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Select a Month October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 October 2017 September 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 November 2016 October 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012

July 2017

July 03, 2017

A Letter for My Someday-Teenage Children

I write all of this to you, my kids-who-are-probably-too-young-to-make-it-through-this-entire-letter, to explain my commitment to Mormonism,...

June 2017

June 15, 2017

Confederate Symbols and the Black Flag of ISIS: Two Sides of the Same Coin

A terrorist symbol looms over my hometown. It stands for an intolerant, un-American ideology, one...

May 2017

May 26, 2017

America Needs Mitt Romney

A Senator Romney could stand up to Donald Trump without losing his seat. America needs...

April 2017

April 21, 2017

First-Order Myopia: What Donald Trump Can Learn from Joseph Smith

Joseph Smith's life was cut short because he failed to look beyond first-order consequences. Trump...

April 06, 2017

Trump Should Learn from Andrew Jackson: Keep Church Out of State

Trump can learn from his hero and reject a fusion of Church and State. Among...

March 2017

March 25, 2017

The Casual Sexism in Trump’s Condolences to Theresa May

To hear Trump tell it, you'd think that Theresa May fainted after the Westminster attack. ...

March 10, 2017

What Vox got wrong about Jon Huntsman

Why did Trump pick Huntsman as Ambassador to Russia? The reasons are many. On March...

March 06, 2017

Oaks vs. Oaks: First Cousins and LDS General Authorities Square Off

Elders Dallin H. Oaks and Robert C. Oaks may have the same grandparents, but their...

March 05, 2017

If Thomas Friedman were Mormon . . .

The New York Times columnist would love the Church's Global Education Initiative, but Donald Trump...

February 2017

February 12, 2017

A Chastened Chaffetz Should Learn from Mo Udall

Jason Chaffetz was recently tasked by angry constituents to "do [his] job." He should look...

August 2016

August 13, 2016

Trump’s Threat to Mormons

Donald Trump poses a unique threat to the interests, freedom, and safety of the Mormon...

June 2016

June 17, 2016

Stop Praying for us, and Acknowledge That You Helped Create Omar Mateen

Let me give you a run down: 2015 was the deadliest year on record for...

June 13, 2016

Gordon B. Hinckley, Gun Control Advocate

My heart aches in the wake of Sunday Morning's Pulse nightclub tragedy. I haven't...

April 2016

April 21, 2016

What BYU’s Honor Code Office Doesn’t Understand About Trauma is Endangering Victims

By now, I'm guessing you've heard about BYU's track record of using Title IX investigations...

March 2016

March 28, 2016

Where Is Mormonism On Civil Rights?

This week I went to an anti-racism rally here in Lexington, Virginia in response to...

March 02, 2016

Wait, What Is The White Horse Prophecy?

Americans rarely unilaterally agree on anything, but there has risen one important break from that...

February 2016

February 28, 2016

Who Will Get the Mormon Vote, Part 2

Editor's note: This post is an updated version of an earlier post, which can be...

February 17, 2016

What Is Morality in Mormonism?

Here in Utah, State Senator Mark Madsen is proposing a bill that would legalize medicinal...

February 15, 2016

Emergent Theology: Steven Peck’s “Evolving Faith”

Drawing dragons got me seriously thinking about evolution for the first time. My earlier attempts...

January 2016

January 11, 2016

Narnia, the Solstice, and Heaven

I. Some of my fascination with The Last Battle, the last in C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles...

January 08, 2016

O Say What is Truth

"The Church is true" has got to be the most uttered phrase on the...

January 05, 2016

The Next Church Handbook Change: Tithing and Affinity Fraud

Shawn Merriman was a devoted family man, a diligent Mormon bishop, and, ultimately, a convicted...

January 05, 2016

Mormon Church Responds to Bundy-led Oregon Occupation

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has now officially condemned the actions of...

December 2015

December 16, 2015

No, Mormon Women do not Oppose Female Ordination, and Here’s Why That Matters

When the topic of ordaining Mormon women comes up, one of the most common responses...

December 03, 2015

The “Thoughts and Prayers” Backlash is Deserved

After so many shootings this year, it just feels like nothing is ever going to...

November 2015

November 10, 2015

These Three Things Are True

Sharp divisions make it hard to pinpoint "how Mormons feel" about the policy barring children...

November 08, 2015

Mistakes in Mormonism; or Why the Church Handbook isn’t Doctrine

By Gary Ashcroft Let me preface my comments with a few statements. I am Mormon....

November 07, 2015

What This Policy Shift Means To LGBT Mormons Like Me

I have struggled to comprehend my thoughts on the recent announcement by the LDS church...

November 07, 2015

These Arguments are Weak.

That “Insight into new LDS Church policies on same-sex couples and their children” post, written...

November 07, 2015

I Won’t Go to Church Unless Everyone is Welcome

There is a lot yet to be said about the Church's recent policy changes to...