Some thirty years ago, not long after I’d quit going to church, Mark and I moved out of the Dallas suburbs and into town. The move brought a dramatic change in both neighborhood and church dynamics. In the suburbs the directory for our highly active Mormon ward was a tidy…
Author: Donna Banta
It’s the Community, Stupid
It was over thirty years ago but I remember it like yesterday. Our daughter was sitting with us in the pews, watching the administration of the sacrament, when it dawned on her: Only boys were participating! That same day she asked her Primary teacher why girls weren’t also permitted to…
In My Day it was Paul H. Dunn
Recently Mormonland has been crowded with stories about Tim Ballard, the LDS founder and former CEO of Operation Underground Railroad (OUR). Once a model Latter-day Saint and possible candidate for Romney’s senate seat, Ballard is now excommunicated and facing charges of sexual assault. Reports also reveal he frequented bars and…
Mormonland!
Saw Barbie the other day. What a delight. It was cute, sparkly, hilarious, deliciously subversive, inspiring, relevant, and above all, PINK! Plus it made me nostalgic. Not so much for the doll. Although I did have a Barbie, also a Ken, a pre-pregnancy Midge, and a Skipper (flat-chested model). But…
He Used His Powers for Good!
I like to say that Mormon satire writes itself. Take Senator Mitt Romney’s public scolding of Congressman George Santos at the State of the Union. “You don’t belong here,” Romney declared. Santos, who generally remains smug when confronted with his pathological lying and otherwise unethical behavior, appeared visibly shaken in…
A Seer Stone for Halloween
A magic rock, a spooky house, and ghosts conjured up from the Latter-day Saints’ colorful past. My new mystery novel, Seer Stone, might be just be the perfect read this Halloween. Not to mention a fun Christmas gift, or even just a vehicle for confronting one’s own demons. Mormon or…
Is the LDS Church Case Sensitive?
Recently, in her Religious News Service column, “Flunking Sainthood,” Jana Riess suggests there is a divide within Mormonism between the “big-C Church” and the “little-c church.” According to Riess, “big-C Church” is code for the suits working in the Church Office Building. Specifically, the Mormon PR team that issued a…
Revising Eternity: 27 Latter-day Men Reflect on Modern Relationships
Revising Eternity: 27 Latter-day Saint Men Reflect on Modern RelationshipsEdited by Holly Welker272 pp. University of Illinois Press, $19.95 “I always knew that ‘good Mormon boys’ did three things: they went on missions, graduated from BYU, and married in the temple,” writes Scott Blanding, a gay man who came of…
The Coffee or the cup?
A couple of years ago, I ran across an invitation to the reception for a couple who were to be married in the Provo Temple. In the obligatory picture, the man stood stone-faced, dressed in the usual church attire, while his fiancé was grinning ear-to-ear, kicking up a stiletto heel,…
But Does She Still Go to Church?
Four years ago I ran across an old Mormon acquaintance on Facebook. I’d always liked this woman. Back in the day (1990’s) she’d seemed relatively open-minded. A quick glance at her wall suggested she was still one of the “good ones.” Fourteen years ago, I wouldn’t have considered reaching out…