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Our First Three Years

Happy Birthday, Public Square! Here’s a little present to celebrate.

At a symposium on Religious Liberty and the Law held in Los Angeles in November, 2017, Elder Quentin L. Cook, a member of The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,  spoke of the urgent need for more positive voices in American discourse today. He then explained how adding a new perspective to the conversation “creates a pause in the discourse and allows people to evaluate where they stand on a particular matter.” By contrast, “Silence allows the rhythm of negativity to continue uninterrupted and unchallenged.” 

Three years ago this month, we highlighted this inspired insight as central to our motivation in launching a new magazine—one that would be welcoming to voices of committed faith speaking on all important matters in our world today … including difficult ones. We wrote at the time: 

The body of believers must now more than ever put pen to paper; click conviction into every keystroke; stand athwart history, and belt “come, come, ye saints” until, in fact, all is well.

Three years later, none of us can say “all is well”—but we’ve done what we can to raise our voices to reach for that beautiful peace to soon come. Thanks to 204 wonderful people who wrote 876 articles across a variety of important topics, we’ve been able to reach millions of people together. We’ve had a lot of fun and learned so much. But it’s been hard to keep up—even for us.  

So, as our birthday present today, we include an index of every article we’ve published to date. Our special thanks go to the authors themselves, who have trusted us to share their thoughts and work. We hope you’ll enjoy this reference list!

 

FAITH

The Father & Son

Approaching God in a Self-Absorbed Way

Searching for God (Instead of Ideas about Him)

Creating Jesus in Our Image

Worshipping God by Making

 

Faith

America Needs Religion to Survive and Thrive

The Inner Logic of Religion(s)

Why Faith Matters for the Long Game

Certainty is a Counterfeit Salvation

How Presumptuous Certainty Stokes Radicalization

Heresies that Happen to be True

The Importance of Prophetic Fallibility

The Ambiguity / Authority Tradeoff in Scripture

Why Mystery Is So Important to Our Faith Journey

The Seductive Deception of “Informed Consent”

 

Belonging in a Covenant People

God’s Staggering Faithfulness to Us

Imperfect Families and Covenantal Relationships

The Challenge of Chosenness

The Democratization of the Saints

Those Ultimate Christian Fighting Words 

Can Fasting Save the World?

Thou Shalt Not Whine

Belonging at the BYU’s: Advice to a College Freshman

Belonging at Church

You Are Safe in My Classroom: Truth, Belonging, and Pride Flags

Belonging and Believing in Conservative and Liberal Religion

 

Temples

What is an Oath?

Live Action Role Playing and Sacred Symbolic Pedagogy

Why I Wear the Temple Garment

What Temple Square Teaches About Change

 

Ancient Prophets & the Bible

Remembering the Bible

An Ode to the Old Testament

Latter-day Saints Need the Old Testament

Trauma in The Family of Abraham

Abraham and the Stranger at Sodom and Gomorrah

Imperfect Families and Covenantal Relationships

David’s Other Sin with Bathsheba

Embracing the Risk of Divine Encounter

Seeing Old and New Things in Isaiah

Trusting God to See Our Whole Heart

How the Restoration Can Inform Biblical Scholarship

The Philosophical Basis of Biblical Marriage

Taking Nephi Seriously

 

The Modern Prophetic Voice

Prophets on Politics: Ten Messages to an Agitated, Aggrieved America

Prophets on Pandemic: Ten Messages to a Weary, Wary World

What’s the Point of a Prophet Who Already Agrees With You?

Treasuring All That God Has Revealed

It’s Not Loving to Mislead People About Reality

The Consistency of Prophetic Abortion Teaching

The Importance of Prophetic Fallibility

The Fortified Church and Prophetic Foundations

The Deceptively Boring Adamant Notecard

The Word Which Heals The Wounded Soul

The Conference Themes That Press on Our Mind

Prophetic Priorities and Personal Impressions

My General Conference Odyssey

Come Listen to a Prophet’s Voice

The Wisdom of the Aged

Anger and the Modern Prophetic Voice

Prophets Can’t Win

 

The Name of the Church

Mormon Isn’t Our Name. Why Are Some Still Using It?

Asking to Not Say “Mormon” is as American as Pilgrims

To Call Us By Our Name (A Reasonable Request In the Age of Authenticity)

A More Undistracted Path To Christ

 

Boundaries of the Restored Gospel

Latter-day Saint Radical Orthodoxy: A Manifesto

What Led Me to Radical Orthodoxy

Radical Orthodoxy in Simple Terms

-Ites, Radical Orthodoxy, and Balkanization

A Response to Radical Orthodoxy Criticisms

Elusive Reasoning Among Expansive Latter-day Saints

A Restoration of ALL Things?

New Insights on Gospel Restoration: Thoughts on Mason & Givens’ Texts

The Natural Man Is an Enemy to God

“The Justice of God in the Punishment of the Sinner”

The Natural Mind Is an Enemy to God

Redeeming the Natural Mind

The Urgent Need to Console the Wounded

The Fortified Church and Prophetic Foundations

Fortresses Aren’t Forever

Why Aren’t We There Yet as a Society? A Latter-day Saint Case for Hope

Rules vs. Principles: Which Should We Benchmark Our Lives Against?

Excommunication as a Protection Against Spiritual Violence

 

Working Through Challenges to Faith

Researching Disaffection: The Neglected Variable of Conversion

The Case for Spiritual Imagination

Struggle Doesn’t Make You Special

The Strength of Moral Tension

Seeking Flexible and Vital Faith? Listen to Lehi

Certainty is a Counterfeit Salvation

How Presumptuous Certainty Stokes Radicalization

Heresies that Happen to be True

The Importance of Prophetic Fallibility

The Ambiguity / Authority Tradeoff in Scripture

Will My Kids Keep the Faith? Parents’ Hopes and Children’s Choices

Responsible Reform: Elder Cook’s Caution About “Persistent Bouts of Christianity.”

How to Speak the ‘Whole Language’ of Jesus

Why A Belief Crisis Need Never Be Fatal To Faith

Are You Feeling Peace or Just Relief?

 

Attacks on Faith

It’s Time to Stop Calling Your Grandpa a Liar

Have You Heard the Biggest Church Lie? 

Discerning the Impact of Influencers

Saying Goodbye to Faith-Toxic Influencers

Excommunication as a Protection Against Spiritual Violence

A Publicity Stunt Lawsuit

A Whirlwind History of Frivolous Lawsuits Against Latter-day Saints

The $100 Billion ‘Mormon Church’ story: A Contextual Analysis

Turning Something Very Good Into Something Very Bad

‘Tis the Season to Spread Enmity?

You Can’t Spend Your Way Out of Poverty

Pitting Christian Ministry and Devotion Against Each Other

The Fraud Mark Hofmann Still Perpetuates

Ten Ways “Under the Banner of Heaven” Defames the Church of Jesus Christ

Under the Banner of Old Tropes

Turning the Other Cheek Still Hurts

Is Personal Experience the Final Arbiter of Truth?

A Few Questions Before You Try to Change the Church

 

Eradicating Child Exploitation

Only a Few Fans at the Super Bowl? That’s No Problem for Sex Traffickers.

Should a Church Pay Damages For Reporting Abuse to the Police?

The Church of Jesus Christ and the BSA Bankruptcy Case

Better Protecting Children of All Faiths

Are Publicized Abuse Cases Exceptional or Representative of Our Faith?

Abuse is Something We Should Be Able to Fight Together

Associated Press, Make the Documents Public

Ten Ways the AP Abuse Article Misrepresented the Evidence

Mandatory Reporting Isn’t the Solution

Breaking the Seal of Confession

Some Thoughts on Helping Vulnerable Children

One Overlooked Reason Sexual Abuse Continues

 

Interfaith Friendship

10 Lessons on the Beauty of Interfaith Harmony

A Look at Pastoral Burnout

Strengths In Diverse American Families of Faith

Strong Black Families: God, Relationships, and Deep Faith

Muslim Families: A Closer Look at Answering to Allah

Catholic and Orthodox Christian Families: Confession and Forgiveness

Jewish Families: How Teachings and Traditions Strengthen Marriage and Family Life

Evangelical Christian Families: “God Wants Us … To Be Strong”

Mainline Protestant Families: Loving God and Family Members

Latter-day Saint Families: Eternal Perspectives

Living a New Faith in a New Land

Learning to Be a Good “Latter-day Saint Boy” from Friends of Other Faiths

“Thank You, I’d Be Honored”: Worshipping with Friends of Other Faiths

Attending Religious Services of Other Faiths

Sacred Experiences with Jewish Friends

What is Holy Envy, and Can it Heal Our World?

Celebrating the Overwhelming, Relentless Love of God

 

Holidays

Let’s Forgive 2020

Starting Fresh

The Miracle of Hope in 2020

It’s Time for a Holiday Realignment

The Life Arising From Death

Stay a While by the Cross this Easter

Easter is Reality

The Hope Resurrection Provides Here and Now

For This Cause, Have I Been Lifted Up

Juneteenth and the Liberal Tradition

Honoring The Courage of Veterans

A Halloween Vision of the Dead

Fostering Peaceful Holiday Gatherings in a Time of Fear and Anger

Honor the Pilgrims by Cultivating Tolerance

Why Gratitude is Absolutely the Right Choice Right Now

The Grinch Who (Almost) Stole Thanksgiving

Now is the Time for Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men

Social Justice and Christmas

Linus, we need you

Christmas Joy & Mourning

Anguishing at America’s Future? Let Christmas Console You

‘Tis The Season: Good Will to Men

‘Tis the Season to Spread Enmity?

Agape Love for Christmas

Jesus All Around Us

How Islam Is Bringing Me Clarity This Christmas

The Everlasting Noel

Christmas Renovation

Did You Witness the First Christmas?

Trying to Christmas Like Jesus

Wanting Jesus

Joy As Though He Had Already Come

 

Climate & End Times

Is the World Going to Burn Up?

Tales of the Texas Blackout

Apocalyptic, and Not Ashamed to Say It

The Mark of the Beast is More Than a Punchline

Joy As Though He Had Already Come

Dialogue on Life and Death Matters

Zero Population Growth Isn’t the Answer, My Friend

Prepared, Not Scared

The Whole Earth Shall Be in Commotion

 

Tributes

The Gentle Power of Dave Joseph, Dialogue Legend

There’s One More Atheist in Heaven (Gary Wilson)

Joseph Smith, Harold Bloom, and Jewish Gnosticism

A Day with Clayton Christensen

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Donald Trump, and Me

The Sheepherder Judge

Rabbi Sacks, the Snow, and Our Common Humanity

Remembering Coach Joe Lordan

The Church Still Loves You, Richard Dutcher

“I’m Not Going Anywhere.” A Tribute to Godly Men

A Latter-day Saint Empiricist: An Interview with Tarik LaCour

Stretching the Heavens: A Review (Eugene England)

A Conversation with Carl R. Trueman

Celebrating the Overwhelming, Relentless Love of God (Francis Chan)

 

IDENTITY, SEXUALITY & FAMILY

Identity

Expressive Individualism and the Restored Gospel

Is Sexuality Who We Are or What We Do?

Visible Identities & Invisible People

Our Deepening Divide Over Identity

Sexuality and Truth in Harmony

Sexuality in the Age of “If It Feels Good, Do It”

The Value-Responsive Self: Authenticity as Alignment With Truth

The Expressive Self: Identity Above Truth 

Our Highest Identity

If You Want to Love Yourself, Love the Truth

Living in This Strange New World

A Conversation with Carl R. Trueman

The Only True Love of Self

How Modern Freedom Turned Into Slavery

Coming Out & Walking Away. Why?

A Love Note to Diamond Marriages and Sapphire Singles

 

Women

So, Are You For Women . . . Or Not?

Feminists should ask tough questions about ERA

Equal Partnership Marriage in an Individualistic America

The Witness of Women

Emma Smith: A Case Study for Women in Worship

How Christ Includes and Empowers Women

International Women’s Day: Let’s Do More Than Just Celebrate

The Eternal Nature of Motherhood for All Women

How Jordan Peterson Made Me a Better Mother

When Motherhood Devours

Envy, The Wall Between Women

Losing and Finding Myself in Motherhood

When Women Perpetrate Domestic Violence

Don’t You Dare Say “Woman”

 

Heavenly Mother

Heavenly Mother Should Be Joyful, Not Another Cultural Battle

Is Our Heavenly Mother Conversation Drawing People To Christ?

Taking the Name of Heavenly Mother in Vain 

Visualizing Heavenly Mother

 

Body Image & Modesty

How Modesty Empowers

Why Modesty Still Matters

Do Utahns Struggle with Body Image More Than Others?

 

Men

The Case for Heroic Masculinity

In Defense of Men

“I’m Not Going Anywhere.” A Tribute to Godly Men

The Church Was My Escape from Misogyny and Violence

 

Exalting Love & Marriage

Yearning for Greater Fulfillment? Relish Your Most Precious Promises

A Love Note to Diamond Marriages and Sapphire Singles

Some Straight Talk about Polyamory

What’s Hijacking So Many Beautiful Relationships? 

What Love Isn’t

Can Mindful Sex Help You Navigate the Pandemic?

Emotional Closeness in Desperate Times

A Mindfulness Journey to “Happily Ever After”

Tying a Stronger Knot: Overcoming Contemporary Marital Myths

 

Sexual Intimacy

Youth Are Inundated by Sexualized Talk. But Don’t Ask Them about It!

We Need More Than Sexual Desire to Guide Us

Consent is Good, But Not Enough

 

Sexuality & Happiness

Are Religious LGBT Youth in Utah More (or Less) Prone to Suicidality?

The Well-Being of Youth Shouldn’t Become a Zero-Sum Battle

Is Latter-day Saint Theology Responsible for LGBT+ Suicides?

Yearning for Greater Fulfillment? Relish Your Most Precious Promises

 

Sexuality & Faith

The Elder Holland I Know

Coming Out & Walking Away. Why?

Anything But the Cross

A Path to Unity, Mr. President: The Fairness for All Act

Douglas Laycock: How Will New LGBT+ Rules Affect Religious Liberty?

Can Religious Freedom Heal the LGBT+ and Faith Divide?

 

Sexuality, Love & Compassion

Holding the Tension of Truth and Love (and Where We All Get It a Little Wrong)

Why Is It “Big News” That Believers Are Motivated by Love?

Disagreement Doesn’t Equal Hate. Even on BYU’s LGBT Policy

Comparing Allyship and Discipleship

You Are Safe in My Classroom: Truth, Belonging, and Pride Flags

A New Kind of LGBT+ Advocacy?

The Motte, the Bailey, and Gospel of Instagram

Competing Views of “Inclusivity”

On Symbols and Identities

It’s Not Loving to Mislead People About Reality

Draping Yourself in a Rainbow Flag Doesn’t Help Me Feel Loved

A Love Note to Diamond Marriages and Sapphire Singles

The Elder Holland I Know

Exclude Not Thyself

Why “All-in” LGBT+/SSA Saints Are So Reluctant to Speak Up

 

Sexuality & Truth

Seven Ways Latter-day Saint Teaching about Sexuality Have Been Misrepresented

Why “All-in” LGBT+/SSA Saints Are So Reluctant to Speak Up

Holding the Tension of Truth and Love (and Where We All Get It a Little Wrong)

Exclude Not Thyself

Faithful Answers to Common LGBT+ Questions

Catching a Vision of the Doctrine of the Family

The Philosophical Basis of Biblical Marriage

Treasuring All That God Has Revealed

No Comparison Between Latter-day Saint Race and Sex Teachings

It’s Not Loving to Mislead People About Reality

A Few Questions Before You Try to Change the Church

Challenging the Stories We Tell Ourselves

 

Gender Identity

To the Parent of a Teen Identifying as Transgender

Separating Fact from Fiction with Gender Identity

Preferred Pronouns: At What Cost?

What I Mean May Not Be What Others Hear

A Better Conversation about HB 11

A Conversation with Rep. Kera Birkeland

Don’t You Dare Say “Woman”

Every Body Matters

 

Parenting

Poly-Parenting: Is This The Brave New World We Want?

Teach It Freely Unto Your Children

Will My Kids Keep the Faith? Parents’ Hopes and Children’s Choices

The Healing Power of Humility in Parent-Child Relationships

Talking to Kids (and Adults) About the Culture War

Abortion as a Parenting Issue

To the Parent of a Teen Identifying as Transgender

A Message to Parents Overwhelmed about Screen Time

Collaboration Amid Controversy: A Hopeful Report from Loudoun County

Protecting Kids From Explicit Material Shouldn’t Be Controversial

Stop Calling Concerned Parents Haters

Will My Kids Keep the Faith? Parents’ Hopes and Children’s Choices

Better Protecting Children of All Faiths

Some Thoughts on Helping Vulnerable Children

One Overlooked Reason Sexual Abuse Continues

 

Abortion

A Latter-day Saint Defense of the Unborn

Abortion, the Courts, and Compromise

The Moral Foundation of the Pro-life Position

Beyond Roe v. Wade

A Latter-day Saint Feminist Case Against Abortion

The Perilous Power of Hidden Assumptions in the Abortion Debate

Don’t Call it Abortion

Abortion as a Parenting Issue

The Consistency of Prophetic Abortion Teaching

Roe Ending and My Baby Beginning

Yes, the Church of Jesus Christ is Pro-Life

Right on Roe: Celebrating a Restoration of Constitutional Principles

The Dawn of a Significant Shift Towards Life

Overturning Roe v. Wade Did Not Impose Religion on America

To What Source They May Look

 

POLITICS & LAW

Culture War

Is it Time for Culture Warriors to Lay Down Their Swords?

Pastors on Politics: A Sermon for America

When Does the Poison of Our National Suspicion Become Lethal? 

Dear America, We Can Still Do This!

Monsters Among Us

The Parable of the Lenses

Must Everything Be Political?

Understanding the Latter-day Saint Experience in American Politics

How Partisan Passions Are Undermining Christian Community

Dehumanizing QAnon Supporters

The Mobs Now Come from Both Sides

Has Half the Country Gone Mad?

What Contention Takes From Us

The Mobs Now Come from Both Sides

Assuming the Worst

How Jesus Can Cure Our Hatred

 

The 2020 Election

An Agonizing Choice for Lovers of Liberalism

#NeverTrump; #AlwaysLiberalism

A Complicated Relationship: Latter-day Saints and Trump

Donald Trump is not Brigham Young

This Is How It Begins to End

Latter-day Saints for Trump

Latter-day Saints for Biden-Harris

Unhappy with Your Options? Vote Libertarian

Unhappy with Your Options? Vote Constitution Party

What Do Marxists Think of Joe Biden and America Right Now?

Choosing a Path, Not Merely a Person

The How Still Matters

When Trust Dies

A Book of Mormon Missive for the 2020 Election

What A Latter-day Saint Learned about Mr. Joe Biden Through Decades of Working on Capitol Hill

Would the Left Accept Four More Years?

 

Election Aftermath

Why Mitt’s Vote Invoked So Much Emotion

The Problem with Demanding Trust

What Was Really the Choice in the 2020 Election?

More Thoughts on the Capitol Breach

Balm for America’s Wounds

It’s Time To Move On

Not Who We Are…Right?

Mapping Public Disagreements about Election Challenges

A Farewell To Political Arms

Disagreement is Not Disunion

Personal Reconciliation: A Pathway to Peace

What About Whataboutism is Hurting American Democracy?

The Ghost of John McCain: Globalist Apathy vs. Populist Rage

Kingmen on January 6th

What Else Happened January 6th

The January 6 Hearings Are Not Just a Political Stunt

 

Upholding Wise Leaders

Where Are Our Wise Advisors?

Building Zion by Choosing Righteous Leader

Knowing Less Than We Think

Good Reasons for Knowing Little

Forgetting the Connection Between Law and Morality

Prophets on Politics: Ten Messages to an Agitated, Aggrieved America

The Warnings of Most Worth

The Steep Price of Hypocrisy in Christian Witness

Breaking the Seal of Confession

The Wisdom of the Aged

Donald Trump is not Brigham Young

 

The 2022 Election

A Latter-day Saint Case for Evan McMullin

A Latter-day Saint Case for Mike Lee

 

Religious Freedom

That Big Religious Freedom Case Is Not What You Think

Why Do Two Liberal Justices Keep Defending Religious Freedom?

Ancestral Lessons in Religious Freedom

Can Religious Freedom Heal the LGBT+ and Faith Divide?

Continued Restoration of Religious Freedom: Tanzin v. Tanvir and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act

Upcoming Religious Liberty Cases

The Rainbow and the Cross at the Supreme Court

China’s Disturbing Disregard for Religious Freedom in Xinjiang—and Beyond

Fulton v. Philadelphia’s potential impact on religious liberty

 

The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court’s Textualist Temptation

Can the Supreme Court Bring Us Together, Rather than Drive Us Apart? Part I

Can the Supreme Court Bring Us Together, Rather than Drive Us Apart? Part 2

The Supreme Court is Right to Be Cautious

Another Big Lie, This Time About the Supreme Court

The Prospects for Religious Liberty in President Biden’s Supreme Court Pick

Expanding the Supreme Court is Authoritarian

U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies the Ministerial Exception to Employment Laws—Sort Of

Who is Amy Coney Barrett really?

 

Loving America

Why I Believe America is Exceptional

The America I Once Knew

“Thank Him for the liberty you will hereafter enjoy”

Then They Came for Jefferson

In Defense of America

Is America Really Rotten to the Core?

The Big and Beautiful Idea Behind America That We’re Forgetting

White. Christian. Nationalism.

The Constitution Should Be Defended, Not Discarded

Americans Once More?

What Does it Mean to Love America?

America, Land of Promise and Destiny

A Day to Remember

Protecting Freedom of Association: Americans for Prosperity v. Bonta

 

Money & the Economy

Not a Handout, But a Tax Credit

Preparing for Zion: Extending the Increased Child Tax Credit

What is Wrong With the Housing Market?

The $100 Billion ‘Mormon Church’ story: A Contextual Analysis

Turning Something Very Good Into Something Very Bad

You Can’t Spend Your Way Out of Poverty

 

MEDIA & EDUCATION

Healthy Media Boundaries

Latter-day Saints and the problem of “performative objectivity”

Making Peeping Toms of Us All

A Message to Parents Overwhelmed about Screen Time

Teaching Yourself to Read (Again)

How to Use Media Before (or After) an Election

It’s Okay to Turn It Off

 

Social Media

The Real Social Dilemma

How Social Media has Changed the Religious Experience

Breathtaking Facebook Posts Don’t Make You a Good Person

Happy Rejoining Twitter Day

Stop Deleting Your Facebook

The Gospel of Facebook 

The Motte, the Bailey, and Gospel of Instagram

Discerning the Impact of Influencers

Saying Goodbye to Faith-Toxic Influencers

To What Source They May Look

A Short History of Social Media Bans

Section 230 and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Grace of the Open Movement

 

Pop Culture

Religious Resonances in The Weeknd’s Super Bowl Halftime Show

For Mature Audiences Only: Relabeling Crass Media

Public Square Magazine Film of the Year: Corpus Christi

Saving Meghan’s Fairytale

Soul and pre-existence in pop culture

WandaVision, Relativism, and the “New Orthodoxy”

Rock and Religion: The Pursuit of Everlasting Love

Degrading Music is Everywhere. Let’s Enjoy Something Better

Make The Good Times Stop: Pop Culture’s Fixation on Eternal Oblivion

Encanto, The Anti–Superhero Movie

Happy Star Wars Day

Social Science Fiction and the Quest for a New Morality

Leisurely Consecration

Pursuing Progress Patiently: The Lessons of Sport

 

Pornography

Who Can Turn Away from the Sea of Seduction Around Us?

Whose Body Will Save Us from The Pain Inside?

Is Pornography Use a Fantasy of Transcendence?

Are Utahns Uniquely Drawn to Pornography?

Pornography: An Aphrodisiac or Cold Shower?

Child exploitation on Pornhub is just another reason Section 230 needs an overhaul

Untying the Gordian Knot of Addiction

How Modern Freedom Turned Into Slavery

The Paradox of Porn Concealment

Now’s Not the Time to Downplay Sexual Addiction

How Could Avoiding ‘Sexual Soloing’ Be a Good Thing?

Protecting Kids From Explicit Material Shouldn’t Be Controversial

Stop Calling Concerned Parents Haters

 

Primary Education

Collaboration Amid Controversy: A Hopeful Report from Loudoun County

The Book Banning Brouhaha

Protecting Kids From Explicit Material Shouldn’t Be Controversial

Stop Calling Concerned Parents Haters

 

Higher Education

Christian Love, Secular Progress, and Holistic Higher Education

Questioning the Certainties of a Secular World

The Indoctrination Nobody Talks About

What is the Christian Core of a Classical Christian Liberal Arts Education?

The Pressing Need for a Genuinely Christian Liberal Arts Education

Three Public Takes on the BYU Racial Equity Report

A Fourth Take on The BYU Racial Equity Report

BYU-Duke Volleyball: More Healing or More Culture War?

BYU, Racism, and the Road to Social Ruin

Disagreement Doesn’t Equal Hate. Even on BYU’s LGBT Policy

Belonging at the BYU’s: Advice to a College Freshman

Truth, Justice, and the BYU Way

The Beauty at the Heart of the Academy Worth Fighting For

Independent Thinking, Conformity, and Democracy in Education

The Constitutionality of Laws Prohibiting State Scholarships to Religious Schools

Responsible Reform: Elder Cook’s Caution About “Persistent Bouts of Christianity.”

 

Amazing Literature

Bites of the Best Books: March 2020

Bites of the Best Books: April 2020

Bites of the Best books: May 2020

Bites of the Best books: June 2020

Bites of the Best Books: July 2020

Bites of the Best Books: August 2020

Bites of the Best Books: September 2020

Bites of the Best Books: October 2020

Bites of the Best Books: November 2020

Bites of the Best Books: December 2020

Bites of the Best Books: January 2021

Bites of the Best Books: February 2021

Bites of the Best Books: March 2021

Bites of the Best Books: April 2021

 

DIALOGUE 

Tolerance, Free Inquiry & Free Speech

Don’t Underestimate Cancel Culture

Is “Cancel Culture” a Myth?

The Mobs Now Come from Both Sides

Understanding Demons

Our Return to the Persecution of the Pre-Christian World

Honor the Pilgrims by Cultivating Tolerance

We Are Hypatia

Being a Witness is Not Contention

Thank Heaven for Apologetics

What You Said Makes Me Uncomfortable. Why Are You So Mean?

Outrage Masquerading as Virtue

What It’s Like to Be Cyberbullied

Truth teller vs. Propagandist: How to Tell the Difference

Dismissing Dismissal Strategies

Section 230 and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

A Short History of Social Media Bans

What’s the Greatest Threat to Public Discourse?

The Fantasy Story Americans Love to Tell about Science

Do You ‘Believe in Science’…or Not?

Is Popular Discourse Set Up to Point Us Towards Truth?

Is Modern Journalism Aiming for the Full Truth, or Something Else?

Honesty is Hard. Let’s Not Give Up On It.

Interrupting the Rhythm of Negativity: Announcing a New Venue

Being Nice(r) Won’t Fix America’s Discursive Woes 

Disagreeing Without Death Threats

Why We Need Joseph Smith’s Ecumenical Spirit

Truth and the Rough Road of Reconciliation

A Tale of Two Tolerances

Tolerance for Me But Not for Thee

Weaponizing Tolerance

Honor the Pilgrims by Cultivating Tolerance

Anger and the Modern Prophetic Voice

Why is Bernie Winning? Maybe Because He’s Angry

Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Creating Communities, Not Tribes

Is Ideology Dividing Us — or Something Else?

Kumbaya Without Holding Hands

Why You (Too) Should Listen Deeply to Those Driving You Nuts

Are We Pursuing Impossible Conversations?

Is it Okay to Disagree about THAT?!

How We Heal

10 Lessons on the Beauty of Interfaith Harmony

Assuming the Worst

The Curious Conversation: Connecting with Less Tech, More Talk

Truth and the Rough Road of Reconciliation

What Being Zoom-Bombed by Extremists Taught Me

How Jesus Can Cure Our Hatred

Why A National Museum of American Religion Might Help Heal Our National Divide

The 2020 Vision of Joseph Smith and George Orwell

 

Disunity & Polarization

How Partisan Passions Are Undermining Christian Community

Dehumanizing QAnon Supporters

The Mobs Now Come from Both Sides

Has Half the Country Gone Mad?

What Contention Takes From Us

The Mobs Now Come from Both Sides

Assuming the Worst

How Jesus Can Cure Our Hatred

 

Conservative & Liberal Religion

Has Politics Become Your New Religion?

The Middle Ground is Disappearing

Moderate, But Not Lukewarm

A Call For Countercultural Christianity

Doing Good in Conservative and Liberal Religion

Belonging and Believing in Conservative and Liberal Religion

Exploring Conservative and Liberal Religion

Elusive Reasoning Among Expansive Latter-day Saints

Prophets Can’t Win

 

A Deeper Unity of Heart

A Unity of Heart Transcending Differences of Mind

On Hard Hearts and Soft Minds

Reaching for a Zion Beyond Partisan Warfare

Unity Under Siege

Abuse is Something We Should Be Able to Fight Together

An Anti-Racism That Unites Us

We Can’t Even Agree on Vladimir Putin?

Moderate, But Not Lukewarm

Fostering Peaceful Holiday Gatherings in a Time of Fear and Anger

Our Opus for Unity on Earth Day

A Path to Unity, Mr. President: The Fairness for All Act

Not Giving Up on a Shared Vision of Truth

 

The Value of Persuasion

Why Persuasion Should Be a Sweet (Not a Dirty) Word

The Threat of Persuasion

My truth? Your truth? No truth?

The Virtues of Strong Disagreement

Our Judgement Against Judgement

Why Bother Engaging with Stupid, Duped, or Evil People?

Are We Pursuing Impossible Conversations?

Why should I believe you? Why should you believe me?

 

Conflict Resolution & Peacemaking

Learning from Intense Conflict

Good Questions as a Pathway to Peace

A Few Questions Before You Try to Change the Church

Honest Questions about Race for Fellow Disciples

Bridging The Narrative Divide

The Curious Conversation: Connecting with Less Tech, More Talk

Forgiving Grandpa

 

Peacemaking & Violence

Unique Contributions from Latter-day Saint Theology to Peacebuilding

Beating Ploughshares Into Swords

The Christian Obligation to Support Ukraine

Loving Neighbors by Standing Up to Their Slaughter

Sometimes God Really Does Want Us to Fight

 

Policing, Gun Rights & Gun Violence

Policing Across the Pond

A Plea to Gun Owners: Have Compassion and Support Common-Sense Regulations

Narrating Violence: Stories We Tell (and Don’t Tell)

Processing the Unthinkable

The Faith to Act on Gun Reform

 

Racial History

Is America Really Rotten to the Core?

Four Chaplains and a Black Man

The 1965 Salt Lake City Race Riot that Never Happened

The Beginning and End of Slavery in America

Is Latter-day Saint History More (or Less) Racist Than Other Communities’?

Juneteenth and the Liberal Tradition

Piecing Together Scripture’s Puzzling Profile of Race

No Comparison Between Latter-day Saint Race and Sex Teachings

 

Critical Race Theory

Critical Race Theory and the Gospel of Jesus

A Rhetoric of Racial Despair

Are There Good Reasons to Opt Out of the BLM Movement?

Honest Questions about Race for Fellow Disciples

Critical Race Theory, Plus Faith, Hope, & Charity

How Critical Race Theory Helps Us Follow Jesus

A Latina’s Response to ‘Honest Questions about CRT’

Yes, We Really Do Need to Talk About Race

How CRT and Classical Liberalism Collide

White. Christian. Nationalism.

Five Ways to Explain Away Black Conservatives

 

Redemptive Approaches to Racial Conflict

An Anti-Racism That Unites Us

The Doctrine of Christ is Not Racist

Celebrating Black Pioneers, Then and Now

Injustice, Civil Unrest, and Finding Peace in the Book of Mormon

BYU-Duke Volleyball: More Healing or More Culture War?

Is America Really Interested in Racial Healing?

BYU, Racism, and the Road to Social Ruin

What I Hope You Mean When You Say “I Don’t See Color.”

 

Racial Healing

How Collective Healing Happens

George Floyd, Derek Chauvin, and Enmity

Cold War Strategies for America’s Racial Divide

Lord, Is It I?

What Can We Learn from Hearing Heartfelt Concerns?

On Costly Grace and the Space to Grow

Counting the Cost of Zion

Deepening Empathy, Compassion, and Understanding Through Reading, Part 1

Deepening Empathy, Compassion, and Understanding Through Reading, Part 2

Three Public Takes on the BYU Racial Equity Report

A Fourth Take on The BYU Racial Equity Report

Race and Representation in Latter-day Saint Art

Why Aren’t We There Yet as a Society? A Latter-day Saint Case for Hope

 

History

Then They Came for Jefferson

Is America Really Rotten to the Core?

Is Latter-day Saint History More (or Less) Racist Than Other Communities’?

The 1965 Salt Lake City Race Riot that Never Happened

The Beginning and End of Slavery in America

Don’t Flip Your Whig

“Thank Him for the liberty you will hereafter enjoy”

The Falling Berlin Wall Matters (Or Should Matter) Today

Building Israel: The First Few Millennia Are Always Hardest

Conspiracy as History: “Who Killed Joseph Smith?” As a Case Study

The Falling Berlin Wall Matters (Or Should Matter) Today

The Temptation of Prince Salim

The Wisdom of the Aged

Honoring the Wisdom of The Generations Who Came Before

Our Worship of the New

 

International Relations & Immigration

The Charity Most of Us Lack

Immigration is a Latter-day Saint Heritage

The Iranian Protests Are More Than What You’re Seeing

Here’s How You Can Help Afghan Refugees in Utah

The Christian Obligation to Support Ukraine

Loving Neighbors by Standing Up to Their Slaughter

 

Social Justice

Does Social Justice Really Have to Divide Us?

Social Justice and Christmas

Intersectional Anger on the Left and Right

America’s Impending Acid Test

Injustice, Outrage, and the Problem of Atheodicy

And Not One Soul Shall Feel Excluded

Competing Views of “Inclusivity”

Whose Image Are You Seeking In Your Countenance?

Competing Narratives of American Redemption

Competing Narratives of Danger in America

Competing Plans For The Redemption of the World

Are You Woke or Awake?

A Gospel Foundation for Common Ground on Social Justice

The Expanding Language of Revolution in America

What Does a Marxist Think of Bernie? Q&A with Arthur Peña

Why is Bernie Winning? Maybe Because He’s Angry

Marxism, Satanism, and the Worship of Self

Karate, Currents, and Christian Dissidents A Review of Rod Dreher’s Live Not By Lies

 

What We Love & Trust in Modernity

Has Politics Become Your New Religion?

The Other Religion

Unraveling Trust in the North American Church

Talking to Kids (and Adults) About the Culture War

Faith, Facts, and Freedom

A “Me Too” Faith?

Is the Gospel of Jesus Too Boring for America?

Whose Body Will Save Us from The Pain Inside?

AstraZeneca and Pfizer Will Save Us

Do You ‘Believe in Science’…or Not?

The Fantasy Story Americans Love to Tell about Science

Deciding Who to Trust

Our Worship of the New

 

HEALTH 

Pandemic Pragmatics

Working from Home? Let Me Show You the Ropes

Emotional Closeness in Desperate Times

Can Mindful Sex Help You Navigate the Pandemic?

Five Steps Towards More Confidence Against Coronavirus

 

Pandemic Faith

Prophets on Pandemic: Ten Messages to a Weary, Wary World

What’s the Point of a Prophet Who Already Agrees With You?

COVID-19 Vaccination as an Abrahamic Test

Faith and the Long Uncertainties of COVID

Tolerating the Unprecedented

How the Pandemic Impacted Faith

 

Pandemic Grief & Growth

Making Meaning of COVID Loss

Mourning Together as Morning Dawns

The Coronavirus Choice We’re Not Talking About

Recognizing Our Need for Rebirth

Seeing the Faces Behind Our Costly Covid-19 Blessings

Learning in a Time of Plague

 

Pandemic Policy & Peacemaking

Covid Peacemaking for Latter-day Saint Families

Reckoning with the Generational Estrangement of the Covid Age

Can Thoughtful People Disagree about the Coronavirus Response?

Mapping Public Disagreements about Covid-19 Response

Mapping Public Disagreements about Vaccine Mandates

Is Vaccine Dialogue Even Possible?

The Most Reviled Minority in America?

Let’s Forgive 2020

What’s the Greatest Threat to Public Discourse?

What Does It Mean to Be “Effective”?

Do You ‘Believe in Science’…or Not?

The Fantasy Story Americans Love to Tell about Science

AstraZeneca and Pfizer Will Save Us

Long-term, Short-term

 

Pandemic Politics

Politicizing the Pandemic

Pitting Christian Ministry and Devotion Against Each Other

Is COVID-19 Shifting the Fault lines in America?

The Laser and the Lightbulb

A Contagion of Comfort and Security

God, Caesar, and the Coronavirus

Discerning True from False Conspiracy

The Mark of the Beast is More Than a Punchline

 

Senior Care

Reckoning with the Generational Estrangement of the Covid Age

Reducing the Risk of Cognitive Impairment in Aging Adults

 

Mental Health

How I’m Finding Deeper Healing from Depression

Living Well with Depression—My Personal Journey

Are Utahns More Depressed Than Everyone Else?

Are Religious LGBT Youth in Utah More (or Less) Prone to Suicidality?

Is It Time for a Paradigm Shift in Mental Health?

If More Treatment Is the Answer, Why Haven’t the Numbers Gone Down?

Towards a Less Depressing Story about Depression

Does Your Depression Keep Getting Worse? This Might Be Why

Imagining a Mental Health System Centered on Learning & Growth

Hope Sometimes Hurts. Hopelessness Hurts More.

Long-term, Short-term

 

Trauma Healing

Trauma Healing as a Sacred Gospel Practice

The Urgent Need to Console the Wounded

 

The Meaning of Suffering

Difficult by Design

The Sanctity of Suffering

Why Bad Things Must Happen to Good People

Life as an Experience in Contrast

 

Therapy & Counseling

Are Latter-day Saint Therapists Meeting Client Expectations?

How Therapists are Failing the Faithful

Therapists Aren’t Neutral. Let’s Stop Pretending They Are

 

Aspiring for a Redemptive Psychology

Towards a Latter-day Saint Perspective in Psychology

Encouraging Disciple-Scholars in the Social Sciences

Is Life Ruthlessly Determined or Full of Possibility?

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