All I Wanted Was a Hug. The story explores the crazy rules of homo-vs-hetero public displays of affection among missionaries — and it was written by one of the stars of the last Sunstone Symposium! check it out!
Category: Testimony
Symbolic beliefs can counter cognitive dissonance, but at a cost
Even if the church is perfect, the people aren’t
Elder Beaverton and I didn’t say anything as we walked northeast along the side of the Jardin Public. When we got to the corner, I suggested that we turn northwest and continue going around the park. I knew that the girls were still inside. I couldn’t help but feel like…
All the good gossip
Between buildings we passed by a pharmacy that had in its display window a large poster advertising some sort of mysterious medication. The image on the poster was a soft black-and-white shot of a nude woman looking off into the distance with her breasts completely exposed to view. Read the…
Not some dorkazoid missionaries!
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…
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…