The next morning, after Elder Beaverton and I had done our usual personal study and companion study, we set off to go out tracting. As usual, no one wanted to let us in. To break up the tedium and frustration of it, we played little games to vary our door…
Category: Testimony
Symbolic beliefs can counter cognitive dissonance, but at a cost
The Religious Right is Swiftboating Same Sex Marriage in Maine
By Karen Ocamb, News editor, Frontiers in LA Reposted (with permission) from Dirigo Blue and Daily Kos. “God has no grandchildren,” the evangelical ex-Marine father of my late friend Chip Howe said, explaining how he surrendered judgment and came to accept Chip’s homosexuality. Chip, a Lieutenant in the Navy during…
Brazen Religion
I’m often torn when I think about religion. As aerin noted last week, sometimes religion does seem to be authentically helpful for some people. But then there are people like the Copelands, of Texas, who preach the “prosperity gospel,” which is basically fraud (promising something you don’t deliver to get…
The Boiled Seed and Honesty
A while back, I heard a rather innocuous story about honesty at stake conference (ok, so it’s not as prestigious as general conference…). I didn’t care much about the choice of story he used, since it seemed trite (it was some Chinese feel-good fable), but as I read a passage…
Dan to religious closet-case: change your religion
Dan Savage devoted this week’s column to gay people with religious issues. So, as with cheating and partner-letting-self-go, let’s decide whether Dan got it right! Here’s an excerpt from the question: Religion has been for me a source of strength in my times of weakness, a rock in the times…
4:00 a.m. (O.H. continues)
I woke up on the floor. I felt really thirsty and had to pee. The T.V. was still on but not making any noise. Someone must have muted it at some point. I stood up and looked at Tanya lying there asleep on the couch. I felt confused and wanted…
The Big Date! (O.H. continues…)
On Monday I was really dreading going to my French class. I waited until the very last second before the bell to go to the classroom. It was natural to arrive a little later for that class anyway because it was the class right after the period when I had…
By the Provo River (OH continues…)
On Saturday the weather was strangely warm for late October. It was like Summer again all of the sudden. I had nothing to do, so I called up Sam and Joe’s house. Joe was home all by himself because Sam was at football practice and his parents had decided to…
LDS Temple Rejects (TW continues…)
On the morning of the wedding, we determined to sleep in a little bit. We were planning to meet April and Susan at the Hobbs’ house, and we wanted to wait until we were sure that Brother and Sister Hobbs were gone to avoid crossing them and dealing with whatever…