So Mitt Romney is Back

Last updated on: November 16, 2015 at 8:07 am By J. Paul Valley

But not really. So in light of the fact that 47.6% of primary support in the Republican Party currently belongs to the two most ridiculous candidates imaginable, some R’s have begun calling for the mighty return of Mitt Romney to claim his rightful throne atop Mount Unelectable. Here’s Philip Rucker and Robert Costa at The Washington Post: …some in the party establishment are so desperate to change the dynamic that they are talking anew about drafting Romney — despite his insistence that he... Read more

Polygamy and the New LDS Policy: Two Thoughts

Last updated on: November 16, 2015 at 4:43 pm By mhaycock

Michael Many, including Elder Christofferson, have noted that the LDS Church’s new policy toward gay couples and their children is a carbon copy of the Church’s policy toward polygamous families, on the books since the 1920s. (If you’re curious, see Ardis Parshall’s post about it.) Most of these people have focused on how the Church is applying the old policy (re: polygamy) to a new situation (gay marriage). But there’s another arrow of influence. The Church is turning the... Read more

These Three Things Are True

Last updated on: November 10, 2015 at 11:41 pm By Melissa Inouye

Sharp divisions make it hard to pinpoint “how Mormons feel” about the policy barring children of same-sex married parents from blessing or baptism in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but these three things are true: Mormonism is charismatic. Mormonism is organized. Mormonism is Mormons. By “Mormonism is charismatic” (from the term “charismata”, or gifts of the Holy Spirit including visions, healings, prophecy, etc.) I mean that its existence as a religious tradition is predicated on certain miraculous... Read more

Mistakes in Mormonism; or Why the Church Handbook isn’t Doctrine

Last updated on: February 13, 2017 at 8:27 pm By Guest Contributor

By Gary Ashcroft Let me preface my comments with a few statements. I am Mormon. I’ve been one for my entire life. I believe that the Gospel is true and that it can bring us happiness. I also believe that the Church is led by a prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and that he speaks for God. I am proud of my membership in the Church and wish in no way to disparage it, abandon it, or equivocate as to my... Read more

What This Policy Shift Means To LGBT Mormons Like Me

Last updated on: November 8, 2015 at 1:34 am By Nic Jensen

I have struggled to comprehend my thoughts on the recent announcement by the LDS church concerning new policy changes in Handbook 1. There is an ever growing list of reasons why this policy change is both confusing and heartbreaking. As a young man I spent many Sundays contemplating my future, both temporal and beyond. I grew up seeing the joy on a child’s face as they’re baptized before their brothers and sisters. I grew up seeing the smiles of new... Read more

Who does the membership ban really affect?

Last updated on: November 8, 2015 at 12:14 am By Emily Belanger

Perhaps the most disheartening thing about Elder Christofferson’s well-meant video, which attempted to address concerns about the new membership ban for children of a parent in a same-sex relationship, is that he provided no new information. The Church’s motivation for this ban was already understood by many to be a desire to avoid significant conflicts between minor children and their parents. And a desire to make the Church’s law absolutely clear (though it’s ludicrous to think Mormons don’t know the Church’s stance... Read more

Why Didn’t We Do This By Common Consent?

Last updated on: November 7, 2015 at 10:02 pm By J. Paul Valley

Reactions to the recent church policy changes concerning the children of married homosexual couples (which you can read about here here here here here here here here here here here here here here here and here) have made it very clear that this is an issue of great concern to many members, independent of their orthodoxy in the faith. That is to say, this isn’t something that divides cleanly along “active” and “inactive,” or “believing” and “doubting” membership lines. What’s more,... Read more

These Arguments are Weak.

Last updated on: November 18, 2015 at 9:34 pm By mhaycock

That “Insight into new LDS Church policies on same-sex couples and their children” post, written by a Michael Worley on Kathryn Skaggs’s blog, is making the rounds. Others like him have been circulating. People seem to think they offer compelling arguments. But beyond its presumption (the author has no special insight into God’s and Church leaders’ minds, but claims he does) and its condescension (“Bill Nye voice”) lie false analogies and rickety rationalizations. Before I analyze Worley’s arguments, however, I’ll recognize... Read more

I Won’t Go to Church Unless Everyone is Welcome

Last updated on: November 7, 2015 at 10:21 pm By Cody Ray Shafer

There is a lot yet to be said about the Church’s recent policy changes to Handbook 1 regarding the children of LGBT parents. A few writers here at Peculiar People are still processing this, and our perspectives and opinions are as varied as the church membership itself. This policy doesn’t directly affect me, but it does people I know and love. I don’t want to distract from their stories, but I thought this was as good a time as any... Read more

If I left the Church

Last updated on: November 7, 2015 at 4:42 pm By Emily Belanger

The last few days have been less a whirlwind for Mormons, and more a tornado of emotions. The Church released updated policies to local leaders, in an amendment of the official administrative handbook that only leaders typically see. It didn’t take long for former Mormon John Dehlin to leak the updates to the press, following which the Church promptly confirmed the updates to news sources, before remaining silent on the matter for an additional, excruciating, 24 hours. In those 24 hours... Read more