Let’s face it — we haven’t hit the mainstream until we’ve broken into horror movies. And the possibilities for Mormon horror are enormous. After a quick brainstorm with danithew (of Blog-Diss fame), I’m chuckling about some of the possibilities. In the best Julie-Smith tradition, let me present:
“Gay, Mormon, and Married”
This is not the kind of article you see every day.
Sunday School Lesson #32
Lesson 32: Job WARNING: This may set the record for the length of my scripture study posts.
World enough and time
Over at some-other-blog, Kristine asks the interesting question, “what is the purpose of time?”
Breaking Promises
A common narrative in the church relates to new converts who join the church despite intense pressure from their family or community. But does the calculus change any if a promise is involved? How and when should religious promises be broken?
Fitting Friends
Does it say anything about me that I have friends who couldn’t be friends with one another?
Should My Wife Control My Hair?
My wife hates my hair. There’s no better way to put it.
Primary Lesson 29 Supplement
300 West
This is what you see as you drive on 300 West just past 300 North in Salt Lake City:
Enabling Grace
What is “grace”, really? We know we are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8; 2 Nephi 25:23). Of course, lots of people (including some Mormons) think Mormons don’t believe in salvation by grace.
The Ugliness of Death
Sunday School Lesson #31
Lesson 31: Proverbs and Ecclesiastes
Natural Succession or the Prophetic Death Card?
Does God control who is Church President by ending life (using the “death card”)? Or does he control who is President by controlling the order in which Apostles are called? Of course, both can be true (or neither depending on your theological persuasion), but let’s examine these questions systematically.
I colori d’Umbria
Most summers for the last twenty-two years, I’ve come to Italy for a week or more
Sunday School Lesson #30
Lesson 30: 2 Chronicles 29-30; 32; 34
Camels, Needles, Heaven
Rich people who pay tithing are, by all accounts, still losers compared to the poor. Or, anyway, though their ten percent is a lot more money, it is money that had little effect on their life and so is not a very impressive sacrifice. Thus their salvation is put in jeapardy by diminishing marginal returns! How does the Kingdom deal with this?
On the Value of Doubt
“A faith that has never been doubted is not as valuable or authentic as a faith that has been doubted.”
Wishing Well, Penny
A dear friend of mine recently wrote to me, confiding that she’s been coming to the slow and vertiginous realization that she’s never had a strong testimony of the gospel, despite a life of exemplary activity in and service to the Church. With her permission, I’ve shared my response to her letter below.
Constitutive v. Regulative Rules in the Church
Are the rules of Mormonism constitutive or regulative?
A Publication I Would Like to See (but won’t…)
There are two “religious” magazines that I like to read fairly regularly. Neither is Mormon.
Persecution and the Art of Mormon Writing
This is a post about Mormonism and Leo Strauss.
The Language of Scripture Alone
I can think of at least three different ways in which one can read the scriptures.
Defining the Bloggernacle
What is the bloggernacle? Good question. People’s views are likely to differ, and the quest to define the nacle is bound to be an ongoing one. It’s a fun question, but for now I’m just going to point out a significant new post on the topic: DMI Dave has been around long enough to have a better grasp of the community definitional issues than just about anyone else, so when he weighs in on the topic, it makes sense to pay attention. The don’t-miss-it nacle post of the [week? most-recent-short-period-of-time?] is Dave’s “Defining the Bloggernacle.”
How Wrong is it to Compare Yourself with Others?
A growing body of research (mine own included) in various social sciences finds that people report higher happiness levels when they do better than the people around them.