mormon Archive

9May 31, 2013
June: A Tough Pull

The June lesson line-up for the Young Women and Young Men of the church is a tough pull. First, in Sunday School, a whole month of Sundays (there are five...
0May 26, 2013
The Mormon Hub: Come Join the Conversation

The Mormon Hub is a new Facebook group for the general discussion of Mormonism and Mormon-related issues.
4February 25, 2013
Parenthood Juggle: Twists and Turns

As I was graduating from BYU with my MBA I got a piece of advice from the assistant dean, herself a single mom whose husband left after she put him...
3February 15, 2013
Parenthood Juggle: Academic Freedom

During these first few years of adjuncting and mothering, my favorite time of day was the afternoon nap. Both of my babies took naps at the same time and sometimes...
2February 13, 2013
Parenthood Juggle: “The Smart Girl”

In my family, we were taught that education was the most important thing to pursue. My parents did not complete their college degrees and always struggled to make ends meet....
2February 10, 2013
Ride to Church in Antigua, Guatemala

Today’s Ride to Church comes to us from Emily (a “veteran” Ride to Church-er). In an interesting twist of life, I went on a mission trip with a group of...
4February 8, 2013
Parenthood Juggle: Musings on Gender Roles in Mormonism

So if you’re a stay at home dad, awesome. I salute you as a brother. If you’re a full time, cookie baking, stay at home Mom with a...
7January 30, 2013
Parenthood Juggle: Figuring It Out As You Go Along

How have we taken care of our little ones? The first year of my son’s life was a complicated, sleep-deprived blur, and I’ll spare you the details.
2January 23, 2013
Parenthood Juggle: A Crooked and Twisting Path

And this is where I am now. I work part-time in my son’s school and next year our youngest will join us for part-day kindergarten. The year after that, they...
87January 8, 2013
How Much Does a Mormon Apostle Make?

For the time being, I believe it is literally impossible to answer these questions appropriately, especially because the Church is far from transparent with its financial information. . . .
10December 28, 2012
Guest Post Invitation: The Parenthood Juggle

I want my daughters (and my son!) to be able to read about other women’s struggles. How did they go about deciding what to do and when?
11December 19, 2012
On Being a Christmasist

In the three years since I lost faith in Mormonism, I’ve tried on more than a few labels to describe my spiritual alignment: agnostic, atheist, humanist. I’m not content with...
6December 14, 2012
Pantsgate 2012: There Is Room Enough for All of Us

There is room enough in Christ for all of us.
27December 14, 2012
Heather Wears Pants

I was pregnant with Stuart, my third (and last) child when I decided I wanted to get a Ph.D. By the time he was three months old, I had already...
16December 12, 2012
Friendless in East Texas

I was born and raised in East Texas and have spent most of my adult life living here or Louisiana. But my parents are originally from California, which means that...
4November 28, 2012
Three Things

We have two children together, ages 4 and 7, and they spend most of their time with me. Except for when I was attending the singles ward.
6November 9, 2012
Single Experiences: I, Me, Who is That? Identity and Emancipation as a Single Mormon

Occasionally older married folks attempt to throw lifesavers, but their attempts at rescue simply don’t work, because the reality is, we are not drowning. We are not invalids. ...
6November 5, 2012
An Outsider’s View of the US Election

Today’s guest post comes to us from Geoff in Australia. Many Americans live in isolation from the world because your media does not cover stories from the rest of the...
16November 1, 2012
Though Hard to you, this Journey may Appear….

Today’s guest post is written by Marilyn Mehr. One year ago today, I stood on the steps of the Bronx County Courthouse with my spouse, Betty Walker, celebrating our marriage....
17October 23, 2012
Why This Mormon Woman is Voting for Barack Obama

Today’s guest post comes to us from Karin Olson of Huntsville, Texas. Yesterday I cast my vote for Barack Obama for president on the first day of early voting in...
6October 21, 2012
Single Experiences: Cost-Benefit Analysis from a Single Gay Mormon

Of course, there is a third way, which is to stay single and celibate forever. Here again, I’m fulfilling my need to stay in the lines drawn by the church,...
31September 16, 2012
Richard Dawkins, you’re an ass. Brandon Flowers, you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.

When we hear that a belief is ridiculous, the first thing we should ask ourselves is: ridiculous to whom?
4August 17, 2012
Unexpected Spiritual Experiences: Sacred Artifacts and Rituals

I’m a faithful skeptic, a doubting believer; this is why these spiritual experiences were so unexpected.
0August 12, 2012
Ride to Church (History Sites in Palmyra, New York)

In June, we took a family vacation to New York. We spent 6 days in New York City and then rented a car and drove to upstate New York. We...
6July 25, 2012
37 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: The 1800s Called

. . . they want their magazine back.
4July 2, 2012
Teaching Sex: It Seemed Terrifying

When dating I thoroughly enjoyed cuddling, holding hands, and kissing. I felt guilty for just how much I enjoyed kissing and frightened by the emotions that were raging inside me
9June 29, 2012
35 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: A Visit to the Grandin Printing Shop on E. Main

I’m in the Grandin Printing Shop on E. Main in Palmyra. An affable guide is doing his best to impose some structure on our visit, but I’m not cooperating.
9June 24, 2012
34 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: Charity by Force?

All those in favor of building a new sports stadium, please bring $100 cash and come down this Saturday and Sunday to help pour concrete. . .
5June 10, 2012
Ride to Pride

Today’s Ride to Pride is a slideshow of pictures from last week’s Pride Parade in Salt Lake City, UT in which nearly 300 straight Mormons marched in support of their...
15June 9, 2012
Teaching Sex: On Reframing Negative Assumptions

It’s time to get rid of the “sin next to murder” rhetoric: a closer reading of the text in Alma suggests that Corianton’s real sin is religious hypocrisy, not simply...
7June 7, 2012
Teaching Sex: Two Tables?

He walked forward and thrust in his hand. He pulled it back out to reveal . . . the centerfold from the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue!
17June 4, 2012
Sunday Morning

Today’s guest post was originally published by Marion Jensen on his personal blog: The Open Author. Our gratitude to Marion for letting us share this with our readers and to...
8May 28, 2012
32 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: Wheel of Fortune & Evergreen International, Inc.

Groups like Evergreen International only practice science when it’s convenient. Like my grandma, when presented with contradictory evidence, they simply turn off the TV, insisting that their answer is...
17May 24, 2012
31 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: Straining at Gnats

Aah, yes, the “don’t sweat the small stuff” argument. It’s as familiar as Wonder bread in a sacrament tray.
7May 23, 2012
Guest Post Invitation: It’s SEX Guest-Post Month

If we approach the question of sex from the perspective that it is our responsibility as parents to teach our kids how TO HAVE sex, how does that change things?
48April 6, 2012
26 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: Joanna, Mr. Hancock, and Mormonism Lite

As parents, what do we value more from our four-year-olds? A paint-by-the-numbers portrait identical to what’s on the box, or a free-spirited “look, Mom, this is you and Dad...
47April 4, 2012
Mormon Motherhood: Spiritual Buzzkill

I’ve been thinking lately about how interesting it is that Mormon church leaders place such high priority on getting married and having children. I mean, if you’re a Mormon girl,...
50March 22, 2012
24 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: “We know that. . .”

I pick it up, open it, and read this sentence on page 3: “We know that gender was set in the premortal world.”
20February 1, 2012
Mind the Gap

I recently re-read Carol Lynn Pearson’s amazing No More Goodbyes: Circling the Wagons around Our Gay Loved Ones for the second time because a woman in my very-Mormon book club...
23December 12, 2011
Mormon RUMPspringa: When Mormons Go Worldly

In light of the silly controversy that occurred last week at BYU-Idaho wherein a female student was denied access to the testing center for wearing skinny jeans, we thought it...
2November 20, 2011
Ride to Affirmation Conference in Kirtland, Ohio

Today’s Ride to Church comes to us from Hugo Salinas of Oxford, Ohio, who shared pictures from the annual Affirmation conference in September. Hugo writes: On September 16-18, some 110...
9August 10, 2011
Around the Dinner Table: Do What You Are

[This is kind of cheating because it didn't actually occur around the dinner table. It occurred in our mini-van, but it was dinner table-esque.] We spent 6 hours last...
3July 24, 2011
Trek

Mormons all over the U.S. (and elsewhere, perhaps) gathered yesterday to celebrate Pioneer Day–commemorating the entry of Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake...
3July 24, 2011
A Mormon/Muslim wedding

I loved this article by Elna Baker, author of The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance. It was published in O magazine in July 2011. A Mormon and a...
73February 23, 2011
Heroic Aspirations, Gay Marriage, and the Mormon Church

This guest post is written by Brent D. Beal, whose marriage to Heather Olson Beal is not at all threatened by the idea of same-sex marriage. My name is Brent...
3February 8, 2011
Blood of Eden – Part 1, Metaphor

Madame Curie engages with the Garden of Eden story over on Sapphic Soliloquies, exploring a role-reversal where Adam stands as a mother figure to Eve that came from his side....