Mormon Bloggers

I read an article recently about how men (not mankind so as to include women, but men) love war. They love the thrill of pitting their manliness against each other, just to see who’s the toughest. Each wants a turn to prove that in a real life and death situation, he would pull out on top… or at least alive. My first thought was that the whole idea was bologna. I’ve never been a guy who likes the much physical “pitting.” Take wrestling, for example; who wants to wrap their arms around a greasy sweaty guy in spandex – I mean really?! I’d rather pin a bald goat. And as for the grunting manliness of the all American football game? Let’s throw a ball at someone and then pile as many people as we can on top of them – while wearing a helmet, shoulder pads… and yes, spandex. And this is a national pastime? So when it comes to the real deal, with guns, utility belts, and assault weapons, I’m not big on the idea. (At least they wear real pants, but... Read the rest of this entry »

Once every four years (sometimes more often when we talk about Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail, see D&C 121, 122, 123), the story of Job is bashed about in Gospel Doctrine class.  For us it happened again today. I’m not sure why it is, perhaps it’s just a Mormon thing, but whenever Job’s name comes up the great debate begins again — was Job a real guy?  Did God and Satan really have a conversation about him?  Or was the book of Job a metaphor?  I’m not certain it matters to anyone, but I believe we’ll see Job again in the spirit world someday.  There, I just settled it. The book is a real problem for a lot of people on many different levels.  Books have been written, symposia have been held, articles have been authored, and each attempts to resolve this “great and holy mystery” without success.  The debate was enjoined and renewed again today. There are a host of “problems” associated... Read the rest of this entry »

Qui in utero est, pro jam nato habetur, quoties de ejus commodo quaeritur- “he who is in the womb is considered as already born as far as his benefit is considered.” I remember asking my physiology teacher, Dr. Rhees, a question during class one day. “When does the spirit enter the body?” The gentle, ailing man raised his hands and slowly took a step or two back: “I don’t know, I’m not qualified to say.” I thought that was a cop-out. The answer to that question can prove the crux of bioethics issues such as abortion, stem cell research, and embryo screening (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preimplantation_genetic_diagnosis). *disclaimer- much of what follows lacks organization and is speculative* Up until now I have relied on a binary understanding that a given spirit is either A) God’s offspring or B) God’s creation. There’s no gray here: nice, clean, black and white. I know that painfully few realities in this mortal... Read the rest of this entry »

After doing the online dating scene for over a year now, I only started having some fun dates in the past three months. When I first started I was so worried the guys I was chatting with we’re psycho stalkers who wanted to slit my throat. Once I started meeting the guys I chatted with, I realized that I could trust my intuition. If I get a bad vibe about someone I’m chatting with, if they say something that makes me uncomfortable, or even if the conversation is just overly boring, I move on and stop talking to him. The trick in online dating is to know when to stop talking with one and move on. Ask serious questions as soon as possible. If you don’t get the answers you want, MOVE ON! There are tons of guys out there who ARE what you’re looking for. The process is very fast paced, and rightly so. There is no reason to keep talking to anyone if you’re not enjoying it. If you’re talking just to be nice, you’re wasting your energy. The odds are a new... Read the rest of this entry »

About 8 months ago I had a dinner date with a guy I’d met online. We texted for a while and even had a quick phone call. I could tell he was shy, but that’s not really a bad thing. We set up a time to meet after about two weeks. I met him at the entrance of the restaurant. I introduced myself and made sure he was the guy I was scheduled to meet. He confirmed he was the one waiting for me, turned around and quickly disappeared through the entrance. I was left standing for a second since he had done it so fast. I reached out and opened the door again since it had closed in my face. He then looked back to make sure I was following him as he went through the second set of doors. The second door almost closed in my face as well. I picked up the pace to keep up with him, getting only a view of his back as he spoke with a waitress. By this point I was trying to remember what his face had looked like. The waitress picked up two menus and asked him to follow her. He glanced at me again,... Read the rest of this entry »

I went on a short date with a cute guy about two months ago and we seemed to get along well. The conversation over dinner flowed good and I was interested in him. He seemed like a sweet guy who worked hard, yet knew when to play. It was a fun time, but as dinner went on the click died a bit. I still liked him, but I was feeling that this would be our only date. Just one of those dates that doesn’t go anywhere, if you know what I mean. I could tell he didn’t detest me, he just wasn’t going to put any work into asking me out again. As he walked me to the door I thought, I don’t think I’ll see him again, but I had a good time. So as we both reached the front step I opened my arms up wide and leaned in to give him a hug. And… he kept walking! He took about five more steps and I, like a fool, figured he didn’t see me step up to hug him, so I kept my arms up for a few more seconds. Finally, I dropped them and thought, wow! Rejected! Then he suddenly turned... Read the rest of this entry »

The old, ‘wait a week to call back’ is just that… OLD. I went on a quick date with a very nice guy two weeks ago. We had a fun time and he mentioned he’d like to take me ice skating. He said he couldn’t this week, but would like to the week after. I said, “I’d love to, just give me a call and we’ll figure out a day to go.” A whole week and a half goes by. In that time I had a few more dates with a couple different guys and met the guy I mentioned in the last blog. So I’d almost entirely forgotten about this guy. I kind of figured he’d moved on too and wouldn’t be calling back. I finally got a call from him last Wednesday. He asked me to go ice skating on Friday. The problem was, at that point I’d already agreed to go see the temple lights with a new guy Friday, and the rest of the weekend was filled up with other obligations. So I felt bad but told him I couldn’t go this weekend anymore. If he had called... Read the rest of this entry »

Last Saturday I met a really nice guy. He has an excellent sense of humor, he’s real easy to talk to and he had no problem expressing to me up front that he’s always been chaste and temple worthy. I met him for lunch at Chilis and we had fun. I was a little thrown at how normal he was after my recent dramas with other guys. So after lunch we agreed to meet again. A day later, he texted me asking when he could see me again, and he had an idea in mind of what we should do already. Ooooh that’s so nice! We went to a star show at The Gateway Mall downtown, got dinner, then wondered around, shopping for a while. He has a lot of energy and I can tell he’s very intelligent. He was very good company and as the night went on, I became completely comfortable around him. Even before we’d met again for the second date he’d invited me to some see the temple lights with a few of his friends the following Friday. I was excited to see what he was like around people he... Read the rest of this entry »

I was seeing this guy for about three weeks back in October and could tell he liked me as much as I liked him. He was funny, we had good conversations, and there was a lot of flirting. I’d asked him in our first conversation if he had a strong testimony and was temple worthy. He said, “I’m way temple worthy!” He seemed like a really great guy and we’d been out on a handful or great dates. I didn’t see any reason to keep dating other guys when I could see him more often, so I suggested to him we only see each other for a while, just to try it out. He said he’d love to do that and was excited to find out I wanted to as well. We talked about it for a few more minutes and were both excited the other felt the same. Then an hour went by and I got a txt from him. It was shocking. He completely took back everything he said. He told me he just got out of a serious relationship two months ago and his sister said he should date a lot more girls before committing... Read the rest of this entry »

About a week ago, I ended a relationship with a guy I’d been seeing a few times a week for about a month. For the first couple weeks we’d txt almost everyday and we went on a few really great dates. We clicked well and laughed a lot with each other. After a few dates we started kissing and cuddling while watching movies. We were having a fun time together. But we hadn’t asked any serious questions about each other yet. I wanted to know more about him. If he was looking to be married in the temple to someone someday, things about his past, etc. I just kind of shrugged it off. We talked a lot and I figured I’d just find out the important stuff when a good opportunity came up. One night we were on a walk and as he was talking he used a strong sware word. I was a little shocked. It didn’t sound like him and it took me a moment to realize what he’d said. I didn’t say anything at the time because I feel it’s better to let guys feel comfortable being... Read the rest of this entry »