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
Mormon mission failure
By Jana Riess — September 3, 2014
Mormon missionary Craig Harline was sure he'd be able to convert 84 people on his mission to Belgium in the 1970s. The reality was more like zero.
Utah polygamy ruling has the Sister Wives rejoicing, but how will it affect Mormons?
By Jana Riess — August 30, 2014
*No one* is going to force the LDS Church to perform religious marriages in the temple for anyone it would not already approve to hold a temple recommend. That's true whether Utah allows gay marriage, polygamous marriage, or marriage between a fish and a monkey.
3 key messages from Elder Ballard on men, women, and Mormon priesthood
By Jana Riess — August 28, 2014
It’s clear from the picture Elder Ballard paints of ward councils that while many words of value might be applied to women there – assistant, helper, supporter, or deputy, for example – “equal” is not among them.
In defense of moderate Mormon feminism — even without priesthood
By Jana Riess — August 26, 2014
Moderate Mormon feminists like Neylan McBaine are taking flak from both sides -- those who think they go too far and those who criticize them for not going far enough. But small changes are never, ever nothing.
I need Mormon anger management
By Jana Riess — August 25, 2014
A Book of Mormon story reminds me to keep my anger in check even when (especially when?) I'm feeling righteous indignation, as I have this summer over women's ordination and same-sex marriage.
5 “Simpsons” religion episodes that are worth another look
By Jana Riess — August 22, 2014
25 years, man! Pass the doughnuts. Then settle in for these 5 "greatest hits" Simpsons episodes that feature religion in all its hilarious diversity.
Mormonism: Coming soon to a theater near you
By Jana Riess — August 20, 2014
The Church's "Meet the Mormons" film, which will hit theaters on October 10, appears to take the popular "I'm a Mormon" campaign to a logical extreme, using half a dozen ordinary/extraordinary Latter-day Saints around the world as the calling card for our religion.
Mormon money and the end of “full disclosure”
By Jana Riess — August 19, 2014
There is a healthy accountability in Mormon leaders standing up before the membership twice a year to go over the budget. Boring? Yes, certainly. But boring is kind of the idea.
Mormon apostle: “Disciples of the Lord are defenders of marriage”
By Jana Riess — August 15, 2014
Taking exception to Elder Nelson's talk from yesterday. I can be a disciple of Christ and a supporter of nontraditional marriage. In fact, I can support nontraditional marriage precisely *because* I am a follower of that good shepherd.
“Should I marry a non-Mormon?”
By Jana Riess — August 14, 2014
A Mormon reader asks whether she should marry her Greek Orthodox boyfriend.
Robin Williams: Requiem for a dead poet
By Jana Riess — August 12, 2014
Robin Williams is one who seized the day, who sucked the marrow out of life, who gifted the world with a barbaric yawp.
Just HOW do Mormon women hold the priesthood?
By Jana Riess — August 11, 2014
The overall argument that women (and children, and cats, and possibly guppies) can receive all the blessings of the priesthood just by having hands laid on their head and some lovely words spoken is, at best, only partially true. And without intending to, these sincere and well-meant justifications actually undermine the power of the priesthood.
Pop quiz: Taylor Swift, or Book of Lamentations?
By Jana Riess — August 8, 2014
"She cries herself to sleep at night, tears soaking on her pillow." Is this a quote from Taylor Swift, or the biblical Book of Lamentations?
Dumbledore writes to Mormon teen shooting victim
By Jana Riess — August 7, 2014
What did Albus Dumbledore write to teen shooting victim Cassidy Stay? This is the man who said, "It is important to fight and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then can evil be kept at bay though never quite eradicated.”
Mormon missionaries and the stigma of early return
By Jana Riess — August 5, 2014
With the surge in very young Mormon missionaries, it's likely we will see an uptick in early returns. This is an opportunity for the Mormon people, a chance to stop using language of failure when someone comes home early and instead show our admiration for their willingness to try something new and difficult.
