This Week in Mormons

Should the temple preparation course be changed? It doesn't exactly cover many of the realities of temple attendance, especially for the first time. So why is this manual lacking in so many areas? The Church will donate $10 million to fund homeless shelters throughout the Salt Lake area, but why are so many of these initiatives centered on Utah? Are we not a global church? Is this just knowing one's backyard and reacting accordingly? The format for General Conference will change in 2018, with Priesthood Meeting and the Women's Meeting taking turns in the Saturday evening slot. What does this change mean for commerce in Utah County?! Likewise, the Church recently changed the format for Visiting Teaching messages: "Do What She Needs." This is great, but we're still puzzled that so many Latter-day Saints just focus on a message and stick to a script. Why?! Why do you not just serve people?! In other temple news: the Houston Texas Temple will, indeed, go down for major refurbishments following hurricane damage. It will be rededicated quietly in 2018. Also, a cool story about how stained glass windows from a Presbyterian church found their way into three newer LDS temples. Church officials also broke ground on the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple in October. The Church updated the social media logos for a number of its properties last week, but failed to provide much context or inform the public that this was not a change of the Church's actual logo. Chaos ensued. Confused was felt. Rest assured, this was to combat the bevy of Mormon-related Facebook Pages that are not run by the Church. Sorry, fans of VidAngel. Its troubles continue to mount. The filtering firm announced recently that it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. According to the company, this is all well and good, but... come on. Dark days ahead, people. In missionary-related news: Matt Holland (son of Jeffrey R.) has been called as a mission president, stymying the hope of many that he would eventually run for governor of Utah. Also, enterprising young minds send their friends fake mission calls, which is both fun, dumb,

The sisters are back, and they are reallllllly excited about Sodalicious opening in the Boise area. Also, psuedo celebrity sightings, including famed mommy blogger Sarah Wells, who wrote Our Best Bites! These are wild times we live in, folks. The Meridian Idaho Temple dedication is coming up, and with it a cultural celebration. A full review is forthcoming, but the Sisters have some fun stories about their kids' involvement in the celebration, as well as their own volunteer efforts to support the open house. What have your experiences been with prep for a temple dedication? It's all hands on deck! Elder Robert D. Hales passed away last week. Are the Sisters, (née Hales) related to Elder Hales?! Many speakers at the funeral shared affirming anecdotes about Elder Hales' service, some about Elder Hales' wife, Mary Crandall. So what about Mary Crandall Hales? Why don't we know more about apostles' wives? Tiffany sleuths the internet for interesting stories about the wives of General Authorities, to great results. Another story from the funeral: Elder Hales' near-death experience as related by President Eyring. Why is Utah food so... Utah? A new article out of the Standard-Examiner examines Utah gastronomy, such as fry sauce, funeral potatoes, green jell-o, etc. But is the jell-o stereotype of Utah played out? Is it still a thing? Also, Arianne's husband thinks good salads are "girly" salads, because apparently good food is girly. Time to reconsider your choices, Arianne. An LDS mom has worked with her children to get perfect ACT Scores. Tiffany breaks down the key ways you, too, can game the testing system and get your kids into BYU. How about Utah being the mecca for modest fashion? It makes sense, but there's more to it than you might think. It's been 32 years since the LDS hymnal was last updated. Is it time for a revision? Which hymns would you remove? Which would you add? We cover some of your very best Facebook comments. A new BYU study says it is better to be direct and brief when delivering bad news to people. So don't tell someone they are a good person when you break up with them. Just cut it off. Shut it down.

It's our General Conference recap show! Join Geoff and Al as we go over the five sessions from this weekends 187th Semiannual General Conference and discuss their impressions and thoughts. Also, Elder Robert D. Hales passed away during conference. We remember a meek and powerful servant of the Lord. Check out our friends over at the Talks on Talks podcast, where they spend each episode going over individual Conference talks. Miss some talks or sessions? Check it out here.

Al and Geoff are back in the saddle with our pre-General Conference episode! Should you feel guilty if you make temple attendance goals and fail? How reasonable is it, truly, to push to attend the temple more often? The Church purchased the original printer's manuscript of the Book of Mormon from the Community of Christ for a cool $35 million. Yep, million. How do we feel about relics and the huge costs therein? Who was responsible for the price? Did the Community of Christ set it and forget it? Also, Fox News had terrific coverage of the event. Caffeine is here! BYU has been liberated! For those who somehow missed it, BYU changed its rules to allow the sale of caffeinated sodas, and both the media and the Mormon internets lost their minds. Hey! Lindsey Stirling was on Dancing With The Stars last week, and she's still alive! If you want to hear a rundown of Mormons in reality or competition television, check out last week's episode with the TWiM Sisters. In other entertainment news, Killers singer Brandon Flowers thinks Mormonism is misunderstood mostly because it's new. We expect the mystical and fantastic from ancient scripture, but we don't expect it in the 19th century. Are you into finding nepotism where it might not exist? If so, you'll love that President Henry B. Eyring just installed his son, Henry J. Eyring, as president of BYU-Idaho (the lesser BYU). Meanwhile, BYU-Provo (the greater BYU) has installed a full-scale replica of the ancient tabernacle. Head on down south and check it out. Many wish the Church would do "more" with regard to humanitarian work, whether in the form of money or in organization, like becoming a larger, more robust, fully fledged and staffed NGO. But it's not as simple as that. Carolyn Homer has a great new piece at By Common Consent about some of the structural limitations that are actually present in the Church. Allure Magazine has a segment about Mormon women and beauty "standards" and BOY has it blown up on the interwebs. Check it out for yourself and let us know what you think. Other news: two-thirds of active Utah Mormons support legalized medical marijuana, the Philippines gets a

We've go ta special rundown of Mormons on reality television! Lindsey Stirling makes her debut on Dancing With The Stars and kicks major butt. The TWiM Sisters are here to break it all down. Evie Clair continues to dominate on America's Got Talent. What about Jungle Gold, an awful reality show that had two Mormons trying to exploit local resources mine for gold in Ghana? The cast and crew were even accused of murder. And just as importantly, an innocent teenager gets sucked into competing on Project Runway Junior, which is apparently a show. (Can you tell that while the Sisters handle recording their own show, they are definitely not the ones writing the show notes?!) The Deseret News has a full rundown of the 90 Mormons who have appeared on reality TV show since 2000. Here's looking at you, Julie Stoffer! Also, in news that matters, President Eyring visits Hurricane-ravaged Florida, lending a hand and lifting spirits.  

The Sisters return with stories about family reunions in Cambria, eclipse mania throughout their native Idaho, and eagerness to shuttle their kids back to school and out of their hair. It's clear they love their children. So much. Hurricane Harvey personally affected some of Tiffany's family members. We have full updates on damage to the Houston Texas Temple, how reporters covered Harvey, the actions of missionaries involved with cleanup, and President Uchtdorf's visit to the area, including his open-shirted remarks to a large sacrament meeting. Great stuff throughout. The Deseret News covers a fascinating story about a baby switch in Preston, Idaho that rocked two families decades later. Did you know that if your baby is switched it turns out since it's not a blood relative it wasn't born in the covenant? A man in his 60s had to go to the temple to be sealed to the family that raised him. Really fascinated discussion to be had on all of this. Arianne is personally acquainted with a lesbian couple that divorced so they could join the Church. You may have seen this story making the rounds, but it's cool to get some perspective from someone who was in the couple's ward when they first started attending. Most importantly, a BYU student spent two semesters foraging for all of his food—on campus. This man is a winner and also needs a woman. But we're not so sure he's actually going to get a woman. Support Us on Patreon $1 per month is all we ask to keep TWiM rolling. Donate here.

Harvey and Houston Amid untold catastrophe in Houston, the Houston Texas Temple also floods approximately 4-5 inches. Why have some been snarky about a temple flooding? More importantly, while the temple can and will be restored, what about the lives of Houston residents. The Church has also lent its meetinghouses to the recovery effort. Denver Snuffer, Offshoots, and History Denver Snuffer is still at it, and his Remnant movement—which he stresses is not a church—is having a conference in Boise to canonize scripture, something Snuffer said The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints never actually did. In a semi-related note, Religion News Servicecarried a great article covering the shared history of various Latter-Day Saint movements, and how that comes together at sacred ground for all sects. Independence, Missouri is a potent example, where various LDS offshoots (and our mainstream church) believe Zion will be built in the Second Coming. It's easy to forget that we still believe, doctrinally, that Zion has yet to be redeemed. Temple News On August 13, 2017, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf dedicated the Tucson Arizona Temple, bringing the total number of temples in Arizona up to 6, 5 of which have been built in the past 20 years. The Church also recently announced a major change in temple worker policy, allowing single men over 30 and recent divorcees to serve as ordinance workers. Previously, those within five years of a divorce were barred from service. However, some other restrictions remain in place. Pushing for Inclusivity, Decrying Racism After the tragedy in Charlottesville, the Church initially issued a somewhat tepid, boilerplate response, frustrating many. It revised its statement, however, once it became clear that certain LDS advocates of so-called "white culture" used the original statement as carte blanche to continue their activities, the Church outright condemned white nationalism, categorizing it as sin. Prominent hate blogger Wife With a Purpose, who is LDS, responded by saying,“I don’t listen to the church’s PR department,” Stewart wrote in a tweet Tuesday afternoon. “Have someone from the first presidency tell me I can’t love my culture, then we’ll talk.” A viral post entitled "A Letter to Mormons" highlighted the chasm that exists in some area where Mormons play a dominant role in culture. The non-Mormon author mentioned how her kids just want to sit at the same lunch table as Mormon kids. How do we overcome our naturally insular nature as a religious body? Goodbye, Presidents of the Church With the Church running out of Teachings of Presidents of t...

On this special episode, Geoff and our old friend, Kurt Francom of LeadingLDS, sit down with Jon Birger, author of Date-onomics: How Dating Became a Lopsided Numbers Game. Date-onomics is a fascinating book that takes issue with the concept of "He's just not that into you" in favor of a hard look at numbers and gender ratios among college-educated adults, and how those ratios fuel particular behaviors. It so happens the book has an entire chapter about Mormons. Jon wanted to study religious groups where bar culture isn't as much of a thing, and he happened upon we humble Latter-day Saints. And our interview with him centers largely on how the numbers game affects Mormons arguably more so than males' refusal to do more than "hang out." You know why they are hanging out? Because women overwhelmingly outnumber men among Mormons in Utah. Buy your copy of Date-onomics here. Doing so supports TWiM (and Jon).

Elder James J. Hamula of the Seventy is released and excommunicated. This is a major event in Mormonism, the likes of which haven't happened since 1989, and before that, the 1940s. While we have natural curiosity about everything, let's talk about how we can retain our faith when we see even those in important Church positions struggle. VidAngel is doomed, basically. Our co-host for this episode, Ashton Bingham, is a videographer and has many opinions about dearest VidAngel, which just lost its bid to have a court injunction reviewed. Ashton used to work for Jason Chaffetz's committee. He regales us with tales of working for Mr. Jason E. Chaffetz, who apparently has no real middle name. Likewise, what about that piece about Senator Jeff Flake and Mitt Romney's so-called obligation to "save us" from Donald Trump? Ghana is getting a newer, much larger Missionary Training Center. It replaces the existing MTC, which could hold a maximum of 90 missionaries. The new one holds over 300 and can be expanded to hold 500. Also, in Ghana, Elder and Sister Renlund took part in a "Face to Face," the first ever broadcast from Africa. Watch it below. In other news: the Jordan River Utah Temple is finally reopening; a sister missionary dies in Guatemala; some Japanese anime shows the Salt Lake Temple as a fortress of the gods; and Utah's favorite musical artist is not Mormon or a BYU grad. BUT WHO COULD IT BE?!

The TWiM Sisters return to break down the news and talk traditions and their favorite things. Please support TWiM on Patreon! $1 per month from all of you will make all the difference in the world. How was your Pioneer Day? Tiffany and Arianne have differing perspectives on the holiday, living in different areas of the Mormon Belt. How is Pioneer Day for you if you're outside of the main Mormon Corridor? 5th Sunday third hour lessons: good or bad? Arianne has never been close to a local open house, but with the Meridian Idaho Temple coming near completion, a cultural celebration is in order. But what does one do for a cultural celebration in a suburb of Boise?! Demonstrate love for the interstate? Free advertising for Sonic? These cultural celebrations make loads of sense abroad or for a region that has never had a temple, but the Meridian Idaho Temple is less than nine miles from the Boise Idaho Temple. So... As for news, Elder Holland did something we don't see very often. He redacted a faith-affirming story he had shared at a training for mission presidents, explaining that the story as it had been related to him was not entirely accurate. That's a good move. Now, you might recall on the last episode with the Sisters that Tiffany said, "I would not have believed the story if it didn't come from an apostle." Does this call into question how much we can trust apostolic anecdotes? Is this Paul H. Dunn all over again? No. Ever the academic, Elder Holland did the right thing and set a good example for all of us, though he did admit that he heard the story second hand. It's important to fact check faith-promoting stories. US Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona comes out swinging against Trump, and an enterprising Huffington Post blogger feels that if Flake, Mitt Romney, and other Mormons had been more aggressive about stopping Donald Trump from winning the presidency, Mormons would have fallen in line and voted for Hillary or Evan McMullin, denying Trump an Electoral College victory. However, the argument is riddled with flaws, and Tiffany has plenty to say about it. BYU finds that there are only four types of Facebook users: Selfies, Window Shoppers, Town Criers, and Relationship Builders. Window Shoppers are clearly the worst of them all. Why are you here, Window Shopper?! But what about MLM users? Shouldn't that be its own category? WE DON'T WANT YOUR RODAN + FIELDS! A new Gallup poll shows Americans increasingly accepting of polygamy on moral grounds, if not legal ones. Will Mormons follow suit with the overall population? Will polygamy be legalized at some point due to same-sex marriage already having done so? Elizabeth Smart has helped produce a Lifetime (*sigh* yes, Lifetime) movie about her 2002 kidnapping ordeal. Initially, Smart was reluctant to dramatize her experience, but she realized doing so responsibly could be a force for good. She narrates the new film while actors portray the events. Two former mission companions reunite decades later, but not at some event put on by a former mission president over General Con...

Al and Geoff return to hit up all sorts of exciting Mormon-related news from the past few weeks, including: The Church weighs in on a potential medical marijuana bill in Utah. Is it a moral issue or just one that needs more study? It's a fine line to walk, and it seems like Salt Lake is avoiding making a definitive moral statement on marijuana for medicinal use. And how does that affect the Word of Wisdom? After all, modern-day interpretations of it explain that we don't take "illicit or illegal" drugs. Obviously drugs are harmful either way, but what happens when one controlled substance becomes legal? How does that affect our own LDS morality? What happens when an allegedly well-meaning mom abandons her kid in Bryce Canyon when said kid declares—the day before he was slated to do so—that he won't be entering the Missionary Training Center or going on his mission? The internet erupts, LDS Living takes it on the chin, and for some reason the original author pulled the post down. Hmmm... go figure! This has been the scandal of the week! In news none of us saw coming, British magazine The Week talked about the Russian election scandal in the United States, devoting a section as to whether the entire episode is a prelude to the fulfillment of the so-called "White Horse Prophecy," when the Constitution shall "hang by a thread" and only a Mormon will save it. Paging Harry Reid. A BYU-Idaho professor gets sacked after posting pro-LGBT/anti-Church comments (depending on your point of view). While her remarks certainly edged up on full-blown criticism of doctrines, this also raises questions about individual liberty and free speech when working for a Church-run organization. What if she hadn't been a professor, but a random administrator, or an A/V tech? Would she have faced the same scrutiny? Alex Boyé has had a mixed few weeks. First, he was called up at the eleventh hour to fill in for Christopher Jackson at the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Pioneer Day concert. Jackson had scheduling difficulties that forced him to bow out. While Boyé did a wonderful job, many ticket holders were upset over the loss of the originally announced guest and subsequent replacement by one of Salt Lake's go-to default talents. In addition, Boyé just produced a music video "featuring" retired NBA star, sometimes actor, and personal friend of the North Korean regime Dennis Rodman. The problem is, Rodman isn't exactly an actual part of the proceedings. Things have cooled off a bit, but high drama ensued in Nauvoo when a city council member allegedly suggested that the newer Mormon arrivals should be tarred and feathered and driven out of town. Sound eerily familiar? Lots of this has been unclear, but we spoke with one of the primary actors involved. New Book of Mormon videos b...

TWiM nation all-star Greg Anderson is back in the hot seat, specifically to talk about Mormons and so-called "censorship" from groups such as VidAngel. Greg has years of experience in multimedia, going back to working at BYU's Varsity Theater while in college, and his stories of splicing out profanity or questionable content bring a fascinating insight into the lengths Mormons go to in order to avoid something naughty, as well as how that ruffled feathers in Hollywood decades ago just as it does now. Buckle up and get ready for Greg to walk you through an entire world. Greg has something to say.

Time again for the TWiM sisters. Join Tiffany and Arianne as they discuss benefits and hardships of the kids being out of school in the summer. Modesty is a 150-year-old issue in the Church, dating back to Brigham Young's Retrenchment Association. As such, the saga of modesty and girls camp continued to play out. Seriously, the energy we exhaust trying to get girls to wear one particular length of shorts for one particular activity is nuts. Beyond the mark, people. Also, wedding planning for your young girls! As for Mormon news, there's lots of amazing stuff, including an unbelievable story told by Elder Holland to new mission presidents, the dress code update for church employees, a 30 year-old television interview with President Uchtdorf (when the Silver Fox was actually a brown fox), Mack Wilberg helps prisoners to fine tune their vocal cords, a conference for divorced saints, a Mormon Eagle Scout turned underworld drug dealer, and re-purposing your food storage for something other than a door stop. (Also, Utah realtors should include extant food storage as part of a sale.) Finally, the Sisters conclude with of course their favorite things. Links: * Elder Holland's awesome new talk to mission presidents * Church changes dress code for employees * Mack Wilberg directing a choir at Utah State Prison * There was a conference for divorced Latter-day Saints * Opioid drug kingpin, Aaron Shamo * Practical uses for food storage Favorite Things

Much love to all of you! Welcome to another week of humor, pathos, and one of us eating while recording. We'd like to thank the TWiM Sisters for their contributions of late. Keep a lookout for their next episode in a few weeks. Arguably the biggest story of the week is that of 12-year-old Savannah, who in prepared remarks, shared her testimony and also used the opportunity to come out. However, before she was finished, her microphone cut out and a member of the stake presidency, who was presiding, asked her to sit down, thus setting off a firestorm in the media. This is a delicate issue, for sure. How should leaders respond in situations like this? How should we act when bearing our testimonies? Kurt Francom of LeadingLDS wrote a piece about this from the leadership perspective, and we have plenty of thoughts on the entire episode. Hey! VidAngel is back! We're excited about that. But, um, VidAngel isn't exactly operating above board because it's hacking Netflix's code with your login credentials in order to filter Netflix content. Does that seem shady? It is. We don't expect VidAngel 2.0 to last, but we're thrilled to be able to watch hard R content from the comfort of our computer. Some of you following our Facebook page might have seen a recent photo share of an engaged couple's super Disney wedding invitations. We said nothing derogatory (other than a sarcastic use of "belligerents" when referring to the couple), only mentioning that this goes into our discussions on Mormons' disproportionate love of Disney. Anyway, the excrement hit the ventilator, and the father of one of these lovely young individuals, Dwayne, made it a personal vendetta to crush our hopes and dreams. This episode is for Dwayne and the rage he's clearly pent up over 40+ years. Yes friends. He made a Facebook event. We love. Do you like BYU-Idaho's Pathway program? Many do, including international students. And therein lays the potential problem: Pathway might cannibalize the Perpetual Education Fund as students in developing countries opt for an affordable degree from BYU instead of a loan to obtain a degree from a not-as-great school back home. In present-day Nauvoo, Illinois, a city council member essentially threatened to tar and feather Mormons. In 2017. The issue here is that Mormons have actually moved into Nauvoo again since the construction of the new Nauvoo Illinois Temple. It's basically a repeat of the past: Mormons come to small town. Mormons take over small town. Non-Mormon locals freak out. Should a bishop's release take over sacrament meeting with testimonies from spouses, counselors, et al, many of which are not actual testimonies, but "thank-imonies"? Kurt Francom says no. Let's keep sacrament meeting about sacrament meeting and keep ward business ward business. Al disagrees, arguing that a bishopric change is a major milestone for a ward family and is an exceptional circumstance. LDS Business College is now selling caffeinated soda, proving once and for all that LDSBC is better than BYU, which still refuses to sell it because of purported "lack of demand." Yeah, no. A few Church manuals still dissuade interracial marriage. Yeah, that's still a thing. The references are reasonably obscure, and we don't think this is a big narrative of the Church in this day and age, but the fact remains the counsel is there and hasn't been redacted. Many of you know that Elder D. Todd Christofferson was involved in the Watergate scandal (D. T. Christofferson... Deep Throat...). In actuality, he clerked for a federal judge during all of it, and the apostle spoke last week at length about his experience. Pretty fascinating. Give it a read. Other news: The Salt Lake Tribune has myriad steps to improve race relations within the Church; Elder Balla...

The TWiM Sisters are back in action. Join Tiffany Hales and Arianne Smith as they discuss being Mormon moms as well as the news of the day. Let's talk about modesty shaming teenagers and how ineffective a "tool" it is to promote modesty. Tiffany shares a story about her daughter being called out for her shorts by a leader her daughter didn't even know. How is this productive? Is Inspired Guns a good movie? No. The Sisters continue their obsession with discovering details about Al's wedding and his wife. They do not yet understand that we will never give in and never surrender. What Father's Day traditions do you have in your ward? Do the fathers get as much recognition as the mothers on Mother's Day? Tiffany talks about inequality in not allowing missionaries to call home on both Mother's Day and Father's Day. Lastly, what's up with Sodalicious, Swig, and the like? But seriously, what is up with this industry? In important news, LDS Living hits the pavement hard with a story about a Mormon family that runs—like seriously runs—in Crocs. You know Crocs, right? The shoes that aren't meant for anything more than ridicule? Apparently one can run in them. And be Mormon. At the same time. In an instance of more fake Mormon news, apparently Johnny Depp took a copy of a Book of Mormon from some missionaries five years ago while filming flop The Lone Ranger. Look, we know this was only reposted because of #synergy with the latest Pirates movie coming out, but come on. Kourtney Kardashian posts an uncaptioned photo of the Los Angeles California Temple and Mormons FREAK THE FREAK OUT. The Church will return tithing money from a financial adviser who bilked his clients for $25 million. But we don't need fiduciary laws. Also, the Sisters favorite things.