What do you know about Jane Manning James? I was recently asked a question about her and decided that since I was putting so much time and thought into her story, I should share those ideas here. Jane has been trending lately. Between Elder Ballard’s tribute […]

I haven’t written anything for a long time, but not because my interest in all-things-Mormon has waned.  In fact, I am still almost obsessive in my quest to understand LDS history, doctrine, and culture.  I’m listening to hours of podcasts and voraciously reading books and […]

There are times when I can’t quite figure out how my mind works.  Last Saturday, I woke up way too early, thinking about a conversation I had had nearly two years ago.  At that time someone was making the case that the Church of Jesus […]

Just over a year ago I started this blog with the lofty goal of posting once a week. Recently, I was asked if I had given up on writing since it has been such a long time since I added anything new.  This question has […]

In response to a previous post, someone—we’ll call him David—wrote the following: “Jana, you may be a nice person but you don’t know squat about your cult.” Today I’d like to respond. First, there is the question of whether I’m a nice person.  Well, David, […]

I’ve always been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and by that, I mean that I have been actively participating for more than half a century—attending three hours of services on Sunday, serving in many callings, and going to years […]

Several weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night with this question, “Had there ever been a time when I was absolutely sure that God had answered my prayer?” It was a strange experience because, while I am a vivid dreamer and […]

Beginning as a child and continuing up until about a year ago, I have been quite comfortable bearing a typical LDS testimony that included a lot of “I know. . .” and “I know. . .”  That isn’t true anymore, but not because I have […]

When my daughter, Natalie, was fourteen, I was concerned about her level of interest in our LDS faith and thought she might benefit from going to EFY (Especially for Youth is a weeklong event with classes and activities designed to help 14-18 year-olds “strengthen their […]

Until this past year, I don’t think I’d ever heard of Occam’s Razor.  I feel like I should have known what it was, but I didn’t.  So, for anyone else who isn’t familiar with it, let me begin with some background. William of Occam (or […]