Author: Patrick Mason

  • Who took the LD out of LDS?

    -or- What ever happened to the good ol’ last days? -or- Where have all the millennialists gone?

  • Spiritual capital

    When Pres. Bush was re-elected in 2004, he talked about having gained “political capital.� He chose to “spend� it on Social Security reform, which didn’t work out so well for him. I want to offer a few thoughts about us gaining and using “spiritual capital.�

  • Race, class, and retention

    As a missionary, I was constantly admonished to ensure that our potential converts were spiritually, and not just socially converted.

  • O Jerusalem, Jerusalem

    My wife and I were in Jerusalem for a week in March. Below are some thoughts on the city, its religious heritage, and the current conflict.

  • Joseph Smith chopped down the Sacred Grove

    Twelve years ago my family piled in a rented RV and drove cross-country to attend a wedding reception for my older brother and his wife in Minnesota. On the way we stopped at the church history sites in Missouri, including Independence, Liberty Jail, and Far West.

  • Structural apostasy

    Off the top of my head, I think that in the Church we generally mean one of three things when we use the word “apostasy”:

  • An introductory note

    Ben tells me that a few words of personal introduction are in order, both to introduce myself (since up to this point I’ve been a stranger to the blogosphere) and hopefully to contextualize some of what I’ll write over the next couple of weeks.