By now you probably know that around 500 women stood in the standby line to get tickets to the Priesthood session of conference and were turned away. One of the talks in the session contained a hidden message for the women who would like to be ordained, and got mixed…
Letting go
A very significant relationship in my life has recently come to a close. This relationship has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. It impacted every aspect of my upbringing and guided me in all the major decisions of my life up to this…
Women’s Ordination and Gay Equality – How They’re Connected
I’ve made this case before, in most detail in my 2011 Dialogue article “Mormon and Queer at the Crossroads,” that women’s roles in the Church and gay equality in the Church are intimately connected. This is not just a conceptual connection…historically, the Church has treated the two issues as though…
Missionary Chat: Native Americans cursed?
I had another question I wanted to run by “Mormons on the street”: Are Native Americans cursed? Emily:Â Hello! Sam (me):Â Hello! Emily:Â What brings you to mormon.org chat today? Sam:Â I have a question about Mormon teachings. Emily:Â Okay… we will do our best to help you Sam:Â A friend of mine is LDS and…
No Longer Afraid of the F Word
Last year my 20 year old son recommended I read The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. I don’t think I had ever read an explicitly feminist text before that and it was an eye opener. I was surprised by how much the experiences of the women she wrote about resonated…
Three Ways to Leave the LDS Church – Loudly, Quietly, and Forcefully
I had a missionary email me after he listened to a podcast in which I was interviewed. Â He was deciding whether he wanted to be Mormon and was wondering what the best way to leave the religion was. Â I’ve written about this before, but after having spoken with lots of…
Saturday in Outer Blogness: Another Boring Conference Edition!
I’d like to do SiOB a little early this week because it looks like this conference is going to generate some interesting news. That news will be rolling in over the next few days, so let’s wrap up this past week’s posts separately before the news begins! (To give you…
Repurposing Temples
Maybe others have thought about this before and I’m late to the game, or maybe mind is just weird, but I saw this press release from LDS Inc. about their new temple in Fort Lauderdale and a thought struck me. Â Already in some areas, churches are being repurposed as more…
Young women, Missions, and Church Culture
According to a Trib article Ashley Farr, a former Miss North Salt Lake Teen Miss USA, now a missionary in South Korea, has every expectation of being a parent and a businesswoman. She has some specific goals including an internship at Goldman Sachs, and being the chief executive of a…
Missionary Chat: Omniscience vs. endowments
Today’s missionary chat is based on a question my wife raised that I always found interesting: If God is omniscient, then why do Mormons have endowments done? Â Wouldn’t God know who to let into the Celestial Kingdom without evidence of having an endowment done? Â Here’s the chat: Angie: hi! Bob…