Did anyone else catch this write up in the SL Tribune about Daniel Peterson giving Brian David Mitchell props for his “impressive production”? Yes, this is the Brian David Mitchell who abducted Elizabeth Smart and forced her to become his second wife and consummate the marriage. Yes, this is the Brian David Mitchell who walked ...
After last week‘s quiet contemplation of thy neighbor, this week Outer Blogness has been itchin’ to pick a fight! The Gay Dot says it all, in Wanna fight?! And if that’s not enough to get tempers flaring, it looks like Klaus Baer called Hugh Nibley a “crackpot”! Here’s a little of what set us on ...
Religion has a lot different facets that different people find appealing: identity/community transcendence/awe/altered states of consciousness rituals tradition/culture purpose/guidance belief in the supernatural And surely many others. It’s my impression that people tend to focus on a few of their favorites among these components and ignore the rest. It’s just as true of the devout ...
The re-imagined Battlestar series ended last year, and the DVD came out this past summer. But I was thinking of it the other day when someone mentioned the lost ten tribes of Israel. How did I get from Battlestar Galatica (BSG) to the lost ten tribes? Views: 1693 ...
It seems that Outer Blogness this week has spent quite a lot of time contemplating religious people to figure out what makes them tick! USU Shaft analyzes the latest stats on both happiness and depresssion in bipolar disorder, thy name is Utah. Bull has been reading Krakauer (like many of you!) so check out his ...
Really enjoyed these latest chapters. As an atheist with LDS friends, it’s a fascinating (and a little scary) look into the Mormon mission world. I’m also impressed with your ability to empathize with and accurately characterize a teenage male’s sexual drive! I went back and read the whole thing together in one sitting. I like ...
It all started when I read this story from the bizarre-yet-eerily-familiar parallel universe of growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness. Then HH had a nostalgic-weird-coincidence moment. Is it something in the air? Or is it “Talk Thursday” that has folks reminiscing about life-altering memories? And about finding your personal history’s place in history? And in ...
It’s an open secret that Salt Lake City, the seat of Mormondom, is such a (comparatively) liberal city (see Craig’s old post). Though Holly reported (earlier this year) that word is starting to get out, but slowly. That’s why — when I found this cheese at my local snooty French cheese shop — the label ...
Recently, I got a chance to experience the missionary/salesperson perspective first hand. I was asking various people to sign a petition. For privacy reasons, I’m not going to say what the petition was for, except that it may or may not be related to my work. You might question how this relates to Mormonism. Well, ...
Video from the public hearing, featuring Michael Otterson, Eric Ethington (local blogger/activist and genuinely nice guy), Deeda Seed, and Jonas from the all-Brazilian America Forever bigot brigade: Text of LDS statement after the break. Views: 910 ...
Feeling the light breeze on my face, I looked out at the water. The edges of the moving water between the feet of the bridge curled into little whirlpools here and there. I tried to drag up all the rusty memories of my former life in Orem, back when everything was so much simpler. I ...
Via Gen. J. C. Christian comes the plight of the right-wing parent: “I can’t even sit my kids in front of ‘Sesame Street’ without having to worry about the Left attempting to undermine my authority.” While Sesame Street makes a joke about “Pox News,” Jon Stewart does a full parody of Glenn Beck’s routine, and ...
In case you haven’t seen it, PBS’s Religion and Ethics Newsweekly (a show I regularly watch because I’m geeky like that) is running a story on the Mormon-owned, $1.5 billion+ new retail center in SLC – City Creek Center. This exchange between Lucky Severson and a UofU professor from the transcript pretty much sums up ...
The Women’s Research Institute of BYU (also known as the WRI) is being eliminated effective Jan., 2010. As is the usual fashion when the Church wants to announce something potentially controversial, the “press release” announcing this change was buried as an archive on BYU’s website. Most in the Bloggernacle only found out this information from ...
This is too hilarious!!! Have a look at Nailed ‘Em – Mormon Church Trespassing from Colbert Nation. (Via Sterkworks) Views: 957 ...