I Walk Imperfectly
To My Bishop, About My Son's Baptism
Sun 15 April 2018 |
Dear Bishop,
I don't know if you're aware, but my son will be turning eight in a couple months. I've spent a great deal of time over the past couple years pondering whether I wanted him to be baptized in the church. I would like to get your perspective. To …
Trust
Sat 11 February 2017 |
I'm a little embarrassed to write this, because I usually hate extended metaphors. I tend to skip right over them when reading others' writing. I'm hoping that you'll forgive my hypocrisy in making my own extended metaphor below.
Imagine there's a husband and wife, and the wife has started to …
Honest, Thoughtful Sunday School
Tue 13 December 2016 |
About four years ago, I was sitting in a Sunday School lesson on the topic of apostasy. This was a couple years before I had done my deep dive into church history and started being Mormon on my own terms, but also a few years after I had read about …
I'm Not Over the History
Wed 29 June 2016 |
I attended a recent Mormon Stories Live event where Gina Colvin, Thomas McConkie, and Dan Wotherspoon discussed how they stay positively engaged in the LDS church despite its shortcomings.
One point emphasized by both Gina and Thomas was that they're not really bothered by the problems in the church's history …
Transcendence and Immanence
Sun 17 April 2016 |
I learned a new word recently. "Immanence".
There were a large number of times, when I was a child and adolescent, when I felt intense spiritual feelings, often as answers to prayer. Those declined in my 20s.
I know the church would say that's my fault and I just need …
Priesthood and Womanhood
Sun 21 February 2016 |
Today I attended services at the Community of Christ. There were lots of little things I noticed, and a couple bigger things I've been thinking about since.
The Little Things
- The hymnal is enormous. I think there were 800+ hymns in it.
- They had a screen and projector up off …
Visiting the Unitarians
Mon 25 January 2016 |
Today I attended a Unitarian Univeralist (UU) church service.
I was the only person there wearing a tie, and I could feel my clothes projecting my Mormon-ness. I was eventually OK with that. I'm still Mormon. I struggled not to judge some attendees as looking sloppy or scruffy. I was …
A Day of Two Churches
Sun 10 January 2016 |
Today I went to church twice. The experiences were wildly different on the surface, but oddly similar deeper down.
The first can only be called a church with tongue firmly in cheek. It was the St. Judas the Traitor First Ward, which is a weekly ex-mormon meetup. It's held in …
Forgiving the Church
Thu 07 January 2016 |
When thinking about the way that the church has dealt with its history, I tend to invoke the language of the gospel. "The church has been dishonest", I have said many times to myself, "and needs to repent of its dishonesty." I strongly believe this.
Yet despite framing the church's …
Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear
Mon 28 December 2015 |
I was sitting in Sunday School class several weeks ago and heard the teacher say "policies may change, but doctrine never changes". The teacher was kind of a know-it-all. I heard his comment, and I wanted to correct him, but I didn't. I couldn't think of a way to raise …
Inoculation
Thu 24 December 2015 |
In recent years the church has quietly introduced a policy of "inoculating" seminary and institute students against their faith being challenged by learning troublesome facts about church history. I first heard of this when my father-in-law, who formerly trained seminary teachers, ran into one of his former students when we …
The Gospel of Jonathan Haidt
Sat 05 December 2015 |
I first heard about Jonathan Haidt through his TED talk on The moral roots of liberals and conservatives. This would have been in the first couple years after I graduated law school. California's Prop 8 was a big deal at the time. I was torn on that issue. On one …
I Am Thankful
Thu 26 November 2015 |
I don't express gratitude often enough. Today provides a good reminder to do better.
I am thankful to live in a time and place where the health and safety of my family is not often in danger. We have no plagues, no famines, and no wars driving us from our …
Someday
Sun 22 November 2015 |
A common, faithful response to a lot of difficult LDS church questions is to say "There are a lot of things that we do not currently understand. But someday we will."
I can see how this is helpful for people who have become aware of the serious problems with church …