When LDS spokesman Michael Otterson decided to describe what Mormon equality looks like, which led to a fair amount of commentary. (On a related[?] note, there was some new interest in the question of why people don’t like Mormons and problems with LDS PR stragegy.) The General Conference commentary isn’t…
“Nobody actually believes in a man with a beard in the clouds.”
A friend of mine said this recently as we were discussing whether the god that New Atheists dismiss is too simplistic. All I could say is, “Well, I did.” Okay, maybe not in the clouds exactly, but from his first appearance with his Son to Joseph Smith to the affirmation…
Finding God in a Gay Bar: Why I Blog
I have recently had occasion to reflect on why I began blogging and why I continue to blog. I am not an expert on anything – except my own feelings and experience. When I began blogging, I decided that this would be a guiding principle for my writing. As I…
Moral Nostalgia and the Movies
This post was inspired by A teenager speaks on new movie standards. In her recent discussion of the current state of movies, and particularly award winning movies, Camila B. states that she is concerned about “movies throughout the decades and the negative changes that I have noticed.” She then goes…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Other People’s Opinions Edition!
This week’s journey through Mormonism covered the ground of caring or not about others’ opinions and possible reactions. Sometimes it’s fun to make a big stink and a smackdown. And Simply Sarah and Andrew S are simply examining and expressing their own place in the X-Mormon journey. Some nevermos get…
On Terry Tempest Williams
I believe I have read everything Terry Tempest Williams has written. I have followed her as she has contemplated and worked through the tangled relationship that exists between family and the LDS Church, and the heavy right leaning philosophy of both, as she has moved in an opposite direction. In…
Toward a Mormon Lesbian Theology
Citing a Feminist Mormon Housewives conversation, Mohohawaii recently wrote about how LDS women are made responsible for LDS mens sexuality. The Mormon woman is expected not to inflame male passions by underdressing or being overly flirtatious. Female modesty he writes, affirms the existence of male sexuality only. He quotes a…
Struggling in the depths of Mormon faith: Stephen Carter’s “What of the Night?”
I also learned that the great stories of the world have second acts. This may seem like a silly thing to say, but so many stories set up the problem (the job of the first act) and then resolve it (the job of the third act) with little to no…
Reflections on An Overwhelming Emptiness
About ten days ago, I published a post on my blog (invictuspilgrim.blogspot.com) entitled An Overwhelming Emptiness. It was Daves story, the story of his struggle to come to terms with his sexuality and identity in a Mormon mixed-orientation marriage (MoMoM). Then, on Wednesday of this past week, I published another…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: The Mormon Moment Edition!
It’s not just a musical anymore, it’s in sci-fi films, books, and other interesting plays, even politics — everything is coming up Mormon!!! Meanwhile — rather than capitalizing on it with another shocker-conference — the CoJCoL-dS decided to go with their previous conference strategy of boring the pants off everyone…