One of the more interesting pieces that I have read on Mormon intellectual life is Armand Mauss’s essay “Alternate Voices,”Sunstone April 1990. The article was written in response to a General Conference sermon by Elder Oaks of the same name. (Also worth reading here.) Brother Mauss’s article in its entirety is reproduced here with the kind permission of Sustone and Brother Mauss. 1 person likes this post. Like Unlike Read more »
LDS Newsroom
- Family and Church Leaders Eulogize Frances J. Monson as One Who “Deeply Loved” May 23, 2013
- Church Responds to Boy Scouts Policy Vote May 23, 2013
- Bible Brought to Life on Ancient Jerusalem Set May 22, 2013
- Church Working With Oklahoma Officials to Provide Support in Wake of Tornadoes May 21, 2013
- Funeral Services for Frances J. Monson Announced May 20, 2013
- Frances J. Monson, Wife of President Thomas S. Monson, Passes Away May 17, 2013
- Elder Dallin H. Oaks Honored for Championing Religious Freedom May 16, 2013
- Mormonism in the News: Getting It Right| 15 May 2013 May 15, 2013
- Rendering of Meridian Idaho Mormon Temple Now Public May 15, 2013
- Mormons Around the World: Country Newsroom Websites |14 May 2013 May 14, 2013
Blog Archives
“One afternoon in Amarillo”
If I ever to write a country-western song about religious epistemology, I will call it “One afternoon in Amarillo.” Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
“God being with thee when we know not”
Sunday afternoon I found myself reading the Oxford Book of English Verse (the Quiller-Couch edition in honor of a great advocate of the Inner Temple), and I read the following: Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
The Puzzle of Blasphemy
In one of its fitful bursts of faux-oracular prose, the Supreme Court once declared that the U.S. Constitution knows no blasphemy. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
The Rhetorical Burden of Authority
Authority is a key concept in Mormonism. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Puritanism without Calvinism
Three of the best books that I have ever read on Mormonism are not about Mormonism at all: Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
A Mother in Heaven Sighting
Mother in Heaven recently made a cameo appearance in correlated materials. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Mormon Studies at Claremont
The LDS Council for Mormon Studies, which has been involved with the creation of a chair in Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University, has issued the following press release: Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
A Mormon Image: Sweaters for the Penguins
This image was too good not to revive the Mormon Images feature of blessed memory. 1 person likes this post. Like Unlike Read more »
The Last Door
We’ve all heard the stories about intrepid missionaries who faced rejection door after door only to be let in at the final house that they contacted. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
On Earning the Right to Complain
“If you don’t pay your tithing and serve in the Church, you give up your right to bitch,” Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
In Defense of the Word “Gentile”
I like referring to non-Mormons as “Gentiles.” Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
From the Archives: Mormon Cursing
While reading Wilford Woodruff’s diaries recently, I discovered that I have been living in a cursed part of the country. What am I to make of this, and the more general phenomena of Mormon cursing? Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Why My Mission was Hard
I’ve heard lots of people discuss how their missions caused a spiritual crisis for them. So did mine. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Mordred had a point…
Among Mormon History nerds, “Camelot” refers to the period of time in the 1970s and early 1980s when Leonard Arrington served as Church Historian. It is traditional to look back on it as a Golden Age that was tragically lost. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
A Reinterpretation of Faith-Promoting History
Mormons have an ingrained habit of interpreting their history in the rosiest of all possible terms, even when — as a historical matter — a less rosy interpretation makes more sense. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
S.P.Q.M.
In the past, I have suggested that the Mormon constitution is English, but of late I have wondered whether it might be Roman. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
A Proconsular Apostle in Chile
Peggy Fletcher Stack’s recent Salt Lake Tribune article on the Church in Chile is definitely worth a read. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
A Preacher of Righteousness
Elijah Abel is one of the more important figures in the history of Mormonism. 1 person likes this post. Like Unlike Read more »
From the Archives: The Real Issue
In light of the recent publicity surrouding the Buckley Jeppson case, I thought that some readers might be interested in this post from a couple of years ago. It goes, I think, to the question of the significance of the Canadian-sanctioned marriage of Jeppson and his partner. I am not offering this post as a theological gotcha to homosexual-rights activists. I am well-aware of the pain and difficulty caused by the current stance of the Church toward homosexuality. I would like to see a better resolution than the one that we currently have. However, it seems to me that... Read more »
Mormonism as a Strand of Western Thought
When we are not in our “Mormons are not weird”-PR mode, Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Mormon History and the Problem of Mermaids
Mermaids illustrate the problems faced by non-Mormon readers of Mormon histories Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Two Cheers for the Manuals!
I have a confession. I am an Elders’ Quorum instructor and I like the Teachings of the Presidents of the Church manuals. Really. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Ama-ar-gi and Mormonism
“Ama-ar-gi,” a Sumerian word, has the distinction of being the oldest written instance of the concept of freedom or liberty, appearing on a clay tablet from about 2300 B.C. The word itself has something to say about the vexed question of the relationship between Mormonism and liberty or freedom. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Eddie Murphy on Richard Bushman
There is a classic Saturday Night Live skit (from back when it was funny) that perfectly captures one of my nagging anxieties about being Mormon. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
George Q. Cannon’s Equal Rights Amendment
I have been doing a bit of research on the drafting of the Utah State Constitution, reading the proceedings of the constitutional convention held in 1894. The delegates seem to have spent most of their time discussing furniture, stationary, and who got to be appointed official stenographer for the convention. Every so often, however, they would pause to actually consider possible constitutional issues. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
From the Archives: What is the Purpose of the BYU Dress and Grooming Code?
BYU is often ridiculed for its dress and grooming code. The basic argument is that it is silly. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
“But that’s just socially constructed…”
One of the fun things about education is that you get all sorts of fun new toys, ideas that magically seem to cut through all sorts of Gordian knots and whose mere invocation has occult intellectual powers that liberate one from previous difficulties. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
A Modest Bit of Navel Gazing…
I try (or at least I think that I try) to avoid posting on the bloggernacle as bloggernancle. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Polygamy and Bastardy
Polygamy created a bastardy problem for nineteenth-century Mormons. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »
Conferences and Events
- American Society of Church History Annual Meeting
- American Academy of Religion/Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting
- Communal Studies Association Annual Meeting
- Society for the Scientific Study of Religion/Religious Research Association
- Western History Association Annual Conference
- Utah State Historical Society Annual Meeting
- Center for Studies on New Religions
- Mormon History Association
- European Mormon Studies Association Conference
- Sunstone Symposium