Scholaristas is a new blog. I love it. It is written by a historian, a literature and religion scholar, and a political scientist. No wonder it rocks! The thing that I love about Scholaristas, is that it is an academic approach to feminism and women studies. It draws upon feminist theory and feminist methodology. So do I! I am often saddened be the disconnect between movement feminism and feminist theory and methodology. I think this frustration is similar to that... Read more

One of the great experiences for LDS and LDS-interested graduate students in religion is the bi-annual Faith and Knowledge conference.  This year’s Call for Papers looks extremely interesting! The Intellectual Prospects for Mormonism”: The Third Biannual Faith and Knowledge Conference for LDS Graduate Students in Religion Duke University February 11-12, 2011 (more…) Read more

I used to throw around the label “anti-Mormon” like it was going out of style (speaking of style, will this “style” colloquialism ever go out of style? Good grief, BHodges, the 7th grade called and it wants its simile back. [This analysis of my rhetorical style could start getting out of hand really fast. Notice my strange use of the third person? There are about three people left in the world who can get away with such bravado. Karl Malone,... Read more

Something like reincarnation is not totally irrelevant to BHodges’ recent posts on Roberts vs. Smith. Enoch mentioned it in his nuancimony. T&S featured a short post on it the other month. And of course the crazies at New Cool Thang have been discussing multiple mortal probations for years. The most explicit sources on the topic that I am aware of are a couple of passages in Orson F. Whitney’s journal. In the first he relates a conversation between his mother... Read more

I am developing a number of models of Mormon political conservatism. The first model that I am looking to describe in Ezra Taft Benson conservatism. This is not just the political conservatism of President/Elder Ezra Taft Benson, but a broader type of conservatism that is symbolize by the thought of Benson. Below is the start of the description. I am trying come up with a brief and concise definition of this model. My hope is to have a basic description... Read more

I’ve been invited to participate in a panel at the upcoming “Mormon Media Studies” conference at BYU. The panel will discuss the Bloggernacle, and so I’ll be badmouthing all of you soon (but most especially, Chris H.).  As for my small part, I’m going to talk about some of the benefits and drawbacks of blogging about religion. Here are some preliminary thoughts, feedback is requested. With apostolic urging following the initial surge, Mormon blogs have been multiplying and replenishing the web... Read more

We had out lesson on Hosea last week and it sounds like a number of people had that lesson today. Ardis shares her lecture notes with us on Keepa. All this talk of Gomer and whoredoms reminded me of a Smashing Pumpkins that was released shortly after my mission. So, will we always be His whore? Read more

It seems to me the crowd here at FPR is a little more vocal, so I thought it would be nice to promote the podcast I did with Terryl Givens this summer to get some feedback. While volunteering for FAIR I suggested the need for a podcast, and as it works with most volunteer organizations, that meant I’d be the one to do it. So during the 2010 Joseph Smith seminar at BYU, Professor Givens graciously spent some time listening... Read more

September 8, 2010 As a people who experienced religious persecution, we are alarmed by the growing tide of religious fear, intolerance, and violence evident throughout the world. We join our voices with other religious leaders to denounce any religious persecution and specifically anti-Muslim actions, such as Dove World Outreach Center in the USA, which plans to burn the Qur’an on September 11. Such attitudes, behaviors, and actions reflect hatred rather than Christ’s example of love; divide rather than break down... Read more