If you heard the news this morning, you already know pigs will be flying by the end of this week. At least, that is what my local news meant when they said the Boy Scouts of America are expected to reverse their policy and by Friday will have an official announcement allowing for same sex Scout leadership and Boy Scouts.
I wouldn’t have believed it unless I saw it for myself.

Who knows? Maybe women really will get to offer prayer during General Conference after all.

Saturday evening I got an email notifying me ward and stake Sunday meetings have been cancelled due to an expected overnight ice storm that will make the roads dangerous. Read more »

I was listening to the radio show about the anniversary of Roe vs Wade, the Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal in the US. The radio commentator were discussing the politics of abortion in our country and I found my interest drifting away. After all, I am a Mormon woman. I have no need for abortion access laws. Read more »

A friend from high school I lost contact with, but thanks to Facebook have regained contact, just got back from his Mexico mission roughly 42 hours ago. Being female, not a romantic interest, and did not write him every month during the past two years (I got married, had a baby, and saw that marriage die with the same time frame. I did say I lost contact with him), I don’t expect to hear anything directly about how great his mission was until sometime next week. In the meantime I get to ponder what has annoyed me about return missionaries. Read more »

Dear President Dalton,

I have a daughter. Her world is young and innocent, brimming with a child’s intensity of feeling — ecstasy and despair are infinitely magnified when confined to only four years of life. Though to an adult her joys are simple and her sorrows trivial, every one of her tears hits me with equal weight, no matter their cause.

As of yet, she has no notion of what it means to be a woman in today’s society, much less in the church.

But I fear that day.
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The president had declared a war on violence and mental illness. If, in specifying gun violence, he’d proposed legislation or executive orders banning the violence in media.

If, instead of saying: “Weapons designed for the theater of war have no place in a movie theater.” he’d added “Nor do movies containing graphic violence and gun death.”
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See the relevant Facebook page here. These are the four most common objections:

1. “There are bigger problems in the world so this is therefore petty — and shame on you for caring.”

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Taking a cue from Cynthia L., I am resurrecting this post in light of the discussion on women praying in General Conference (brought to you by the masterminds behind the pantsapocalypse). Why? Because the idea that allowing a woman to pray in GC would require some kind of revelation is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. How can anyone really be against that, least of all God? Also, I reject the exclusively top-down model of revelation so, even if a revelation were necessary, bringing up the subject should not be taboo.

The original comments on this post can be found here. It is from June, 2010, so naturally the caffeine situation is out of date.

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When Roland Barthes declared the author dead (I paraphrase), he didn’t know he was talking about Mormon doctrine (which is an excellent demonstration of his point, it turns out). When it comes to “eternal truths,” who has the final author-ity? Who is the definitive last word on what we accept as God’s will? The obvious answer is, of course, the prophet(s).They speak, we believe and follow. It’s as simple as that, right? Not so fast.
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I love the Bible. I learned the Bible stories as I wandered into many different churches as a child, seeking direction and haven from the chaos, filth, and degradation of home. The Bible was and is much more real to me than the Book of Mormon. I’ve read both books cover to cover countless times, but my heart stays with the Bible, which really, is kind of a confusing mess. Outstandingly dysfunctional.

I learned the words to the song “The Old Rugged Cross” by heart when I was eight. I loved the melody and didn’t register the horror of the cross. I was thinking maybe I’ll have somebody sing it at my funeral; the words “exchange it one day for a crown” kind of appropriate for a funeral. They sang it at my grandma’s funeral—my grandma that I didn’t meet until she was 16 and was a Methodist. I felt a kinship when I read the program and realized she, too, must have loved that song. Read more »