Patricia Karamesines | November 3, 2009
For the next several weeks, I attended church when I could. Participation often included lowering my eyes when the bishop or his first counselor walked by and gave me stern “We’re watching you” stares. In some ways the whole business interested me so I wasn’t suffering as much as some might suppose. [...]
Kylie Turley | October 23, 2009
Halloween scares me. Of course, I’m scared of lots of things—poverty, cancer, rape, gang violence, Satan, etc. I thought I should admit that up front. Make of it what you will.
Frank McIntyre | October 22, 2009
So Slate keeps track of who it considers the most powerful octogenarians and President Monson tops the list. If ever there was a list where Mormons could shine that did not have to do with singing and dancing I guess it makes sense that it would be “powerful old men”. To loosely paraphrase President Hinckley, isn’t [...]
Kent Larsen | October 13, 2009
It is a bit of a coincidence that, as I prepared my regular list of the books and other media mentioned in General Conference, one of the LDS discussion forums in Brazil I follow was lamenting the decision to discontinue selling classic LDS works in Portuguese, like Talmage’s The Articles of Faith and LeGrand Richard’s [...]
James Olsen | October 2, 2009
Yesterday, a Mormon Times article began with this opener: “For Finnish music star Mervi Hiltunen-Multamäki, trading in exotic concert locales, a prime-time TV show and platinum records for diapers, dishes and dusting was an easy decision. Maybe that’s because following the prophet has never been hard for her.”
Kent Larsen | October 2, 2009
After a bit of work and discussion, a small group I’m working with has issued a call for papers for what may be the first academic conference on Mormonism not held principally in English. The conference will be held in São Paulo, Brazil this coming January.
James Olsen | September 17, 2009
I went on one of the best dates I’ve been on in some time tonight – my daughter and I went to BYU’s World of Dance.
Kent Larsen | September 10, 2009
Many years ago, a friend told me in jest, when I wondered about missing Church on Sunday, “There are only 48 lessons in the Priesthood manual. Attending anything more than that is brown-nosing.”
Kent Larsen | September 8, 2009
In Nephi Anderson’s short story, “On the Border-land of Light,” his protagonist meets a woman who knows little of Mormons:
“Have you never been down in the lower valley?” he asked.
“No, never. You see we were afraid of the Mormons at first,…
Alison Moore Smith | September 5, 2009
A wonderful woman who served as my Education Counselor a number of years ago served a mission for the church around the time she was 19. She fell in the fabulous loophole. Her father was a mission president, so she was allowed to serve while he served, even though she was “underage.”
But George Durrant was [...]
Kent Larsen | September 4, 2009
Saturday, my son passes the 18 month mark of his mission–and he will then also pass me, having served longer on his mission than I did on mine.
I confess, I’m a little jealous.
Marc Bohn | September 2, 2009
With the dawn of another much-anticipated season of college football nearly upon us, I’ve been thinking about a series of conversations I had this past year with a friend regarding the allocation of resources at BYU. This friend was bothered by the fact that the BYU football program has received such a tremendous amount attention [...]
Kent Larsen | September 1, 2009
In priesthood meeting a couple of weeks ago we discussed fasting and prayer and how long you need to fast or pray for it to be effective. It occurred to me then that many male members of the Church have a tendency to approach spiritual isssues like this as a macho exercise.
Marc Bohn | August 30, 2009
I was sad to hear of the passing of Ted Kennedy this week. While his policy views often stood in stark contrast with those held by many Latter-day Saints in the United States, he was, nevertheless, a consummate legislator who truly knew how to put political differences aside and reach across the aisle to find [...]
James Olsen | August 17, 2009
“I say unto you, be one; and if you are not one ye are not mine (D&C 38:27).” And then comes the uncomfortable experience of sitting in Sunday School (or in the midst of some other group of Mormons) with the persistent, anxious thought, “I really don’t fit in here…”
Kylie Turley | August 13, 2009
So, what with Utah’s poor Iowa Test scores, I’ve had a few people asking me how I turned all my children into such voracious little readers. “Did you read to them every day when they were little?” friends query.
“Why, no. Of course not,” I respond. “I’m much too selfish for that.”
Dave Banack | August 8, 2009
I’ve seen several links but no discussion of the Slate piece on the hypothetical future role of Mormons, “The Catholic Church helped preserve Roman civilization. Can Mormonism do the same for America?” It’s part of an eight-part series on the theme How is America going to end? by a Slate senior editor.
Kent Larsen | July 31, 2009
Its been 25 years since I returned from my mission, and this past week I got an email from a friend asking me to join a new website for my mission. The first thing I asked myself, before joining, is ‘why do we need another mission site?
Bridget Jack Meyers | July 27, 2009
“She won’t join the church because we won’t let her practice polyandry.”
That’s what my husband told the Stake President at his last interview.
Dave Banack | July 24, 2009
Online anonymity is a topic that comes up regularly. Does if facilitate public discussion of controversial issues or just allow anonymous commenters to spread rumor and innuendo with no accountability? Does real-name posting or commenting improve quality via reputation effects or lead to self-censoring? These are valid questions for all online forums, not just blogs [...]
Jayme Blakesley | July 23, 2009
I reside in Alexandria, Virginia, about 10 miles south of Washington, DC.
Nate Oman | July 21, 2009
This morning I went running with my dog.
Kent Larsen | July 12, 2009
Our ward here in New York City is undergoing quite a lot of transition at the moment, and I once again feel alienated from those who have left and those who are arriving.
Rebecca Smylie | July 6, 2009
I recently had a co-worker ask me how many wives my husband had. “Just one,” I answered. Red-faced, I hurried to explain that Mormons don’t practice polygamy. By the end of our conversation, he looked unconvinced and I felt uncomfortable because I belong to a church outside the mainstream. The innocuous encounter gave rise to one [...]
Adam Greenwood | June 23, 2009
One of the most malign of modern trends is the disappearance of men from the ranks of public school teachers and the decline in the number of woman teachers who wield a ruler. The Church counteracts that. I got a testimony why recently.
Dave Banack | June 17, 2009
I recently spent a day on the BYU campus as part of an informal reunion with several old dorm-floor roommates and family members. It was a nice visit, and made me recognize something that often gets forgotten in online discussions about BYU: It is a great place for LDS kids to go to college.
Kent Larsen | June 16, 2009
Could there ever be a Mormon advice columnist, dispensing advice to a Mormon audience? Or is that what Bishops are for?
Kent Larsen | June 15, 2009
The Book of Jer3miah phenomenon has been noticed on Salon, coincidentally just as an ill-advised Mormon Times essay touched off strong reactions by suggesting that the Great Mormon Novel could never exist.
Kylie Turley | June 11, 2009
The 1980s hit “You’re the Inspiration” makes me think of metallic streamers, balloon arches, and poorly permed hair,
Kent Larsen | June 8, 2009
So David Archuleta hinted last week that he might not serve an LDS mission.
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