Flunking Sainthood

The seeds of police brutality in the Bible

By Jana Riess — May 11, 2021

(RNS) — Monsterization is nothing new, says Esther Hamori, an associate professor of Hebrew Bible at Union Theological Seminary in New York. In fact, it’s right there in the pages of the Bible.

Half of US Mormons are COVID-19 ‘vaccine hesitant’ or ‘vaccine refusers,’ study shows

By Jana Riess — May 6, 2021

(RNS) — The study finds Mormons believe in vaccinations in general, and they trust their church leaders to do the right thing. Yet church leaders have been urging members to get the COVID-19 shot, and half don't want to.

Mormons’ petitions help to save historic artwork in Manti Utah Temple

By Jana Riess — May 1, 2021

(RNS) — Many are breathing a sigh of relief that Teichert's murals, as well as other irreplaceable pieces of art and history, will be saved from destruction.

Finally! Single Mormons have new opportunities, greater respect

By Jana Riess — April 30, 2021

(RNS) — New leadership policies and a general shift in attitude could help invigorate single members, who have low activity rates in the LDS church.

From Mormon missionary to Lutheran pastor

By Jana Riess — April 27, 2021

(RNS) — Langston ‘tried millions of ways’ to make Mormonism work, but she eventually found peace in the Lutheran Church (ELCA) and began to pursue a path toward ordination. Her parents and husband, who are still Latter-day Saints, were supportive, but ‘they were heartbroken.’

Mormon excommunication was not designed to happen this way, say scholars

By Isaac Barnes May — April 24, 2021

(RNS) — Joseph Smith designed an innovative and humanitarian system of church discipline that protected the rights of the accused. So what happened? Two scholars explain.

Mormon excommunication: Need not be present to win!

By Jana Riess — April 22, 2021

(RNS) — I find excommunication to be not only a theologically barbaric practice but also one of dubious utility. It doesn’t come from the example of Jesus. It also doesn’t work.

Parent like your religion depends on it

By Jana Riess — April 21, 2021

(RNS) — ‘Successful religious parents don’t just drop their kid off at church and then expect someone there will take care of everything,’ says researcher Amy Adamczyk. Instead, they lead by example.

When she doesn’t want a baby

By Jana Riess — April 14, 2021

(RNS) — It’s often assumed that of course women want to be mothers — that this desire is natural, God-given and universal. It's not, Donna Freitas asserts in the new novel 'The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano.'

Overcoming Mormon doubt is hard when you’ve never been given the tools

By Jana Riess — April 8, 2021

(RNS) — LDS leaders want doubters to be able to magically know how to do something we’ve never taught believers how to do, which is to understand that we could be very wrong in what we are currently thinking about religion.

Mormon leader blasts some right-wing US extremists, but will they know he’s talking to them?

By Jana Riess — April 5, 2021

(RNS) — Latter-day Saint apostle Dallin Oaks just sounded the alarm about the recent actions of some Trump supporters in the United States. But the talk did not let liberals off the hook, either.

Younger US Mormons voted for Biden, but Trump performed well overall

By Jana Riess — April 1, 2021

(RNS) — Millennials and Mormons of color chose Biden over Trump, but overall, two-thirds of US LDS Church members voted Republican.

The Mormon Israel and the problem with “Let God prevail”

By Jana Riess — March 29, 2021

The overall idea of translating "Israel" as "let God prevail" ignores the original story, in which Jacob actively refuses to let God prevail.

The ‘nones’ are growing — and growing more diverse

By Jana Riess — March 24, 2021

(RNS) — ‘Church attendance is the first thing that goes, then belonging, and finally belief—in that order,’ says Ryan Burge, author of a new book on who is leaving religion and why. ‘Belief goes last.’