As I’ve stated in my comment on Open thread for faithful Mormons!, I’m a 2nd time convert to the CoJCoL-ds. My wife is a Mormon. I promised her that I would support her goals to bring the kids up in the Church, but didn’t promise that I would convert. Then…
My Utah Show and Tell
Every writer must remind herself to show not tell. Dont waste 500 words telling your reader that your character is a nincompoop. Instead show it. Have him mistake the London Underground for a political movement, or fill an entire evening with praises to his patroness, Lady Catherine DeBourgh, or sketch…
Those Uppity Gays
The whole Chick-fil-A controversy reminds me of a period of time in recent American history when a segment of our society that tried to assert what it believed to be its civil rights and dignity was brutally repressed, particularly in a certain section of the country. I refer, of course,…
Mormon Intra-faith Dialogue Under Controlled Circumstances
A week ago, a number of bloggers from across the Mormon belief map joined together answer the following question- do good online fences make good LDS neighbors? My co-panelistchanson has posted some remarks here, andRachel Whipple has posted her remarks at Times and Seasons, andyou can also readHolly’s post herefor…
It’s the Doctrine, Stupid!
The recent patriotic month here in Utah turned my thoughts to the subject of parades and patriotism. As a resident of Davis County (just north of Salt Lake City) for a number of years, my former wife and I took our children to the Centerville 4th of July parade every…
Thursday in Outer Blogness: Sunstone Edition!!
Hey folks! I’m back from Sunstone and had a fantastic time!! If you want to know what you missed (or a review of what you saw), here are some recaps. I met lots of very very very cool people and posted my presentations. John Dehlin explained why he stays and…
LDS Church is “kicking against the pricks” on gay marriage
So, get this… A center at BYU collated some survey numbers and guess what is up in Utah: support for civil unions and same-sex marriage. Check out some of their figures. First, all Utah voters: Second, political party identification: Third, by religion: No surprise that the nonreligious support civil unions…
Reclaiming Our Stories
This is the presentation I gave for the panel Who gets to say what former Mormons are like? which I organized at the 2012 Sunstone Symposium. I could see that she didn’t know what she was talking about just by the description of this book! Author needs to do her…
Sunstone 2013: Mormon Bodies: Literal, Metaphorical, Doctrinal
Sunstone 2013 will be held Wednesday, 31 July through Saturday, 3 August, on the Weber State Campus. The theme will be “Mormon Bodies: Literal, Metaphorical, Doctrinal” and the description published in the program reads as follows: One of Mormonism’s most distinctive attributes is the emphasis on embodiment, including the belief…
Criticism
This is the presentation I gave for the panel “Do Good Online Fences Make Good LDS Neighbors?” (which Andrew S and I organized) at the 2012 Sunstone Symposium. Criticism. Sometimes it tells you more about the critic and his own personal issues than bout the thing being criticized, doesn’t it?…