Jacob Hess served on the board of the National Coalition of Dialogue and Deliberation and co-authored "You're Not as Crazy as I Thought, But You're Still Wrong" and “The Power of Stillness: Mindful Living for Latter-day Saints.” He has a Ph.D. in clinical-community psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign - and has focused his research on the implications of competing health and sociopolitical narratives.
Growing and making changes can bring joy to life—as does finding deeper relationships. Can all this decrease emotional suffering too? What could it mean for our mental health if this became more central to our healing efforts?
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The FDA approved antidepressants as helpful short-term support based on studies spanning a few months. In making longer-term decisions, it’s crucial to pay more attention to what we know from longer-term research studies.
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Remarkable scientific advances now confirm greater hope for deeper healing among those grappling with depression and anxiety. But this can feel unsettling and even threatening to some.
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What does it mean when we’re deeply uncomfortable with what someone else has said? Has a great wrong been done? Christian teaching highlights another (uncomfortable) possibility.
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Latter-day Saints aren’t the only ones reenacting transcendent stories through symbolic, experiential pedagogy. But we may be unique in relishing these stories as God’s exalting truth.
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For all those keeping social media at arm’s length, maybe today’s a chance to take a second look? The online public square needs you!
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Believers in Jesus know exactly what to do when we’ve been hurt by our own (sinful) actions— thanks to the practice of repentance. But when we are hurt by someone else’s actions, the pathway forward is far less clear.
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“It must not have been right” we say, after another relationship full of eternal possibilities falls apart (or never starts to begin with). But could we be missing something else going on?
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In the increasingly dystopian landscape around us, raining down fire on someone for misspeaking or advocating an unpopular view is held up as faux righteousness. Let’s not pretend this is anything other than the danger that it is.
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It’s understandable why we take for granted that our national conversations about all sorts of things are orienting us towards the truth of the matter. But what if they’re not?
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Our response to recent media coverage of Jeff Green’s departure from The Church of Jesus Christ
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A conversation with Francis Chan—the extended version of an interview that appeared in Deseret News Magazine.
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Does religious commitment by a scientist or university corrupt the neutral scientific process? Only if you’ve come to believe a popular myth about science itself.
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A tribute to a friend, teacher, and mentor to many young dialogue practitioners—including myself. Dave passed away October 25, 2021, and was memorialized this last weekend in Rhode Island.
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Some still like to claim that Utah has a uniquely high rate of porn use in the nation—purportedly related to cultural norms that “suppress” and “shame” sexual expression. This popular story only survives out of widespread ignorance over the science of pornography itself.
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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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