[dropcap]G[/dropcap]eoff and Kurt are back with the latest in Latter-day Saint news! A ton of stuff has happened of note, and we'll get to it just as soon a we blow 10 minutes talking about whatever we want.

The top story this week is undoubtedly the announcement by the Church that removes the requirement that couples that marry civilly must wait a year before being sealed in the temple. Now they can get married civilly, if so desired, and hit up the temple as they see fit. This is huge news for non- and part-member families, in particular, but perhaps also represents a precursor toward temple sealers ceasing to perform civil ceremonies altogether? After all, we were tipped off about that very thing five years ago, and it did not come to fruition.

As part of that story, blogger Jasmin Gimenez has a terrific history of the now-defunct policy. You should give it a read.

Near the end of this past weekend's BYU Women's Conference, Relief Society General President Jean B. Bingham related a story about a time when priesthood leadership in her ward was unnecessarily difficult. She was frustrated. Her hot husband felt her frustration. She learned a lot about working with leaders from the process. The problem for some, however, is that Sister Bingham described women as "shrill" and "stubborn." Whoops.

In This Week in Polemics, Geoff asks why we listen to the wives of General Authorities when those wives are not ordained or sustained as anything?! WHY IS THIS? Not even once, Wendy!

All returnED missionaries are now eligible for a component of BYU Pathways, allowing them to enroll in a preparatory year-long course. This is great news for higher education and the continuance of education for the Lord's children, regardless of the access they have to education in their native lands.

Lest we forget, for a few blissful days, we all learned that users could change the icon in the Gospel Library mobile app, including a Lego Moroni! Sadly, we can only assume this was deliberately slipped beneath the gaze of supervisors as developers published the app, for the Easter egg quietly disappeared in about a day through a forced update.

Have you seen our excellent podcast miniseries on motherhood? You should check out Part 1 here.

In crushing news, The Other Side of Heaven 2 is rated PG-13. Will families even see it?!

Transcript

Geoff:

[0:36] Yep that's right I want to start the show the exact opposite way of Josie special podcast from us from Sunday which is very calm and measured.

Kurt:

[0:47] You blew out our speakers Jeff.

Geoff:

Motherhood is complex and takes many forms. This is the first in a special three-part series devoted to exploring the nature of motherhood.

[dropcap]Y[/dropcap]ou know how on Mother's Day a few men in the ward walk around after sacrament meeting passing out a little treat to the mothers in the congregation? It's usually chocolate or something with flowers. Maybe not every ward does thi,s but I've seen it in Arizona, Sydney, and London, and I'd wager about Utah does it too.

Every Mother's Day since I turned 18, I've been offered this treat. Sometimes I took it because Church used to be three hours and I'd get peckish. Sometimes I'd tell them no thanks - I'm not a mother.

I never meant for this to be awkward or to put some poor guy in the position of offering a chocolate to me anyway for the sake of inclusivity. It just was a fact - I do not have children.

In Relief Society lessons and General Conference talks, leaders have addressed motherhood as a calling for all women whether or not they have children. In 2001 Sheri Dew gave a talk entitled, "Are We Not All Mothers?" She said this:

Motherhood is more than bearing children, though it is certainly that. It is the essence of who we are as women. It defines our very identity, our divine stature and nature, and the unique traits our Father gave us.

For many women, this is a comforting idea: Motherhood is intertwined with our divine womanhood. And yet it is confusing to others, myself included. We've been told that you are still a mother to those in your ward. You are an example, a teacher, or maybe you listen and comfort those who need someone to talk to.

Those are things a mother does do, but what makes it mothering? Isn't that being Christlike or being a friend? You are an example or a teacher or a good friend in those moments but not necessarily their mother.

So I've been wondering what definition are we operating within the Church? What makes a woman a mother?

In an attempt to answer this question, I spoke with many women who have all had different experiences with motherhood which makes me think, maybe there's no one way to be a mother, but then, what is motherhood?

Josie

[3:12] Maureen likes to say she's a true-bred Kenyan.

Family roots go back for Generations in the country she moved to Australia for University to become a doctor and there she met her husband Chris a fellow medical student.

Maureen works as a CMO a career medical officer and a private hospital before starting a family.

[3:35] I really look up to Maureen she's who I think of when I imagine what a super mom would look like.

At least from the outside looking in she's even tempered patience and generous with her time she's the mom who seems to have it all figured out.

So I talked to her but my questions of what defines a mother.

But she started the conversation out with a dilemma she's currently facing but I think many mothers will relate to.

She has four kids ranging from six to sixteen and she is ready to go back to work but that goal isn't exactly going according to plan.

As a quick note you'll hear a few names without introduction those are Maureen's kids.

Maureen:

[4:19] Subbing full-time stay-at-home mom since I'm having Eli and the last two-and-a-half years I've been trying to get a job I've been trying to get back into the workforce and I'm seeing I'm realizing

how identify was just naive before or things have changed I'm not sure but how difficult it is,

getting back into the workforce after being away for more than well at that time was 2 years when I started looking for another position

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hat makes a perfect marriage? There is no panacea, but Nate and Angilyn Bagley work tirelessly to find ways to make a marriage a truly celestial one on their podcast Mormon Marriages. The show highlights different Latter-day Saint couples and covers numerous themes, including mixed-faith relationships, addiction recovery, gratitude, faith, and more. They are dedicated to their craft.

But what makes them tick as a couple? Join us as we learn about how they have applied profound counsel in their marriage and how looking at sources inside and outside the Church can benefit you and your spouse.

Visit Mormon Marriagestheir nifty website at and subscribe to the podcast.

Intro and outro music courtesy of Keys of the Moon.

Transcript

Twim:

[0:20] Hello there everyone thank you once again for taking the time to listen to this weekend warm and it's nice to be with you I haven't talked to you for a couple of weeks and I apologize

I for that wonderful to hear the sisters last week

the week before that we actually did have a show recorded but due to some technical difficulties it never got published,

and that's just going to it's just going to disappear into the annals of History maybe for those of you who support us on patreon,

a picture of just patreon. Com or you can pledge money and help support twin maybe for my Teton exclusive her for you if you want to hear some disastrous audio.

[0:58] Let me know patreon supporters please drop me a line Jeff at this week in Mormons. Com by the way if you haven't done patreon check it out like a buck a month if you want any amount you want but I'm just saying pay hop on their folks,

budget Buckmaster help us keep the lights on so to speak anyway,

you have not heard a co-host yet this week because once again I'm going down the interview Lane yes and we're going to keep talking about marriage you might remember a handful of weeks ago I had Alan and Katie mount on

the show they hosting married on a tightrope podcast where they talk about their mixed-faith marriage if you haven't heard that go back look in the feed

it's a very worthwhile episode one of the ones quite frankly I'm most proud of in nearly 10 years of doing this and this week we talked to Angela and Nate Bagley who hosted the Mormon marriages podcast

what's the focus more on how to select realize your marriage so to speak but in a very real way they collectively have done,

a lot of research on this matter this is something you're passionate about their not to two people hanging out talking about their relationship,

they talk about the real science involved behind relationships and of course they do it from a Latter-Day Saint perspective,

it's a great interview there they're terrific sports for hanging out and talking to us so you can go to Mormon marriages. Comment subscribe to their podcast wherever you get Podcast and likewise,

if I can do a quick plug.

[2:18] Please subscribe to this weekend Mormon wherever you get Podcast Apple Google Stitcher whatever you want it's all there and if you really really would want to go the extra mile,

brightness review on iTunes when you do that it helps us and rankings and searches and such as what helps other people find women just about oh good the show has more reviews,

and is more visible and actually helps people find the show and help more people be aware of its very existence and this is our 10th season,

10 seasons of twin of This World sitcom they change our our logo so it would be in Gold lettering or something along those lines to celebrate,

[dropcap]H[/dropcap]ow was your Easter? Tiffany and Arianne recap Easter traditions, FaceTiming with missionaries, and how to keep kids from fighting during an egg hunt.

Brigham Young University's Honor Code office has been under fire of late, less for the Honor Code itself and more for the draconian and arbitrary enforcement of those Honor Code standards. BYU students even took to campus to stage a protest against the office and its shady work. This is a serious issue and plenty of students have horror stories about their run-ins with the office, which we would like to remind you is staffed by paid professionals and not ecclesiastical leaders.

What's up with the cultural assumption that one cannot wear casual clothes or hold a non-sacrament meeting in the chapels of our buildings? Lately, many have expressed this alleged norm, but said norm does not exist! Nothing in Handbook 2 (or 1!).

We all stood aghast as the 800-year-old Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris took fire last week. The worldwide outpouring of emotion and support has been staggering, and Latter-day Saint leadership has not stood on the sidelines. President Nelson, fresh off having met Pope Francis in Rome during his Tour of Italy, penned a personal letter to the Catholic leader expressing his sympathy.

Notre Dame's fire also drew attention to previously mentioned renovations of Utah's pioneer-era temples, all of which are vulnerable to any number of natural disasters and have aging internal components. The Church stressed that it takes care of its temples, and last Friday revealed details about a major renovation of the Salt Lake Temple and its grounds. The temple will close for four years and half of Temple Square will effectively be rebuilt to allow for a more open, inviting, and even public space. LDS Living took advantage of the news to publish an interesting listicle with 10 things you might not have known about the Salt Lake Temple. Likewise, here are 10 things you didn't know about the Tabernacle!

Also, did you know the Salt Lake Tabernacle once had an arrow painted on its roof?

The missionary "surge" continues to ease, as key statistics released during General Conference show a decline in the number of full-time missionaries. As the Daily Herald points out, just over 65,000 missionaries currently serving is still above the approximately 58,

[dropcap]G[/dropcap]eneral Conference is an exciting weekend, and this past weekend was (thankfully?) a bit more back to basics and in line with a "typical" conference in that we weren't bombarded with major announcements or organization shuffles (although one major policy announcement dropped before conference).

We also managed to hear about eight new temples and the renovation of Utah's oldest temples.

So join TWiM founder, Geoff Openshaw, Kurt Francom of Leading Saints, and your beloved TWiM Sisters, Tiffany Hales and Arianne Smith, as they break down the sessions of General Conference and talk about their favorite speakers.

What were your favorite parts of General Conference? Favorite talks? Favorite musical numbers? What lessons did you learn? We love doing these shows every six months. They feel like a reset.

If you are yearning to see our beautiful faces, you can watch a video stream of this episode below.

Transcript

Geoff:

[0:38] We're here oh my goodness I'm basking in the glow of going to a conference this is this weekend ones everyone would live streaming this now so if you are saying this on Facebook,

holler at us and let us know I should probably doing that myself so I can see the questions that my,

come our way I have openshaw as you all know and we are all very excited to talk about our feelings and insights into General, didn't want to wait until Monday or Tuesday to get it to we thought we get it to you,

right now so joining me this week the wonderful twin sisters are also with this everybody say hi.

Sisters:

[1:13] We survived conference with small children and teenagers.

Geoff:

[1:22] I almost didn't my wife reminded the same happened last conference went Buttoneer the very end and my kid going crazy,

I was just there was no spirit I have to re-watch entire thing so I'm hoping that all you can actually just help me learn what happened because I don't have a clue.

Sisters:

[1:38] My last session is always a rest there's either asleep or fighting or I'm bored I'm bored.

Arianne needs to post on Facebook in the Instagram site is really cool tri-fold that she made for her kids as a conference activity this time it is so beyond adorable where they can like,

put speakers in chairs and at the podium and topic it very cool that has the maroon chairs I upped my conference game it did not keep my children

from fighting but my four-year-old was highly entertaining for the first half of comfort.

Geoff:

[2:16] Okay but we'll get all those Hot Tips as we talk I don't want to delay and introducing a course of other playlist you know him you love him leading Saints very own Kurt whatever Ronald frankum what's your name.

Kurt:

[2:30] It is Harold so if you call me K Harold Frank am I to really appreciate that it is too named after Harold Frank of my great-grandfather.

Geoff:

[2:35] Your name is not Harold that sounds he wasn't real that's not me.

Kurt:

[2:42] The reason I exist.

Geoff:

[2:46] Your middle name is like whether you're something like.

Kurt:

[2:48] No no Harold it's much stronger.

Geoff:

[2:51] K Harold Frank now we tease you a lot this weekend we thought you could call the podium man.

Kurt:

[2:56] Oh yeah I was I was sitting by my phone all all week but it never rang imagine that.

Geoff:

[dropcap]H[/dropcap]uge news this past week as the Church moved to align seminary's curriculum with the Come, Follow Me materials. What does this mean? It means kids will still attend seminary following their academic year, but they will follow the calendar year for gospel study, effectively splitting each academic year across two different books of study.

In more administrative news, ward financial clerks may now issue reimbursements electronically through the online donation portal. This is an awesome way to save time and paper for all involved!

We've got plenty of predictions and thoughts on the upcoming General Conference. Will the mutual program be altered? Will the Word of Wisdom be rescinded? Will passive voice continue to be used as we move further away from the tenure of President Monson?

New research shows that Latter-day Saints approve of Donald Trump, but not at the same level as they typically do for Republican presidents. Jana Riess has the rundown.

Awesome-but-legally-iffy filtered streaming service VidAngel was back in court a few weeks ago, where it lost the copyright infringement lawsuit brought against it by the big studios. Will the service survive? VidAngel stands to be fined millions of dollars.

President Nelson turns 95 in September. As such, the Church has decided to throw a grand celebration in his honor. While this is all good fun and happiness, does it lean on hero worship? When do we cross the line in revering a prophet?

Excellent website CityLab ran a piece about the nature and purpose of temple architecture. It's great to see a mainstream site going in depth on such things.

In keeping with mainstream coverage, CNN ran a lengthy piece about why the Church is moving away from all things "Mormon."

Relative Race is back on the air, and our own Jeff Borders is publishing reviews of each episode. As best as we can tell, not even the Deseret News is covering it.

Coming back to the Word of Wisdom, new research shows that scalding hot tea may cause cancer because of damage to the esophagus. Scalding hot anything might damage the esophagus, of course.

Russell Stevenson, the Mormon History Guy, ran a piece about the "whitewashing" of the Church - how international coverage focuses too much on the experience through the eyes of expats as opposed to the lived experience of true natives.

Latter-day Saint Video Vault is back with a terrific review of The Mailbox, a dour 1970s classic!

[dropcap]R[/dropcap]eal-life sisters Tiffany and Arianne are back for their monthly venture into the titillating world of suburban Idaho womanly Latter-day Saintness!

In life news, Arianne organizes her ward's first Relief Society birthday dinner in years. It seems many wards are doing it for the first time in year. What about yours?

Tiffany's kids are straight up doing mock disciplinary councils in seminary. Have you heard of this? This comes straight out of CES via release-time seminary. All live the council of love.

It's a bit of a pop culture week (which, admittedly, we love). We're everywhere!

Logan Johnson, a competitor on American Idol, is actually in Arianne's ward! He graduated from Centennial High School in 2016. Logan has struggled with addiction to pain killers, which is part of his story. He's been sober for some time, and he's using the show as a platform for his issues. And he made it to Hollywood!

There's some random show on Fox called The Masked Singer, and Marie Osmond appears to have slipped that her brother, Donny, might be the eponymous singer! There's a peacock or something and a picture of the Angel Moroni. It's all very confusing. I mean just look at this peacock. Donny is the peacock.

Also, Project Runway is back, also with Mormons, err, Latter-day Saints. Also, The Jets are profiled in the media again. The Jets! The Jets are trying to return!

We covered all things Rome Italy Temple last week, but check out the wonderful video of Sister Wendy Nelson, wife of Church president Russell M. Nelson, as they recounts the experience of being the prophet's wife, including Costco runs! Imagine running into the Nelson's at Costco! After one such run was when they found out about the death of President Monson. We also learn about how President Nelson receives revelation. How neat!

The Church news has a full article, but watch the video below.

Care to get into some early conference rumors? What are the ones you've heard? Testimony meeting getting the ax? Missions decreasing to 18 months? Word of Wisdom changes?

There's a new letter out dictating the terms of the Church's and Boy Scouts eventual divorce. Who gets the terrier?!

Reimbursements have gone electronic! You now don't have to receive a check from the ward clerk and can instead receive your funds right back in your bank account.

LDS Living does it again! They have the story from a TLC program about

The great Devin Thorpe is in the house!

In case you were living under a rock, the Rome Italy Temple was dedicated over the weekend, and coverage within the Latter-day Saint news realm was wall to wall. President Russell M. Nelson dedicated the temple and was present with all members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a first abroad.

President Nelson also met with Pope Francis, the first time the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has met a pope. Nevermind that President Eyring already met the pope many years ago. Hal has it going on! Enterprising and sarcastic Mormons also made this meme:

Also, Elders David A. Bednar and Ronald A. Rasband gave a video tour of the temple, the first time a video has been produced during an open house. It's a GREAT video. Give it a watch below.

Keeping with our Catholic friends, a Latter-day Saint teacher in Utah got into hot water for forcing a Catholic student to clean his forehead - on Ash Wednesday. Latter-day Saints don't do much for Ash Wednesday, but other Christians revere it, as it marks the first day of Lent, and the ash is to serve as a reminder that "dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return." Anyway, the teacher got in trouble. Imagine if someone did something similar to Mormons!

Other huge news of the past week is the Church deciding to move on from the lds.org domain. Lds.org has been around since the late 1990s and the Church has built its entire online presence around it, so this is no small shift. But what's behind it?

In related news, the Associated Press has finally decided to adjust its style guide as it pertains to references to the Church, recognizing the Church's ongoing efforts to de-Mormonize everything.

We also have some, uh, weird new missionary safety training videos that spoof sports commentary shows. Your results may vary, but Geoff was uncomfortable with it and openly said he wanted to punch the hosts.

Also in missionary news, two volunteers in Russia were arrested and are now to be deported. Anecdotal reports from the Rostov Mission suggest entire areas are shutting down for fear of raids by local authorities. Things are not good in Russia.

A slew of other temple news awaits you: open house and dedication dates announced for the Lisbon Portugal Temple; groundbreaking announc...

[dropcap]C[/dropcap]ouples enter into temple marriage with lofty expectations. You'll expand your careers. Settle down some more. Have kids. Buy a house. Send kids on missions and to college. Have grandkids. Grow old. And all the while, you'll stay faithful to the Church.

But that's not the case for everyone. On this week's show, we're joined by Allan and Kattie Mount, host of the podcast Marriage on a Tightrope. They met as missionaries in Spain, getting married within less than a year of Allan returning from his mission. Both have served faithfully in numerous callings. However, over the past few years, life experiences and study have led Allan to remove himself from the Church. But Kattie remains. And they remain faithful to each other. How can a couple remain a couple when half of that couple has seemingly reneged on a core facet of their relationship?

We'd like to stress that This Week in Mormons is "pro Church," as they say. While we welcome healthy discussion on complicated topics, we do hope people will find themselves better off in than out. That said, we think there is much to learn from our fellow brothers and sisters who experience things differently than we do. And we also hope that Allan and Kattie's story can help not just those in mixed-faith relationships, but also all of us as Latter-day Saints in being a little bit more open, honest, patient, and loving with one another.

 

Plenty of Latter-day Saint temple news this week, including the closures of the St. George Utah and Hong Kong China Temples, the groundbreakings for temples in Pocatello, Idaho; Yigo, Guam; and Praia, Cape Verde. Also, those "mini" temples that were rebuilt from the ground up will quietly be rededicated with minimal fanfare.

But the big story this week is that missionaries can now call or text home once per week, breaking with longstanding policy. Is this because modern missionaries are too coddled? Is this to help kids with anxiety finish out their missions? Is this to help families feel more involved in the mission process? Probably a bit of everything.

The Church will now pay taxes, thanks to the GOP-led 2017 tax law. That's right, the same folks who fight for religious liberty also managed to make churches pay some new fees.

Whenever alcohol law comes up in Utah, the Church isn't far behind, and that continues to be the case as Utah weighs raising its restricted ABV levels to bring them on par with other states. Unsurprisingly, the Church isn't keen on it.

An MTC in Argentina is closing, thus bringing the total Missionary Training Center closures of the past year to four. What's up with that?

The director of the most recent temple films is apparently an admitted (and repentant) child molester. Great.

Mentions: a Utah lawmaker wants to make birth gender unchangeable on birth certificates, new garment styles for women, cool history behind statues at the Rome Italy Temple, and the first YSA ward in Asia.

Everyone do Kurt a solid and sign up for the Leading Saints Questioning Saints Summit nexdt month!

Transcript

[0:25] Alright Party People hey what's up everybody Welcome once again to this week and more minutes my name is Geoff hoping she'll not g off. Greg not George.

But you can call me Al if you want because that's a the song not because of,

the erstwhile co-host on All the gossip let's let's get some rumors going,

the blood Feud Rivals that of the danites and the local Missouri is Jeff.