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October 2015

October 19, 2015

Sister Wives’ Madison Brown’s Mormon Baptism Rejection, Explained

Confession: I actually really love the show Sister Wives. It is a pretty remarkable snapshot...

October 16, 2015

The 5 Best References to Mormonism in the History of Television

So that Quantico show debuted a little while back. It's a show about FBI agents...

September 2015

September 22, 2015

Ben Carson’s Islamophobia Could Cost His Mormon Support

The 2016 Republican nomination is turning into quite a spectacle, even when we’re not talking...

September 21, 2015

Celebrating Samuel W. Taylor, a Peculiar Person

Samuel W. Taylor was born, as we all were at one time or another, on...

September 18, 2015

Ahmed Mohamed, and The Need For A New Narrative

Ahmed Mohamed, a high school student in Irving, Texas, had a rude awakening this...

September 16, 2015

The Utah Soda Wars Are Here, So Let’s Hurry Up With The Apocalypse

In the 1980s, America was subjected to a bizarre race to the bottom between competing soft...

September 15, 2015

American Gas: Reflections on Home After a Year Abroad

I’ll ask the reader to forgive my following foray into a personal travel log, but...

September 01, 2015

James Bond becoming more interesting and relevant isn’t a bad thing

Idris Elba basically oozes everything one associates with James Bond. Pretty much everyone recognizes...

August 2015

August 31, 2015

When did celebrities become so powerful?

There's nothing terribly new to the idea that maybe we give celebrities far too much...

August 31, 2015

Remembering Wes Craven

Horror movies were off limits when I was a kid. That’s the way it should...

August 25, 2015

With the Mormon Church’s Backlash Against Boy Scouts, Gay Leaders Are Merely Scapegoats

Young men in the Mormon faith are almost guaranteed to be automatically enrolled with the...

August 24, 2015

Jon McNaughton, the Obama Era’s Most Significant Artist

Gaze upon the works of Jon McNaughton, the most important painter of our time.* Undoubtedly,...

July 2015

July 17, 2015

Religious and Gay: A Catholic-Mormon Dialogue (Part 3 of 3)

This is part 3 of a 3-part discussion with Alex Griffin and Eve Tushnet. In...

July 16, 2015

Religious and Gay: A Catholic-Mormon Dialogue (Part 2 of 3)

This is part 2 of a 3-part discussion with Alex Griffin and Eve Tushnet. In...

January 2015

January 19, 2015

Review: “Selma”

Selma deserves a Best Picture win, because even with all of its imperfections, it is...

January 12, 2015

Doubting at Zion’s Gate

Through happenstance, two of my recent reads synergistically centered on doubt and the thresholds of...

December 2014

December 08, 2014

I Even Remain Alone?: Reflections on Eve Tushnet’s “Gay and Catholic”

About two years ago Ralph Hancock, a BYU professor of political philosophy, met with the...

October 2014

October 30, 2014

It’s Time For Mormons To Be Scary Again

It’s Halloween time, so as usual I’m watching a lot of horror movies. Maybe this...

August 2014

August 07, 2014

In Good Conscience…

Over the past six years or so, I’ve watched a number of my friends and...

June 2014

June 12, 2014

Second Life and the Second Estate

From a hillside in Missouri, one can look out upon a relatively nondescript valley verdant...

April 2014

April 02, 2014

Foodism?

I am excited to read the new collection of essays on food and religion in...

February 2014

February 24, 2014

Mormons and Basketball in the Philippines

“There are good Mormons, rogue Mormons, drunk Mormons, polygamy Mormons. But one thing they all...

November 2013

November 19, 2013

Why Do Americans Love Pope Francis?

The other day, I was talking to my students about how the press has been...

November 17, 2013

Being a Mormon Intellectual

Indulge me a moment in some reflections on how I think about a portion of...

November 11, 2013

“If We Can’t Fix It, It Ain’t Broke”

“IF WE CAN’T FIX IT, IT AIN’T BROKE.” Because I live in Hong Kong,...

October 2013

October 30, 2013

There’s So Much to Do, Outside the Ivory Tower!

I am an independent scholar. Not independently wealthy unfortunately – I have to earn my...

October 14, 2013

Beyond Family: Women’s Leadership in the LDS Church

A recent flurry of debate and discussion over the issue of women’s roles in...

September 2013

September 18, 2013

We Are Special!: Religion, Historical Memory, and Regional Identity

Over the last week I’ve been re-reading Carol F. Karlsen’s book on witchcraft in Puritan...

August 2013

August 28, 2013

A Plea for Identity on the Internet

I recently watched a preview for The Fifth Estate, the new film about WikiLeaks co-founder...

August 19, 2013

The Ethics of Bad Friends and Good Art

The bad behavior that makes for good television has a moral dimension--but not in the...