Category: Latter-day Saint Thought
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How Many Latter-day Saints Have Ever Had An Elective Abortion? How Did They Feel About It?
How many Latter-day Saints have ever had an abortion? The dataset I used last week about masturbation also had a question about abortion history, so we can do the same thing here. Once again, with our 322 Latter-day Saints it’s not super tight confidence intervals, but it’s not just ballparking it either. The question is:…
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A “Document of Faith, Not a Secular Report”: Nahum Sarna on the Book of Exodus
For Latter-day Saints embarking on a study of the Old Testament, the Book of Exodus is an undisputed cinematic highlight. It has burning bushes, ten plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and the dramatic delivery of the Ten Commandments. But how did the ancient Israelites—and how do modern Jewish scholars—understand this foundational text? A…
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Accommodating People’s Wrong Religious Beliefs
For a couple years my kids attended an evangelical homeschool co-op. For those who are aware of the idiosyncratic dynamics of religious homeschool culture in the US, this is no small feat. Typically we Latter-day Saints were not invited to participate since they often involve signing some statement of faith that usually includes some trinitarian…
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What Was Revealed to You In Church (Or What Did Church Lead You to Think About Yesterday), 3/22)?
LDS beliefs are firmly based in the idea of continuing revelation — both revelation to the Church as a whole, and personal continuing revelation to each of us. But sometimes we limit this idea by our assumptions. I think many of us assume that personal revelation comes at home, in personal prayer and contemplation. I’m…
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CFM 3/30-4/5: Poetry for “He Will Swallow Up Death in Victory”
The centrality of the atonement in LDS doctrine and thought is beyond dispute. Even in the earliest LDS poetry, the atonement is frequently mentioned, and its role expounded. There is no shortage of material about Christ and his sacrifice. But that doesn’t mean that our understanding of the atonement is complete and consistent. It has…
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Probabilities and Biblical Studies
I’m no biblical studies expert, but I’d like to think I’m an informed amateur, and in my readings and podcasts I’ve run across a few reasoning habits and approaches from biblical studies folks that tweak me a bit in terms of the proper use of probabilities. Unknown unknowns, not rhetorically taking into account the probability…
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Did you bring an Umbrella? (Or What Did Church Lead You to Think About Yesterday, 3/15)?
I remember hearing a talk by Boyd K. Packer years ago, in which he spoke about what happens in meetings. As I remember it (I haven’t found the speech — perhaps someone know which one it is) he suggested that many speakers bring just a small thimble full of the spirit to their talks—they simply…
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CFM 3/23-3/29: Poetry for “I Have Remembered My Covenant”
Often the titles of lessons raise questions for me. If God ‘remembered’ His covenant, does that mean he forgot? Is forgetting an error? Or is it ok to forget sometimes, even if it is an agreement we made? What are we saying about the nature of God when we say that He ‘remembered His covenant?’…
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B. H. Roberts Beginner’s Guide Update
Last December, I announced that I had released a free digital book entitled A Beginner’s Guide to B. H. Roberts: Excerpts from the Writings of B. H. Roberts. Since then, I have had enough people reach out to ask me about getting a physical copy of the book that I have now overcome my personal…
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My Meeting with the Pope
I wondered whether I should write this post, but it seems weird to have something this big happen without mentioning it, so I might as well. I had a private audience with the pope for about a half hour to talk about my Traditional Latin Mass research that will be coming out with a book from…
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What Did Church Lead You to Think About Yesterday, 3/8?
In these posts I am trying to suggest that each of us can have better experiences at Church if we take responsibility for our experiences. We can choose to find ways to learn and benefit from what happens regardless of whether it fits our perception of what is “good.” What we get out of any…
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CFM 3/16-3/22: Poetry for “God Meant It unto Good”
Given the famine described in the Bible, it is certainly fortunate that Joseph ended up in Egypt and in a position to help his family. His rise there to 2nd in the kingdom seems highly unlikely, something that might require the help of divinity to occur. And the explanation this lesson focuses on, “God meant…
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What Did Church Lead You to Think About Yesterday, 3/1?
In these posts I may be expecting too much. It’s a big change to react to Church in a new way. I apologize if I haven’t been clear enough. I’m trying to suggest that each of us can have better experiences at Church if we take responsibility for our experiences, and find ways to learn…
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CFM 3/9-3/15: Poetry for “The Lord Was with Joseph”
The story of Joseph, as portrayed in this Come Follow Me lesson, is closely connected with confronting trials and overcoming adversity. Today, while it’s hard to believe that most of us face adversity like that of Joseph, I suspect that our trials still have a significant impact on our lives. Perhaps how we react to…
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Lest We Forget
Recent events have made me think a lot about one of our hymns. By happenstance yesterday I came across Rudyard Kipling’s “Recessional” in the April 25, 1940 issue of the Millennial Star. Both my coming across it, and its publication in the Star seem like appropriate timing, given the poem’s text. Most LDS Church members…
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What We Can Learn from Visions of Glory, Part 3
Part 3 of What Can We Learn from Visions of Glory On verifying revelation, guardrails, and personal accountability. The Church has no doctrine for the fate of stillborn children. Erin Stiles, whose Episcopalian upbringing in northern Utah inspired a book, The Devil Sat on My Bed (2025), about the Mormon spirit world, recorded this interview…
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Will the Community of Christ Die Off?
Yes, I know there’s no big hill on the back-side of the Community of Christ Temple, but Gemini has decided that there is and I can’t convince it otherwise. It is no secret that the Community of Christ is not doing so well growth-wise. Of course, no religious groups except for Assemblies of God,…
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What Did Church Lead You to Think About Yesterday, 2/22?
Who is responsible for your experience at Church? Is our worship passive, dependent on the skill of the speakers, musicians and those organizing the meeting? Or are each of us active participants, trying to pull worship out of what we’re given? We claim that we go to Church to worship, but often members talk about…
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CFM 3/2-3/8: Poetry for “Let God Prevail”
The phrase “Let God Prevail” suggests a certain view of life—the idea that we might be a kind of impediment to what God wants to do, and that we need to get out of the way. And the idea makes sense theologically, since we believe that God respects our agency, and will not force us,…
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Abraham: A Study in Humanity
Two things need to be noted first of all: One, I don’t think scriptures should be read as an Ikea manual—do things exactly this way or else you’ll ruin it. They are meant to be read as wisdom literature. Their purpose is to throw us off our stride by subverting our expectations; they make us…
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What Did You Think About Church Yesterday, 2/15?
Was something wrong at Church? Did you object to what was said? I know that things sometimes go poorly at Church (and everywhere else, for that matter). But do we go to Church to catalog the problems and errors? We claim that we go to Church to worship, but often members talk about Church like…
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CFM 2/23-3/1: Poetry for “Is Any Thing Too Hard for the Lord?”
Many of the difficulties that we face in our lives in the gospel come down to assumptions we make about God. We expect a consistency according to our conception of things. In short, we expect a vending machine, instead of God. So the answer to the question about what could be too hard for the…
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Feeding the hungry has negative ROI
The holiest service you perform, the kind of service Jesus asks of those who would be his disciples, will not be rewarded with success, respect, or even a lot of happy feelings. That was never part of the bargain, and you should be aware of that in advance.
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First Shall be Last and the Last Shall be First: A Didactic, Overbearing Parable
Yes, I know nobody perfectly fits these stereotypes. Once upon a time Bill was a 7th-generation member who loved his Mormon community. His grandfather had been a [insert high Church or BYU or Utah business culture position]. For him Church participation wasn’t much of a sacrifice, but rather was a part of the waters he…
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Your Reactions to Church Yesterday, 2/8
While we claim that Church is worship, I think Church members often talk about Church like it is entertainment. I hear things like “I got bored”, “I didn’t like that talk,” “What they said was wrong,” etc. If you are worshiping God at Church, why do these questions matter? Is the presentation, good or bad,…
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CFM 2/16-2/22: Poetry for “To Be a Greater Follower of Righteousness”
Since the Old Testament is so long, each lesson covers much more material, making it much harder to have overall themes for the lesson. As a result, each lesson tends to be more episodic, covering a broad range of topics. This lesson is like that, covering everything from righteous desires, to Melchizedek, to tithing. I…
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Your Reactions to Church Yesterday, 2/1
While we claim that Church is worship, I think Church members often talk about Church like it is entertainment. I hear things like “I got bored”, “I didn’t like that talk,” “What they said was wrong,” etc. If you are worshiping God at Church, why do these questions matter? Is the presentation, good or bad,…
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CFM 2/9-2/15: Poetry for “Noah Found Grace in the Eyes of the Lord”
The story of Noah and the flood has often led to difficulties, especially between those who take the story literally and those who see it more metaphorically. For those who are trying to decide between a literal interpretation and a metaphorical interpretation (as if this were a binary question that has to be decided one…
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What Can We Learn from Visions of Glory? Part 2
Mystery seeking is an essential part of Mormonism’s founding narratives. Part 2 of a three-part series beginning with What Can We Learn from Visions of Glory? Speculating about the afterlife is integral to who we are as Latter-day Saints. The Church’s proselytizing program puts questions about “our Heavenly Father’s plan” in the center of its…
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Your Reactions to Church Yesterday, 1/25
Recently I explored the writings of a Mormon literary thinker little-known among Church members today, Wayne Booth. In The Company We Keep, Booth proposes that human beings not only learn by induction and deduction, but by what he calls “coduction” — the discovery of knowledge in conversation with others. This is a cornerstone of how…