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

Anti-LGBT bias means we are all responsible for Orlando

By Jana Riess — June 23, 2016
Every anti-gay joke we listen to silently, every homophobic slur we fail to counter, every hostile act against LGBT people we witness without standing up and speaking out makes us complicit in what happened in Orlando.

Mormon founder turned over priesthood keys to women, says Deseret Book author

By Jana Riess — June 21, 2016
Fiona Givens, a Deseret Book author and popular Mormon speaker, says early LDS women were given priesthood keys -- and that there is historical tradition linking Heavenly Mother to the Holy Ghost.

Clinton ties Trump in GOP stronghold of Utah (!)

By Jana Riess — June 15, 2016
I still doubt that Utah will go for Hillary Clinton in the general election. But the fact that it’s even on the table as a point of discussion is a remarkable first in this election of remarkable firsts.

Baptizing Mom

By Jana Riess — June 13, 2016
Two weeks ago, I was baptized for my mother in an LDS temple, and it was one of the most beautiful spiritual experiences I've ever had.

4 juicy reads for summer

By Jana Riess — June 9, 2016
Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet are frenemies with benefits in a modern retelling of Jane's Austen's classic, and a British suspense novel takes the world by storm as this summer's must-read psychological thriller.

Donald Trump’s genius

By Jana Riess — June 7, 2016
Donald Trump’s outrageous response to the judge assigned to the Trump University case has successfully distracted all of us from the real issue at hand: the newly released documents on his allegedly fraudulent business. They are indeed chilling.

Can Mormons be more green?

By Jana Riess — June 3, 2016
Why is it that so many Mormons seem all too eager to ignore global warming science, to be more concerned with capitalism than conservationism? Guest blogger Mette Harrison offers 10 ways the LDS Church could better help the environment.

The Bible in emojis? Terrific idea, sloppy execution

By Jana Riess — June 2, 2016
(RNS) For starters, if you really want to reach millennials, as the subtitle promises, is the King James Version the best way to do it?

The Bible in Emojis? Terrific idea, sloppy execution

By Jana Riess — June 1, 2016
(RNS) An Emoji Bible is a great way to reach young adults who might otherwise shy away from the Bible. But this fun new 'translation' of the KJV becomes tedious very quickly.

The Mormon Jesus

By Jana Riess — May 27, 2016
Historian John Turner says the Mormon religion is emphasizing Jesus Christ more than ever before, but it's a slightly different Jesus than the one that LDS leaders championed in the 19th century.

Mormon young women and priesthood: ‘Change the rhetoric or change the rules,’ says guest blogger

By Jana Riess — May 25, 2016
In this month's LDS youth magazine, one article tries to include young women in the exercise of priesthood, while the very next article excludes them. Guest blogger EmJen says we need better ways to teach girls about a priesthood they do not hold.

Mormons, Evangelicals, and the Trinity

By Jana Riess — May 24, 2016
Evangelical seminary president Richard Land said yesterday that the Mormon Jesus is not our Jesus. But instead of focusing on actual differences, like Mormons' and evangelicals' views on the Trinity, his remarks reveal a deep misunderstanding of Mormon theology.

Gay Mormons, reparative therapy, and the safe spaces of conservative religion

By Jana Riess — May 19, 2016
Historian Benjamin E. Park says the new memoir “Saving Alex” -- which chronicles a gay teen Mormon’s nightmare of conversion therapy -- is “a reminder of the lengths people are willing to go to in denying the authenticity of homosexual voices.”

‘The prophet will never lead the LDS Church astray,’ and other Mormon heresies

By Jana Riess — May 16, 2016
The LDS Church is on a journey, just as we are. Let’s give it the space it needs to be true and living, not just true and dead.

What a Presbyterian professor is teaching me about the culture wars

By Jana Riess — May 11, 2016
(RNS) "Don’t blame Jesus or the Jewish prophets or the whole of any sacred tradition for the bad and limited reading of that tradition which hurt you," says writer David Dark.
Page 39 of 74