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
The danger and ego of Donald Trump, all in one gesture
By Jana Riess — March 8, 2016
Maybe it was a thoughtless accident that led Donald Trump to have supporters raise their right hands to him. But his refusal to apologize tells us everything we need to know.
More Jesus, Less Joseph: Changes in Mormon General Conference
By Jana Riess — March 4, 2016
Where Mormon leaders once spoke at length about the end of the world and being victims of persecution, sociologists say now it's all about Jesus and the nuclear family.
Mormon apostle urges teachers to address controversial topics like polygamy and seer stones in class
By Jana Riess — March 3, 2016
Race? Seer stones? Polygamy? Mormon apostle M. Russell Ballard says the church's seminary teachers should address controversies openly to "inoculate" students.
Gay Mormon teen chronicles nightmare of conversion therapy in “Saving Alex”
By Jana Riess — February 29, 2016
When she was 15, Alex Cooper's Mormon parents checked her in to a "conversion therapy" program that shamed her for being gay. Now she is telling her story.
Mormon lesbian told to divorce her wife or face excommunication hearing
By Jana Riess — February 26, 2016
"I want to remain a member of the church even though I have not attended for a while, because I believe in the fundamentals of the Gospel," says Elizabeth. But she faces the threat of a disciplinary council for being a lesbian in a same-sex marriage.
Mormons now most Republican religious group in America
By Jana Riess — February 23, 2016
Seven in ten U.S. Mormons now affiliate with the GOP, and that number appears to be growing.
Most Mormon apostles’ Twitter accounts miss the “social” part of social media
By Jana Riess — February 22, 2016
Several Mormon apostles have tried to engage with Twitter (gold star, Elder Rasband!), but most use it ineffectively or not at all.
What was wrong with my Mormon mission
By Jana Riess — February 19, 2016
When Scott Miller served his LDS mission in Sweden, it was a Lutheran minister who taught him what a mission ought to look like.
When Mormon teens doubt
By Jana Riess — February 16, 2016
"It seems unreasonable to expect children growing up in the Internet age to have no doubts about Mormonism," says Mette Harrison. But what should we tell them?
No, St. Francis didn’t say that. Or Thomas Merton. Or Buddha. (COMMENTARY)
By Jana Riess — February 12, 2016
(RNS) The “Prayer of St. Francis” was not written by St. Francis, and many other great religious quotes can’t be traced to the famous people whose names are memed with them.
3 things Mormons should never do on the Sabbath
By Jana Riess — February 12, 2016
That guilt you feel when someone at church says it's forbidden to do such-and-such on Sunday, and you do that thing every Sabbath.
No, St. Francis didn’t say that. (Or Thomas Merton. Or Buddha. Or C.S. Lewis.) Where do we get these fake religion memes?
By Jana Riess — February 11, 2016
The "Prayer of St. Francis" was not written by St. Francis, and many other great religious quotes can't be traced to the famous people whose names are memed with them.
Did Joseph Smith practice polygamy? Denver Snuffer says no
By Jana Riess — February 9, 2016
Denver Snuffer claims Joseph Smith never practiced polygamy, but later Mormon leaders attributed the practice to him to sanction their own plural marriages.
No gays in heaven? Avoiding new Mormon folk doctrine
By Jana Riess — February 5, 2016
Elder Nash’s devotional this week opens the door to a new Mormon folk doctrine that gay people will have to become heterosexual to reach heaven. Guest blogger EmJen explores the implications.
Mormon LGBT policy “isn’t love,” says Mette Harrison
By Jana Riess — February 3, 2016
"I truly believe that the leaders of the LDS Church meant it when they said that the new policy changes of November, 2015, were done out of love . . . that they are trying to figure out a way to show love to a marginalized group," says guest blogger Mette Harrison. "I also believe they were wrong."
