Today the First Presidency announced that the Saturday evening sessions to the semi-annual general conferences will be discontinued. Traditionally, a Saturday evening session was held for priesthood holders in April and then women in October. Also traditionally, the priesthood session featured a lineup of male speakers, while the women’s session…
Author: Donna Banta
Send Me No Carnations
In the Spring of 2003, I was working as the minister’s assistant at the First Unitarian Church of Dallas. One particular morning that Spring, in the Reverend Daniel Kanter’s office, I was alternating between sipping my coffee and offering up my opinion, both pleasures I never enjoyed while Mormon. Seven…
Sunday in Outerblogness: Moral Outrage Edition!!
In a previous post here on MSP, Jerry Argetsinger poses the question, “Where is the official moral outrage?” He is referring to the subdued statement issued by LDS Church leaders about the family separations at the border, a seemingly anti-family response that eventually leads him to conclude: Suddenly it hit…
The Ignorance of Defensive Mormons
The last time I attended a Mormon sacrament meeting was around two years ago. The principle speaker was a stake high councilman. Boasting success in his professional life, he credited his accomplishments to his compassionate approach toward the “less worthy.” “When I mix with my worldly colleagues,” he explained, “I…
A Truth Universally Acknowledged: Two LDS Romance Reviews
A DATE WITH DANGER By Kari Iroz 256 pp. Covenant Communications, Inc. $15.99 PRIDE AND POLITICS By Britanny Larsen 272 pp. Covenant Communication, Inc. $16.99 As I was adding finishing touches to my upcoming LDS romance novel, I picked up a couple of Deseret Book titles, curious to see if…
Trump and the Rise of the Uninformed Expert
I got some hate mail last Thursday. It was a voicemail, actually, from an old friend. He said he’s cutting his ties to us because of my husband Mark’s recent suggestion that Syrian refugees be admitted into our country. Boasting an extensive knowledge of Islam (he owns a Quran), this…
The Mormon Way to Get Rich
Thanks to some of my believing Mormon friends, the blog post, “Will Your Child be Rich or Poor? 15 Poverty Habits Parents Teach their Children,” has been hovering on my radar, popping up repeatedly in my Facebook feed and even landing in my inbox via mass email. When I finally…
Powerful Voices: “Baring Witness: 36 Mormon Women Talk Candidly about Love, Sex, and Marriage,” edited by Holly Welker
Ever wonder how those beaming brides posing outside the LDS temple really feel? Are they happy? Are they nervous? Are they resigned? All or none of the above? “Baring Witness: 36 Mormon Women Talk Candidly about Love, Sex, and Marriage” provides some answers to those questions. Elegantly written and meticulously…
“Selling the City of Enoch” by Johnny Townsend
Johnny Townsend has done it again. He’s delivered more deliciously subversive Mormon fiction in his delightful new collection, Selling the City of Enoch. As in his previous works, Townsend’s well-drawn characters are too complex to fit into the Mormon cookie-cutter mold. For example, the overly curious Sister Covino who can’t…
Dragons of the Book of Mormon by Johnny Townsend
In his new collection of short stories, Dragons of the Book of Mormon, Johnny Townsend introduces compelling, sympathetic, and at times, hilarious characters struggling to live simultaneously within the rigid structure of Mormonism, the real world, and, in some cases, the magical world inspired by Mormon doctrine. In “Going Home,