Here is a common problem faced by faithful Mormons: A few years ago, Sam and I attended an endowment session at the Salt Lake Temple. As we approached the gate, a man stood on the public sidewalk a few feet away, holding a sign that read: Joseph Smith had 27…
Author: chanson
C. L. Hanson is the friendly Swiss-French-American ExMormon atheist mom living in Switzerland! Follow me on mastadon at @chanson@social.linux.pizza or see "letters from a broad" for further adventures!!
No longer invisible: Latter-Gay Saints
They try to convince gay people that it’s in their best interests to be straight. In fact, they try to convince them that they’re already straight. (from “Ockham’s Razor”) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a gay problem. Specifically, the church has a plan for how to…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Wrong Side of History Edition!
There were two little tidbits of Mormon news this past week, and in both, the CoJCoL-dS couldn’t stop hamming up its role as villain. First off, there was a case of a gay author whose book was dropped from publication because he wanted to mention his partner in a book…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Life on the Fringes Edition!
This past week, Andrew S. tackled the question of why he sticks around Internet discussion groups on the fringes of Mormonism — a familiar topic for many of us in this space, and his answer is very similar to my own. It seems that for groups discussing Mormonism, it’s nearly…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Intellectual Exploration Edition!
The ripples “Swedish Rescue” continue to spread! Some Europeans described their experiences with information and the CoJCoL-dS and the faithful continue to seek strategies to blame the doubters and/or head off doubt. Some Mormons have identified “Correlation” as the problem, yet seem to think the solution is to have doubters…
The trouble with answering questions
Runtu has added some new insights in the continuing discussion of LDS Doubt in the NY Times: It seems the church has learned at least a few things from the rescue experience. First and foremost, don’t send anyone official out to discuss the issues. Instead, they’ve sent out (or at…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Pie-and-Beer Day Edition!
As many of you know (and perhaps celebrated), this past week there was a magical holiday — celebrated mostly only in Utah, and only truly appreciated by those of us with pioneer heritage — Pie and Beer Day!!! (Or something like that…) Time to reflect upon the sacrifices made by…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Musings Edition!
Aside from a few posts on the article in the New York Times, there wasn’t really one hot topic this week — it was more like a variety of interesting insights. I will try to group them as best I can: The “Relief Society” is something of a shadow of…
The Baby and the Bathwater
When I first left the church (about 20 years ago), I kind of assumed that the experiences of people who left the church were pretty much like mine. Or, more precisely, I didn’t really have any idea of how other people’s experiences might differ, and — before discovering the online…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Royalty Edition!!
Mormon royalty, that is. With Pioneer Day coming up, it’s time to remember whether you are a direct descendant of Brigham Young or not. ‘Cause, being royalty makes things a little different. And while I’m interested in exploring my own pioneer heritage, I get how alienating this ancestor worship is…