Flunking Sainthood
The best way to honor Melissa Inouye’s memory is to be a kind and persistent badass
By Jana Riess — May 3, 2024
(RNS) — Melissa said it's not enough to memorialize our loved ones who die too young. We have to carry on their work.
It’s not just young women who have a problem with Mormon temple garments. It’s young adults, period.
By Jana Riess — April 18, 2024
Mormonism is still growing, but slowly
By Jana Riess — April 12, 2024
More from Flunking Sainthood
LDS leaders announce new Mormon temple for Cincinnati
By Jana Riess — April 8, 2024
(RNS) — The LDS Church has had a presence in the area since the earliest days of Mormonism in the 1830s.
Community of Christ celebrates 40 years of women’s ordination
By Jana Riess — April 5, 2024
(RNS) — 40 years ago this week, the world's second-largest Mormon denomination announced it would start ordaining women. That decision forever changed the church, which is now gearing up for its first female president.
David Archuleta’s new post-Mormon single is steeped in Mormon beliefs
By Jana Riess — April 1, 2024
(RNS) — In singing about his preference to “go to hell together” with his family, David pays homage to his Mormon roots just as he powerfully subverts certain conceptions of the afterlife, writes guest columnist Jaxon Washburn.
Kirtland and Nauvoo: What happens next week, when tours begin under new LDS management?
By Jana Riess — March 22, 2024
The managing director of the Church History Department answers questions about changes to the tours and the buildings in the recently acquired historic sites.
Who is leaving the LDS church? 8 key survey findings
By Jana Riess — March 7, 2024
(RNS) — Among the findings: Most don’t join another religion after leaving but they also aren’t interested in coming back to the LDS church.
Kirtland Temple purchased by LDS church for $192.5 million
By Jana Riess — March 5, 2024
(RNS) — After years of resisting, the cash-strapped Community of Christ has sold its prized historic sites to its larger and wealthier cousin, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Mormonism, as shaped by the culture wars
By Jana Riess — February 29, 2024
(RNS) — Debates over gender, race and sexuality have been part of Mormonism since Kirtland, says historian Benjamin Park.
How many Mormons are actually in church every week in the US?
By Jana Riess — February 16, 2024
(RNS) — Cellphone data reveals the number is lower than people self-report (but Mormons do better than most).
Revisiting those old Mormon movies from 50 years ago — with live commentary!
By Jana Riess — February 9, 2024
(RNS) — From 'Saturday's Warrior' to 'Cipher in the Snow,' there's a treasure trove of more than 100 vintage LDS Church movies for your viewing pleasure.
Those sexy Mormon swingers
By Jana Riess — February 2, 2024
(RNS) — Here’s the reality that will never feature in a 'reality' TV series: Most Mormons are deeply, predictably, embarrassingly boring when it comes to their sex lives.
A Mormon faith beyond the performance checklist
By Jana Riess — January 26, 2024
(RNS) — 'When we really stop and reflect, we realize that in our religious performance, we're nurturing the very part of ourselves that the gospel instructs us not to feed,' says meditation teacher and LDS author Thomas McConkie.
I’m the collateral damage of Mormon racism and homophobia
By Jana Riess — January 19, 2024
(RNS) — 'Everyone knew before I did that the church was white on purpose,' writes guest columnist Carlene Fraser. 'The Saints they were 'perfecting' didn’t look like me. Think like me.'
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Jana Riess
Flunking Sainthood
Senior columnist Jana Riess is the author of many books, including "The Prayer Wheel" (Random House/Convergent, 2018) and "The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church" (Oxford University Press, 2019). She has a PhD in American religious history from Columbia University.
