Dad was a master salesman who could talk anyone into anything, and life on the road with him was the wildest adventure any kid could possibly imagine. Unfortunately, since he was often unreliable and occasionally violent, it wasn’t always the good kind of adventure — but it was a great escape from a home run ...
When John got his mission call to Bolivia, it was like a joke come true. Before the letter came, he and his friends had a running gag that he’d be sent there — because it’s the cliché worst-possible foreign mission (see here for a coincidental example). Then he really got sent there. And, as a ...
I also learned that the great stories of the world have second acts. This may seem like a silly thing to say, but so many stories set up the problem (the job of the first act) and then resolve it (the job of the third act) with little to no struggle in between. I’m here ...
A lot of people — upon leaving the CoJCoL-dS — are amazed to discover how fascinating LDS church history really is. It’s not just that the whitewashed history in Sunday School is incomplete and inaccurate. It’s that you’re force-fed this watery-porridge version of church history that inoculates many people from even wanting to study more ...
Have you ever wondered what spirit prison would be like? Mormons believe that when people die, their spirits go to either “spirit paradise” or “spirit prison” to await Judgment Day. They also believe that missionaries from spirit prison can teach the gospel to spirits in spirit prison (who can be baptized for dead — perhaps ...
An LDS mission strange and fascinating experience. Up until recently, though, it’s been tricky for people to get an idea of what a Mormon mission is really like without serving one. Part of the problem is that Mormon journals are supposed to be faith-promoting, in order to potentially serve as scriptures, like Nephi’s. “Get a ...
Salt Lake City – In December 1892, the 33-year-old Mormon apostle Abraham H. Cannon recorded in his diary: “At my Quorum meeting on Thursday the brethren were told that our success in the Church [law]suits was in a great measure due to the fact that we have a partner of Justice [Stephen J.] Field of ...
Hi Everyone. DJ Williams, a somewhat infrequent commenter on MSP, recently published a book that, while not primarily about Mormonism, addresses it as it relates to BDSM. I recently read and reviewed the book and DJ has agreed to respond to comments on MSP. Here’s the review: Even though the book doesn’t actually do this ...
We had a long discussion recently about an author’s personal background here. The discussion centered around whether or not an author’s personal background was fair game. Particularly if an author’s background appears to relate to their work (or illuminate parts of their work). Views: 868 ...
I’ve just written a review (here) of Steven H. Lee’s compelling memoir Falling into Life. One thing I didn’t mention in the review — but one of the most fascinating aspects of it — is that it represents perhaps the most complete two-sided portrait of an LDS mixed-orientation-marriage that exists. It turns out that Steven’s ...
LDS anthropologist Daymon Smith has done some fascinating research on the history of correlation in the CoJCoL-dS and has written an entertaining and informative book about working at the Church Office Building (which I reviewed here). He’s also been kind enough to do an interview for us here at MSP. chanson: In your interviews and ...
“Antelopes and giraffes have a few things in common, right? Four legs, both mammals. We consider them fundamentally different creatures. Now let’s say a third animal comes running alongside them. One that resembles an antelope, but it also has a number of qualities that a giraffe has. Maybe it has long legs or maybe it ...
My book club recently read Under the Banner of Heaven by John Krakauer. Despite my interest in all things mormon, I did not recommend this book to my group. I had read it before, and found it frightening. The Lafferty murders were especially heinous (to my mind) and disturbing on many levels. Other book club ...
I can’t say enough good about this book, it has transformed my life! For too many years, I believed that living (the LDS presentation of) Christ’s gospel was ‘all I needed to do’ to have a happy, productive life, contributing to others, etc. Well…. This book is heavy on both concepts & practical skills, with ...
Okay, I know this isn’t a serious study, but I thought it was kind of funny. A student at Cal Tech decided to plot the ten most popular books at a given University (according to Facebook) on a graph with the University’s average SAT/ACT score. The study is here. (Hat tip to Friendly Atheist.) Go ...