Sunday Musings

This week, the SEC fined the LDS Church $5 million for intentionally hiding information about its investments. Why was this hidden to begin with? Connor argues that the scriptures require financial transparency by the Church in order for its members to give "common consent."

Mormons volunteer more than any other social group, but does that mean we're actually doing what we need to be? And just as the government crowded out private charitable groups, are we letting the church crowd out our individual charity work?

21% of Gen Z now identifies as LGBT. To what degree are these kids making choices about their sexuality and gender because of peer influence and social media? And how else does "social contagion" influence our children?

Critics of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ often barf up a long list of supposed "gotchas" in an attempt to overwhelm ignorant and unsuspecting victims who are unfamiliar with church history or scholarship. Do their criticisms of the faith withstand scrutiny? How should Latter-day Saints respond?

There are things that earlier Mormons heard and believed that church members today are simply unaware of. What are some examples of this "memory hole" effect and why is it happening?

Latter-day Saints are a "warlike people" despite being commanded to "renounce war and proclaim peace." Even worse, they often fail to abide by modern revelation—one that is essentially ignored by the church—that spells out which wars are actually justified.

Since 1954, churches have been silenced by the IRS, their free speech suppressed as a condition of maintaining their tax-exempt status. What are the results of this policy and should it be overturned?

Dr. Paul Erhlich famously (and wrongly) claimed in 1968 that hundreds of millions of people would die of starvation, and this week was on 60 Minutes spouting the same fearmongering nonsense. Evil is called good, lies are advanced as truth, and "experts" are held up as credible by a corrupt media. But what's the truth, and what do we do about it? 

Why is the LDS Church getting cozy with the United Nations? Connor explores some concerning connections.

Why do people think Joseph and Mary were turned away by an innkeeper who couldn't accommodate them? Or that she gave birth in a stable?

Latter-day Saints have been given so much and are commanded to seek for abundance, yet fall into fear-based traps of scarcity that limit their potential. What are the 4 Cs that can help us?

Latter-day Saints are taught to seek learning and explore the mysteries, yet most talks and classes are full of theological mediocrity. Why?

Connor shares the history behind government schools and how their motive was (and isn't?) to educate, but to indoctrinate.

Should we listen to the "experts" when the term is too loosely used and they don't admit when they were wrong? What if we applied the same standard to prophets?

Why are people so quick to investigate Ticketmaster but not Epstein's client list, FTX's money laundering schemes, or Hunter Biden's laptop?

Church leaders often tell us that "principles compatible with the gospel may be found in various political parties…" Connor reviews the Democrat and Republican platforms in search of compatible principles.

If there's no more land to dominate, what is being colonized today? You are.

If the Latter-day Saints want to be more than "Saints in Name Only" then we have to identify and avoid all the ways we're being deceived with cultural traditions of our fathers, idolatry, and iniquity.

Can members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) also be members of the "church of the devil"? 

Connor shares the scriptural pattern of prophets being called from within the church — but not the church hierarchy — to call the people to repentance. Will this pattern repeat itself today, or can we ignore it?

Why is it so hard to "endure sound doctrine," and easy to reject the counsel of those who tell us we're not on the right path? It's in the past and present, and it's a problem in our church. How does it relate to you?

The new "For the Strength of Youth" pamphlet contains several improvements over the previous version. Connor shares many before-and-after examples and ponders what the same approach might look like if applied to adult members as well.

The T-words (thou, thee, thine, thy) used to be familiar and informal, but now are archaic and "reverential"… so why do we still use them? Connor shares some history and thoughts as to why he no longer speaks like Shakespear half a millennia ago. 

Musing from Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Connor discusses some of the scriptures that mention the Constitution to review whether Latter-day Saints are required to support it. And if we aren't, what should we be doing to ensure people aren't "in bondage to one another"?

On the anniversary of 9/11, Connor explores why members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have to believe conspiracies exist and what they are supposed to do about it.