Awards
Lists of Brodie award winners:
X-Mormon of the Year 2012: David Twede
X-Mormon of the Year 2011: Joanna Brooks
X-Mormon of the Year 2010: Monica Bielanko
X-Mormon of the Year 2009: Walter Kirn
Main Street Plaza
A Community for Anyone Interested in Mormonism.
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Books Edition!!
Last week the book Hippie Boy -- one of the Mormon Alumni Association books -- made it to the New York Times Best Seller List!! In celebration, the author Ingrid Ricks is giving away two signed copies. The lucky winner will be drawn from those who comment this week on my review.
In other book news and reviews, Johnny Townsend's The Mormon Victorian Society got a fun new Kirkus review and Scott Hales wrote an interesting review of Ryan McIlvain’s Elders. I'd like to read both of those books, Read more [...]
Posted in Sunday in Outer Blogness
Mormon Alumni Association Books!
Faith-promoting LDS books have a whole publishing-and-distribution network in Deseret Books (plus Seagull and others) -- not to mention Mormon literature organizations and a ready-made audience in LDS wards around the world who'd like to help Orson Whitney's prediction "We will yet have Miltons and Shakspeares of our own" come true. But what if your book is less faith-promoting, yet you think it would be of interest to people with a Mormon background? It can be a bit more challenging for your book Read more [...]
Posted in Mormon Alumni Association Books
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Life Issues Edition!!
Ladies, do you remember these lovely object lessons? Black folks, does this account sound familiar? (Books like this one may be conveniently forgotten about, but good luck ever seeing a repudiation and apology...). And if you're intersex? Then where do you fit into the plan? Hell, kids in general get a bit of a raw deal. Can you be surprised if post-Mormons are doing a bit of processing?
In Mormon studies, we got some tips on how not to talk to Mormons (if you want a straight answer). Alex Read more [...]
Posted in Sunday in Outer Blogness
Exit Strategy by Micah McAllister
Since I began writing about my former life within Mormonism, countless true believers have asked me:
"So Donna, if the LDS Church is 'false,' why are there so many websites, blogs, bulletin boards, and groups out there to help people who leave the Church? After all, Satan doesn’t need those tools for people who quit other (presumably untrue) religions."
Now, thanks to Micah McAllister, the true believers may cite yet another implement in Satan’s toolbox: a guidebook to leaving the LDS Church.
Exit Read more [...]
Posted in Advice, Book Review
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Surviving Edition!
I'm looking forward to hearing what happens at the Pride Parade, especially considering the controversy! If it's not too late, here's a guide for straight allies. Sometimes marriage comes just in time!!
Yet sometimes surviving is a bit more complex. Whether you're surviving a new culture, a religious upbringing and a faith transition, coming out as a gay-Mormon athlete, or depression as a missionary.
In theology, the problem with obedience and God-given rights, why atheist and not agnostic, Read more [...]
Posted in Sunday in Outer Blogness
Adventures in family-building: “The Book of Thompson” by David J. Larkin Jr.
What do you do when you're a housewife raising four kids and you suspect your husband of cheating on you? If you're also Mormon and it's 1954, the answer is: have another kid! And then another...
The Book of Thompson by David J. Larkin Jr. tells the story of three generations of the Thompson family. The title comes from the charming Mormon tradition of writing books of your family's history and distributing them to all your relatives. If you come from a Mormon family, you might have such Read more [...]
Posted in Book Review
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a sociopath’s dream”
Read this deeply bizarre cover story from Psychology Today. Entitled "Confessions of a Sociopath," it tells the story of a female Mormon law professor with an undergraduate degree from BYU. Here's the most relevant part about the church:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a sociopath's dream. Mormons believe that everyone has the potential to be godlike—I believe this includes me. Every being is capable of salvation; my actions are what matters, not my ruthless thoughts, not Read more [...]
Posted in BYU, Ethics, Law, Psychology
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Love Edition!
“I feel like you fall in love twice. Once with the person you meet, and again with the person they really are.”/blockquote>
If you're lucky, that is. Otherwise that second, better love might be with someone else. Good news for love in Minnesota. This week we have some love poetry, and its opposite (which you can also get from church). Plus some healthy vs. unhealthy views on teen self-love.
Simon Southerton has posted an excellent piece explaining population genetics clearly and simply Read more [...]
Posted in Sunday in Outer Blogness
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Handicrafts Edition!!
You may have heard that a lost civilization was discovered in the jungles of Honduras. Evidence for the Book of Mormon? Sadly, no. Simon Southerton gave an overview of the main apologist strategies for dealing with the problem, and Mithryn made an excellent point about the central problem with Book of Mormon archaeology. (He also wrote a an interesting review of Ryan Cragun's religion and science podcast.)
Now that the CoJCoL-dS has stopped working against it, marriage equality is gaining Read more [...]
Posted in Sunday in Outer Blogness
General Authority Bullsh*t: A category on my Blog
From Benson's crazy commie-hatin' days, to Paul H. Dunn's deep diving lies, to little discrepancies in Monson's talks, this category of posts on my blog, "Exploring Mormonism" reveals how much these men speak as men.
Hopefully the in-depth fact checking of some of the more influential leaders, conference talks, Ensign articles, and so forth will help illustrate that even the very influential statements aren't inspired, but should be counted about as worthy as any other old man's advice.
General Read more [...]
Posted in General Conference, History, LDS History, Mormon Culture
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