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Sometimes the mysteries of God remain unknown because we do not truly want to confront the answers of a God who is more wild and untamed and bigger than we ever imagined. It can feel scary to let go of what we have always thought, when God breaks the confines of what we previously believed. Answers to questions about justice and love may ask more of us than we are prepared to do. They may force people to change in ways they do not want. Those moments can shake a testimony, as we pursue a God who leads us to lands that feel strange and unknown. But that is how Alma says we uncover the mysteries of God - with the questions which may not be answered in the pews.

For example: simply saying, "We do not know why there was a temple and priesthood restriction for Black people in the LDS Church" lets us off the hook far too easily. It allows people to continue the status quo because they evade the struggle of real answers. But we lie to God if we do not question and truly seek an answer when something inside prompts us to ask. Religions give good templates for asking God questions because nearly all of them started with good questions. Embracing that model of inquiry, having the humility to admit ignorance and seek for more, can lead us to moments like Zeezrom's conversion, when he 'trembles' with a new consciousness. We see God in new and beautiful ways as we honor the divine within ourselves. Curtailing that divinely given curiosity, silencing questions, or refusing to seek for answers, oppresses spirits and advances ignorance. It 'hardens our hearts against the word.'

-- Fatimah Salleh, The Book of Mormon: For the Least of These

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Painting is "Relief Society Healing," by Anthony Sweat

"These women had strong spiritual gifts and taught their daughters and granddaughters about accessing the powers of Heaven.

In blessing meetings as early as Kirtland, women prophesied, spoke in tongues, and gave blessings of healing. In current Church teaching this would be considered improper, but Joseph Smith's response to questions at the time was unconcerned: "If the sisters should have faith to heal the sick," he said, "let all hold their tongues." Fair enough, Brother Joseph!

The rules about exercising spiritual gifts got more complicated under Brigham Young, with a variety of conflicting messages from the brethren, but the sisters continued their blessing meetings through the difficult days of crossing the plains, the early Relief Society in Utah, and well into the twentieth century.

Parents often gave joint blessings to their children. Sisters came up with rituals of washing and anointing each other during sickness, before surgery, and in preparation for childbirth. Oh my goodness, of course there should be a blessing for childbirth. That is so beautiful. And this wasn't something sneaky that people did in the privacy of their own homes-blessing rituals were propagated through the Relief Society itself, with some sisters even called and set apart to perform them.

I find one surviving record of a blessing before childbirth. There's no way to tell whether it's someone's transcript of one blessing or a script used to give many blessings, but it is so full of empathetic specificity from one mother to another. The pregnant mother is blessed that her hips "might relax and give way for the birth...that the child shall present right and...the afterbirth shall come at its proper time." Her breasts are blessed that her "milk may come freely and [she] need not be afflicted with sore nipples as many are, [her] heart that it might be comforted."

The night before Jane was born, I asked Nate to give me a blessing. I treasure that memory. But it's not like he thought to mention the afterbirth or the difficulty of breastfeeding."

— Mikayla Orton Thatcher, Beehive Girl (available now on Amazon)

From BBC press on instagram

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I am so mad that other religions don't really believe in a pre-existence, because they are missing out on the experience of jokingly theorizing with each other about what THEY made before they came to Earth. [We believe that we all helped out when God and Jesus created the physical universe]

Like, my grandma insists she came up with the platypus; a creature she thinks is almost as weird as her. As for me? I like to think I had some part in the dinosaurs, or galaxies, or prion diseases.

Anyways, put in the tags what YOU think you created. I'm curious

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So I just came out to my Mormon grandma. I expected a lot of things! I had a lot of fears! Prepared for many eventualities!

I was NOT prepared for her to say, “Oh honey, I already knew. The Holy Ghost told me.”

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when the kids at the birthday party want balloon animals, but you only know how to make balloon hats.

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books in the Book of Mormon rated by how much people faint

1 Nephi: Laban is found passed out (and then decapitated!), Laman and Lemuel are shocked once or twice by the power of God (but not knocked out), several long-form visions occur but it’s unclear whether or not Nephi and Lehi were unconscious for them. Basically, lots of missed opportunities. 3/10

2 Nephi: Lots of good doctrine in this book, but again, so many missed opportunities. 1/10 for 2 Nephi 8:9

Jacob: Just when it looks like this is a very woke book, Sherem is smitten after demanding a sign from God and falls to the earth. 6/10

Enos: The guy literally stays awake for multiple days praying. 0/10

Jarom: The Nephites keep the commandments, look forward to the coming of Christ, and prosper in the land. 0/10

Omni: Sounds like a lot of people fell by the sword, but all the good details got put in the large plates, smh. -5/10

Words of Mormon: Well now we know who to blame for the great lack of fainting in Omni. -1/10

Mosiah: Chapter 27, an angel knocks out five in one blow! Alma the Younger remains comatose for three days. 9/10

Alma: This is a longer book, but boy does the fainting really pick up here! Lamoni, his wife, and Ammon all fall to the earth, Lamoni’s father is out for a minute, then Ammon faints again when reunited with Alma and company! That crazy guy can’t stay on his feet! Alma revisits his repentance coma, Amalickiah’s camp are overcome by sleep, Lamanite guards fall into a drunken stupor, and many Stripling Warriors faint from loss of blood. It doesn’t get any better than this, folks. 15/10

Helaman: So much drama and even an earthquake, but no fainting. A real letdown. 0/10

3 Nephi: Tons of unbelieving Nephites fall to the earth as though dead, best Christmas ever. 8/10

4 Nephi: Mormon glosses over any potential fainting #rude. -1/10

Mormon: Many are slain by the sword, but it’s really not the same. 0/10

Ether: The brother of Jared falls to the earth upon seeing the hand of the Lord, but he stays awake. 2/10

Moroni: Absolutely nothing, maybe the most woke book in this whole thing. -1/10

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enough about the cain instinct can we talk about the esau instinct. that primal desire to risk it all for soup

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Hot take but maybe one of the reasons people (both inside the church and out of it) get "freaked out" by temple ordinances is because we've cultivated such a pervasive disrespect for spectacle and ritual in religious settings. We take pride in "plain and precious" things, but that in turn makes our own sacred rituals feel like a big dirty secret that we're ashamed of. We do a terrible job of actually understanding and explaining what "sacred, not secret" means

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Ok but Brigham Young dreaming of Joseph Smith telling him not to exclude anyone from the flock and proceeding to exclude a large chunk of people from the flock has to be the hardest power move ever but like in the exact opposite direction

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help, i just learned that ezra taft benson is the reason idaho became linked with potatoes in the popular consciousness (from matthew harris, watchman on the tower: ezra taft benson and the making of the mormon right).

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“The prevailing emotion in Noah’s first response to Abinadi is one of extreme anger. Noah’s intense and immediate desire to kill Abinadi stems from the same kind of fear that has led to the deaths of many of those who organize and agitate for change. Noah is angry because Abinadi might ‘stir up’ the people - in other words, Abinadi might disrupt the status quo. Notice that Noah’s excuse is that the people might engage in ‘contentions’ as if the anger of the people is the problem and not the policies that are in place. Noah currently has the people under his control, and his defense for keeping it that way is that superficially it looks like peace. This tells us what happens to a community that is called to repent: it looks like contention and anger as people begin to move in changing structures. It looks like what civil rights leader John Lewis called 'good trouble.’ An absence of conflict is not a good goal in itself, because that can simply hide the injustice and unrighteousness beneath. Disruptors may bring contention, but that’s what is needed for real change.”

— Fatimah Salleh, The Book of Mormon: For the Least of These

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slowly trying to get back into the book of mormon meme zone by going back to the quintessential basics: jokes about first nephi getting beat up for saying literally anything

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Hi I'm scrolling through ur blog and I just wanna say. The captain Moroni - Pahoran epistles are so funny to me. Moroni's like "Pahoran if you think you can just SIT THERE and watch us DIE you've got another thing coming. I am literally gonna come up there and murder you, God said I could!!" and Pahoran's like "oh Moroni!!! Ilysm dude thanks for writing, sorry but we've got some problems too. Come help? <3" it's so good afhgbndkdkd

(*it’s teancum)

where did pahoran get french perfume in 60 BCE central america? we’ll never know. that’s just one of his many powers as ya boi’s favorite chief twink governor

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Sometimes I wish that I could heckle people giving talks in sacrament meeting.

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Top 10 memorable kiss "scenes" of all time

Includes (for me)

The quick kiss of someone closeted in the parking lot when no one else is around and they feel safe

It's still so meaningful to me

I saw someone I know from seminary with his boyfriend and I'm just so happy for him. I don't even know him that well but I know he's struggled with this.

Queer mormon joy is so, so inspiring