Its Complicated – The Grumpy Mormon

Lazy Learning – An Introduction

In the April 2021 general conference, President Russel M. Nelson gave a talk entitled Christ is risen; Faith in Him Will Move Mountains. Most of the talk is an appeal to members to increase faith. He utilizes the keywords common to this subject, such as faith, belief, and doubt. But the cultural implications that these words carry may differ from their usage outside of the Church.

Bigfoot is True

Our local news paper a ran surprising story in July 2020, a hiker found a footprint in the soil of our local mountains and believed it to be made by a Sasquatch. While the outdoorsman is “a believer,” I am not.

The Turtle and The Earth

“Good night, Grandpa,” Jake mumbled to the silhouette at his bedroom door.

“Good night, Jake. See you in the morning,” came the low voice. With a shrug of his shoulder, the man pushed off from the door frame and began to turn.

“Grandpa, do you believe in the Great Turtle?”

Civil Weddings

I performed the civil marriage of my son and you can do the same for your children.

Binding and Blinding

It is not uncommon to hear someone say: “All religions teach good principles.” Our response may be an outwardly, yet reserved, nod. But, internally we may be saying: “Yeah, but they don’t have all the truth like we do.” Or, silently append the platitude with “… but, they won’t be saved.”

Distinguishing Doctrine and Practice

It is my experience, both personal and observed, that we can create our own faith crisis by putting our faith in the wrong things. Some things must be unchanging, true, and good. Other may not be. Our faith is constructed from childhood with simplistic stories, but that which we can understand as a child is often much different than reality.

Faith Crossing – Part Two

In part one I describe a tension between the church and those in faith crisis and post-deconstruction stages. Assuming that we want to retain these people, the question is:

How can the church, as an institution, help people through a faith crisis or reconstruction?

I have a few ideas.

Seems Like Revelation

This is a topic that I have wanted to address for a long time. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we often speak of inspiration, revelation, or feeling. Of these, “revelation” carries the most weight. But, there are often unintended consequences.

Weeping Souls

As a child I remember listening to a particular sermon about the evils of depression, a tool of Satan, evil ingratitude. I don’t know why it struck me so strongly, maybe because I recognized a dark sadness within myself that convicted me.

Velvet Elvis

There is deep wisdom among thought leaders from other Christian traditions that can be beneficial to us. Not so much because it is different, but because it is the same.