My parents are wonderful and very conservative, orthodox members of the church. They feel a need to bear their testimonies to me and let me know they believe. I understand totally that this comes from what they hear at church. They feel responsible for and so sad about my change…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Atheists in SLC edition!
I know what you’re thinking: since it’s Easter, this edition should be something Easter-related, right? But let’s face it — Mormons care so much about Easter that sometimes they aren’t even aware that it’s happening. Fortunately, this year LDS Inc. is astroturfing a slick Easter video so that at least…
Missionary Chat: Origins of the Bible
I’ll admit up front, this chat was basically just an attempt to show that Mormon missionaries are ignorant. Â I wanted to know what they knew about the origins of the Bible. Â Here we go: Bailey: hi how are you? Bart (me): I’m good. How are you? Bailey: good Bailey: what…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Now what? edition!
By now you probably know that around 500 women stood in the standby line to get tickets to the Priesthood session of conference and were turned away. One of the talks in the session contained a hidden message for the women who would like to be ordained, and got mixed…
Letting go
A very significant relationship in my life has recently come to a close. This relationship has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. It impacted every aspect of my upbringing and guided me in all the major decisions of my life up to this…
Women’s Ordination and Gay Equality – How They’re Connected
I’ve made this case before, in most detail in my 2011 Dialogue article “Mormon and Queer at the Crossroads,” that women’s roles in the Church and gay equality in the Church are intimately connected. This is not just a conceptual connection…historically, the Church has treated the two issues as though…
Missionary Chat: Native Americans cursed?
I had another question I wanted to run by “Mormons on the street”: Are Native Americans cursed? Emily:Â Hello! Sam (me):Â Hello! Emily:Â What brings you to mormon.org chat today? Sam:Â I have a question about Mormon teachings. Emily:Â Okay… we will do our best to help you Sam:Â A friend of mine is LDS and…
No Longer Afraid of the F Word
Last year my 20 year old son recommended I read The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. I don’t think I had ever read an explicitly feminist text before that and it was an eye opener. I was surprised by how much the experiences of the women she wrote about resonated…
Three Ways to Leave the LDS Church – Loudly, Quietly, and Forcefully
I had a missionary email me after he listened to a podcast in which I was interviewed. Â He was deciding whether he wanted to be Mormon and was wondering what the best way to leave the religion was. Â I’ve written about this before, but after having spoken with lots of…
Saturday in Outer Blogness: Another Boring Conference Edition!
I’d like to do SiOB a little early this week because it looks like this conference is going to generate some interesting news. That news will be rolling in over the next few days, so let’s wrap up this past week’s posts separately before the news begins! (To give you…