There are ideals that can point us toward a more enlightened way of being and behaving, but there is no gospel that exists in perfect form outside our lived experience.
Dear Jack, What, exactly, is The Handbook? Is it scripture? Is it not scripture? Is it revelation? Is it not revelation? How can we say we believe in teaching correct principles and letting individuals govern...
“There is no one thing that’s true. It’s all true.”
We can and should make ethical and moral choices about our sexual behavior, but attaching that morality to perfectly healthy and normal biological responses or our fugitive thoughts is a mistake.
Dear Jack, My shifting faith away from Mormonism hasn’t created a problem with my parenting decisions — until now as my kids hit their teen years. My 16-year old son hangs out with other...
Dear Jack, I don’t have a great relationship with my father. He and my mother divorced when I was six, and he became engaged to my stepmother two years later. That relationship is also...
Dear Jack, Our ward is changing meeting times next year, and we’ll meet right in the middle of kids’ nap and lunch times. Do we make everyone go to church for three hours and spend...
In the new year I’ll be back to answering your questions about life and Mormonism, but I wanted to do something a little different with today’s column, my tenth, and send a letter myself.
Hello Jack, I just found out about this site. Is it really for people who have left the church? If so, how can it co-exist with those who are sternly still part of it? I...
Dear Jack, I believe that one of the greatest gifts God has given us is our capacity to think for ourselves. If I do my best to understand a particular issue, and then honestly and...
Dear Jack, When I think about my testimony of the truth claims of the LDS church, I imagine a candle in my soul flickering. That inner candle used to burn brightly, but over the last...
Dear Jack, Our ward primary program is coming up and my six-year-old daughter wants to wear her favorite “fluffy” dress to this special occasion. The dress is white and red with ribbons and tulle …...
Dear Jack, My husband and I are DNA Mormons, 5-7 generations on all lines. We have two young adult sons, neither of whom believe in LDS church teachings. My husband has not been a believer...
Dear Jack, My husband and I both grew up in the Mormon Church. He is still a more literal believer while I am a friendly agnostic. We have a good relationship and we respect each...
Dear Jack, I’ve been struggling with my Mormon-ness for about five years, but have been attending weekly and fully participating. I just got released from a calling that I love. It was truly the only...
Dear Jack, How much coffee is too much? How much alcohol is too much? Those sound like lead-ins to a joke, but I am asking in earnest. I don’t drink coffee or alcohol at all,...
Being Mormon is more than just BEING MORMON, you know.
