Jacob Hess served on the board of the National Coalition of Dialogue and Deliberation and is Executive Director of the Council for Sustainable Healing. He has a Ph.D. in clinical-community psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on the implications of competing health and sociopolitical narratives.
In advance of the likely approval and administration of COVID-19 vaccination to many younger children, it’s worth revisiting an important question in pharmacological research generally: How long does evidence gathering need to extend in order to deem an intervention “safe” or “effective”?
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For those who have never had any serious reservations with conventional medicine or the prevailing public health pandemic response, prophetic encouragement to get vaccinated for COVID-19 seems obvious, non-controversial—even a no-brainer. But for those who have honest questions about our mainstream approaches to preserving healing and protecting against disease, following this counsel can feel terrifying—and go against everything they believe.
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You’ve probably only ever heard one answer for why so many LGBT+ identifying brothers and sisters are walking away. But the full truth is rarely so popular—or so simple.
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Some who step away from the Church of Jesus Christ insist they’ve been lied to in a grand deception they’re only now recognizing. To all my wonderful brothers and sisters this committed to integrity and the whole truth, I would ask you to hear me out. Can you be open to seeing even more than you’ve seen before?
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Those who indict prior generations for “lying” because their histories differ from modern-day telling’s in scope or emphasis, plainly demonstrate what anthropologists call “ethnocentrism.” That’s a problem. And it’s time to hold these accusers more accountable for the real-life, human impact of their allegations.
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It’s not just folks on the political left who we’d love to go deeper in exploring meaningful questions. These are some of our questions for brothers and sisters on the political right as well.
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An open letter to Pro-CRT Latter-day Saints at BYU and beyond—inviting a good-faith dialogue that honestly engages some of our meaningful disagreements.
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Behind our beliefs, there looms the figure of Authority. Can we effectively evaluate the truth of a claim without dealing with what authority we trust?
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Gary Wilson provided research clarity to the ill effects of pornography on the brain, for this he was harassed and hounded in life. His death gives us an opportunity to praise his work.
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It’s understandable that many would have questions and concerns with the percentage of people declining the COVID-19 vaccine. But rather than make space for a human exchange about serious fears on both sides, incendiary rhetoric makes such conversation impossible, by insisting the only reason for dissent is selfishness or blatant ignorance.
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When someone is harming others’ faith, is it “spiritual violence” to excommunicate them? Or not to?
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Honest conversation about vaccination might be more challenging than any other issue. Why? And is it even worth trying?
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Those who wrestle are not a separate category of humans. That describes all of us. If so, the key question is not whether we are “willing to wrestle,” but rather, where that wrestle ultimately takes each of us.
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Even after the killer in Atlanta’s heinous shooting recently spoke of his sexual addiction as a contributing influence. Some have taken this as an opportunity to minimize and even ridicule the idea of such a problem. The millions of men and women grappling with the same deserve better.
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How discussions are pre-loaded for failure.
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Conservatives are feeling singled out and targeted on social media. But the history of bans across major platforms confirms a more complicated picture.
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While most Americans love to talk about the high value of “pluralism” and “free speech” when push comes to shove they usually have a red line—an issue on which it’s NOT okay to disagree openly. At least not publicly. What’s yours?
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With public health messaging now emphasizing how remarkably effective COVID-19 vaccines are, it’s reasonable to ask what exactly that means? Based on the published studies of the leading three vaccine candidates, I dove in to better understand that for myself.
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This is the sixth in a series by Arthur Peña, Charles Randall Paul, and Jacob Hess called “Inevitable Influencers: Why (deep down) we all want—and need—to persuade each other of what we see as good, beautiful, and true.” Previous pieces include “Why Persuasion Should be a Sweet (Not a Dirty) Word”; “The Threat of Persuasion,” and “My Truth? Your Truth? No Truth?”; “The Virtues of Strong Disagreement,” and “Our Judgment Against Judgment.”
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Much has been written in recent years about what “Latter-day Saints believe” about LGBT issues – only a fraction of which accurately represents our true convictions. Tragically, even today, many are only familiar with these widespread distortions.
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