Today’s missionary chat is based on a question my wife raised that I always found interesting: If God is omniscient, then why do Mormons have endowments done? Â Wouldn’t God know who to let into the Celestial Kingdom without evidence of having an endowment done? Â Here’s the chat: Angie: hi! Bob…
Author: profxm
I'm a college professor and, well, a professional X-Mormon. Thus, ProfXM. I love my Mormon family, but have issues with LDS Inc. And I'm not afraid to tell LDS Inc. what I really think... anonymously, of course!
Missionary Chat: Polygamist God
In my ongoing pursuit to learn what “on the ground” Mormons believe, here’s another Missionary Chat. Â This one on God the Father and his wife/wives. Ken: Hello. Marcel: welcome back (creepy that they know it’s me again) Bob (me): Hi. I have a question for the two of you. Marcel:…
Missionary Chat: Gods & Planets
I’m kind of enjoying chatting with the missionaries online. Â Since it’s on my own terms, it’s kind of nice. Â Here’s my discussion from this week: Joey: Hello. Sean: Hello! Bob (me): Hi. I have a question for the two of you. Sean: Ok. Bob: Do you, personally, believe that, after…
Missionary Chat: Philadelphia Apartment Building
I had another question I wanted to run by some Mormons: Why is the LDS Church building a for-profit, 32 story apartment building in Philadelphia? Same rules as before… Bob (me): Hello? Ken: How can we help you today? Bob: I have a question about the LDS Church. Casey: Great!…
Missionary Chat: Florida Property
In case you didn’t catch it, the LDS Church now owns 2% of the state of Florida. Â Since I try not to bug my still Mormon family members about the LDS Church very often, I decided to go to the always available source for thoughts on this: Missionary Chat. Â My…
Is Mormonism going to evolve, and can I make it work for me?
I had a young man email me with a couple of questions. Â After writing up my response to him, I thought my response might make a good post on MSP. Here’s the question: Is it possible, do you think, for a fundamentalist religion like Mormonism to evolve to become a…
Real or pretend change? LDS Inc. on gay scouts…
If you haven’t heard, the LDS Church issued a statement on the policy change the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is considering that would allow gay scouts – but no gay scout masters. Â The statement is a masterpiece of subtlety and nuance – it says everything without saying anything. Of…
the feminists are coming, the feminists are coming!
There’s lots going on at LDS Inc. regarding women. Â Obviously the big news is that a woman finally got to say a prayer in conference, which the church is claiming was already on the schedule and had nothing to do with the petitions and letters. Â Of course, in her prayer…
anti-porn videos from the 1980s?
I’ve been working on a research project examining official Mormon discourse over the last 40 years or so and came across a reference to some anti-porn videos produced by the Church in the 1980s. Â Has anyone ever heard of these videos? Â And, even better, does anyone have copies they would…
Joseph vs. The Gold: Help me script it!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08wRRff8x0k Ever since seeing this not so good version on youtube, I’ve been wondering what a good recreation of the Joseph Smith run with the plates might look like. Â It’s all based on Lucy Smith’s account: “The plates were secreted about three miles from home… Joseph, on coming to them,…