OT SS Lesson #33 If your ward happens to be just a little bit behind on the Sunday School lessons, you might experience the synchronicity …
Religious Archaeology and Evidence
I’d like to discuss both Biblical and Book of Mormon archaeology. Most people believe the Bible is on solid archaeological footing, but that isn’t actually …
Best and Worst: Bible Verses!
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you… and ye shall …
You Can’t Ride Two Donkeys With One Ass: Saul and Spiritual Rebirth
OT SS Lesson #22 Ever since I was introduced to the word “liminal,” I have claimed it as my own. This word describes a threshold …
Binding the Broken-Hearted
Nothing is more painful than a broken heart. When this kind of sorrow gets deep into a person’s soul, all troubles are magnified, blessings are …
Questions About the Exodus
For more than 1700 years, Christians have been looking for Mount Sinai, the place where Moses received the 10 Commandments. Constantine’s mother, Helena was probably …
A Non-Historical View of the Book of Mormon
Perhaps the time has come in the church to recognize that some members want to openly espouse a non historical view of the Book of …
What the Golden Rule Does NOT Say: or, “Jesus wouldn’t recognize that rationalization.”
One of my monthly New Year’s Resolutions last year was taken from Matthew 7:9-12, a slight change in my original plan. (See here.) These verses state: …
White and Delightsome or Pure and Delightsome? (Cognitive dissonance 2)
I’m 1/16 th Chippewa and don’t even look a little Indian! I figure from my knee down is pure Chippewa and for whatever reason I …
The God of the OT vs. the Golden Calf
OT SS Lesson #14 Sometimes I have a hard time with the Jehovah of the Old Testament. I’m not always sure how much of the …
The Seder, Social Justice, and Leroy Jessop
OT SS Lesson #13 At a Passover Seder this week, President Barack Obama’s message to American Jews focused on social justice. Obama said that the …
What Dreams May Come
OT SS Lesson #12 Whether dreams come from the unconscious mind or directly from God, they are valuable sources of revelation. Dreams can tell us …
The Virgin and the Whore: Thinking Beyond Dinah and Potiphar’s Wife
OT SS Lesson #11 Lesson 11 in the Old Testament manual employs several stories from Genesis 34-39 to develop the theme of sexual morality. Joseph’s …
Jacob’s Ladder: More on Faith Vs. Works
OT SS Lesson #10 Though it’s only an “additional teaching idea” in Lesson 12, Jacob’s ladder has captured my imagination due to some conversations I’ve …
Putting an Edge on Abraham
OT SS Lesson #9 This story is so very, very familiar to us that I think it’s important to look at it with a fresh …
Where the Lord Annihilates all the Gays
OT SS Lesson #8 “The Genesis passage is very clear, that the sin of Sodom that brought on the destruction of the city was indeed …
Time to Study the Old Testament Again Part 6 – Symbols, Signs, Types and Shadows, and Tokens
“Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses …
Sod, Seed, Salvation: Abrahamic Covenant and the Claim to Palestine
OT SS Lesson #7 Sod, seed, and salvation — it’s how I like to describe the Abrahamic Covenant. There were three promises in the covenant. …
Joseph Smith Didn’t Believe in Watchers
OT SS Lesson #6 Hidden in our scripture reading for this week is a strange little passage which many modern Biblical scholars say was originally …
Chosen or Posin’ ? Abraham, Buffy, and Other Choice Spirits
OT SS Lesson #2 This was an interesting lesson to read after last year’s brou-ha-ha over an alleged “generals in the war in heaven” quote. …
This is my Work and my Game Plan
OT SS Lesson #1 With Jeff’s interesting introduction to the OT course of study, I’m sure many of you have peeked at the first OT …
12 Days of Christmas and 3 Kings Day
Everyone is familiar with the Twelve Days of Christmas. It’s a funny song where the gift-giver gives strange gifts of “lords a leaping”, and various …
Temple Wedding Petition
A temple wedding petition to is being circulated to promote love and happiness in the family by changing the church’s stance on civil marriages preceding temple …
Scripture Inerrancy, Literalism, and Pres Veazey
There are those (especially among Evangelicals) who believe that the Bible is inerrant and literal. For example a scriptural literalist will claim that Noah’s flood …
Hypocrisy, Thy Name Is Biblical Translation
This probably will be the shortest post I ever write, but sometimes less is more. I hope that is the case here.
Common Scriptures in Review: Gender & the Sermon on the Mount
I absolutely LOVE the Sermon on the Mount. It is my second favorite passage in all our recorded scripture – right behind the Intercessory Prayer. …
Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up?
David W. Bercot, a Texas attorney and Evangelical Christian, embarked on a quest to discover what Christians believed and practiced before the Nicene Creed. What …
What’s good in a Bible Translation?
In the church, it seems to be a written rule (or perhaps it’s just one of those pesky unwritten orders of things) to use the …
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 …
The Word made Flesh: Poetry, Spirituality and Scripture
I find some poetry immensely moving and even spiritually satisfying. Even though I am not ‘well read’ I still sense that there is a vast reservoir of literature that could provide other channels of communication with God. For me poetry has been one of those channels, especially when it comes to considering my fear of death, I have found it helpful and liberating (check out ‘Aubade’ by Philip Larkin). In addition I have discovered a changing relationship with God through poetry.
My first time at Young Womens Camp
This week I volunteered to help as the “priesthood” on staff for a couple days at Young Women Camp. Perhaps this is all old hat …
My Perspective on Polygamy
I have long avoided talking about polygamy on my blog. It is a source of tremendous discomfort for me, but it keeps coming up, so …
Interfaith International British DJ
OK Paul technically isn’t exactly an international DJ, not unless you consider that you can listen to his interviews on line.
Mormon Masks
Often people have a hard time with intimacy (intimacy = “into me see”) because they feel vulnerable. They would rather deal with ideas than people, …
Defining Lust and Chastity
Matthew 5:27-28 includes the statement: “Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Rather than …
Why are the 12 tribes of Israel important?
The LDS Church has a list of 13 general beliefs, which was composed by Joseph Smith in the 1830’s. It does not cover everything the …
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 …
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).
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 …
Murder: As Bad As We Think?
I’ve always been under the impression that premeditated murder is an unforgivable sin. Is it?
St Patrick, a Wonderful Missionary
Since today is St Patrick’s Day, I wanted to write a quick post about St Patrick. Few people know his story. I know that Mormons …
When Evil-Speaking Creeps Unawares Among Us
Last week, there was some heated debate here about More Open Mormon History. I don’t want to open that exact same discussion all over again, …
Filtered Visions by guest Reuben Collins
I’ve been thinking about Levi Peterson’s The Backslider lately (SPOILERS AHEAD).
Where would you go?
A few posts on MormonMatters got me thinking once about my relationship with other faith groups. For instance, a recent post on why it seems …
Joshua’s Unholy War
Admin Note: This is our first guest post from Mormon Heretic. When most of us hear the word “jihad” or “holy war”, we immediately know …
Upon What Rock?
There’s a difference in interpretation between how LDS and non-LDS view the statement by Jesus to Peter when he says “Thou art Peter, and upon …
Modern-Day Swearing: Will Our Bastardized Words Damn Us to Hell?
I believe we need to take responsibility for understanding and choosing what we say and do – not allowing others to make those decisions for …
Horus Bible Parallels
Recently I saw Religulous here and he touched on Horus here and a few of the parallels between the story of Horus and Jesus. Many …
Peace, Be Still: And There Was a Great Calm (Mark 4:36-39)
In trying to understand more deeply what it means to be a peacemaker, I was struck by the way that the following account is worded: …
Spiritual Resolutions: My Practical Plan
This year, I am instituting only one New Year’s Resolution. It is the same resolution I made at the end of last year. That resolution …
Can you be a Unitarian and a Mormon at the Same Time?
We should gather all the good and true principles in the world and treasure them up, or we shall not come out true Mormons. Joseph …
Temperance Movement and The Word of Wisdom
For almost two centuries the Word of Wisdom is solid proven evidence to many members that the Church is true.
Betting on the House!
“What do Catholics, Jews and Mormons have in common?” “Catholics don’t recognize birth control, Jews don’t recognize Jesus, and Mormons don’t recognize each other in …
This Won’t Get Past Correlation!
Here is a quote from a dusty, forgotten, once-official Church manual. Who said this and why wouldn’t this get past the brethren and sistren at …
Singing Lies About Your Jesus
Today’s post is by guest Nikki. If you say something true about Jesus, but your Jesus is a different Jesus, is what you said about …
Is Pornography Adultery?
The following article is interesting and asks a fascinating question. Is Pornography Adultery? Coincidently, the following is excerpted from a post I wrote independent of …
Spiritual Poverty vs. Spiritual Destitution: More on Matthew 5:3
Debt is an interesting thing. On one hand, it allows us to acquire things we don’t have but need. On the other hand, it allows …
Virtual RS/PH #16: Revelation & the Living Prophet
Finally, a lesson that really makes you think! This is probably my favorite JS lesson this year (no one dies or has to move to …
The other version of the Abraham story
What if Abraham had disobeyed God? Here’s the other version of the story I dug up after breaking into secret Illuminati archives and comparing translations …
Common Scriptures in Review: “Come Unto Me”
While pondering the concept of spiritual poverty earlier this year, something struck me that I hadn’t considered previously quite in that way. I have believed …
Foundations of Becoming: Thoughts on Spiritual Poverty
Matthew 5:3 says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” As I was pondering the phrase “poor in spirit” …
Common Scriptures in Review / Foundations of Becoming: The Process of Perfection
[NOTE: This is the third post in the series, “Common Scriptures in Review”, but it also is the first post in another series explained at …
The Good Samaritan: A Lesson in Spiritual Numbness?
(The following is a re-post of something our “son” wrote on his blog last year – and that I posted at T&S when it occurred …
Putting Away Childish Things: My Evolving View of God
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a …
Elijah: Prophet, Seer, and Mass Murderer?
1 Kings Chapter 18 tells the story of Elijah and the priests of Baal. We read that Elijah and Ahab confront each other, and Elijah …
The Jagged Little Pill We Call Mormonism
. . . . there I was writing my ex-wife a letter trying to explain what a Temple Marriage and Sealing is and what it …
Church’s (Official?) Position on Biblical Interpretation
Brother Jensen thinks the story of Jonah spending three days in a whale’s belly is not literally true, but is a beautiful metaphor of Christ’s …