The mission of the church is to bring people to Christ (it is not the tri-fold mission of proclaim the gospel, perfect the saints and …
Temples Unbuilt
I happen to be cruising around the LDS Temple website the other day and I was looking at the Temples under construction. I was wondering …
Why Faith Needs Reason
The tragedy of 9/11 had a big impact on my views about the relationship between faith and reason. As I watched the video footage of …
Is Accountability a Good or Bad Thing?
I am struck regularly by how many members fail to focus on the life of Jesus and, thus, fail to realize that there are incredible …
Are we going to be Eunuchs after this life?
My home teacher (who is very cool) came by yesterday to drop off some starter cables for my car and as one does in that …
Reflections on a Thought Experiment
I saw a recent thought experiment. The author asked: what if you had to chose between a doctrine you disliked and results you liked (lets …
Deconstructing Christian chain mails
I know my mother has better things to do at work than to forward generic Christian chain mails to everyone in her address book…my problem …
History of Baptism/Mikvah
Since my last post was quite speculative and controversial, I thought I’d go for a change of pace and talk about something we’re all familiar …
Joseph Smith and Wealth Redistribution
This article by a guest blogger originally appeared at Gospel Doctrine Underground. We want to thank the author for allowing us to re-post it here. …
Scripture Study: The Joy of My Countenance
There is a strange parable in D&C 88 about workers digging in a field and their boss giving them the joy of his countenance for …
Does the LDS Church claim to be “an exclusive conduit to God”?
Recently, a veritable Icon of the Bloggernacle, who for purposes of anonymity we shall call “Aloysius Miller”, published a post stating: “I don’t see the …
Nepotism in the Church: 2009 Update
Last time, I did a lengthy post on Nepotism in the Church, which you can find here. This is an update for this year so …
Unconventional Book of Mormon Geography Theories
It’s been over a year since someone posted something on Book of Mormon geography, so I think it’s about time. Most of you believe that …
Surprising Speculations — where can practice and theology take us?
There are some speculations I learned about by all the sermons to the contrary. When I was much, much younger, I read a lot of …
Dancing Through the Sidebar
Comment on any of the following articles – or anything else from the sidebar – or any other article of interest to this forum that …
What If You Weren’t A Mormon?
“What if you weren’t a Mormon?” For some reason, this is something that I often wonder to myself. And this post is about how I …
LDS Worship – Part III
David Stout is a Disciples of Christ minister. This is the third and final installment of his insightful commentary on LDS Sacrament Meeting Worship. To …
What Else Did God Say To Joseph?
Not too long ago, I sat through an Elders Quorum lesson about the First Vision. The teacher, who I like and who generally does a …
“Out-of-Wedlock” Is No Longer “Illegitimate”
In a recent CNN.com/living article (“Out-of-wedlock births hit record high”), the discussion centered on the fact that the birth rate outside of marriage in the …
Scripture Study: What’s Expedient?
I’d like to start a new feature showcasing stuff I read in the scriptures and getting your opinions on what the heck you think it means. …
LDS Worship – Part II
The following is the second part of the series written for us by David Stout, Disciples of Christ minister, about his perception of LDS worship. …
Mainstream acceptance of the Mormons’ Easter Story?
Around Easter 2004, National Geographic produced a documentary titled In Search of Easter. The producers interviewed a wide range of scholars about the Resurrection story …
Interesting Observation: Nephi the Socialist
Ever since reading Believing History, I’ve been looking at the Book of Mormon and relating what it says to what it is closest to. Which …
Symbolism Of the Passover Points to Jesus Christ
The traditional Jewish celebration of the Passover, which started Thursday night, can illustrate the rich symbolism found in the Old Testament and show how the …
Quals or quants?
Today’s post is by The Chorister. I’m an education professor. In academic research, we talk about quantitative research and qualitative research. In order to avoid …
Is the Gospel really good news?
I receive a daily mailing from a fundie Protestant pastor that details every story that day that he feels is important for Christians to know …
Faith vs. Doubt
“Faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other.”
Could Life be Inherently Just? The Significance of the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man
It seems like a silly question. We all know life isn’t fair. Its cliché, isn’t it? There is a long time “proof” that God does …
LDS Worship
David Stout, Disciples of Christ minister who wrote a very thought-provoking post for us a few weeks ago, has agreed to write a short series …
Families Forver Naked and Not Ashamed
Mormon Matters Motto is Exploring Mormon culture in a balanced way- so bare with me on this one (excuse the pun).
What’s your position on Euthanasia?
First, we need to go over some definitions, because different organizations have different definitions. The 2 most interesting definitions for me are the LDS church’s …
General Conference Open Thread
Impressions and reactions welcome. Just keep it civil.
The Untold Story of Black Mormons by Guest
When I served a mission in eastern Canada in the early 90s, there were many things I was grateful for (warm boots, wool suits, fairly …
Memo To YW Leaders: Thanks, But No Thanks
In our current callings, my wife and I spend a lot of time digging through Church instruction manuals. I teach both the 12/13 year old …