I have chosen to write about coming out of a closet the closet that hid part of who I really am, a part of me that I always knew was there but never wanted to acknowledge or accept. I guess part of the reason I never came out is that…
Category: Testimony
Symbolic beliefs can counter cognitive dissonance, but at a cost
Why Would Heavenly Father Do That?
This now-infamous question (slightly paraphrased) posed by President Boyd K. Packer at this past October Conference will, I think, reverberate in the minds of many church members for years to come and not just with respect to sexual orientation. I cant help thinking that Elder Packer may for many members…
Forever vs. Family; Rules vs. Relationships
By way of introduction, I am a gay Mormon, who also happens to be (currently) married and a father. I started the coming out process last fall, and my wife and I are currently in the process of separating with plans to eventually divorce. Even before recently coming to terms…
Link bomb #2
A new year, a new link bomb. (This is my second link bomb here, but the 14th in all. You can read the previous installments here, at the USU SHAFT blog.) Philosopher Nicholas Everitt discusses Gods various attributes (omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, omnibenovelence) and their incompatibility. Everitt recommends that theists tweak…
Apologies
I deeply regret for driving my friends at By Common Consent into a corner. I relied solely on logic when I should have been kind. I also regret suspecting the wrong people of ending the discussion.
the elusiveness of the LDS Newsroom
You know what’s interesting is that the LDS Newroom is currently in beta format, which means some old articles don’t exist anymore. For example, Bruce Hafen’s speech to Evergreen last year is gone. There’s this page that says Hafen gave a speech, but then you can’t access the actual speech…
the older Mormon
I just realized that I have a huge gap in my knowledge about Mormonism. After being born, the beginning of the Mormon life sequence seems to be — roughly, and by no means am I trying to be reductionist — education, marriage, parenthood. On the way to these, the Church…
Bringing back Liberal Mormonism
Hello, MSP Community. I am Chris H. I am a permablogger at Faith-Promoting Rumor. I teach political science at Casper College. Thanks to Chino Blanco and chanson for the chance to share a few posts over here. Growing up in Maryland, I always found Judiasm to be very interesting. Not…
Favorite hymns?
I’ve been humming “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief” the last few days. Singing was always one of my favorite parts of church, and one of the things I really missed when I left, though I’ve found other groups to sing with now. I still love many of the hymns…
Is your marriage in trouble? Adopt a highway!
According to aMormon Times report of BYU Education Week, that first bit of litter that misses the trash can is the beginning of the slippery slope to divorce court. That’s right. Littering, among a litany of other behaviors, is a form of selfishness, and selfishness destroys marriage. The list included…