This Week in Mormons

BIG week in Mormon news. The Church releases a quite frank and shockingly open video about temple garments and robes. This was surprising for many given the transparency of it all, but it's a very positive move to control the discussion about what happens in a Mormon temple. It's all over the Internet, anyway, right? Better to get ahead of the story. This is also a reminder to us that the temple is quite sacred, but we can be more open about certain aspects of it and not treat every subject as taboo. The rumor mill is swirling (mixed metaphors?) about possible changes to the temple wedding process. Indeed, as has been discussed before, a change might be on the horizon to require American Latter-day Saints to be married civilly before having their temple sealing. This would be for a number of reasons, not least of which could be the effect of legalized gay marriage on how non-profit churches perform weddings. But there are many factors at play here, so listen in to hear is hash it all out. All the bases. This is like a baseball game with ten bases instead of four, and we cover all of them. There are six shortstops on our team. Related stuff: an Idaho couple could apparently face criminal prosecution for refusing to marry gay couples at their wedding chapel. There's a BIG distinction here, though, in that they run a for-profit enterprise. Blaine Maxfield, the chief information officer of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gives a keynote at the recent LDS Tech conference in which he as much as says that 36% of the Church is active. But that's not all! Then the article about it was pulled. THEN the article came back, minus any of the, erm, "troubling" bits. Unfortunately, our cache of it has since been updated, but we talk about the details in the episode. Can Mormons be liberals? A click-baiting author wants you to think about it.. Also, Church leaders in Seattle take some very proactive steps and hold a conference for LGBT members. This sort of outreach is what's needed, folks. We're all learning as we go. And to those who say that changing with the times is a sign of weakness or capitulation, was Peter totally perfect from the get-go? Hardly. We will always learn and change. Other news: a woman is shot near a church building in South Salt Lake; two brothers randomly meet in Atlanta; the Muppets will be singing with MoTab this Christmas; Church members in Lebanon are aiding Syrian refugees; 2 Mormons have died of Ebola; and a petition at BYU to have a "real" building named after a woman. Subscribe!   Clicks: * Peggy Fletcher Stack says no change to temples and references TWiM without naming us, even though she wrote about this same issue in February. * Idaho couple faces jail - and likes it * Temple garments video *

Happy Columbus Week. Keeping with that, President Hinckley's son, Clark Hinckley, writes a book about Columbus because he thought it would be fun. Ostensibly, he has no credentials and we have to wonder whether he would get coverage were he not President Hinckley's son. #PrayerGate is a thing. You see, after President Uchtdorf mentioned the General Women's Meeting being the "start" of General Conference, Elder Bruce A. Carlson closed the Priesthood Session describing it as the "fourth session." The Church has now edited Elder Carlson's prayer to omit any reference to the "fourth" session by muting the word "fourth." Check out the original below and the edited on beneath it (move to about 5:00 in the LDS.org embed). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPM4cf--w-M&feature=youtu.be&t=1h50m50s So we must ask, was this in any way necessary? We both see Meet the Mormons and offer our colloquial review. How did you like it? Is Meet the Mormons necessary? CNN works with the Church on a piece about prescription drug abuse in Utah. It's pretty good and pretty interesting, and it's great to see the Church owning up to a social problem in its ranks and being cooperative about profiling it. A man appears on Pawn Stars and sells an 1842 edition of the Book of Mormon. This was from the last printing during Joseph Smith's life. It was appraised at $40,000. Now YOU can go to Vegas, witness the lameness that is the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, and attempt to wrest a classic Book of Mormon from Rick's oily fingers. Apparently, missionaries in the South America Northwest Area are being instructed to not allow baptism of investigators until they have paid some sort of tithe or offering. We have quite a discussion about this. Good intentions but risky implementation? Totally OK? Tell us your thoughts. In other random news: let's talk about the evolving nature of mission presidents' wives; a mean gay bar during General Conference; the Church quietly lists many of its Australian agricultural properties for sale; the Church approves female chaplains in the military; the Osmonds rocked HARD; and the Church finally pays off the city of Parowan, Utah once it comes to light that the former had been stiffing the latter over a property line dispute. Join us! And subscribe! Links: * Women's meeting not part of General Conference? * Mormons and drug use on CNN * Pay to baptize? * Clark Hinckley writes about Columbus being wonderful * Gay bar at LDSCONF *

What a great General Conference! And being the week after #LDSCONF, we are here to offer our venerated General Conference breakdown podcast for you. So which talks did you love the most? What resonated with you? The beauty of the spirit is that even just between two of us, it's clear that different things resonated with us. The spirit is awesome. Topics of note: poverty, repentance, reading scriptures, the value of patriarchal blessings, actual priesthood leadership, the sacrament, leadership, and more! So saddle up and listen in. We're happy to have you. Please Subscribe!    

Time for General Conference predictions! What will happen? What do we want to happen? You'll get it all here. Plus, temple predictions. Did you watch the General Women's Meeting? We did. We have plenty of thoughts on it, including how social media has now "sold out" because the Church's official channels are all over Twitter. So sad. The Rome Italy Temple is "bad for ecumenism" per a Catholic Cardinal. Well you know what? We're here to stay, good sir! Updates. BYU "students" hold a "protest" about allowing beards in the Honor Code dress and grooming standards. They ride unicycles to make their point, thus rendering their point moot. A Mormon invents the invisibility cloak! President Monson tweets and then disappears by changing his handle! Tease! Also, Evangelicals have created a fan fiction of Harry Potter where wizards = Christians and Voldemort is out to nix religious freedom. It is... glorious. Other news: the Church registers mormonsandpolygamy.com per WhoIs, actress Mayim Bialik loves Mormons, Elder Holland explains modern cinema per Meet the Mormons, and much more! Subscribe! Links: * Rome Temple not welcome * Follow President Monson on Twitter * Women's Meeting not bad for women * BYU beard protest * Invisibility cloaks! * Press banned from Women's Meeting * Evangelical Harry Potter fiction * Mayim Bialik loves Noelle Pikus-Pace * Mormonsandpolygamy.com * Unordain Men

Welcome to another fabulous week. BYU fans are up in arms about BYU being fine with running Carl's Jr. promotions on the back of their football tickets. Because Carl's is into lasciviousness and ladies. But are we hitting on a bigger issue of tacit endorsements from the Church of stuff that doesn't really align with LDS teachings? In other news of outrage, BYU-Idaho President Kim B. Clark has received a whole lotta flack for posting a Facebook update that served as pleasant, erm, "reminder" about dress and grooming standards at the school. Looking beyond the mark? Valid points about obeying the little things having a larger impact? We'd love your thoughts. The Ogden Temple gets rededicated. We have your coverage. A Mormon kid travels to New York to intern at Radiolab. His experiences are not unlike those of many others, but read about how his faith was both shaken and strengthened from being forced to truly assess his faith and move past assumptions and lifelong inculcation. You know all those LDS.org essays we've been covering for the past year? Apparently, Salt Lake is none too please with the paucity of exposure they've received, so they've sent a letter to local leaders reminding them of the importance of these essays. We have 5-9 things you didn't know about Mormon missionaries. Yup. Other stuff: "Mormonism" Google search results are wrong and the Internet wins a victory against the Rapture; the Church History Museum is closing; it's okay to be a Mormon Democrat; a list of the YSA scenes across the United States; "'I'm A Mormon" picture week; a fictional Mormon Tabernacle Choir film; and, of course, polygamist ninja housewives. Links: * Outcry over Carl's Jr. at BYU * Ogden Temple rededication * Kim B. Clark provokes the ire of the Interwebs * A Mormon in New York * 9 things you didn't know about Mormon missionaries * Polygamist ninjas * YSA across the USA * Fictional MoTab film * LDS.org essays need to be seen by all * Church his...

Author and founder of The Mormon Women Project Neylan McBaine joins us in the studio this week to talk about her new book, Women at Church: Magnifying LDS Women's Local Impact, as well as a lengthy discussion on gender issues in the Church. She also joins us for the news! Huzzah! Use the links below to visit Neylan, and make sure to read our review of her book. And speaking of that news, Ordain Women has announced their next steps, which do not include another march on Temple Square. Rather, now it appears they want women to view Priesthood Meeting at their local buildings, which they were always able to do in the first place before Ordain Women started this whole thing. One eternal round, folks. President Benson will be featured in next year's manual for Teachings of the Presidents of the Church. Are you listening, Grady? FamilySearch wants your grandma. Or rather, they want your grandma to regale them with grandma-esque tales of the good ol' days. But really, this is a big push. Call Grams! Did you know that Mormons prefer Republicans? What?! We're serious! There are rumors of a massive Provo Temple expansion/remodel once the Provo City Center Temple is done. We have mixed feelings about this. #leaveprovoprovo Wanna see Meet the Mormons outside of Utah? Well, you'll have to petition to get it, because markets outside of Utah don't really care. And yet, Utah is the least necessary market. This is real life. LCR is slowly rolling out to replace MLS for clerking and other administrative functions. Listen in for details. Other news: A dramatized, fictional film about one woman's fight to join the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is underway; some genius built a Deseret alphabet translator; former Presiding Bishop H. David Burton will now head up the Utah Transit Authority's Board, giving him free FrontRunner use all the live-long day; a missionary wins his lawsuit against a musk ox; Mormons using social media to push back on so-called antiquated Church policies; and MORMONS VS ZOMBIES. This is a king size show this week, folks! We thought of splitting it into two downloads, but we're not chumps, so we didn't. Enjoy!   Links: * Neylan McBaine * The Mormon Women Project * Women at Church: Magnifying LDS Women's Local Impact * FamilySearch wants your grandma * Ordain Women's next steps *

Elder Ballard is an old man and tells stupid jokes. Sometimes these jokes aren't so well received, such as one he gave at a training that was leaked on YouTube. Let's break down chauvinism within the Church. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir apparently offers us 5 lessons on leadership. Al contests all of these. General Conference will now allow speakers to give their remarks in the language of their choosing. We are pushing for some Pawnee from Elder EchoHawk. The Mormon Newsroom goes after prominent blogger Jana Riess in what can only be described as a strange reaction to content that doesn't exist. Listen in to get more details. Denver Snuffer, now excommunicated after about a year, is claiming the mantle as a prophet. He's got new doctrine, new practices, and a bevy of stuff to offer, but it's not a church. OK. Assorted news: Gladys Knight's conversion story, John the Beloved or one of the Three Nephites saves a sister missionary, and a happy Mormon novel is allegedly plagiarized into a sex romp Linkage: * 5 leadership lessons from MoTab * Gladys Knight's conversion * Katherine Heigl loves Utah and dislikes cohabitating before marriage * The Snufferites * Newsroom vs Jana Riess * John the Beloved vs Sister missionary * Sex romp and plagiarism * General Conference language love

Max Hall gets arrested, but what does it all MEAN? And should we be allowed to laugh? Schadenfreude, anyone? There's a Girls Camp movie! And we will all suffer. The rest of the stuff will be in the show notes.   Links: * Girls Camp movie * Max Hall arrested * Investing with faith * Missionary allegedly threatened with being sent home for holding a Reddit AMA * Utah Women vs Carl's Jr * Rare church history stuff on display * Polygamy is not not legal in Utah * Poster for sisters meeting has just dudes * The Church gives an award to a Chilean lady allegedly suffering from homophobia who says mean things about gays. * Missionary throws first pitch at Orioles game! * The Atlantic thinks that missionaries have to watch each other go to the bathroom * Portland Oregon Temple turns 25 * American religions on a chart. Guess where Mormonism falls!

For this week's episode name, we took inspiration from Elder Bednar's social media talk. The best way to spread our love is via click bait titles of posts! Sadly, we've had three missionary deaths over the weekend - two elders in Taiwan and one sister in Oklahoma. Our thoughts with the families and those immediately affected. Related stuff: a blogger argues missionaries should have weekly Skype calls home, right after we hold their hand through every step of their mission and make sure they never endure adversity. Seminary requirements are changing. Now you actually have to read the entire book that's being taught in a given year. So what we're saying is, one must actually read the presented material. This is madness! Also, there will be tests. So will this strengthen those who exist or dissuade fence-sitters from continued involvement? Al receives lots of barbs for his remarks on last week's show about Elder Bednar's social media plan. We recap. We have more thoughts. This will never end. Also, the Marriott Center literally flooded, per Elder Bednar's request. BYUtv meets with the Television Critics Association for the first time, and the critics use the opportunity to question BYUtv's interpretation of "family entertainment." The better question, folks, is ABC Family's definition of "family," because I wouldn't want my kids watching seventy percent of what's on there! Other stuffs: a brief history of financial transparency in the Church; ground broken at the Meridian Idaho Temple; President Monson turns 87; Ed Lamb of Southern Utah University is not LDS but is a great person, anyway; and some updates on stake organizations, et al. And gay greeting cards at the BYU Bookstore. There is a God, and he has a plan for us all.     If you Click, you will be a winner: * Missionary deaths * How do we get missionaries to not come home early? * New seminary requirements * Water main ruptures at BYU * History of Mormon financial transparency * Ground broken for Meridian Idaho Temple * BYUtv meets the critics * Gay greeting cards at BYU *

Elder David A. Bednar presents on social media at BYU Education Week, and Al thinks he fails miserably, especially since the Brethren don't really do anything themselves on social media. Are we not to follow their lead? Great rundown of the social media talk, as well as the new Meet the Mormons documentary that will hit theaters this fall. So really, we, as social media quasi-professionals, have tons of thoughts on this. We welcome yours in response. Sound off on here or shoot us an email if you like. Elder Russell M. Nelson spoke at BYU commencement last week and focused his remarks on gay marriage. Seems like an odd choice to many, and many in the Bloggernacle took issue with his words. What's your take? McKay Coppins is still active in the Church despite the Internet. He actually writes a great piece for Buzzfeed about how the "discoveries" of the Internet age that lead so many people into inactivity have actually become merely one facet of his faith. McKay, we salute you. Remember that girl from last week's show who wanted to change BYU's honor code to allow sex? Turns out Cosmo contorted and misquoted her to their ends. Shocking, eh? Provo has a growing economy and is becoming hipper by the day, but did you also know it has the seventh-fastest growing poverty rate in the nation? We blame Beto's. Assorted news: two temples are getting their copies of the Angel Moroni aka Angels of Moroni aka Angels Moroni. There's a petition for full financial disclosure from the Church. An app shows us which apostles were alive in a given year and in which order of seniority. The Phoenix Arizona Temple gets its open house dates. Links: * Elder Bednar needs to actually use social media, too * Elder Nelson upsets some folks * McKay Coppins: Internet hero * Keli Byers actually believes in the law of chastity * Moroni now resides in two more places * App for apostles * Phoenix Temple open house * Provo 7th-fastest growing in poverty * Petition for full financial disclosure *

Greetings from the South! Robin Williams' death leads us to think about the way depression affects many of us. Did Williams sin by killing himself? Do we need more compassion toward those who suffer from depression? YES. Great discussion. Does Mormon tradition fail women? Al loves this stuff. A wily minx lady at BYU has decided to change the Honor Code to allow sexual relations. She will not be deterred! Mormon temples are worth a lot of money. It's true! So what's up with the pornography-that's-not-pornography on HBO and Netflix shows and how many Mormons are OK with it? We seriously want your input on this! Ordain Women changes its six "discussions" into "conversations." It's all in semantics, people. The Church sends aid to Iraqi Christians fleeing ISIS and also sends aid to residents of Gaza. ...and your listener mail! Send us more!   Links: * Did Robin Williams sin? * Mental Health Anonymous Facebook group * Mormon traditions failing women * Mormon temples are worth money * Fighting BYU's horrible sex ban * Ordain Women loses "discussions" * Church sends aid to Iraq * Stop the boobs   // Post by Jamis Buck.    

Why is there such a stigma around early returned missionaries? Do we have a cultural problem with relegating early RMs to a lower caste, even if they came home for completely valid reasons? Al has to give a talk on hope, belief, and knowledge. We'd love your input and experiences, particularly with the whole "I know that..." cliche that is so common in the Church. Why are we so averse to proclaiming a belief, as if that is weak and something about which to be ashamed? When can believing be just as good as knowing? Let's talk about when Church leaders age, go senile, etc. Should a prophet be "released"? Are we fine with the current way of doing things? Interesting discussion. BYU is now the fourth least-gay-friendly school in America. That's up from #6 last year. Why? Aren't we making inroads with our LGBT brothers and sisters? A BYU-I teacher resigns from the Church after being let go from his teaching position in the religion department. There's more to this than it seems, but it's worth a mention. Random news: Mormon-con is happening, oh yes! A strip club advertises on a church building. Missionaries in Sierra Leone and Liberia transferred elsewhere due to Ebola. Elder Nelson to speak at BYU commencement. LDS Tools receives an update. And the Mormon Bachelorette chooses 5 different bachelorettes. Because we care. Links: * Mormon-con * Letter from "Dumbledore" to Cassidy Stay * BYU fourth least-gay-friendly school * Church leadership and dementia * BYU-I religion teacher quits church * The stigma of early RMs * Strip club on a church * Missionaries in Sierra Leone and Liberia transferred * Elder Nelson speaking at BYU commencement * Updates to LDS Tools

Are you happy? How do we measure long-term happiness? Israel and Gaza are having a firebomb party. Is there a moral obligation within Mormonism to support Israel? Why do Mormons not support Palestine? Kate Kelly writes her letter of threat appeal to her bishop and stake president. She is none too pleased. Nor should she be. Also, the amorality of Friends. Does Mormonism need to do more in the area of international aid? We're great at sending crates of goods, but what about functioning as a legitimate NGO? What's up with our morality around R-rated moves? Jana Riess doesn't like it, but she does love The Talented Mr. Ripley. Other stuff: Sunstone Symposium is underway; Affirmation encourages gay Mormons to read the Book of Mormon; Church growth in Cambodia; Cliven Bundy's Hawaiian spiritual heir; FamilySearch indexing records; Manti Tabernacles. And much more! Links: * Do "thinking Mormons" need to support Israel? * Cliven Bundy's true hero * Jana Riess and R-rated fare * Sunstone Symposium is for real * Kate Kelly's appeal * FamilySearch indexing record * Affirmation Book of Mormon reading plan * Philadelphia Temple condominium tower meets review. Geoff is unhappy. * Church growth in Cambodia * Manti tabernacle * Ogden Temple ticket demand

Do you need to "relearn" your testimony after attending a Church-run school? How easily do we go beyond the mark sometimes? Does the Honor Code hurt too many people? Jon Huntsman Sr. argues that paying tithing is not a charitable contribution, even if the IRS disagrees. What defines charitable giving to you as a Latter-day Saint? Rexburg floods. God is listening. The third temple film is hitting a temple near you. Be there for the midnight show! Other temple news: groundbreaking announced for the Meridian, ID temple and rededication dates announced for the Ogden, UT temple. Yay! It turns out Mormon pioneer children were actually healthier than non-migrating kids of their age. It also turns out Mormon pioneers on the whole were better off than previously thought. Except Martin and Willie, who skew all the stats in a bad way. Jerks. Want to support the incredible movie Reign of Judges: Title of Liberty? Don't. Did you know Brigham Young helped devise a new alphabet for Deseret? Geoff keeps out on all the geopolitical ramifications and Al mocks him, just as one in the Great and Spacious building is wont to do. Mark Shurtleff goes to jail, but his losing rival in an election becomes a temple president. Wild! It turns out pioneers actually knew how to cook something more than roadkill. Go figure. Please let us know how you like the show!   Links: * Giving to church is not charity, it's a membership due * Groundbreaking for Meridian, ID Temple * Dedication of Ogden, UT Temple * Pioneer children sang as they walked * Reign of Judges movie * Mormon alphabet * 100-year-old woman baptized * Relearn your testimony after BYU * Third temple film hits theaters! *

Have the origins of the Book of Abraham caused you or someone you know to question your faith? The Church has published another in its series of "hard issues" articles, this time dealing with that famed papyri translation. We discuss its components and our own thoughts on the Book of Abraham. What are your thoughts? Two former attorneys general of Utah are brought up on all sorts of charges. What exactly are John Swallow and Mark Shurtleff accused of? And more importantly to many who cry foul over Kate Kelly's excommunication, should Swallow and Shurtleff also receive disciplinary counsel? We get cited in an article about whether City Creek is analagous to Solomon's palace being larger than the temple. Interesting thoughts. A Utah State student murders family members. A crazy guy in Texas murder ties up a Mormon family and executes them. Terrible news. Is the Mormon Moment REALLY over? Like, for realz? We thought a nice New York Times piece might elucidate the situation, but it's really just an op-ed from an Ordain Women supporter. William Atwood, an Albertan from Canada's Alberta, returns from his mission to the Philippines and tackles his mom. This isn't just a tackle. This is a weird canoodle-fest on the airport floor. We've seen that carpet. Bad idea. Even in Canada. Where it's a worse idea. Because Canada. Have you noticed an extra push on temple work lately? We've had multiple home teaching messages on it, the FamilySearch tree app is now out of beta and live on iOS and Android, and the youth of the Church even now have a temple challenge, courtesy of Elder Neil L. Andersen. Interesting how things not-so-coincidentally fall together, eh? Building on that, Manhattan missionaries make a big family tree in Union Square for all to enjoy and amend. Cool times. Mormons really don't like Obama's job as president. This isn't altogether shocking, but speak up, silent minority! The World Congress on Families plans to hold its 2015 meeting in Salt Lake City. This is a difficult area. The Church likes pro-family groups and Elder Dallin H. Oaks is even an honorary member of WCF's board, but WCF has also played a big role in discriminatory legislation against gays in other countries, such as Uganda. Should we reassess our choice in bedfellows? And Strangers in Zion aims to eradicate excommunication. Because Kate Kelly was framed, we tell you. FRAMED!   Click for love: * Swallow and Shurtleff are naughty boys * Book of Abraham per LDS.org * City Creek anger * Mormon family murdered * Utah State killer * New temple website for youth * Missionaries do family tree in Manhattan * Mormons are loath to not loathe Obama ...