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November 2015

November 06, 2015

How I choose to see the revisions

I write this as a heterosexual person, one who is not directly affected by the...

October 2015

October 29, 2015

Is Brigham Young’s Hearse Residing in Disneyland?

I recently went to Disneyland for the first time since middle school, and in the...

October 26, 2015

From the Archives: Ghost Stories

Editors Note: Welcome to Halloween Week at Peculiar People! The following is a post from...

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 19, 2015

Scandal on the Mormon Ranch

In case you haven't heard, the LDS Church is currently involved in a rather large...

October 15, 2015

What Should We Take Away From Slate’s Missionary Health Article?

We posted recently about the Slate piece by Mark Joseph Stern about missionary health care,...

October 13, 2015

Do Mormon Missionaries Get Shafted on Health Care?

Mark Joseph Stern over at Slate just published an interesting article about the state of...

October 06, 2015

Souls, not Skin: Why I stand with the 3 new Apostles

Yes, I admit the natural woman in me was somewhat dismayed that the 'white American...

October 02, 2015

The saving habit: 123 weeks and counting

See the crazy world going by in front of the LA Temple there? See the...

September 2015

September 25, 2015

Thank You, Elder Scott: Memories of an MTC Moment

Richard G. Scott was the first General Authority I ever met. While I was in...

September 24, 2015

125 Years of the Manifesto – and an overlooked change in Mormon scripture

“It seemed to me to be the awfulest moment in my life," - wrote...

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 18, 2015

Thomas, Meet Francis: The Glory of the Outsider-Leader

I remember the day he was elected, feeling amazed that a non-European was finally going...

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 04, 2015

No Blessing: A plea to LDS leaders regarding single members in the Church

First, a caveat: I don't mean to come off as whiny or overdramatic in this...

August 2015

August 28, 2015

“It seems as if the whole world has gone crazy”: Seeking peace in the midst of turmoil

For the first eighteen years of my life, I was Catholic. As I like to...

August 27, 2015

What’s Goin’ On With Peculiar People

We are due for a little change. Peculiar People is relaunching with a renewed emphasis...

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 25, 2015

2 Girls For Every Boy: The Unpleasant Reality for Utah Mormon Singles

The Beach Boys sang about it, and now it’s coming true here in the...

August 13, 2015

Matt Bowman and Ben Park Talk Seer Stones On RadioWest

For the lucky few vacationing in isolated corners of the world without internet access,...

August 07, 2015

A Review and a Farewell: Of Manuscripts and Seer Stones

I've been, as Mormons say, "less active" here at the blog for the past few...

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...

July 08, 2015

The Risks and Revelations of Protest and Lament

On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass gave voice to the unspeakable injustice of American slavery...

April 2015

April 01, 2015

Review: Going Clear

David Cross once joked that Mormonism was the Scientology of its day. Like a lot...

March 2015

March 10, 2015

Adventures in Approaching Zion

I ended my last article with the idea that not knowing how to move towards Zion...

February 2015

February 18, 2015

“The Prophecy of This Book”

Believers in the Book of Mormon are inevitably acquainted with Revelation 22:18-19: For I testify...

February 16, 2015

Inversion

Please excuse the strained metaphor. Every now and again I have the chance to head...

January 2015

January 02, 2015

Resolutions and Desires

I’m terrible at New Year’s resolutions. I’ve read all read the strategies for proper goal-setting—manageable,...

December 2014

December 19, 2014

Joseph Smith Papers: Documents Volume 3

A couple of weeks ago, I participated---by Skype---in the launch event for the newest Documents...