In Defense of Elder Hafen: Brief Response to FMH

Elder Hafen recently gave (at an Evergreen conference) what I consider to be a wonderful speech concerning same-sex attraction and gay marriage. It is linked on the LDS Newsroom. This speech is probably the most well-balanced and well-informed article on same-sex marriage by an LDS general authority.
Then, to my dismay, I came across this post [...]

How We Reason About Politics (And Why It Matters): A Survey

A friend of mine is piloting a survey about political reasoning. I encourage you to take it. It only takes a few minutes and I think you’ll find it to be interesting (much better than all those lame Facebook quizzes).
Click here to take the survey.
Email a friend

LDSApology.org: Climate of reconciliation or of accusation?

There is currently a petition to the First Presidency to apologize on behalf of the Church for “official statements, rhetoric, policy and practice” that “have been injurious to gays and lesbians and their families and friends.”
First, I should say that in many ways I respect this petition. There clearly is a self-conscious attempt to address [...]

Will Prop 8 Decision Increase or Decrease Criticism of Mormons?

Today, the California Supreme Court upheld Prop 8 while leaving previous same-sex marriages intact.
My question is: What difference will the Court decision have on criticism of Mormons?

Elder Ballard: Regardless of Party Affliction (er, Affiliation) Pray for Obama

I received the following report in an email newsletter from my friend Don Jarvis (quoted with his permission):
A senior LDS apostle recently told Provoans that “We need to pray for our new president, regardless of party affliction, I mean, affiliation.”  Speaking on January 25th in the Provo Tabernacle at the conclusion of an Oak Hills (east Provo) [...]

Please Don’t Hate (H8) Me Because I’m Mormon

Since the passage of Proposition 8 in California, there have been several protests aimed at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These protests are of course understandable. California Latter-day Saints did, after all, play a formidable role in donations and phone calling in support of the measure. This participation was formally encouraged by [...]

The Election: Why I’m Happy and Sad

Like most things in life, this election is bittersweet.
I’m happy Obama won.
I’m sad that so many of my friends and family members are, well, not so happy.
I’m happy that so many people across this country have brighter hopes for America and for the future.
I’m sad for those who think that the end is near.

Open Letter to Mitt Romney (Dear Cousin)

Hey Cuz!
You don’t know me, but I think we’re fifth cousins or something like that. We’re both descendants from Parley P. Pratt — 2 greats for you, 3 for me. We have lots in common: we’re both active Latter-day Saints, we’ve both graduated from BYU, and we’re both not afraid to change our minds about [...]

Some “Alternative” Presidential Candidates

Don’t like McCain or Obama?
Well, you do have other choices.
Of course, there are the more visible third-party or independent choices: Charles “Chuck” Baldwin (Constitutional), Ralph Nader (Independent), Bob Barr (Libertarian), and Cynthia McKinney (Green).
But I bet you haven’t heard of some of these other “worthy” candidates (be sure to check out the links):

Obama vs. McCain 2008: Who Will You Vote For and Why?

We have finally reached the end of our weekly forum on the presidential election. We have had many great discussions on a range of topics, such as character, Iraq, the economy, abortion, relationship with LDS Church, health care, faith and family values, terrorism and diplomacy, education, and political corruption. Click here to see the [...]

The Highest Law of the Land

In this post, I will explain how, in an ideal world, it would not matter to us so much as it does now who becomes our next president. The Founding Fathers asked an important question during the formation of the Constitution: How much power should a centralized federal government have? Most of the text of [...]

Obama vs. McCain 2008: Round 21: Symbolism of President

This is the twenty-first of a weekly series of public forums on TMB.

Arguably, one of the most important and consequential factors of a U.S. president is not simply what the president does, but what he/she symbolizes.
What might be the national or international consequences of what a McCain or Obama presidency would symbolize? Feel free to [...]

The Prime Directive

I was not always in favor of a non-interventionist foreign policy. At one point, I strongly supported the invasion of Iraq. Saddam Hussein was an evil man, and I believed that it was the moral imperative of the United States government to destroy the tyrannical regime that he led. And of course he had WMDs… [...]

Obama vs. McCain 2008: Round 20: Race and Gender Issues

This is the twentieth of a weekly series of public forums on TMB. Watch for a new round every Monday.
Only three more weeks!
This week’s topic is race and gender issues. I realize this is kind of a vague topic, so I’ll give some possible issues to talk about:

Obama vs. McCain 2008: Round 19: Illegal Immigration

This is the nineteenth of a weekly series of public forums on TMB. Watch for a new round every Monday.
Illegal immigration. McCain. Obama.
Discuss.
Next week: Race and Gender Issues
Email a friend

Obama vs. McCain 2008: Round 18: Crisis Intervention

This is the eighteenth of a weekly series of public forums on TMB. Watch for a new round every Monday.
This topic is arguably more important than any other, as far as the next President is concerned. Especially considering the recent economic crisis on Wall Street. (Feel free to comment on what each candidate had to [...]

Obama vs. McCain 2008: Round 17: Urban Concerns

This is the seventeenth of a weekly series of public forums on TMB. Watch for a new round every Monday.
Urban concerns. Something that has not been talked about all that much for the general election. And something that I know little about, as far as McCain and Obama are concerned (especially McCain).
Possible topics: Homelessness, poverty, [...]

Playing the “Democrat Card”: Utah County Politics

We’ve heard a lot this campaign season about playing the gender card or race card. But there’s another kind of card-playing that is unique to highly conservative areas, such as Utah County, Utah: playing the “Democrat card.” This is the story of a Utah County Republican who is playing the Democrat card in order to [...]

Obama vs. McCain 2008: Round 16: Cindy McCain vs. Michelle Obama

This is the sixteenth of a weekly series of public forums on TMB. Watch for a new round every Monday.
The topic of this week’s forum regards the two potential First Ladies: Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama. I’ll leave this fairly open, but I want to keep it focused on what is most important (e.g., who [...]

Obama and Truth

If you wish to know the real truth about Obama, click here:
The Truth.
Email a friend