This Week in Latter-days

Please give a warm welcome (and hit the subscribe button in honor of said warm welcome) to none other than Al Doan, who has decided to check in on our operation. It's nice to have him back, even for a spell.

There were a few big-ticket items in Latter-day Saint news this week. Arguably the largest, at least gauged by social media reaction, was a clarification on the Word of Wisdom first published in The New Era and later referenced in an official press release. The Word of Wisdom has a knack for sparking contention within our ranks, and we'll see if the clearer guidance—that iced tea is still tea of the prohibited variety—takes root among the saints.

The week's other large story is new required abuse prevention training for ward and branch leaders. The Church continues to evolve in its approach to protecting youth and children from abuse and other dangerous situations. Whether it is proactive or even in reaction to the work of some like Sam Young, there's now an online resource as well as a link to the required training.

Ed Smart, Elizabeth Smart's father, came out as gay last week, and some media outlets can't seem to get enough of it. Is the Salt Lake Tribune merely swimming in the calming waters of good SEO, or are we overreaching? After all, Ed is merely a somewhat prominent Mormon who has come out and decided to leave the Church. But Al and Geoff disagree on how much we, as everyday members of the Church, should bear any brunt of criticism for making one feel that they no longer belong?

It was an article that made Al question is decision to return. Third Hour, the Buzzfeed of Mormonism, published an article containing 21 times Parks and Recreation, the NBC sitcom, perfectly reflected the Latter-day Saint experience. So yeah.

BYU has a queer community. They need support. And to help support one another, on occasion they meet up to socialize and mobilize. This time out, they hit that institution of institutions, Denny's. Provo has so many options superior to Denny's, and yet, they chose Denny's.

Have you seen the classic LDS video, “The Prodigal Son”? It's required viewing for any Latter-day Saint, and our own Jared Jones has a breakdown of this classic 1990s short video on Latter-day Saint Video Vault.

Likewise, our own Jeff Borders interviewed Colby Ferrin, a rapper who is Mormon. Al has decided the setlist of his debut album is clearly only about drug addiction or masturbation. He has no proof.

A Twitter user claims someone refused to interact with her because she said "the M word," or "Mormon." And she's serious. If this happened.... geez.

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]elcome to another week! Tiffany and Arianne are here to help YOU navigate all things Latter-day Saints.

Did you know that polygamists are people, too? It's true! In fact, polygamists from around the land, religious and irreligious alike, gathered in southern Utah to do the same things we monogamists do - hang on a lake on a boat.

Election fraud is a real issue that, unfortunately, often becomes a political tool depending on the national mood. However, despite how much alleged fraud doesn't occur at all, in Utah, fraud is real because the mothers of full-time missionaries for the Church wind up voting on their behalf. It's easy to laugh about it because it carries with it such an innocuous face, but fraud is fraud. To shame, Utah mothers!

A new film, The Fighting Preacher, is making the rounds in the Intermountain West, and reviews are solid! about this story that you probably haven't heard of before.

Last year, we reported that the Church was closing its family history center in downtown Park City, Utah. Well now, that unused property is on the market. You can own a piece of history!

In hot, Fox-based news, two Latter-day Saint siblings have made it into the top 10 on long-running dance competition show, So You Think You Can Dance? Let the record show we do not think we can dance.

In keeping with the reality competition theme, a nurse and former Southern Utah University student advances to the American Ninja Warrior finals!

A Mormon kids whose cancer returned 13 days before he was supposed to leave on his mission is making the rounds with his story. He is a man of faith, and his journey will inspire you.

After revising its guidelines for submissions, the Church has ceased taking submissions for the new hymn book. But what will new hymns entail? Will any of them follow the coveted 1-5-6-4 progression?!

It wouldn't be LDS Living without a random listicle. This time, we have a handful of funny tweets that come from trek reenactments that would allegedly make the pioneers laugh. Because we all need laughter when Jimmy has contracted cholera and you failed to shoot that bear and your family starves.

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]e're thrilled this week to be joined by our friend, Devin Thorpe, progenitor and proprietor of Your Mark on the World. Devin's mission is, simply (and easily, right?) to make the world a better place. But how? That's his jam.

Even though the Church has been not exactly forthcoming with details of the new youth program, it has at least announced the theme for the year, which is based on 1 Nephi 3:7 ("I will go and do the things the Lord commands"). On the surface, this seems like a perfectly fine theme, encouraging youth to act on faith in difficult situations, just as Nephi did. But Devin is concerned that it could also lead others to engage in irrational, even violent, behavior, all in the name of God's commands.

Robert Kirby of the Salt Lake Tribune is officially the paper's humor columnist (and we've spent plenty of time tearing down some of his iffier articles), but this week he makes a more grounded argument: that attacking someone's religion is the same as attacking their personal traits. It's not a mere criticism of a faith, but becomes a criticism of the individual.

In an op ed at Religion News Service, a Utah writer discusses at length his belief in the veracity of the Book of Mormon and the divine mission of Joseph Smith, but then stresses that he does not believe in the Church, nor is he advocating for the mission of the Church. Can one be a post-Church Mormon?

A University of Washington student, who clearly has an editor that doesn't even know how to spell "Christ" - decided to visit an LDS congregation. She writes a column covering her visits to different religious services. She came away with an understanding that Mormons are very tight knit and hospitable.

In other non-believer visits, a humanist decided to hit up the Hill Cumorah Pageant, currently in its penultimate season.

You know how the Book of Mormon mentions horses and then academics argue that the Spanish introduced horses into the Americas, thus creating another in many purported logical, archaeological, and anthropological inconsistencies? Well, researchers specializing in Native American history have discovered evidence of horses in the pre-Colombian era, and those pesky, fake-news academics should take notice!

QuitMormon.com aims to allow departing members of the Church have an easier time submitting a legal memo to the Church to have their records removed. The problem, however, is that the Church requires such forms to be notarized, and it asked QuitMormon to provide that or its submissions will be rendered moot. All of this has curiously transpired a few weeks after we discussed an article on The Verge that explored QuitMormon at length.

http://thisweekinmormons.com/2019/08/come-follow-me-resources-make-your-personal-study-even-easier/

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t's finally happened! Geoff and Josie successfully recorded a show without and technological hiccups! Praise the day!

How can we create more inclusion at church? A new piece by, well, the church discusses how to recognize those that might feel left out and what behavior we can engage in to make our wards a more inviting, thoughtful place. It's good stuff.

Josie has our international news roundup, including:

The Church is growing massively in Mozambique with three new stakes predicted by the end of the year/

The Southeast Africa Area, which covers the lion's share of Africa, is going to be divided, which makes a ton of sense given the amount of membership growth in recent years.

Mongolia will be taken out of the Asia Area and moved to the Asia North Area. So yeah.

It's not all bad in Venezuela. The country held its first young single adult conference!

Indonesia held its first ever youth conference! Cool!

Prince Ata of Tonga visits Utah and spends an inordinate amount of time in Provo.

The Church opens a new family history center in downtown Paris.

The best story of the week: some saints in New Zealand flip out about seeing rare crane on the local meetinghouse's property wall.

Activist Sam Young will hold a new rally in Salt Lake City as he continues his push to prevent youth from sitting in unnecessarily invasive bishop's interviews.

A Latter-day Saint state senator from Arizona falls into some hot water for warning us that America is being, uh, infested by "brown" people. Neat.

What would the electoral college look like if the State of Deseret had become a reality? It would be the largest in the country!

The Interpreter has a review of Michael Quinn's new book on church finances has , and it's a doozy.

Living stipends! Who cares?

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]top whatever you are doing and listen to this podcast. Why? WHY?! Because Kurt Francom of Leading Saints is here to discuss the news with the one, the only, G-Off. It's going to be lit, as the youths might say.

Plenty of news this week pertaining to youth. For starters, Especially for Youth, or EFY, is basically on the outs. Gone will be the annual hajj to Provo to spend a week basking in the glory of the 801, to be replaced by a biennial For the Strength of Youth, or FSY, program. FSY will be more local and run by young single adults. The Church hasn't released tons of other details, but here we are. At least this will stop people from trekking every other year.

In other youth news, the Church continues its slow tease of upcoming changes to the children and youth programs. But wait! There's a name - Children and Youth. Err, so there's that. We're still waiting until September 29 to find out what all of this will be about, but now we at least know that the programs will seem to let youth make their own goals as opposed to adhering to a specific program or predetermined goal set. We are living in the correlated era of less correlation.

President Russell M. Nelson gave a speech at the NAACP's annual convention this week, and his remarks were received warmly by those in attendance and across the interwebs. However, many still wish for a full repudiation of the Church's past racist policies. Don't hold your breath for that. Still, that desire was once realized many years ago, when some members, including a Seventy, actually worked on an apology for previous policies.

Kurt has a brilliant, if out there, idea for how to bring temple work to others. You have to hear this!

You know how people want to storm Area 51 and see what the government does with 1 million folks overrunning a top secret installation? Well, some Utah folk want to do the same - to the Church's famed granite mountain vault that holds genealogical records. And there are no guards!

Layton, Utah no longer has to wonder where its temple will be located. Now it knows. IT KNOWS.

Apparently you can't sue someone over injuries sustained during church basketball, per the Utah Supreme Court. Utah is stupid.

President M. Russell Ballard dedicated a new children's memorial at This Is the Place park in Utah, recognizing the over 600 children that died en route to the Salt Lake Valley. Church leaders also used the opportunity to remind the public that we, as Latter-day Saints, believe in being pluralistic and inviting immigrants into our communities.

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]nother week, another TWiM. Join sisters Tiffany and Arianne on a journey of discovery and wonder across the magical realm of Latter-day Saint news!

Enterprising Brigham Young University student Braden Sharp has taken a page from the horrendous "LDS Millionaire" playbook and placed a billboard ad - for himself. Braden needs love, everyone, and you will give it to him. Give him all your love. KSL, eager to jump on the Braden Bandwagon, published a supplemental article asking whether billboards are the new thing in dating. You know, like instead of Tinder or Mutual or whatever. No.

Nearly a year since President Nelson started nudging Mormons Latter-day Saints away from all things "Mormon," the New York Times has published a full profile of the effort, what's changed, and how Latter-day Saints have adapted in the last 12 months.

In one of the coolest stories of the week, a Latter-day Saint-focused choir that was slated to perform in New York's Carnegie Hall improvised when it was forced to evacuate the facility due to New York City's massive blackout. But rather than take their lumps and quickly seek out the nearest Num Pang, choir members moved to the streets outside Carnegie Hall and performed an impromptu set. The event went viral rather quickly, as one might imagine when "I Believe in Christ" is echoing through the urban canyon of buildings in Midtown Manhattan.

Former employer of the inimitable McKay Coppins, The Daily Beast, gave us a fascinating insight into the world of Mormon teen influencers, how they operate, and what drives them to help fellow Latter-day Saint teens be their best selves.

Did you watch season three of Stranger Things? If so, you were entreated to a small mention of Mormons in the first episode (plus a rousing musical number with said Mormon in the finale). However, Jana Riess caught the first episode and wondered about that references to Mormons as "religious white people." Was it accurate? Is it accurate? Was it just a lazy jab on the part of Stranger Things' screenwriters?

Emma Gee, a runner at BYU, writes an article about being the only "out" athlete at BYU while arguing there are plenty more LGBT athletes at the university. It's an open, heartfelt piece that deals with the obstacles Gee, who is bi, has faced as she's confronted her own sexuality and religiosity.

Remember our fine friends from Studio C that started their own comedy house,

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]e're pleased to welcome back erstwhile Sunday School Bonanza host, Jared Gillins, as he sits with Geoff to talk all things Latter-day Saint News. Jared and his brother recently started the Jean-Luc Picodcast, a podcast examining personal stories of how fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation have been impacted by the show, and of course, by Jean-Luc Picard.

It appears the Church has commissioned a survey to gauge Latter-day Saints' feelings on lowering the age for "youth" interviews all the way down to eight years old. Naturally, this ruffles some feathers. It's worth noting that the survey asks who should conduct such hypothetical interviews, including the primary president, but it does not contain an option for a respondent to state simply that he or she disapproves of the entire premise. Bad survey writing there. And strange timing, too. In the wake of Sam Young, is the Church exploring the issue more, or is this just clunky timing and Public Affairs is asleep at the wheel (again)?

President M. Russell Ballard spoke recently at mission president training (new mission presidents enter the field in the beginning of July) where he denounced the practice of hasty or premature baptism invitations. This is something of a watershed moment, as too often we've leaned on intensity, urgency, boldness, etc., with missionaries without encouraging them to be patient with the spirit. When we bring people into the Church before they are ready, we can risk hurting them and the ward into which they are baptized.

Keeping with the missionary theme, missionaries serving in 18 countries will now be asked to pay 25% more per month, up to $500 from $400. But that amount still tracks under what the inflated "cost" of a mission is, so... count your blessings?

Hey! The guests have been announced for President Russell M. Nelsons' 95th birthday soiree! That's all well and good, but it causes us to pause and ask a question: Why are we throwing this huge parties for the Prophets and when did they start? How do events like these help us with our embattled narrative that we don't worship Joseph Smith, for example, when we elevate the president of the Church to mythic status?

Brigham Young University's Honor Code office is in the news again, but this time because it is updating some of its policies and guidelines, notable that the, erm, "accused" are now innocent until proven guilty. Yes, prior to this change, if a roommate ratted you out, the Honor Code office just took that at face value and brought down the boom. Now it will actually take time to do some due diligence. Go figure! Who knew we could live in a world with such basic rights?!

Normally excellent tech site The Verge writes a weak and biased piece about the website that helps Mormons resign their membership in the Church.

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his week's show is special. We're joined by the anonymous author of And It Was Very Good, a Latter-day Saint book about sex. But this isn't just any book. This is a frank, specific book about sexuality as seen through the lens of Latter-day Saints.

But are we comfortable with sexuality as Latter-day Saints? What hurdles do newlyweds face? Does being virtual mean being asexual for too many, thus making sex more difficult in marriage?

Is US Latter-day Saint culture less healthy when it comes to sexuality than that found elsewhere? Has the purity movement ruined sex for Mormons?

The author has excellent, well-researched insights on sexuality. Tune in!

For a FREE pdf copy of the book, send the author an email.

Warning: While this is a perfectly acceptable episode discussing sexuality in frank terms, some audiences might find it explicit.

Transcript

This Week In Mormons:

[0:00] Alright folks so here we are with a special week of this week in Mormons where we're going to do a little interview we're going to set the news aside that we usually talk about and instead

we're going to talk about sex that's right and then I'm sure most of you were rolling your eyes saying the worst person on Earth,

to talk about sex right now is Jeff and you're probably right but here we are this is the hand we've been dealt I'm very excited to talk about this this week though cuz a new book called and it was very good

that's essentially an LDS guide to sexuality and I think it's really fascinating and I have the author with me but the author wishes to remain.

I know it's it's officially authored by goodly parents should I just call you goodly can I call you googly as a nickname or do you prefer something else.

And It Was Very Good:

[0:44] I think it's Earthly parent the goodly parents would be nice I think that implies that I'm rich I'm a goodly parents are good if you think that way.

This Week In Mormons:

[0:51] I'm sorry it's Earthly parents I can call you or can I call you Earth's Earthly parents Anonymous Jim Joe.

And It Was Very Good:

[0:58] My friends call me EP.

This Week In Mormons:

[1:00] I'm going to call you Bernie Sanders the house that sound.

And It Was Very Good:

[1:03] Oh that doesn't sound good how about you pee.

This Week In Mormons:

[1:06] Epok I call you but if it works we'll do we pee so I imagine EP why don't you want anyone to know who you are it's not like you're an informant on a nightly news program or anything that's so skinny.

And It Was Very Good:

[1:21] Well,

I would be fine with it however I'm married and my wife not so much so this is a book that I wrote and my wife edited for our children but also for the larger Latter-day Saints,

public as as we run it but.

One of the conditions was she didn't want people at church to be looking at her funny and thinking that they had some kind of insight into our sex life and so I have to remain anonymous and I'm honoring her wishes.

This Week In Mormons:

[1:53] I mean I guess that's fair having read the book I don't think there's anything that's like rocking the boat too hard there I think the boat I think the book is is it's clear.

I think it's a matter of fact but just so you know on my end knowing the very little about your personal life or your ward,

I would read it and just assume you're a wise person who has done research and knows what you're talkin about as opposed to someone who was writing about your own sexual preferences for all the sea just so you kn...

[dropcap]F[/dropcap]resh off his interview with none other than Microsoft founder and benefactor of the eponymous foundation, Bill Gates, nice guy and our resident socialist, Devin Thorpe, joins us for another round of exciting Latter-day Saint news!

The Church Newsroom does not understand how Disney works, which is shocking for a facility likely populated with Disney devotees. Why is that, you ask? Well, on last week's show you heard about President Nelson holding a gathering at the appropriately designated Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. However, the Newsroom's coverage makes a reference to the Latter-day leader speaking at "The Happiest Place on Earth." What's the problem with the obvious Disney reference, you ask? "The Happiest Place on Earth" refers to Disneyland in California. Disney World has the nickname of "The Most Magical Place on Earth." Get your facts straight, Newsroom! How are you to be trusted when you commit gaffes of this magnitude?

Manti, Utah's Mormon Miracle Pageant is winding down after over 50 years of inspiration and cheap costumes. Why has the Church pulled the plug on its famous pageants? Who's up for a TWiM visit to Hill Cumorah next summer? Manti already has the best temple in the Church that hopefully will retain its charm and peculiarities following a major renovation.

Alright, so we know we've spoken at length about the so-called "LDS Millionaire," but this stupid event keeps being stupider, and it shows the worst in us. How is it that 2,500 women have been so reduced and trivialized that they think this is their ticket to love, or at least a fun event? KSL managed to speak with a few of the attendees, who went into detail without violating their non-disclosure agreements. Nothing groundbreaking here, but honestly, the whole affair is just sad. Also, having a net worth of $1 million, while nothing trivial, is not the incredible milestone it once was. Do you own a house in an expensive market? Boom, you have 70-80% of that goal already covered, and you are no different than your neighbors.

You guys! Provo is receiving its first Starbucks! The Salt Lake Tribune is trying really hard to make it seem like a story worth being a story, but it's not. However, in an era when caffeinated soda is now sold on BYU's campus, perhaps those sinful hot drinks are inevitable. What's next? Doing lines in the MARB?

Jana Riess made herself a nice link-building listicle about 20 changes made by President Nelson "to appeal" to millennials. Devin sagely advises that the changes happen to appeal to millennials, but likely weren't undertaken specifically to capture the millennial market. Anyway, the list is interest, and it sets us off on a discussion about how these have affected our weekly and daily worship.

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Sisters claim it's the "middle" of summer when summer literally starts the day after this podcast is published. That's what having kids does to ya! Crazy children!

So let's talk about the so-called "LDS Millionaire" that has cast a pall of love and intensity over Utah. Brought to you by the fools that started "The Mormon Bachelorette" and later sold out to The LDS Matchmaker, this Mormon Millionaire stuff involved a bunch of poor women showing up to an empty red carpet at a random country club, then being presented with a PowerPoint presentation and a creepy silhouette of said millionaire.

Who is this man? We may never know. Is he a single millionaire? Multi-millionaire? What are his assets? What are these "millionaire dates" of which they speak? The fine folks at The Beehive have a killer rundown of the entire, stupid affair.

Not to be left out, KSL ran some coverage, too, and since the Church owns KSL, we can clearly assume that the Church sanctions this idiotic enterprise.

Allegedly, treks are going to be nixed! No more treks! This is anecdotal, of course, but that's the rumor. Yay for rumors!

Last week, President Nelson spoke at a large gathering of Latter-day Saints at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. (Yes, the Mormons gathered in a facility named after an MLM. It was all apropos.) But aside from the expected uplifting remarks and presence by the best former mission president in the Church (per Geoff), President Nelson also met with the owner of the Pulse nightclub, where a horrific mass shooting occurred in 2016. This was an excellent meeting of minds and hearts.

We're straight up confused about this one. Apparently inmates in the United Kingdom pretend to be Mormons in order to get hot chocolate? Uh... This is from the Daily Star, so... yeah... But...

Hey! So the Oakland California Temple was finally rededicated after a multi-year renovation. But you know what else happens at the Oakland temple? Quinceañear photos! Yes, the famed California landmark is wildly popular with the Hispanic teen community when it comes to celebrating the special day. Of course, the Church now kindly asks that the limos park off site.

VidAngel. We love what VidAngel does, but there's no denying that its previous business model was legally suspect. A judge ruled as such in the spring, and now a jury has handed down a hefty fine - over $62 million - to the plucky streaming startup. Is this the end?

Hey, so Manti's Mormon Miracle pageant is drawing to a close,