Jana Riess
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.
All Stories by Jana Riess
What one bishop offers Mormons who don’t ‘know’ the church is true
By Jana Riess — September 9, 2016
Richard Ostler, bishop of a Mormon YSA ward, shares 8 suggestions in counseling those who doubt, including: Listen more than you talk, don't tell people just to pray more, and mourn with those who mourn.
Why I still need ‘Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought’
By Jana Riess — September 6, 2016
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought has been hugely important in my life. In fact, I'm not sure I would have ever converted to Mormonism without it.
Watch the Mormon seminary curriculum transform before your very eyes!
By Jana Riess — September 3, 2016
Over the last two days, the LDS seminary lesson on prophets and revelation seems to have changed and then changed again, as the church apparently grapples with its understanding of race and revelation.
Please don’t write that memoir
By Jana Riess — September 1, 2016
I'm joining Rachel Held Evans, Father James Martin, and others in teaching a $99 online course to help writers become published authors. But one piece of advice is: you might want to hold off on that memoir. ;-)
Not an active Mormon or an ex-Mormon, but something in between
By Jana Riess — August 30, 2016
NPR's story about the rise of the cultural Mormon points to the large, uncharted middle territory that exists between active belief and disaffiliation.
And the ‘Pray and Color’ winners are . . .
By Jana Riess — August 29, 2016
Announcing the six winners of last week's blog giveaway.
Mormonism: A country club with a strict dress code
By Jana Riess — August 27, 2016
Guest blogger Mette Harrison says Mormons spend too much time talking about appropriate dress, particularly for young women. All this attention to clothing makes church feel more like an exclusive country club than a faith dedicated to Christ's example.
Giveaway: Win a free copy of new ‘Pray and Color’ coloring book
By Jana Riess — August 25, 2016
Win a free copy of a new spiritual coloring book -- and read an interview with its author, Sybil MacBeth.
BYU (almost) clarifies its policy on Mormon students who leave the faith, while claiming (sort of) it was already their own idea
By Jana Riess — August 22, 2016
The good news: BYU is softening its harsh policies toward Mormon students who lose their faith while in college. However, the university seems to be claiming that its decision to do so was not influenced by the FreeBYU campaign. What gives?
Polygamy lives on in Mormon temple sealings
By Jana Riess — August 3, 2016
While plural marriage has officially been banned by the LDS Church for more than a hundred years, the truth and lived reality for many modern Mormon women is actually far more complicated. Tracy McKay-Lamb is one of those women.
Cincinnati pastor wins trip to meet Hillary Clinton — and gives her a book by Kierkegaard
By Jana Riess — August 1, 2016
My friend Rich Jones (out of 230,000 people!) won a trip to the DNC last week to meet Hillary Clinton -- and got a chance to talk with her and v-p candidate Tim Kaine about matters of faith.
6 unexpected findings about Mormon doubters — and one that’s no surprise
By Jana Riess — July 29, 2016
Older Mormons, not younger ones, are more likely to doubt -- and women are just as likely to doubt as men. These are just two of the surprising findings from Pew's study of Mormons, which is heavily weighted toward the experiences of active Latter-day Saints.
Mormons aren’t alone in feeling devastated when people leave
By Jana Riess — July 26, 2016
Guest blogger Jon Ogden says breaking from tradition is the world's second-oldest tradition . . . but when loved ones leave Mormonism, it can be painful for those left behind. His new book offers hope for restoring those strained relationships.
Who is leaving the LDS Church?
By Jana Riess — July 23, 2016
Singles, young adults, and men (especially those who did not serve a mission) seem to be among the most likely demographics of people who leave the LDS Church. But "The Next Mormons" research can find out a good deal more that we don't yet know.
Mormon women fear eternal polygamy, study shows
By Jana Riess — July 20, 2016
Carol Lynn Pearson's new book argues that many, if not most, Mormon women feel pain and fear at the prospect of sharing their husbands with at least one other wife for all of eternity. Even if polygamy isn't currently practiced, it's "alive and unwell" in Mormon doctrine and temple sealing practices.
