Flunking Sainthood
A fire at a historic Chevy Chase ward raises the question: What is Mormon community now?
By Jana Riess — November 22, 2023
(RNS) — Latter-day Saints used to be geniuses at creating community. We need that again now more than ever.
Mormonism and the soft prosperity gospel
By Jana Riess — November 17, 2023
Remembering LDS apostle M. Russell Ballard
By Jana Riess — November 13, 2023
More from Flunking Sainthood
Suffering is a feature, not a bug, of Latter-day Saint life, says author Melissa Inouye
By Jana Riess — October 26, 2023
(RNS) — 'We want a world where God keeps us safe and none of us is gonna strike out or have problems,' Inouye said. 'But in Latter-day Saint theology, that is precisely the plan of Lucifer.'
Kiersten White, bestselling novelist, explains why she left Mormonism
By Jana Riess — October 5, 2023
(RNS) — 'There’s no part of me that regrets the choices that we made in leaving the church,’ the writer says.
The Mormon prophet’s test kitchen
By Jana Riess — October 3, 2023
(RNS) — Why do mature adults practice obedience? Hint: It’s not because someone told them, again and again, to obey.
Changes coming for Mormon service missions
By Jana Riess — September 28, 2023
(RNS) — LDS service missionaries will now be integrated more fully into the Church's overall proselytizing mission structure.
Wallace B. Smith, great-grandson of Joseph Smith and pioneer for women’s ordination, dies at 94
By Jana Riess — September 26, 2023
(RNS) — The leadership of Wallace B. Smith, who headed the RLDS movement from 1978 to 1994, was a game changer.
A fifth of Mormon college students in the US say they’re LGBQ, new study shows
By Jana Riess — September 22, 2023
(RNS) — Among US Mormon college students, 78% said they were heterosexual and 22% identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or something else.
Allegations against Tim Ballard, inspiration behind ‘Sound of Freedom,’ explain rebuke by LDS Church
By Jana Riess — September 18, 2023
(RNS) — The church distanced itself from the 'Sound of Freedom' hero.
On 30 years of Mormon belonging and not-belonging
By Jana Riess — September 11, 2023
(RNS) — I became a Mormon 30 years ago with both eyes open, and that has made all the difference.
One BYU to rule them all … for better or for worse
By Jana Riess — September 1, 2023
(RNS) — A new one-size-fits-all conduct policy seems to be one step forward, one step back.
What Mormons can learn from Twitter — I mean X
By Jana Riess — August 28, 2023
(RNS) — If you’re still calling X 'Twitter,' don’t send me hate mail about saying 'Mormon.'
Disobedient women and #churchtoo stand up to sexual abuse in evangelicalism
By Jana Riess — August 17, 2023
(RNS) — A new book shines a light on sexual abuse in evangelical churches, from Bill Gothard and Josh Duggar to the purity culture underneath it all.
Joseph F. Smith: A traumatized and beloved Mormon leader
By Jana Riess — August 14, 2023
(RNS) — Loving, devoted Mormon prophet or rage-prone abuser? Yes to both, says a new biography of Joseph F. Smith.
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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.
