My own great great grandfather, who was ordained a seventy in 1884 and took his first plural wife in 1901, a marriage which was performed by a church apostle in the endowment house. He was called as 1st counselor to the bishop of the Morelos Ward in Colonia Morelos, Sonora, Mexico in 1901. When the family was driven…

“So that birthday cake get a cobra/Buggati for real, I’m cold bruh/That auto-biography rover/Got the key to my city it’s over/It’s no thots, only Anna Kournikova’s.”

This is truly one of the greatest covers of Star magazine OF ALL TIME. I'm tempted to set this as my desktop background.

I couldn't get past how awful that wig is.

I agree. I saw Beck in concert last summer and there is no denying that the man is extremely talented and can still put on a hell of a show 20+ years into his career. Just because Kanye doesn't respect Beck's music doesn't mean that he didn't deserve to win.

I recently listened to an episode of The Moth podcast in which Simon Doonan described his experience decorating the White House for Christmas a few years back. It sounded like all of those ornaments and decorations belong to the White House and are kept in storage during the year. The first ladies have added to the…

I will never get sick of this video... NEVER! Prince kills it! Way to do George Harrison proud oh purple one!

It really is too bad for the church, its their loss. The church has what it calls "a Google problem." In the past, if we had questions and couldn't find answers we were told by our leaders to "put it on your shelf, it will all make sense in the afterlife." But now anyone with questions can do a quick internet search…

Mormons don't attend services at the temple, they attend services at their local church or stake center. The temple is a place where members who have been endowed go to perform sacred ordinances. Worthy members receive a temple recommend from their Bishop after he has conducted a worthiness interview and anyone who…

I agree. This policy applies to all unmarried members, not just women. Additionally when you consider the fact that the Mormon church has a lay clergy its really a crapshoot as to what kind of man your Bishop is going to be. Some Bishops are caring, compassionate, and open minded and others are victim blaming pricks…

There is no Mormon clergy, its a lay clergy. Were I still attending church, the leader (Bishop) of my congregation (Ward) would be the old guy who lives two doors down from me and never received any kind of training to qualify him. Only the prophet could make this change via revelation from God. Her letter will never…

I really do understand the desire to attempt to change the institution but the simple fact of the matter is that the Mormon church was built on 19th century ideals and in many ways still clings to that 19th century mindset. If the church were to change and extend the priesthood to women or reverse its archaic views…

I don't know what it feels like to have your life and community defined and anchored by a religious institution, so if I were Byers I'd cut and run and leave those dicks behind (or, rather, ahead). But, like I said, I don't have that personal, emotional, familial attachment to a church.

Kate Kelly can come back to the church, provided that she meets their demands and gives up her cause, but she will essentially be starting from scratch. Mormons believe that their are certain rites or ordinances that must be performed in order to attain the highest degree of glory in the afterlife and when one is…

I totally get where your husband and BIL are coming from. The church can be very vindictive when it comes to resigning. I've heard stories about bishops informing parents that their adult child had resigned from the church during tithing settlement (a meeting at the end of the year at which time the bishop makes sure…

The schadenfreude is spectacular isn't it! I can't wait to see how they officially explain away the whole Adam-G0d thing which was considered doctrine during Brigham's day and taught in the temple and then quickly dropped after his death. Let's not even talk about the preaching of blood atonement...

The history of the RLDS/Community of Christ and the "Mainstream" LDS church is a fascinating one. IIRC, when Joseph Smith was killed their were no clear guidelines as to the succession of the prophet. Many came forward claiming that they should be the new prophet among them Brigham Young and Joseph Smith III. Those…

I was born in and spent most of my life in Utah and I really do love it here, it's beautiful and there are some amazing recreation opportunities (skiing, climbing, mountain biking). I figure dealing with the cultural weirdness is a small price to pay, plus its probably a lot easier to tolerate when you grew up with…

I haven't actually had my name removed from the record because I know that it would break my mother's heart and once I realized that the church had no power over me, I figured why give them the satisfaction of making me resign on their terms? If I say I'm not a Mormon then I'm not a Mormon. I can promise you that it…

Mormons don't shun those who have been excommunicated in the same way that the Jehovah's Witnesses or the Amish do but there is a hell of a lot of passive aggression against the ex mormons in their community. For example, after a particularly brutal snow storm, the young men's group plowed all of the driveways on our…