I took a class with Stephen Robinson at BYU in the early nineties. I got the feeling I annoyed him a bit. I suspect I might annoy him even more now (if he spends much time on the Web) since my post on why his parable of the bicycle is wrong now shows up as the #4 Google result for the search term “Parable of the Bicycle”. After bashing the parable of the bicycle I felt obligated to try to find a better explanation of what the atonement does for us so I concocted and presented my own parable and called it the parable of the mortgage. The problem was that I was not really satisfied with my alternative either. (more…)

The Garden of Eden story is packed with symbolism. Jeff Giliam has even made compelling arguments here at the Thang that the Garden story is entirely symbolic. In this post I will riff on this idea that the Garden story is symbolic rather than literal. Before doing so, I want to point out that I am not hinting that there was no literal Adam on this earth. I think the evidence that there was a literal Adam is quite compelling. Rather, I want to look at possible meanings of the garden story and pre-garden story. (more…)

I’m a modern day outlaw. First I nearly get thrown in jail (ok, the closest I’ve ever come to going to jail) and second I find out I may have a gambling problem, at least in my bishop’s eyes. (more…)

There is a criminal element that runs through my blood. I have a great-great-great-grandfather that was indicted for murder, before he joined the church. (more…)

Well, my fellow bloggers here are a couple Halloween pictures that I promised to post. (more…)

“Let me give you a definition in brief. Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the house of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being enabled to give them the key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the holy Priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell.” (Discourses of Brigham Young [Deseret Book Co., 1941], p. 416.)

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I had my first garage sale this morning. It was definitely an interesting experience, one that I will not repeat any time soon. Oh, it wasn’t that bad, I think I just went into the experience a little naïve.

Anytime I’ve made noises about having a garage sale in the past my husband has made grumbling noises and mumbled that he thought we should just give our stuff to the needy and not try to sell it at some dumb sale. Most of the time I agreed with him and so the garage sale has always been shelved. Not today, it was a neighborhood sale and I had to get in on it. (more…)

I know, I know, I’m having a really crass week but I thought I would add one more post to the list. Here goes…

I hate snot and boogers. I am not a weak stomached person normally. Barf, pooh, blood, and guts usually don’t bother me, but not snot. Nothing gets my gagging faster than boogers. I’ve always been this way. I can remember watching kids picking their noses in elementary school and being completely grossed out. (more…)

Over at BCC Kris posted on the subject of women healing. She focused on the ritual of healing through the laying on of hands in the post. She writes:

Most members would agree that women are not precluded from receiving or seeking any of the spiritual gifts outlined in Doctrine & Covenants Section 46, “And again, to some it is given to have faith to be healed, and to others it is given to heal.” This is not a gendered statement. Yet while it seems that Mormon women are not officially forbidden to heal, they are prohibited from engaging in the rituals of healing. The current Handbook states that, “only brethren who hold the necessary priesthood and are worthy may perform an ordinance or blessing or stand in the circle.” In this system, women become “hidden healers”; often the gift of healing that literally lies at their fingertips is unused, accidentally discovered and sometimes serves as the source of confusion or guilt.

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Marriage has turned me into an Uber Nerd. The fact that I’m using the word uber is proof in itself. My transformation began right at the start of my journey into marital bliss. (more…)

I must warn you that this post is not for the faint of heart. I plan on using the words fart, poop, and belch a lot in this post so if these words bother you than you should stop reading now! (more…)