The last time I attended a Mormon sacrament meeting was around two years ago. The principle speaker was a stake high councilman. Boasting success in his professional life, he credited his accomplishments to his compassionate approach toward the “less worthy.” “When I mix with my worldly colleagues,” he explained, “I…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: The Mormon Moment is Over Edition!
It seems like a couple of years ago there was some LDS-related scandal practically every other week — often making national and international news. Now, not so much. I guess the CoJCoL-dS can’t compete with Trump. Those were the days. Well, let me scrape together what Mormon news I found…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Girl Boy Scouts edition!
When I was a kid growing up Mormon, I wanted to do all of the fun, cool things the Boy Scouts got to do. It wasn’t that the scouting program was ideal so much as the fact that the boys got infinitely more resources (and recognition) for their activities than…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Conference Fallout Edition!
Did you get a chance to watch or listen to the latest General Conference? If not, you can get some of the highlights from Alex. Or listen to the Infants’ usual parody. (Or maybe listen to their ghost stories instead.) Brooke W didn’t care for the message that everything is…
A Truth Universally Acknowledged: Two LDS Romance Reviews
A DATE WITH DANGER By Kari Iroz 256 pp. Covenant Communications, Inc. $15.99 PRIDE AND POLITICS By Britanny Larsen 272 pp. Covenant Communication, Inc. $16.99 As I was adding finishing touches to my upcoming LDS romance novel, I picked up a couple of Deseret Book titles, curious to see if…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: BYU Coke edition!
In my day, “caffeinated pop” was one of those sinful beverages that good Mormons avoided. Then it became a point of controversy, and then President Newsroom announced that there’s not actually any rule against it. And now Brigham Young University has finally started allowing the sale of Coke with caffeine…
What does the CoJCoL-dS offer me? — the wrap-up!
I hope you’ve enjoyed my series of articles analyzing the strategies of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! Here they are, in case you missed any: What Does the CoJCoL-dS Offer? A little bit of nothing for everyone! Testimonies! Leadership monopoly, leadership vacuum High demands and polarization The…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Disaster edition!
I hope all of you in Florida and Texas and other disaster-stricken regions are safe today! It is time to take climate change seriously. Runtu’s daughter and son-in-law’s home was flooded by Hurricane Harvey and they didn’t have flood insurance — he has set up a fund for them here….
A Mormon Liar’s Wild Ride: “Through His Eyes and Lies” by C. L. Jackson
Through His Eyes and Lies is not an ex-Mormon novel or an anti-Mormon novel. It’s kind of a Mormon-adjacent novel. Though the majority of the book’s events take place in Provo, Utah and religion does play a role in the story that unfolds, Mormonism itself is more the setting than…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Intolerance edition!
You may have noticed that there have been some racial tensions in the United States lately. Also the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has traditionally had some problems with racism (see this helpful infographic). And, yes, there’s racism in the Book of Mormon: This scripture is important because…