- Stephen C on My Meeting with the Pope: “Lol, my coauthor joked about that. He does some Latter-day Saint-related research as well and mentioned that if I had snuck a name tag in and given him a Book of Mormon that would have given me the ultimate cred.” Mar 13, 05:54
- on My Meeting with the Pope: “Wow, that’s impressive. I hope we’ll get a post or two about your findings. My only regret is that you should have 1) shaved, 2) slid on your old missionary name tag, and 3) gotten the picture of a lifetime.” Mar 13, 05:44
- on The Cost of Glory: How Eliza R. Snow Found Her Voice in the Refiner’s Fire: “I’m glad Eliza R. Snow was celebrated as “Zion’s Poetess.” She was an important influence to me as a girl growing up in the church. My parents had taught me that she was a polygamous wife of both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. I somehow didn’t notice that at church we didn’t discuss Joseph Smith’s polygamy and so many people didn’t know she was a plural wife. I was sad to eventually hear that she was forced to keep her marriage to Joseph Smith a secret. Also I was sad to hear that Brigham Young had so many wives and didn’t treat them all well. At least she seems like she was one of the wives he respected.” Mar 13, 02:01
- on Will the Community of Christ Die Off?: “Thank you for this thought-provoking article, and I appreciate all the commenters as well. I live in the greater Washington DC area, and here is my recent (i.e. late 2025) CoC experience. I wanted to visit a CoC congregation, so I found the website of the nearest one (Springfield, VA). The website noted that they have in-person service two Sundays a month, and a strictly Zoom service the rest of the month, so I decided to show up for the in-person service. Well, I showed up, and there were no cars in the parking lot. The inside of the building looked abandoned. I left a voicemail for the contact phone number and sent an email to the contact email address from the website, and got no response. I then looked in to the next closest congregation (Washington, DC). I didn’t want to have another wasted trip to an abandoned church, so I emailed the contact given on the website. I waited a while and go no response. At this point I found the website of the nearest CoC Mission Center (Chesapeake Bay) and emailed them. They emailed me back that the DC congregation is, in fact, still functional, and apologized for the lack of response. The DC pastor also emailed me. The overall sense I got from this experience is that the CoC is really struggling as an institution in my area. And this, to me, is sad, because I admire so much about the CoC, its history, and the values for which it stands. I am indeed grateful to the CoC leaders who did finally reach out to me, and I do hope to attend a service soon. I send all love and good wishes to everyone who is fighting to keep the CoC alive.” Mar 10, 23:08
- on What Did Church Lead You to Think About Yesterday, 3/8?: “Kent, Thank you for your encouragement for us to think about how we think. I especially appreciate your “thought processes we go through while debating whether or not to get up.” In my case, whether to get up and leave when some egregious topic is being discussed, like the “revelation”/proclamation on the family, or raise my hand to join the discussion. In this case, patience was rewarded by some braver-than-me souls who offered that although it has some positive points, we also need to acknowledge the pain and brokenness that it can cause. In another meeting I was impressed with the courage of an admittedly left-brain person trying to make sense of a literal reading of Lot’s wife. Concluding that there are some things in scripture that can’t be reconciled literally, one needs to be careful about what may be added for clarification or explanation of symbols. I love the thoughtful people in my neighborhood.” Mar 10, 21:19
- on A Review: Chosen Land: How Christianity Made America and Americans Remade Christianity: “Thanks for this review. Although it’s not obvious from the title, Heath Carter’s recent article in the Atlantic “Americans should stop using the term Christian Nationalism” takes an extensive look at Sutton’s book as well.” Mar 10, 19:16
- on What Did Church Lead You to Think About Yesterday, 3/8?: “This is probably a threadjack but, Church is bringing me down lately. I’ve decided I just don’t have the character or even desire to be in the Celestial kingdom. This week it was all about serve, serve, serve, love your neighbor, love your neighbor, love your neighbor. I finally had to walk out of RS. I know that sounds silly, but I spent five years taking care of a dying father, with little family help and pretty much zero help from ward members. I have care-giver fatigue and I have a visceral reaction when people talk about service. Can’t do it, won’t do it. So tired I don’t care if I go to hell. If that is the celestial kingdom, count me out.” Mar 10, 12:21
- on What Did Church Lead You to Think About Yesterday, 3/8?: “Because I was traveling this week, I wasn’t able to attend Church. So, here are a few of the things I thought about because of attending Church meetings a week ago (3/1): One presentation that I heard at a conference recently talked about how those interviewed by telephone for surveys often thank the interviewers for listening to them — we all need to be heard. IMO this is one of the benefits of Fast and Testimony meeting — members get to say what they are thinking and be heard. I don’t think we should underestimate how important this is for Church members. I know there isn’t really a rule about it, but when I visit another ward for testimony meeting, I wonder whether it is a good idea to get up and give a testimony. Yes, I know it’s ok, and it happens all the time. But I also wonder if it’s not getting in the way of those who are members of that ward. I’m also curious about the thought processes we go through while debating whether or not to get up. Often speakers mention struggling with whether to get up or not. What factors are legitimate? And what factors are just your brain talking yourself out of getting up (or into getting up). I’m not suggesting that there should be rules, but I do wonder what people are thinking. One of the children who got up to give a testimony seemed to shrink once they arrived at the pulpit. Once they were the subject of the congregation’s attention, every word seemed tentative, quiet. No doubt you have seen children do similar things. I know that feeling of vulnerability, of exposure. And it’s wonderful to see someone struggle with finding the confidence to get up. Good for that child! ” Mar 9, 20:14
- on New Program Fatigue in the Church: “If women in GA leadership were allowed to serve longer than five years, RS, YW and Primary initiatives might have a chance to take root. One of the most heartbreaking examples of promising projects on the scrap-pile was the adult and child literacy initiative created by Cheiko Okazaki, Elaine Jack, and Aileen Clyde during their time in the Relief Society presidency. It was a thoughtful effort to support gospel learning while also addressing poverty and strengthening personal and family self-reliance. It was brilliant. Today, that same literacy vision could easily expand to include media, data, health, and tech literacy. Who knows. Maybe if we had focused on this 30 years ago, we as saints could have navigated COVID with better health literacy, and stood as a state with its ethics in tact instead of wallowing in the current political mess. Something this big and important needed more than 5 years to launch. Dang it. It could have been a powerful modern expression of “Charity Never Faileth.” Think of the impact Dolly Parton has had through her literacy work (Imagination Library), showing that even here in the US, many people lack access to books and educational support. Dolly has made a DRAMATIC difference with fewer resources compared to the church’s nest egg. Imagine what a sustained church-wide effort could have meant, especially as the Church expanded into developing countries. Literacy empowers people economically, intellectually, and spiritually. Every mission of the church would have benefited from increased literacy. Cheiko, Elaine and Aileen knew that. They wanted to pass along the light. The only other comparative long-term projects have been the PEF (President Hinckley) and I don’t know what the status of that is today, and BYU Pathways (which is still relatively new and may or may not evolve over time.) A world-wide sustained literacy initiative could have complimented and fortified the PEF and Pathways. We needed more than 5 years. We needed that particular RS presidency to have served for 20 years or more. They were unparalleled.” Mar 9, 13:52
- on The “Jim Bridger Discovered the Great Salt Lake” Billboards and the Myth of the Empty West: “I think that the word discover is legitimately used here. Many times when the word discover is used, it is in the context of informing the largest community of humans at the time who were writing information down, and passing that information along in the form of universities and schools. I can’t think of a better word to use when crossing the boundary of something not known by the group of scholars trying to collect all knowledge, to the other side when they are informed about it.” Mar 8, 22:26
