So many stepping away from families, marriages, and faith attest to poignant emotional validation for their life-changing decisions. What exactly is this emotion they are feeling?
In a world jam-packed with intellectual sophistry often toxic to genuine faith, the value of clear thinking about difficult questions is immense and even eternal.
In addition to the clear violations against chastity, David’s behavior towards Uriah and Bathsheba reflects an ancient warning against the very exploitation of the powerless we continue to see around us today.
When someone speaks openly against core doctrine in our faith community, concerns that arise in response are often portrayed as being “contentious,” in a way that silences those who object.
With great precision, a surgeon can miraculously repair a part of our body that is throbbing in pain. Could the same thing sometimes be needed for aching stories we carry around that simply aren’t true?
Some have accused American faith communities of rising in opposition to abortion only in recent decades—and largely as a political ploy. No one can honestly make that claim about Latter-day Saints.
It is important to understand the lived experience of our faith, including the reasons why people step away. But real understanding of these experiences is not possible unless we account for the variable of conversion.
God offered the children of Israel a direct encounter. That was too much. They wanted something safer. Do we sometimes do the same?
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.
Children deserve to learn true doctrine enthusiastically and often, both at home and at church. We fail them if we’re ashamed or hesitant.
The reality of a Heavenly Mother is glorious. Our personal and casual use of her name is not.
When authoritative answers aren’t readily available, do we have the capacity to imagine possibilities and beautiful storylines beyond mere logic and reason?
