Yesterday a video clip from Elder Bednar was making the rounds on social media in which he stated that “there are no homosexual members of the church” and that “we are not defined by sexual attraction.” Most of the comments I have read were negative, that Elder Bednar was denying gay Church members’ existence. I sympathize with … More How I Choose to Understand Elder Bednar’s Words
In 1988, my wife and I moved from Provo, Utah to Washington, DC, where I had an internship in a congressional office. Zina was starting grad school, and I was planning to use my internship as a stepping-stone to move into the world of public affairs and a government job. Neither my wife nor I … More To My Gay Brothers and Sisters: I Will Be A Friend
I teach religious and Mormon studies courses at a public university. In the classroom, we deal with all kinds of difficult issues—some specific to Mormonism like polygamy and the Mountain Meadows Massacre, others more universal like the problem of evil and the nature of God. Since I’m at a state university, I cannot bear … More What To Do If Someone You Know Is Going Through A Faith Crisis
My father was never comfortable going to church. In a ward of full of gregarious professors and businessmen, Dad was colossally shy, self-conscious of the fact that he didn’t have a college education, and uncomfortable with his blue-collar profession. He didn’t feel comfortable talking about religion either. If I ever brought up a question about … More My Other Father: A Tribute to Milton V. Backman, Jr.
So I was able to play sidekick again with the wonderful Patrick Mason in another podcast with the amazing Dan Wotherspoon (Mormon Matters) and Gina Colvin (A Thoughtful Faith). Fun times!
My nearly-married and newly-married twenties were some of the most profoundly significant days of my life. Two events and two very different people were most influential to my way of living and thinking about Mormonism. The first event occurred on one of our first dates in 1983, when my then-fiancée, Zina, took me to a … More Eugene England and the Future of Mormonism
I recorded a podcast with Patrick Mason and Dan Wotherspoon of Mormon Matters and Gina Colvin of A Thoughtful Faith. We were talking about Patrick Mason’s book Planted: Belief and Belonging in an Age of Doubt.
Dan Last week, I had the privilege to chat with my dear friends Dan Wotherspoon and Terryl and Fiona Givens on Mormon Matters podcast about the nature of prophecy and scripture. I sort of want to shout hallelujah every time I think about the fact that I have friends like Dan and Fiona and Terryl! Sometimes I am … More Mormon Matters Podcast
I meant to post this back in August. Sorry. In our the Mormon Matters podcast series, Russell Arben Fox, Randall Paul, and I sat down to talk with host Dan Wotherspoon about Hugh Nibley’s social criticism: http://mormonmatters.org/2013/08/29/188-189-hugh-nibley-part-3-prophet-of-zion/
Maxwell Institute editor, Brian Hauglid and Kevin Barney and I sit down with Dan Wotherspoon to discuss Hugh nibley’s scholarship. http://mormonmatters.org/2013/08/26/186-187-hugh-nibley-part-2-scholar-and-defender-of-the-faith/
Boyd Petersen 