Category Archives: Mormon Culture

LDS Missionaries Annoy Aussies

A newspaper story from Australia came across my desk this week. It seems that some students and staff at Melbourne’s Deakin University are being annoyed by LDS missionaries: MORMON missionaries are “creepily” spruiking for new members in an underpass near … Continue reading

Posted in Mormon Culture | 24 Comments

LDS Faith-Promoting Pearl Harbor Story

About a year ago I heard the story for the first time. An LDS friend who was seriously questioning her chosen religion told me the story, punctuated by her confusion. If the LDS Church wasn’t of God (the conclusion she’d … Continue reading

Posted in Mormon Culture, Truth, Honesty, Prayer, and Inquiry | Tagged , | 35 Comments

Mormons’ Divided Sense of Self

According to Boyd J. Peterson, author of Hugh Nibley: A Consecrated Life, many Mormons suffer from a divided sense of self. Mormon Times reported, “…members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints live with contradictory public images. “‘They … Continue reading

Posted in Mormon Culture, Uncategorized | 94 Comments

Convert Zeal

Last week the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life published the findings of an analysis of religious converts. The “Zeal of the Convert”: Is It the Real Deal? reports: “A common perception about individuals who switch religions is that … Continue reading

Posted in Mormon Culture | 55 Comments

In the Shadow of the Temple

On October 10th (2009) a new documentary will debut at the Exmormon Foundation Conference in Salt Lake City. In the Shadow of the Temple by Pepita Productions promises to provide 55 minutes of interesting and insightful glimpses into the lives … Continue reading

Posted in Mormon Culture, Personal Stories, Truth, Honesty, Prayer, and Inquiry | Tagged , , | 118 Comments

A Song for Joseph

In August 1844, still reeling over the deaths of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, the LDS newspaper in Nauvoo, Illinois published a new Mormon hymn. William W. Phelps wrote the words of this song about Joseph Smith and set it to … Continue reading

Posted in Joseph Smith, Mormon Culture | Tagged , | 57 Comments

Apostate Apostles?

On April 6th (2009) LDS-owned Brigham Young University’s student newspaper, The Daily Universe, ran a photo with an unfortunate caption. Pictured were some members of the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. They were identified in the newspaper as “The … Continue reading

Posted in Brigham Young, Early Mormonism, Mormon Culture | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

No Love Lost Between Mormons and HBO’s “Big Love”

Have you heard about the next episode of HBO’s Big Love, set to air on Sunday (March 15, 2009)? It’s being widely reported that the television show will be depicting the LDS temple endowment ceremony as one of the main … Continue reading

Posted in Mormon Culture | Tagged , , | 133 Comments

Mormons and Evangelicals in the Public Square

Columnist Joel Campbell at Mormon Times encourages Mormons to turn the other cheek when they are offended. Citing Tom Hanks’ statement that the LDS support of Prop 8 was “un-American” and Focus on the Family’s decision to pull an online … Continue reading

Posted in Civil Liberties, Mormon Culture | Tagged , | 42 Comments

Focus on the Family and Glenn Beck

The tempest in a teapot seems to have settled down. But for a week or so at the end of December (2008) the media went a bit wild with the Focus on the Family/Glenn Beck story. If you were distracted … Continue reading

Posted in Mormon Culture | Tagged | 19 Comments