According to the philosopher Mircea Eliade, of whose work I learned at BYU, every community, tribe, or nation requires an origin myth. The account of a community’s or practice’s origin has far reaching consequences because it implies how they relate to the cosmos, which is necessary for human beings to…
In addition to touring the temple…
I heard this story on Friday on NPR. I support the Utah LDS church’s movement towards openness and honesty. I admit, this effort seems a little like a drop in the ocean. Yet I have to acknowledge the attempt. One of the comments Quentin Cook made was that they were…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Religion, Politics, and Life Edition!
First, an announcement about the tech problems in Outer Blogness: As you may know, I’ve been maintaining a list of all exmo/post-mo blogs I can find (whether they have any mo-related content or not), and keeping them in a convenient, regularly updated list. A few months ago, the part of…
Ever feel like you’re being talked to behind your back..?
Of course one can always adopt a personal creed and receive some of the benefits, but the full benefits are impossible for most people (maybe even all people?) to have without believing the truth claims as part of a community.It’s possible for a rejectionist community to crop up that exists…
Way back when blacks were denied the priesthood…
Since we now know that the “priesthood ban” was only temporary — from the days of Ham and Abraham (1:27) up through 1979 — it’s easy to selectively remember what things were like back when Mormons knew that the negro’s role was an eternal and immutable part of God’s plan….
LOL Nacklz!
It looks as though — now that Snarkernacle has fizzled out — a new mocking-the-Bloggernacle-themed blog has popped up to pick up the slack (which I found through the comments of this post)! Complete with LOL catz! I probably shouldn’t admit to reading this sort of thing (since gawking and…
Deprogramming
When I read a lot of ex-mormon accounts, some of them turn me off. I know there’s ill will and perhaps downright hostility to an entity you feel has essentially lied to for years of your life, but I’ve always felt that it would be counterintuitive to react so hostilely….
Sunday in Outer Blogness: vacation’s over edition!
Hi ladies and germs. Last night I just got back from a lovely vacation visiting family and friends in Paris and Maastricht. Since I had only a few minutes of Internet here and there the whole time, naturally the Outer Blogness folder of my personal reader was overflowing with several…
Latter-Day Protest? Proposition 8 and Sports
By Dave Zirin x-posted from Edge of Sports with permission. As supporters of Gay Marriage have discovered, it’s never easy to be on the Mormon Church’s enemies list. The Church of Latter-Day Saints backed the anti-Gay Marriage Proposition 8 in California with out-of-state funds, and gave the right a heartbreaking…
Dobson Caves to Evangelicals Who Call Glenn Beck a Cultist
Admittedly, I got busy with the holidays and fell behind in my reading at some of my favorite websites. I figured I could bookmark, spend a couple days getting reacquainted with the wife and kids, and then catch up later. Later was apparently too late: No longer available? Now that’s…