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OF ASSES AND PROPHETS
OF ASSES AND PROPHETS by Michael Barker A few weeks ago I was studying for that week’s Gospel Doctrine lesson, which came from Numbers, chapters 22-24 — the story of Balak, Balaam, and Balaam’s ass....
View Article006: Meet Melody Newey
Melody Newey was one of our first permabloggers at Rational Faiths. She brought with her the wisdom of a mother and the gift to craft beautiful posts, like a poetess. She was our Eliza Roxy Snow....
View Article010: Commentary on Courts of Love
Rational Faiths permabloggers share their personal perspectives and discuss how the movement for excommunication of people like John Dehlin and Kate Kelly affects us as individuals and a church as a...
View ArticleRoom for All in this Church
Room for All in this Church June 16, 2014 We face a difficult and pivotal moment in Mormonism as LDS leaders and church members wrestle more openly with complicated aspects of our faith, its doctrine,...
View ArticleA Letter to an Apostate
Note: I wrote this essay a month ago while our family was vacationing on the Oregon coast. I’ve left it in its original form despite the recent events regarding the pending disciplinary actions of my...
View ArticleThe Life of Mike and The Life of Pi
THE LIFE OF MIKE AND THE LIFE OF PI by Michael Baker I wrote this at 5:oo this morning, Saturday, June 21. I’ve read the following scripture and reflected on it many times the past few days. The other...
View Article“Knock, I Will Get Angry With You”
“KNOCK AND I WILL GET ANGRY WITH YOU” by Michael Barker As all parents, my wife and I have rules for our daughters. One of these rules is that my oldest daughter cannot have a cell phone until she is...
View ArticleOOOOOH!!!! It Feels So Good To Be Soooo Right!!!!
OOOOH!!!! IT FEELS SO GOOD TO BE SOOOO RIGHT!!!! by Michael Barker I learned yesterday that my dear, less-active LDS friend’s wife died two days ago so I decided to call him. I told him, “Too bad you...
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Jeremy Runnells – the New Expert on Joseph Smith’s Polygamy?
Jeremy Runnells—the New Expert on Joseph Smith’s Polygamy? By Brian C. Hales Recently Jeremy T. Runnells has rebooted his 2013 “Letter to a CES Director: Why I Lost My Testimony,” by posting a...
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Tiamat and the Atonement
Tiamat and the Atonement One of the oldest creation myths is that of the Enuma Elish, in which the Babylonian God, Marduk, fights the sea serpent, Tiamat (this type of divine battle is called a...
View ArticleIf You Like the Gays, Then You Aren’t a Disciple of Jesus : Am I in Crazy-Town?
If You Like the Gays, Then You Aren’t a Disciple of Jesus : Am I in Crazy-Town? Yesterday I read in Deseret News that Elder Russell M. Nelson, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, spoke at the BYU...
View ArticleRadical Compassion: Those That Have Left
RADICAL COMPASSION: THOSE THAT HAVE LEFT Note: This is the second essay in a series called Radical Compassion. To read the first essay in this series, click here. by Michael Barker If you were to sit...
View ArticleMormons, Meet Your Fellow Mormons* – A Movie Review
MORMONS, MEET YOUR FELLOW MORMONS – A MOVIE REVIEW by Michael Barker I saw the much-hyped movie (of course this is a tongue-in-cheek comment, because it’s only hyped-up by Mormons), Meet the Mormons,...
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Why Progressive Mormons Are Wrong..and, Oh Yeah, So Are The Conservative Ones
I think we are all aware of the arguments between the more traditional believing Mormons and those that have more liberal leaning views. It goes something like this: Conservative: God is immutable...
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Sunstone Northwest 2014: A Photo Journal
INCLUSION AND INFLUENCE IN THE BORDERLANDS On Saturday, November 15, Cathy and I went to the Sunstone Northwest Symposium. This year it was held at the Ranier Valley Community of Christ Church in...
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The Answer to All the Hard Questions: Um…Maybe Not.
by Michael Barker The December 2014 issue of the Ensign has an article by R. Val Johnson entitled, “The Answer to All the Hard Questions.” It’s intended audience seems to be those in faith transition,...
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From Whom Do Your Blessings Come?
By Michael Barker I once heard a provocative question: When you feel God’s presence, or have an answer to your prayer, to whom do you acknowledge the comfort or the blessing came? God the Father?...
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A Christmas Search for the Divine Feminine
By Michael Barker Note: This is an expansion of a testimony I gave at my Fast and Testimony Meeting on December 7, 2014 Scripture is male-centric. That is a fact. It is that way because it was...
View ArticleTwo Crosses
It was not a friendship I would have expected– She, black. Me, not black. She, a PhD and now attending Divinity School. Me, not an academic. She, a woman. Me, a dork. But the friendship and the call...
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The Curse of the Amish and Mormonism’s Tool Box
The other day my wife asked me to do some, um, manly things around the house. For those who don’t know, this is a p-trap First on the list was to tighten up the p-trap under the utility sink in the...
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