Came Down
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There is a rising trend of people talking about reaching out to those who are...
A Hunger and a Thirst @ Rains Came Down
- This is a difficult topic to discuss, because it's offensive. I guarantee that someone is...
This, Not That (Or, what to say to people who are grieving.) @ Rains Came Down
- Just some thoughts to help people who don't know how to help or what to do:
Not ThatSay...
"That they might have joy." @ Rains Came Down
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I've been thinking a lot about the idea of "forced joy," or (much like Elder Uchtdorf's...
A Palm Sunday Prayer @ Expert Texperts
- Today is Palm Sunday and I have been meditating on the significance of Christ's entry...
“…even in a dream…” (1 Nephi 2:1) @ Adventures in Mormonism
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Book of Mormon scholars (starting with Noel Reynolds, I believe) have long pointed out...
The Pride of My Heart: Doing it Myself @ Rains Came Down
- And so great were their afflictions that every soul had cause to mourn; and they believed...
Missing Egyptian Mathematical Texts @ Religion and Science Blog
- he ancient Egyptians made several noteworthy advances. Among their greatest...
My Sorrow @ Expert Texperts
- Author's Note: This post is about miscarriage. If that's not a thing you can read about,...
God Didn't Do This To Me. @ Expert Texperts
- Well, it's #LDSconf weekend and Mormon Twitter is out in full force, tweeting how...
Hi, I'm Still Infertile, But... @ Expert Texperts
- Author's Note: This is a long-overdue follow up to this post I wrote back in 2015, a...
Love and Mormons: A Review of Third Wheel @ Expert Texperts
- This past weekend I had the pleasure of reading Third Wheel: Peculiar Stories of Mormon...
Did Laban have right of ownership to the brass plates? @ Adventures in Mormonism
- I just started a recent re-read of the Book of Mormon (separate from the nightly out-loud...
Guess what, we're racist. @ Expert Texperts
- To my friends, enemies, general public, and specific readers of this blog: racism is...
Tale as Old as Time @ Rains Came Down
- This isn't exactly a review. I wasn't terribly impressed with the live-action Beauty and...
"You have no power over me!" @ Rains Came Down
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When I was in kindergarten, I used to go to the principal’s office to read TIME...
On the Muslim Ban: The Church Will Not Save Anyone @ Expert Texperts
- Last night I joined a few hundred people at the Salt Lake City airport to protest Donald...
Uhh, We Have a Podcast, and It's Good @ Expert Texperts
- Hi everybody, Casey here. A few months back I wrote about the future of this blog, which...
The Non-prodigal One @ Rains Came Down
- I have not written in some time, since I have been under considerable stress in my...
Corianton, Mormons, and Sex @ Expert Texperts
- If you attend the mainstream LDS church and you go to Gospel Doctrine for Sunday School,...
Yet Again, Science Confirms the Wisdom in the Word of Wisdom @ Religion and Science Blog
- In a previous post I commented on how health benefits of the Word of Wisdom were not well...
That Which is of Most Value @ Rains Came Down
- "Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.Matthew 10:30
I have been...
So Simple a Call @ Rains Came Down
- "Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the...
Hands of God @ Rains Came Down
- Many years ago, I prayed for charity. I knew what I was doing when I did it, but I did it...
Divorce, Pornography, Turner, Persky, and Being a Mormon Woman @ Rains Came Down
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First a disclaimer. In light of the last post and this one, one might think I'm...
Rejected and Despised @ Rains Came Down
- Another single man I knew and liked just got engaged. He is responsible, attractive in...
Be a Light on a Hill and Going To the Rescue @ Grace for Grace
- One of my favorite hymns has become to be Brightly Beams our Father’s Mercy. I...
"Thy Will On Earth" @ Rains Came Down
- In my personal life, I have had opportunities to ponder what it means to be a member of...
A Friend to Hate @ Rains Came Down
- There is a meme that gains in popularity daily. It teaches that judgment, pain, and...
On a Hard Day @ Expert Texperts
- Today was a hard day.
Mother's Day is hard not because of my mother or my...
The “Cans” of Keeping the Sabbath Holy @ Grace for Grace
- We had a great lesson and conversation that stemmed from Elder Nelson’s talk he...
We Are Not Alone: Eliza R. Snow and Women's Shared Trauma @ Expert Texperts
- Today's guest post comes to you from Eliza N. She is an editor who lives and works in...
Teaching, Learning and the Dance Steps of the Gospel @ Grace for Grace
- Our men’s group had a lesson on President Monson’s most recent article called...
Spiritual Barriers for our Safety and what to do if we Step Outside @ Grace for Grace
- We watched the following video in Elders Quorum (men’s group) about surfers who...
Adversity and the Boat of Life @ Grace for Grace
- At the April 1980 general conference, Elder Howard W.Hunter, then a member of the Quorum...
Trilobite Troubles for Darwin @ Religion and Science Blog
- One day in the summer of 2013 I was driving on Highway 6 south of Delta, Utah. My family...
Accomplishing the Impossible: Holding on through Mists of Darkness @ Grace for Grace
- Last week we had a great conversation in church about Lehi’s Vision in the Book of...
Where Did DNA Information Come From? @ Religion and Science Blog
- When Alma and Korihor debated the existence of God, Korihor demanded evidence of...
Darwin's Telescope @ Religion and Science Blog
- In the early 1600s, Italian scientist Galileo Galilei received word that a Dutch lens...
You Have Two Big Strong Hands That (Surprise!) You Have Control Over @ Expert Texperts
- A friend of the blog since before she was born, today's contributor Madelyn is Brooke’s...
Let not your Heart be Troubled @ Grace for Grace
- Today in Elders Quorum we had a great lesson from the new Howard W Hunter manual entitled...
Be a “Grown Man” @ Grace for Grace
- Last year during the Super Bowl, Deon Sanders interviewed Doug Baldwin, Wide Receiver of...
Gospel Doctrine 2016: Lessons 2 and 4 (Book of Mormon) @ Adventures in Mormonism
- For the past few years, I’ve been honored to participate in the Interpreter...
Toys are from Mars, Women are from Venus @ Expert Texperts
- The internet is buzzing about the newest Star Wars movie. Don't worry, I promise I won't...
Some Thoughts On Shame @ Expert Texperts
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It's been a tumultuous couple of weeks in the world (especially if you live in Paris,...
The Pit of Despair @ Expert Texperts
- The Princess Bride is easily one of the best movies of all time. This is not an opinion;...
10 Ways to Feel Better About the LDS Church Being Terrible to Gay Families @ Expert Texperts
- Well, by now you're probably heard: The LDS Church really, really dislikes gay families....
10 Lessons About History I Learned From Comments on Posts About the CES Letter. @ Expert Texperts
- Recently, a few bloggers who are smarter than I am have undertaken to write...
Does The LDS Church Have Anything To Say About War? @ Expert Texperts
- As I write this post, the United Nations estimates that up to 300,000 people have died in...
Extra Terrestrial Life @ Religion and Science Blog
- A recent survey by YouGov, an online survey site, found that about 54% of Americans...
The LDS Ontology @ Religion and Science Blog
- Ontology refers to what is real, or the fundamental reality of existence. Ontologies are...
Mormons React to the BSA Allowing Gay Leaders (or, Idolatry in the 21st Century) @ Expert Texperts
- An unedited sample of comments on the Mormon Newsroom's Facebook link to the church's...
Rapid Scientific Discovery in the Latter-Days @ Religion and Science Blog
- People who like Back to the Future will remember this statement from Doc Emmett...
On Freedom @ Expert Texperts
- This Independence Day, I've been thinking a lot about freedom. Freedom is an abstract...
Einstein and the Gospel @ Religion and Science Blog
- Einstein’s personal letters to family and friends just fetched 420,000 dollars at...
Baptism is Not Wedding Prep for Little Girls @ Expert Texperts
- Okay, first things first, my disclaimer:
Beware, all ye who read this. I would like you...
Sources for the story of Amalakiah (Alma 46-52) @ Adventures in Mormonism
- A close reading of the Book of Mormon shows a sophisticated restraint in its narrative...
Are You Defending The Family Enough? Take Take This Quiz and Find Out! @ Expert Texperts
- Faithful Latter-day Saints and good Christians everywhere know that The Family is under...
10 Mormon Newsroom headlines we all expect to see (but never will) @ Expert Texperts
- You and I both know the Mormon Newsroom as America's real journal of record, but despite...
Kindness, or Why I'm a Huge Fan of Taylor Swift @ Expert Texperts
- At the outset of this year I made one New Years' Resolution, and I'd like to share it...
Christ, Gethsemene and agency @ Adventures in Mormonism
- In our lesson in Sunday School today, covering Hosea, our teacher had us read from...
Stewardship, accountability, and community response (repost) @ Adventures in Mormonism
- [NOTE: I originally wrote this essay back in 1994 for Vigor, an LDS samizdat put out for...
Thoughts while watching our ward’s Primary program @ Adventures in Mormonism
- I love the barely controlled chaos. Been watching these meetings for what seems like...
“Ender’s Game” (the movie): a brief review w/spoilers @ Adventures in Mormonism
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I read the original “Ender’s Game” short story when it was published...
Alma and John revisited — a brief thought @ Adventures in Mormonism
- I have posted before about the parallels between Alma1 and John the Baptist,...
Worth keeping? Or let it die? @ Mormon Monastery
- I have obviously not given this site the attention I’d intended, for which I offer...
Guestpost at FPR @ Mormon Monastery
- I’ve written up a post about a passage from Ugaritic literature and the LDS temple...
Brief Thoughts on Change @ Mormon Monastery
- As time goes by, older and venerated prophets and apostles are inevitably succeeded by...
Temple, Tabernacle, and Church: What’s the difference? @ Mormon Monastery
- According to this talk by Elder Ballard, many non-LDS confuse LDS temples, tabernacles,...
German practice @ Mormon Monastery
- For those of us studying the Bible or Ancient Near East, acquisition of German reading...
Updates, links, and reports @ Mormon Monastery
- I notice it’s been over a year since my last post. During that time, I’ve...
Does God Commit Evil? Some quick notes on Amos 3. @ Mormon Monastery
- I must admit, I left Gospel Doctrine frustrated almost to the point of anger. Amos is one...
Spanish Scriptures appear on LDS.org @ Mormon Monastery
- Perhaps someone else has already pointed this out, but the Spanish scriptures are now...
Papers #1- “The History of LDS Temple Admission Standards” and Temple Recommend Questions @ Mormon Monastery
- Since I lack the time to post frequently, I’m going to begin calling attention to...
Reaching the Saints, or Spanish Help (Now with comments enabled!) @ Mormon Monastery
- We Norte Americano saints often forget that the vast majority of LDS literature is simply...
Hebrew Practice, or Slow and Steady Wins the Race @ Mormon Monastery
- For anyone with a little Hebrew under their belt (it’s not hard, really!), Daily...
Missing warp-speed engines, but functional. @ Mormon Monastery
- Welcome to the Monastery! As you click around, you’ll notice that not everything is...
Under Construction @ Mormon Monastery
- To any who may stumble over this site, I am in process of transferring in all the...