tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70319178345051084322026-06-21T19:36:38.887-06:00Flippin' Utah MormonsObservations about Utah-Mormon culture from a Mormon who is IN Utah but definitely not OF Utah.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-21737072024760036142025-05-27T11:34:00.028-06:002025-05-28T07:21:55.206-06:00Social Media Mormons
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font-size: Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-88155082786831727912025-04-17T13:56:00.001-06:002025-05-04T11:40:22.133-06:00Mormons gonna Morm’ on the Church’s correct nameAn official statement by President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“the Church”) was published in 2018, regarding “the importance of the name He has revealed for His Church…” (D&C 115:4) President Nelson expounded on this statement in a General Conference address in which he stated,“...the name of the Church is not negotiable…if we allow nicknames to be Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-87256553828094672222025-04-06T09:37:00.003-06:002025-04-16T07:44:50.112-06:00On Mormon IdentifiersWhile the use of the term “Mormon” has been emphasized and deemphasized over the years as a matter of Church policy, it is the author’s opinion that some “Mormon Identifiers” can help recognize that members—and former members—of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do not all fit a standard mold, despite cultural pressures to do just that. Generalizations applied to any group or Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-35102948192534068422022-08-08T14:12:00.001-06:002022-08-08T14:12:10.383-06:00The General Handbook is not scripture…The General Handbook refers to an instruction and reference manual originally published by the Church in 1899. The “Instructions” were revised and updated annually for the first decade of its publication. Subsequent editions were released as policies and procedures were added, modified, or discontinued.Prior to 2020, distribution of the Handbook was limited to those in leadership positions withinUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-85981012634457578622020-09-01T12:02:00.020-06:002022-06-09T15:32:22.371-06:00What can be counted on as “Gospel truth”My late mother had a way with words. As a youth, I remember her once saying, “Finite man has no business telling an infinite God how He did anything.” It was catchy and it stuck with me but I wasn’t entirely sure of what it meant.For a brief time, I applied this maxim to the scriptures as God’s word, inferring that what was written is what was meant and thus the final authority on all matters—Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-69578190528281893642020-03-31T09:49:00.003-06:002020-07-20T08:49:44.446-06:00Social distancing, priesthood keys and worshipping from homeI wasn’t sure about what to make of the initial news reports regarding the novel Coronavirus and COVID-19. I usually try my best not to be an alarmist but I don’t want to be dismissive either. Like a lot of people, I thought about influenza mortality rates but then a friend shared a very informative article that offered some important perspective. I took the situation more seriously but I still Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-55993302076626351682018-01-31T11:13:00.009-07:002024-11-10T15:07:42.642-07:00Passive-aggression's incompatibility with ZionThe following essay is derived from a letter that I wrote in the late 2000s.
Salt Lake City attorney and former state legislator Frank Pignanelli once wrote that "Utah is the global headquarters of passive aggressive nonconfrontational conduct.” When I first read those words, I thought to myself, "That's it!" I had been trying to figure out what the deal is with the way a lot of Utahns treat Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-59145923832104810602016-03-28T08:39:00.000-06:002016-03-28T08:39:18.533-06:00Christ as "humanist"?I stumbled across an interesting graphic on Facebook.
Based on this graphic, I think Jesus was a humanist. These are, at their core, among the basic tenets of His teachings. Any "reward" He may have spoken of was not to be expected in one's mortal life and He wasn't one to try and scare people into obedience. He's aware of everyone's capacity to know what is right and to use their free will Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-6247251868354357632016-01-07T11:23:00.000-07:002016-01-07T13:25:46.977-07:00Spiritual sexual predatorsI read a very intriguing article titled “How To Spot A Spiritual Sexual Predator” and I couldn’t help but recognize a few of the tactics used by people in positions of spiritual/religious authority.
The piece is primarily addressed to women of the Jewish faith but also freely offered to “other women too.” While I don’t know that much about some of the new-age philosophies the author mentions, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-15616844197262617802013-09-15T10:09:00.002-06:002020-07-20T08:51:59.824-06:00Mormons are supposed to think for themselvesWhen asked what my favorite scripture is, I have to say that it's Alma 32:27 which says, "But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words." (emphasis added)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-4028673343293979812013-09-10T08:49:00.000-06:002013-09-10T10:51:31.820-06:00Being single in Utah-Mormon cultureThis topic has been discussed before but until attitudes change, I think the discussion needs to continue.
It's not easy being a single Mormon. I know this because I'm a single Mormon and I've felt the almost unrelenting pressure to get married, despite the fact that I haven't met anyone that I want to marry. At one point I was actually called a spinster by a member of my family. A spinster is Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-10408650102713051952013-08-04T12:35:00.000-06:002013-08-04T12:43:11.358-06:00Mormon men compared to women in the larger societyIt's interesting to compare Utah Mormon culture with societal culture as a whole. I see some interesting and similarities.
For example, in the greater society, where sexuality is concerned, women are expected to portray themselves as asexual. To not acknowledge their sexuality or that they enjoy things like sex, pornography or masturbation whereas the ever present double standard doesn't hold Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-74628092284500636512013-05-27T06:07:00.003-06:002013-06-26T13:51:15.848-06:00Addiction culture and sexualityI've thought a lot about addiction and I'm starting to think that it's a term that's getting thrown around too often. I have participated in 12-step programs like Al-Anon and Codependents Anonymous over the years so I'm not without sympathy toward those with addictions and the people who love them; be it drugs, alcohol, gambling or sex.
In Utah it would appear that a major addictive force is Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-70808606035900154432012-06-12T09:51:00.000-06:002012-06-12T09:51:13.482-06:00The Nature of Love
While contemplating the nature of love, a friend said to me that “In English, a whole range of feeling is stuffed into that stupid word ‘love.’” It made me think of how love is expressed in other languages. In Spanish, for example, there are different words that are used to describe different types of love that—when translated into English—reveals what my friend calls its “semantic inadequacy.”Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-68973986530122641422012-05-10T13:53:00.000-06:002012-05-10T13:53:37.802-06:00Celestial beauty
I shared a quote on Facebook by Garrison Keillor recently that sparked some interesting conversation.
"Beauty isn't worth thinking about; what's important is your mind. You don't want a fifty-dollar haircut on a fifty-cent head."
One individual spoke out in support of Mr. Keillor's remarks thusly, "...there is a lot of freedom when you loosen up your visual standards. By being less concerned Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-32437204552617917972012-03-29T17:44:00.002-06:002017-04-16T13:31:05.633-06:00Godly sorrow, the atonement and perceptions of timeMy thoughts turn more and more to the atonement in recent weeks. That tends to happen when we're hurting. Though I realize also that we should probably consider it whenever we hurt others—and we're all guilty of that from time to time.
LDS Doctrine teaches that the key part of Christ's sacrifice for us wasn't His death on the cross but His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was there thatUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-85803390522709059012012-01-23T01:09:00.001-07:002021-03-28T15:39:59.100-06:00Free agency and the multiverseA friend asked me to consider the outcome of a past situation had different choices been made by those involved. I don't think they realized just how profound and interesting a question that was and it got me thinking about all sorts of things from the idea of personal choice to God's omniscience to Quantum Mechanics and multiverse theory.
I'm a bit of a science nut, ever since I watched "Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-34410787688660647122012-01-20T14:38:00.001-07:002017-12-18T10:19:36.956-07:00BlessingsI had the opportunity to give a friend a blessing. She has been in quite a bit of pain—both physically and emotionally.
We spoke a bit about the propriety surrounding giving blessings for the sick, normally a two part process consisting of anointing the head of the person receiving the blessing with a drop of consecrated oil and then sealing the anointing with the blessing itself.
I had no oil Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-29594496557761396052011-10-30T12:57:00.000-06:002011-10-30T12:57:09.688-06:00Worshiping in the templeI've held a current temple recommend for most of the last decade but I haven't always made use of it.
I recently returned to the temple after an absence of a few years. I'm very grateful to a wonderful friend who invited me to join her. A lot of things went through my mind as I sat through that session. The thought that concerned me the most was that I didn't feel as close to God as I had hoped Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-5171451035318687312011-09-12T13:53:00.002-06:002022-08-14T13:44:08.197-06:00On doubt, skepticism and faithThere was an interesting post on the Mormon.org Facebook page that read:
"Today I will _________ to strengthen my faith."
Subscribers to the page were invited to fill in the blank in the comments beneath the post. Many of the comments were pretty conventional; "pray," "sing," "study the scriptures," etc. I usually just read these remarks, this day I felt that I should contribute—but I'm anythingUnknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-70112182672568824072011-08-30T14:07:00.004-06:002011-09-19T21:20:02.882-06:00Moneychangers at the pulpit?Revised: September 5 & 19, 2011
Some friends offered some insights into the original versions of this post that I hadn't considered before so I've chosen to revise it. -JLP
A man got up to speak in a church meeting. The topic was supposed to be "The Law of the Harvest." The speaker then went on to talk about his personal business ventures. He sounded as though he was basically reciting hisUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-37105270579023614962011-06-27T00:43:00.000-06:002011-06-27T00:43:59.754-06:00Sabbath serviceThe following is excerpted from my personal journal:
From time to time I avoid going to church. Mainly when I know there's going to be a crowd. It was stake conference weekend, so [today] I skipped.
I've decided that on such days, I should not just lounge around the apartment--which I have done in the past--instead, I should make myself available. I should be of service to others. Today I Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-90993233335388297522011-03-01T16:19:00.000-07:002011-03-01T16:19:02.818-07:00Trey Parker & Matt Stone talk about "The Book of Mormon" musicalUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-56028633479549424982011-02-14T00:24:00.000-07:002011-02-14T00:24:56.289-07:00Work, responsibility, disability and idleness.The Melchizedek priesthood and Relief Society use the same manual for their class lessons. However, having the same manual doesn't mean that the same lesson is taught. The most recent lesson I sat in on was about work and personal responsibility. I delivered a talk on this very topic in 2006 and drew upon it in my comments in class.
I attend a singles ward and lessons--even Sacrament talks-Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031917834505108432.post-6045695292134871442011-02-12T12:46:00.000-07:002011-02-12T12:46:04.468-07:00"Sex and the single Mormon."Here's a very interesting read.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0