White and Delightsome or Pure and Delightsome? (Cognitive dissonance 2)

Jamesaccountability, apologetics, apostasy, Bible, blacks, book of mormon, burdens, conference, correlation, Culture, curiosity, Discrimination, faith, families, Folklore, historicity, lamanites, LDS, LDS lessons, Leaders, Logic, Mormon, mormon, Nephi, plan of salvation, questioning, race, righteousness 60 Comments

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 …

In the Shadow of the Temple by Guest

guestapologetics, apostasy, apostles, baptism, Bloggernacle, book of mormon, burdens, christianity, church, cinema, Culture, curiosity, depression, Discrimination, doctrine, doubt, education, faith, families, Folklore, General Authorities, Happiness, historicity, LDS, Leaders, liberal, Logic, marriage, media, Mormon, mormon, obedience, ordinances, polygamy, questioning, resignation, righteousness, spiritual progression, temple, tesimony 283 Comments

A close friend of mine who wishes to remain anonymous recently saw in the shadow of the temple his story follows: In October, I was …

Temple Wedding Petition

Jamesaccountability, apologetics, apostles, Bible, book of mormon, Charity, children, Culture, curiosity, doctrine, doubt, faith, families, General Authorities, General Conference, Happiness, historicity, Jesus, joseph, LDS, Leaders, liberal, marriage, missionary, Mormon, Mormons, plan of salvation, testimony 161 Comments

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 …

Brother Brigham Brother Young

Jamesabuse, adultery, Anti-Mormon, apostasy, apostles, baptism, blacks, burdens, Charity, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, death, depression, Discrimination, doubt, eternity, excommunication, faith, historicity, LDS, Leaders, marriage, media, Mormon, Mormons, obedience, ordinances, polygamy, Priesthood, prophets, race, repentance, salvation, tesimony, thought, Utah, women 6 Comments

Recently I drove up Little Cottonwood Canyon with my brother and nephew.  This is the canyon in which many of your ancestors pulled out  the …

Great Expectations: What Are Your Hopes and Predictions for General Conference?

Andrewapologetics, blacks, Bloggernacle, conference, curiosity, doubt, faith, families, Folklore, gay, General Authorities, General Conference, LDS, Leaders, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, orthodox, Priesthood, questioning, race, revelation 58 Comments

“It’s the MOST WONderful TIIIME of the YEARRRRRR.”  The leaves are starting to change color. The evenings and mornings are a bit crisper. Even the …

What if the Brethren decided to allow gay marriage? by Justin Perry

guestAnti-Mormon, apologetics, Bloggernacle, burdens, church, Culture, curiosity, Discrimination, doctrine, doubt, faith, gay, homosexuality, Leaders, Logic, love, marriage, media manipulation, Mormon, news, questioning, sexuality, thought 184 Comments

What if the Brethren decided to allow gay marriage? They’d have to do a lot of back-peddling to explain why they were suddenly in favor …

Adam and Eve: the First TBM & NOM

Andrewaccountability, Bloggernacle, church, diversity, doubt, faith, General Authorities, history, LDS, Leaders, liberal, Logic, love, marriage, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, new order mormon, obedience, orthodox, parables, prophets, questioning, religion, scripture, spiritual progression, spirituality, symbols, testimony, thought

There have been several attempts over the years to categorize Mormon “belief-styles”: Orthodox Mormon versus Liberal Mormon, Iron Rod Mormon versus Liahona Mormon, and so …

Women are from Venus, Men are from Kolob

Hawkgrrrlabuse, adultery, Asides, burdens, children, church, Culture, curiosity, doubt, faith, families, feminism, Humor, LDS, Leaders, Logic, love, marriage, mormon, Mormons, orthodox, polygamy, questioning, religion, salvation, sexuality, theology, thought, women 75 Comments

Based on my experience, I would guess that the majority of LDS women under age 65 would say that polygamy is NOT an eternal principle …

Interfaith International British DJ

Jamesapologetics, Bible, Bloggernacle, book of mormon, books, burdens, catholicism, Charity, children, christ, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, death, Discrimination, diversity, evangelicals, faith, families, fear, Folklore, general, God, Happiness, history, Humor, inter-faith, international, introductions, Jesus, LDS, Leaders, liberal, Logic, love, marriage, media, missionary, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, news, orthodox, parables, Peace, plan of salvation, podcast, polygamy, prayer, questioning, resolutions, scripture, Sermon on the Mount, service, spiritual progression, spirituality, television, theology, thought, women 10 Comments

OK Paul technically isn’t exactly an international DJ, not unless you consider that you can listen to his interviews on line.

More Christ At Church

HawkgrrrlAsides, Beatitudes, christ, christianity, Culture, curiosity, diversity, faith, General Conference, history, inter-faith, Jesus, LDS, Leaders, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, orthodox, parables, prayer, questioning, sacrament meeting, scripture, Sermon on the Mount, spirituality, testimony, theology 36 Comments

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 …

Are we going to be Eunuchs after this life?

Jamesabuse, book of mormon, burdens, Culture, curiosity, Discrimination, diversity, doubt, education, eternity, faith, families, fear, Folklore, general, General Authorities, General Conference, God, Happiness, history, Humor, Jesus, joseph, Logic, marriage, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, obedience, orthodox, prophets, questioning, religion, resolutions, salvation, scripture, sexuality, smith, spiritual progression, spirituality, tesimony, theology, thought, women 79 Comments

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 …

Scripture Study: The Joy of My Countenance

HawkgrrrlAsides, christ, christianity, church, curiosity, doubt, faith, God, Jesus, LDS, Logic, love, mercy, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, parables, questioning, religion, scripture, service, spirituality, symbols, testimony, theology, thought 16 Comments

 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 …

Faith vs. Doubt

Hawkgrrrlapostasy, Asides, burdens, Charity, christ, christianity, church, conference, Culture, curiosity, depression, Discrimination, diversity, doubt, education, faith, fear, General Authorities, General Conference, inter-faith, joseph, LDS, Leaders, liberal, Logic, love, mercy, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, orthodox, President Monson, prophets, questioning, religion, restoration, scripture, spirituality, testimony, theology, thought 48 Comments

“Faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other.”

The Untold Story of Black Mormons by Guest

guestAnti-Mormon, apologetics, baptism, Bible, blacks, Bloggernacle, book of mormon, books, burdens, BYU, Charity, christianity, church, cinema, Culture, curiosity, Discrimination, diversity, doubt, education, evangelicals, faith, families, fear, Folklore, General Authorities, history, joseph, LDS, liberal, Logic, Mormon, obedience, prayer, Priesthood, prophets, questioning, race, racism, religion, resolutions, restoration, righteousness, scripture, tesimony, theology 33 Comments

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 …

The Problem with Whistleblowers

Hawkgrrrlabuse, Anti-Mormon, Bloggernacle, burdens, catholicism, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, Discrimination, diversity, doubt, excommunication, faith, feminism, General Authorities, General Conference, LDS, Leaders, love, meekness, missionary, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, obedience, questioning, religion, thought 22 Comments

A whistleblower is someone internal to an organization who alleges misconduct.  So, what if the organization is the church?  Does the church handle whistleblowers effectively …

Big Love -Big News

Jamesabuse, adultery, Anti-Mormon, apologetics, apostasy, baptism, Bloggernacle, book of mormon, burdens, Charity, children, christ, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, Discrimination, diversity, doubt, education, faith, families, fear, FLDS, general, God, Happiness, history, inter-faith, Jesus, joseph, marriage, media, meetings, Mormon, Mormons, movies, news, obedience, ordinances, orthodox, polygamy, Priesthood, prophets, religion, resignation, RLDS, salvation, scripture, spirituality, television, temple, testimony, theology, thought, Utah, women 33 Comments

Filtered Visions by guest Reuben Collins

Jamesapostasy, baptism, Bible, Bloggernacle, book of mormon, books, christ, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, death, diversity, doubt, education, faith, families, fear, Folklore, general, General Authorities, historicity, liberal, Logic, love, marriage, Mormon, Mormons, obedience, prayer, religion, sacrament, salvation, spirituality, temple, tesimony, theology, thought, Trinity, women 9 Comments

I’ve been thinking about Levi Peterson’s The Backslider lately (SPOILERS AHEAD).

Go to Church or Die!

Hawkgrrrlapostasy, Asides, Charity, church, Culture, curiosity, death, diversity, doubt, faith, families, fear, Happiness, Humor, inter-faith, LDS, meetings, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, prayer, Priesthood, questioning, religion, spirituality, testimony, theology, thought, Word of Wisdom 11 Comments

A recent article in Time discusses several studies about the correlation between faith and health.  Does church attendance contribute to a healthier, longer life?  Is …

Shipbuilding: Tasks or Vision?

guestapostasy, Asides, burdens, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, diversity, doubt, faith, fear, General Authorities, God, Happiness, LDS, Leaders, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, obedience, orthodox, parables, Peace, questioning, religion, spirituality, theology, thought 9 Comments

Spending a week in the Pacific Northwest on vacation, surrounded by boats and the vastness of the sea, when I read this quote from Antoine …

Why aren’t Mormons Green?

Jamesapologetics, Bible, Bloggernacle, book of mormon, BYU, Charity, children, christ, christianity, church, conference, Culture, curiosity, doubt, education, faith, General Authorities, General Conference, geography, God, Government, Happiness, international, LDS, Leaders, liberal, Logic, media, Money, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, obedience, politics, prophets, questioning, religion, resolutions, reverence, righteousness, sacrament, salvation, service, surviving, testimony, thought, Utah 56 Comments

Revelation & Things

guestAsides, Culture, curiosity, faith, Folklore, joseph, LDS, Leaders, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, ordinances, prayer, Priesthood, questioning, religion, sacrament, smith, spirituality, symbols, theology, thought 9 Comments

Today’s post comes from The Teacher.  Section 8 of the Doctrine & Covenants refers to “another gift” Olivery Cowdery had, called at different times “the …

The Purposes of God Cannot Be Frustrated

guestAnti-Mormon, apologetics, apostasy, Asides, book of mormon, christianity, church, curiosity, doubt, faith, historicity, history, joseph, LDS, Leaders, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, polygamy, prophets, questioning, religion, repentance, righteousness, sexuality, smith, testimony, theology, thought 20 Comments

The title is from DC3:1.  Today’s guest post is from Bouvet and is in reference to this year’s Doctrine & Covenants manual, Lesson 4 is Remember …

Horus Bible Parallels

JamesAnti-Mormon, apologetics, apostasy, Bible, Bloggernacle, book of mormon, books, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, diversity, doubt, education, evangelicals, faith, fear, Folklore, general, history, inter-faith, international, Jesus, LDS, Leaders, liberal, marriage, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, movies, new order mormon, orthodox, parables, questioning, religion, scripture, Sermon on the Mount, spirituality, tesimony, theology, thought, Uncategorized 22 Comments

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 …

A Brand New Year

JamesBible, Bloggernacle, books, catholicism, christ, christianity, church, cinema, conference, Culture, curiosity, diversity, education, faith, families, general, General Authorities, General Conference, God, Happiness, Humor, international, introductions, Jesus, joseph, LDS, Leaders, liberal, love, media, media manipulation, meetings, missionary, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, movies, music, obedience, podcast, prophets, race, religion, spirituality, tesimony 29 Comments

Abstinence= Don’t think the colour red! Don’t think the colour red!

Jamesbooks, burdens, BYU, christianity, church, curiosity, Discrimination, education, faith, families, general, General Conference, liberal, marriage, Mormon, Mormons, obedience, orthodox, sexuality, tesimony, women 59 Comments

“The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health” (Add Health), Found that conservative and evangelical Christian teenagers are more sexually active than mainline Protestants, Jews, and …

Can you be a Unitarian and a Mormon at the Same Time?

JamesAnti-Mormon, apostasy, Bible, Bloggernacle, book of mormon, catholicism, christ, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, death, diversity, doubt, education, faith, families, fear, general, God, Happiness, inter-faith, international, Jesus, LDS, liberal, love, media, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, new order mormon, obedience, orthodox, prayer, prophets, service, theology, thought 27 Comments

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

Jamesapostasy, Bible, book of mormon, christianity, church, conference, Culture, curiosity, diversity, doubt, faith, fear, Folklore, general, General Authorities, General Conference, Government, Happiness, history, international, jehovahs witnesses, LDS, Leaders, liberal, media manipulation, missionary, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, orthodox, religion, restoration, testimony, theology, thought, Word of Wisdom 63 Comments

For almost two centuries the Word of Wisdom is solid proven evidence to many members that the Church is true.

Who’s Winning the War on Christmas?

HawkgrrrlAsides, Charity, christ, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, Discrimination, diversity, faith, families, Humor, inter-faith, Jesus, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, questioning, religion, thought, war 21 Comments

Peter Brimelow, a British journalist, is credited with coining the term “War on Christmas” in 1999 to describe the politically correct movement in English-speaking countries to …

Unity, Diversity and Conformity

Hawkgrrrlapostasy, Asides, burdens, Charity, Culture, curiosity, Discrimination, diversity, doubt, education, faith, families, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, new order mormon, orthodox, questioning, service, temple, theology, thought 7 Comments

How do we create and maintain unity at church while valuing diversity and avoiding conformity?  Do we have to embrace the diversity of those who …

What is a Testimony?

guestapostasy, Asides, BYU, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, diversity, doubt, faith, fear, Happiness, LDS, Leaders, love, missionary, missions, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, prayer, questioning, religion, salvation, scripture, spiritual progression, spirituality, temple, testimony, theology, thought 10 Comments

Ironically, some of you with “strong testimonies” may think that those struggling with their testimony make only a small percentage of us here today. The …

Virtual RS/PH #20 – A Heart Full of Love & Faith: The Prophet’s Letters to His Family

Hawkgrrrlburdens, Charity, children, faith, families, history, Humor, joseph, LDS, love, marriage, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, polygamy, Priesthood, prophets, questioning, religion, smith, women 12 Comments

This lesson discusses the written correspondence Joseph sent to Emma during his frequent absences.  IMO, this is a tough lesson for many reasons, so read …

The Church as a Tool

guestAnti-Mormon, apologetics, apostasy, Asides, Charity, christ, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, depression, diversity, doubt, education, faith, fear, God, Happiness, history, LDS, mormon, Mormons, new order mormon, obedience, orthodox, parables, Peace, prayer, Priesthood, prophets, questioning, religion, testimony, theology, thought 21 Comments

What is the church to you?  A family you must learn to love?  A path you must follow?  A checklist of items you must do …

Churches are Made for the Ninety and Nine… What About the One?

Clay Whipkeyapostasy, christ, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, depression, Discrimination, diversity, doubt, faith, General Authorities, Happiness, Jesus, Leaders, love, Mormon, obedience, orthodox, parables, questioning, repentance, spiritual progression, surviving, testimony, thought 37 Comments

Believers and non-believers. The faithful and the doubters. Religious conservatives and religious liberals. TBMs and NOMs. These are ways we describe the differences in our …

Virtual RS/PH #17: The Great Plan of Salvation

HawkgrrrlAsides, church, eternity, faith, families, God, Happiness, inter-faith, Jesus, LDS, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, plan of salvation, prophets, questioning, religion, repentance, restoration, salvation, scripture, smith, testimony, theology, thought, Word of Wisdom 5 Comments

A unique facet of Mormonism is our view of God’s plan for his children, or our purpose in life.  Today’s lesson focuses on what JS …

How Active Are You? How Orthodox Are You? A Self-Assessment

John Nilssonbook of mormon, christ, christianity, church, curiosity, doubt, eternity, faith, General Authorities, God, historicity, Jesus, joseph, LDS, liberal, Mormon, Mormons, new order mormon, obedience, orthodox, Priesthood, prophets, religion, repentance, restoration, sacrament meeting, salvation, scripture, Sermon on the Mount, smith, temple, testimony, theology, Word of Wisdom 67 Comments

Take this assessment and find out: (Taken from D. Jeff Burton’s For Those Who Wonder : forthosewhowonder.com. Similar to a Correlation Department survey on Religion …

In Defense of Apologists

HawkgrrrlAnti-Mormon, apologetics, apostasy, baseball, Bloggernacle, christianity, church, curiosity, Discrimination, doubt, eschatoloty, evangelicals, faith, historicity, history, LDS, liberal, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, new order mormon, orthodox, questioning, religion, testimony, theology, thought 52 Comments

The term “apologist” is often used derisively like the terms “lawyer,” “statistician,” or “telemarketer.”  Why are apologists so derided?  Is it warranted or just a …

Virtual RS/PH #15: Establishing the Cause of Zion

Hawkgrrrlapostasy, Asides, christ, church, Culture, faith, families, Happiness, Jesus, joseph, LDS, love, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, new order mormon, obedience, orthodox, plan of salvation, repentance, restoration, scripture, smith, spiritual progression, testimony, theology, thought 22 Comments

Okay, last week I said the death lesson was going to be tough.  Frankly, I think a Zion lesson is no picnic either.  I’m looking …

Virtual RS/PH #14 – Words of Hope & Consolation @ Time of Death

Hawkgrrrlbaptism, children, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, death, eternity, evangelicals, faith, families, history, inter-faith, joseph, LDS, Leaders, love, marriage, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, Peace, plan of salvation, questioning, religion, salvation, spiritual progression, thought 22 Comments

A word to the teachers out there.  I know what you are thinking.  Something like, “Ugh.  I got the death lesson?!”  So, if you have …

Becoming a Moderate Mormon

HawkgrrrlAsides, Bloggernacle, BYU, christianity, church, Culture, curiosity, Discrimination, diversity, doubt, faith, families, history, international, LDS, Leaders, liberal, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, new order mormon, news, orthodox, politics, questioning, religion, reverence, thought 37 Comments

We’ve established that there are conservative Mormons (obviously) and there are liberal or “new order” Mormons.  Taking the politico-religious rhetoric to its next logical conclusion, …

Obedience: Virtual RS/PH #13

HawkgrrrlAnti-Mormon, apologetics, apostasy, Bloggernacle, book of mormon, christianity, church, evangelicals, faith, God, grace, inter-faith, Jesus, joseph, LDS, Leaders, missionary, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, obedience, orthodox, plan of salvation, politics, polygamy, prophets, questioning, religion, salvation, scripture, smith, spiritual progression, temple, testimony, theology, thought 22 Comments

Welcome to the second virtual co-ed 3rd hour.  This week’s lesson is a topic that is often a seething hotbed of Mormon Matters controversy:  “Obedience:  When …

Virtual Co-Ed RS/PH: Missionary Work (Lesson 12)

Hawkgrrrlapologetics, apostasy, Bloggernacle, christ, christianity, church, faith, history, inter-faith, joseph, LDS, Leaders, missionary, missions, Mormon, mormon, Mormons, prophets, religion, salvation, scripture, testimony, theology, thought 10 Comments

Welcome to the first ever Virtual Co-ed Relief Society/Priesthood Lesson (at MM anyway)!  Here’s why you should join the discussion: Virtual – you can participate …

Brainwashed?: Polygamists & Terrorists

HawkgrrrlAnti-Mormon, Asides, children, Discrimination, faith, FLDS, Government, inter-faith, international, marriage, media manipulation, Mormon, news, obedience, politics, polygamy, questioning, religion, thought 17 Comments

Are teens who practice polygamy devout or brainwashed?  Are teen terrorists devout or brainwashed?  When is a teen old enough to be held accountable for …