Hey folks! We had some sort of European holiday here, causing a long weekend, prompting a family visit to some other randomly-chosen-picturesque-European city — and I thought I’d be back in time to do SiOB on Sunday itself, but it didn’t happen. I saved up links all week, though, so…
Preparing the Way for Change
The other day, I was having a discussion with a new straight friend, Darren. He is an active Mormon, a husband and father, who within the past year has discovered that two of his closest friends in the world, other members of the Church whom he has known for years,…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Living in a Society Edition!
I love this video — it’s great to see that sometimes random strangers will stick up for someone who is being mistreated. Sadly, some states are still voting to keep legal protections away from some families. And, sadly, some LGBs want to jettison the T from LGBT, and let the…
In defense of religious ‘brainwashing’
Originally published at the USU SHAFT site. Ive enjoyed several of the videos produced by The Thinking Atheist. This video, however, should make them reconsider their (already rather smarmy) name. In the video, several atheists relate their Christian upbringing, which they now not-so-fondly remember as brainwashing. Dawkins has sometimes gone…
Jimmy Creech: A Prophetic Voice for LGBTQ Equality
In May 1984, a closeted gay man in a small town in southeastern North Carolina went to see the pastor of his United Methodist congregation. The man Adam was upset and announced that he was leaving the church. When the pastor asked why, Adam replied that he could no longer…
“We do not need more members who question every detail.”
Spending too much time on Facebook, as usual, and a friend shared this link from the page LDS General Conference, a quote from M. Russell Ballard from October 1995 General Conference: We do not need more members who question every detail; we need members who have felt with their hearts,…
Preserving Mixed Faith Relationships
Reposting from my blog:http://www.lifeaftermormonism.net/profiles/blogs/preserving-mixed-faith Introduction When you first arrive to the other side of faith, or at least to an opposing side to one or more of your family, friends or acquaintances, there are a few pitfalls in which one could accidentallysabotagean otherwise desirable relationship and fellowship with them. Hopefully…
BOM: The Most Correct of Any Musical?
Joseph Smith famously declared that “The Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth,” which was not to say that it was without error, but simply that “a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” The Book…
Celestial Glory Shall Be Mine
Celestial glory shall be mine if I can but endure. One of the very first songs a Mormon child learns to sing is I Am a Child of God, a very sweet little song that contains within its simple melody and honeyed phrases the essence of Mormon theology. At a…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Surprise, Surprise Edition!
At first I tried not to gather up all the posts about the rapture — partially because it’s too easy to make fun of these folks (and point out the similarities with respectable religion), but also because we’re talking about people who were conned and ripped-off. But I eventually gave…