Category Archives: Personal Commentaries

A vainglorious faction inside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is urgently pushing for a new “civic theology.” More idolatry than theology, this push would have church members move beyond a historic reverence for the inspired U.S. Constitution, more than a governmental framework for a free society, to a new enlightened view of the Constitution as a playbook of virtues focused on the meaning of citizenship.

Make no mistake, this peculiar view of the Constitution as a blueprint for citizen-peacemaker begins and ends with an irrational and partisan worship of political compromise. This elite faction of LDS insiders is upselling the Constitution as a compromise to cover a series of political sins. read more

Am I a part of the new “pro-Putin right”? Evidently, opposing U.S. involvement and intervention over the Russian invasion of Ukraine and being a social conservative supportive of the “natural family” and long an opponent of civil rights based upon the terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” places me in the category of the pro-Putin right in America.

Such is the conclusion of journalist Eric Levitz writing for Vox online in a recent article titled, “The twisted appeal of Trump’s humiliation of Zelenskyy,” subtitled “Why some conservatives took pride in a national disgrace.” read more

In his wisdom and sincerity, Governor Spencer Cox has worked hard to set a political tone of understanding, listening, cooperation, and collaboration. Cox has managed to move a tone to a mantra to gospel to a point where everyone in Utah politics these days seems to be singing from the same hymn book. But not everyone. Unfortunately, some people are faking it. Some political players are lip-syncing their parts.

Apropos, we can trace the music and lyrics within that book back to 2015 a much-lauded-lauded “Utah Compromise” that brought together the state legislature, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and LGBTQ+ advocates Equality Utah. They had so much fun in 2015, they are at it again. Each partner still lip-syncing the same tune. read more

I know I am behind the curve on discovering The Chosen. One of our daughters gave us the DVD for Season 1 two Christmases ago but we never dug out a video player to watch it. Thank you for the thoughtful gift, sweetheart. And sorry for ignoring your love. But I just found it on Prime and we have been binge-watching it for the past week.

If you don’t know the show, it’s about the life and ministry of Jesus — but unlike any other I have ever seen. It feels real, human. Somehow, I can relate to it. And I am not sure how I relate to it. I just feel it. It moves me in the right way — I feel better for having watched it. It almost feels tangibly good, like going to church and partaking in the sacrament (no sacrilege intended). read more

“Perseverating” is a word I was unfamiliar with until after six decades of life. It means, in my words, to focus intensely and uncontrollably on past wrongs, embarrassments, and disappointments I not only experienced, but feel I caused as if something still could be done to fix, avoid, or flip the experiences into happy moments.

I perseverate and do so almost daily. Doing so could consume minutes during my day or even an hour or two. I relive very painful moments in my life. Something triggers the memory of that painful moment, regardless of circumstances during the day, and I am off to the races. For instance, I could lose ten minutes of a business meeting due to perseveration. read more

These thoughts address two statements by our LDS Church regarding its support for the Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA) – the December 13, 2022, statement from the signing of the bill and the November 15, 2022, endorsement of the bill in the United States Senate.

Statement language in red.

The December 13, 2002, statement:

U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act on Tuesday, Dec. 13. Elder Jack N. Gerard, a General Authority Seventy, and former U.S. Sen. Gordon H. Smith, now an Area Seventy, were in attendance for the signing. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released the following statement on Tuesday, Dec. 13. read more

Inspired by Hugh Nibley’s short essay, How to Write an Anti-Mormon Book, for years I have meant to write a response to a former employer’s screed in favor of greed. This former employer shall remain anonymous, partly out of a bit of contextual respect and partly because anyone who defends greed in public likely would defend it in court. Suffice it to say he was a salesman extraordinaire for get-rich-quick schemes. And my interest in his remarks is because he identified as a faithful Latter-day Saint. read more

Every other month, we receive a copy of LDS Living magazine, I suppose because we shop at the Deseret Book store. Each issue is filled with uplifting stories about LDS personalities or LDS who have overcome great hardships with inspiring stories. Notwithstanding those People magazine-type articles, LDS Living is a commercial for the LDS Church. But not just the LDS Church. LDS Living is a commercial for LDS products — you know, food storage, Holy Land tours, comfort foods, religious conferences, event venues, and, of course, products from Deseret Book. And, not oddly but uniquely, addiction treatment centers and fertility clinics advertise on its pages. read more