When I first heard Elder Uchtdorf’s Saturday morning talk during the October 2015 General Conference, I had high hopes it signaled a movement toward a kinder, gentler LDS Church. I hoped that some combination of pressures from public critical voices, the mass exodus of fleeing member, and Uchtdorf’s sincerely held Christlike outlook on the Mormon …
How can an atheist have a spiritual experience? It happens to me all the time, and it happens more often when I am true to myself and my sense of reality. First, let me be very clear. I am speaking only of my own journey, my own psychological and spiritual path, my own beliefs. I …
Many people requested copies of the slides after my presentation at Sunstone Symposium last week, entitled The Cogs of Dissonance and Consonance: The Levers of Control in LDS Doctrine. Click for the full slide deck. Audio of the talk is currently available for free at Sunstone’s website. Or you can purchase a hardcopy.
Within eight years or less, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will allow civil same-sex marriage to members. Another five years after that, the Church will allow same-sex temple marriage. I’ve been making this prediction for a couple of years now. With Friday’s SCOTUS ruling, it’s time for me to go on record. Seven …
The article I wrote ten years ago, based on Steven Hassan’s BITE Model of cult control, is now an ebook! I updated it and added more content and it is now available on Kindle for your reading convenience. The original is still available for free right here on this website. If you’d like the new, …
Many of the highly-promoted interpretations of LDS doctrines are divisive, shame-inducing, and thought-stopping in nature, as I’ve described in my book, Recovering Agency. But what if there is a more loving, inclusive, mind-freeing, self-actualizing way to interpret some of those same doctrines that increases free agency rather than restricts it? Wouldn’t such an interpretation be …
Last Sunday, I went back to Church for the first time in fifteen years. Yes, to Mormon church. I’ve been talking about doing this for awhile now, ever since the North Seattle Stake sent a letter inviting LGBT members back to a supposedly open and affirming atmosphere. I didn’t leave the Church because I am …
During the most recent LDS General Conference, Apostle David A. Bednar delivered a talk that promised to “hush” members’ fear. But in a highly manipulative series of twists and turns, he instead amps up fear, channels it down routes that benefit the Church, reframes the source of fear, and then in an exciting backflip into …
Pearson is a relative newbie who wasn’t a General Authority when I was still a member. He is charismatic, animated, and funny. While I liked his delivery style, the core of his message centered on thought reform. This message is, “Keep on believing no matter what.” Don’t let any trials, doubts, and questions steer you …
April 2015 LDS General Conference seemed to have one major theme: Apostasy. The majority of talks were about bolstering personal faith in the face of doubt and dealing with wayward loved ones. This session seemed as reactionary as last fall’s. Then, in the context of legalized marriage equality, leadership emphasized family values. This conference, in …
