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The Darkest Abyss in America

Thy mind, O man! if thou wilt lead a soul unto salvation, must stretch as high as the utmost heavens, and search into and contemplate the darkest abyss, and the broad expanse of eternity—thou must…

The Intimacy of Fatherhood

I—along with many men of my generation—was brought up believing that men and women are equally equipped to be parents. Many men like me feel a deep desire to be hands-on fathers who claim responsibility for many of the tasks that previous generations assigned principally to mothers; to not perform these duties for us is unacceptable. Despite these personal convictions, I have continually found it a challenge to achieve a fair and equal share of parenting duties; however, it is a goal that I remain committed to attaining. I am not alone in my desire or in the obstacles I face. I feel that a tremendous potential opportunity awaits today’s fathers through seeking and achieving intimacy with our children. 

Reassessing Joseph Smith Jr.’s Formal Education

How much formal schooling did Joseph Smith obtain in his youth and early adulthood? Such a question might appear innocuous, but it is fraught with implications that extend beyond a simple historical account of his educational opportunities. The amount of Smith’s formal education, or rather the various assumptions surrounding his presumed lack of it, has been enlisted by followers and detractors alike in order to frame Smith’s life within the narratives of divinely-inspired prophet or deceptive fraud, perhaps most acutely in the context of attacking or defending the origin and authenticity of the Book of Mormon.As Dennis Wright and Geoffrey Wright observe, “Ironically, both perspectives use the Prophet’s lack of formal education to strengthen their respective views.”Any attempt to isolate the amount of time Joseph may have actually spent in classrooms thus presents a challenge with deeper implications. 

Le Train à Grande Vitesse

. . . we are passengers on the train of the Church . . . the luxury of getting on and off the train as we please is fading. The speed of the train is…

Old Words, New Work: Reclamation and Remembrance | John Russell, The Mormoness; Or, the Trials of Mary Maverick: A Narrative of Real Events; Alfreda Eva Bell, Boadicea; the Mormon Wife: Life-Scenes in Utah; and Nephi Anderson, Dorian: A Peculiar Edition with Annotated Text & Scholarship

The continual rising interest in all things Mormon, whether they be historical, cultural, social, doctrinal, or even theological, has led to a number of interesting publication projects. The texts gathered in this review represent a…

Baring Imperfect Human Truths | Holly Welker, ed., Baring Witness: 36 Mormon Women Talk Candidly about Love, Sex, and Marriage

We all know the Sunday School answers, but life rarely, if ever, plays out like a seminary video. So what do love, sex, and marriage look like in the lived experience of Mormon women? 

Journalist, poet, and “spinster who thinks and writes a great deal about marriage” (1) Holly Welker has compiled a collection of essays that unapologetically reveals the intersection of Mormon theology, culture, individuality, and relational living in her latest book, Baring Witness: 36 Mormon Women Talk Candidly about Love, Sex, and Marriage.

Mormon Women and the Anatomy of Belonging

Dialogue 50.1 (Spring 2017): 193–200
In looking at the definition of Mormon womanhood, it seems to me that the boundaries of that community have shifted over the past almost two hundred years from being initially proscribed by the institution, in the early days of the Nauvoo Relief Society, to essentially being defined by the Mormon women themselves in today’s modern global Church.