Flunking Sainthood
I support gun control laws as a doctor and a father — and a Mormon
By Jana Riess — May 27, 2022
(RNS) — From Joseph Smith to Russell Nelson, LDS leaders have provided a rationale for gun control.
‘Under the Banner of Heaven’ raises the question: Are Mormons dangerous?
By Jana Riess — May 25, 2022
(RNS) — If ‘Banner’ undermines its own credibility by only presenting the horrific side of Mormonism’s founding, the contemporary LDS church undermines its credibility by ignoring the dangers of religiously inspired violence.
A new novel explores a post-pandemic religious world — in the 14th century
By Jana Riess — May 11, 2022
(RNS) — Peter Manseau’s latest book examines the Black Death for clues to our cultural moment.
Heavenly Mother, are you really there?
By Jana Riess — May 6, 2022
(RNS) — I worry that Elder Renlund's advice not to speculate about her will result in some LDS church members thinking that it’s not permissible to speak of her at all.
A more inclusive Mormon Family Home Evening
By Jana Riess — May 2, 2022
(RNS) — If one parent isn't LDS anymore but a couple still wants to hold Family Home Evening, using the church's own curriculum can cause conflict. Enter Uplift Kids.
Faithful Mormons won’t be happy with Hulu’s ‘Under the Banner of Heaven’
By Jana Riess — April 25, 2022
(RNS) — Despite excellent performances and production values, Hulu's 'Banner' left me with the same wary bewilderment I felt after reading Jon Krakauer’s book.
European Mormon women band together for solidarity in an American-led church
By Jana Riess — April 21, 2022
(RNS) — By Women, For Women aims to bring European Latter-day Saint women together for fellowship — and to talk honestly about tough issues.
Is Mormonism still growing? Five facts about Latter-day Saint growth and decline
By Jana Riess — April 7, 2022
(RNS) — COVID-19 continues to take a toll, but it could be a lot worse.
For Mormons, it’s General Conference time. Remind me why we do this?
By Jana Riess — April 2, 2022
(RNS) — General Conference is touted as being prophetic and revelatory — must-see TV for Latter-day Saints the world over. So why does the format feel so stale?
Mormon support for same-sex marriage has doubled in the last decade, survey shows
By Jana Riess — March 24, 2022
(RNS) — Mormons have broadened their support for LGBTQ rights in three key areas, though they still lag the nation in supporting the right of gay couples to get married — or to walk into any bakery in the country and buy themselves a wedding cake.
If we want equality for women in Utah, we can look to history
By Jana Riess — March 18, 2022
(RNS) — A look back to when things seemed more hopeful for Utah’s women.
Evangelicalism isn’t dying, and Catholics are going Republican
By Jana Riess — March 8, 2022
(RNS) — Sociologist Ryan Burge does some myth-busting about American religion, tackling the narratives that evangelical Christians are in a serious decline, that only lapsed Christians voted for Trump and that people who leave religion also no longer believe in God. All are untrue, he says.
Amid Russian invasion, LDS Church issues generic denunciation of ‘armed conflict’
By Jana Riess — February 28, 2022
(RNS) — The LDS Church’s official 'statement on armed conflict' is well-intentioned but vague; Russia and Ukraine are never even mentioned. This is not the time to be Switzerland.
In Mormonism, yesterday’s heresy is today’s orthodoxy
By Jana Riess — February 25, 2022
(RNS) — In 1973, Mormon author Carol Lynn Pearson's feature article for the 'Ensign' magazine was pulled at the last minute, and she was banned from writing about women for Church publications. What was controversial then has become the party line.
Ross Douthat: Lyme disease, Catholic suffering and the frontiers of medicine and faith
By Jana Riess — February 18, 2022
(RNS) — Seven years ago, Ross Douthat began a sudden descent to a hellish nightmare of chronic pain. He recounts his experiences of illness and faith in the beautiful memoir "Deep Places."
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.
