Author: Jonathan

Popular Book of Mormon Criticism Debunked 16

Popular Book of Mormon Criticism Debunked

[tl;dr—Book of Mormon critics can be guilty of confirmation bias, too.] This must be my week for Book of Mormon analysis, a last hurrah of ex-Mormon geekery before the Fall semester starts next week....

You might be a member of a cult if… 30

You might be a member of a cult if…

I don’t want to ghettoize this post by making it about Mormonism, but since that’s why we’re all here, it’s natural to gravitate to that. But this pertains to so much more than one...

The New Gospel Principles 23

The New Gospel Principles

I have mixed feelings. The LDS church has published an updated edition of Gospel Principles (already available for purchase). Sunday school teachers use this manual to teach new church members and anyone thinking about...

Dreams in a Garden 11

Dreams in a Garden

I had a strange dream last night. I see your eyes glazing over already. Listening to other people’s dreams bores you. I get that. I want to share anyway. I dreamt that I was...

Perpetual Deconversion Aid 16

Perpetual Deconversion Aid

Maybe it’s all those talks about 72-hour kits at church , but I’ve been thinking about helping others to be better prepared for the storms that arise as they leave Mormonism. For most, leaving...

New Joseph Smith Manual 10

New Joseph Smith Manual

A new Melchizedek Priesthood/Relief Society lesson manual is available on lds.org: Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith. I skimmed through it and didn’t find anything unusual. For example, it only mentions the...

Write Your Own Epic 6

Write Your Own Epic

There was a required class in the computer engineering curriculum that was only ever taught by one particular professor. This professor had a penchant for creating pointless busywork. His homework for this class consisted...