Can you be a good Mormon and want to be a millionaire?

“Can you be a good Mormon and want to be a millionaire?” This question, or something very much like it, was posed in my Sunday School class last week. I think the very question says something interesting about the asker, but since my short answer (“No”) would not have gone over terribly well, and my [...]

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 [...]

June 8, 1978: Revelation on the Priesthood: 30 Years Later

Last Sunday (June 8, 2008), a member of my ward, Whitney, gave an excellent talk in sacrament meeting in commemoration of the 30 year anniversary of the revelation on the priesthood (the formal announcement of). With Whitney’s permission, I am including a written version of his talk here. It is an excellent talk, which speaks [...]

Barack Obama and Gordon B. Hinckley: A Call to End Hate and Racism

This morning Barack Obama gave an excellent speech on racial issues in America. The full text is available here, from the New York Times. The full speech can be viewed on MSNBC. Nobody has spoken this openly about racial problems in America. A truly heroic — and presidential — effort by Obama.

Why Mormons Should Consider Backing Obama

With Mitt Romney out of the presidential race, who might the Mormon faithful back? Of course, the Church is officially neutral on political candidates and parties (thank goodness). But let’s be honest, Romney’s failed attempt at the presidency has got to upset a lot of Latter-day Saints, who overwhelming backed Romney (at least in Utah), [...]