Deseret News - Meridian Magazine (original) (raw)

Author's Published Articles

How Has Retention Changed over Time?

2026-04-29

Singling out only one poll or survey can lead to…

Opinion: Don’t overthink it. Invite people to Church

2026-03-25

Christ didn’t wait for perfect conditions to invite others —…

Opinion: A turning point for the Middle East: Iran

2026-03-06

Resist the temptation to oppose anything associated with Trump. Iranians…

How Big Will the Salt Lake Temple Open House Be?

2026-02-12

Millions expected to visit the newly renovated temple next year…

Follow the Prophet — on YouTube

2026-01-15

Latter-day Saint prophets and apostles are now posting on YouTube.…

A Golden Rule for a Better New Year

2026-01-14

The Golden Rule is one of humanity’s oldest moral insights…

Perspective: What the data really says about religious revival and Gen Z

2026-01-06

The reversal of a trend would require a transformation unlike…

What President Christofferson learned as a young law clerk investigating Watergate

2025-11-09

Before decades of church service, President D. Todd Christofferson was…

‘Surviving Mormonism’ and it’s just … a church member showing up with cookies

2025-10-26

After Bravo announced “Surviving Mormonism,” some members of The Church…

An ER Doctor Ran into a Burning Grand Blanc Church Again and Again

2025-10-02

The Grand Blanc Stake Center was engulfed in flames, but…

First-edition Book of Mormon sells for $240,000 at auction

2025-09-04

‘I would not be surprised to see a first edition…

Perspective: The horizon is bright for the future of global faith

2025-08-05

Compared to the days when combative atheism dominated public discussion,…

High levels of homemaking isn’t a sign of inequality

2025-07-30

When women choose to forgo or delay careers to spend…

Superman and the Secular Longing for a Savior

2025-07-13

The Jewish creators of Superman were not focused on Jesus.…

How Utah became the star of Kevin Costner’s Western epic ‘Horizon’

2024-06-30

The project is a huge investment for Costner, and Utah…

Can you Craft a Good Marriage?

2024-02-13

A variety of studies show a good marriage is something…

Is the big box office gamble of ‘The Chosen’ paying off?

2024-02-07

The show finished 2nd at the box office over the…

Five essential sermons delivered by Martin Luther King Jr.

2024-01-14

Before he was a civil rights leader, the Rev. Martin…

Elder Rasband called for more senior missionaries. The response has been ‘tremendous’

2023-11-02

Church leaders said Wednesday that older Latter-day Saints are responding…

A guide: 7 ways to better understand the Joseph Smith Papers

2023-09-14

Here’s your guide on seven different resources available — other…

Perspective: Can AI make people want to have children?

2023-08-02

A popular app shows what your pregnancy and children might…

Harmonizing health: The surprising health benefits of joining a choir

2023-07-10

Studies show that the unifying power of participating in choirs…

Why as a gay man I stand for traditional marriage

2023-05-31

My spiritual foundation is a vital reason I advocate for…

Perspective: What’s behind American media’s unhealthy fixation on ‘Mormons, Inc.’?

2023-05-16

The media’s unusual and enduring fascination with Latter-day Saint finances…

In 1983, a 100-year flood was no match for a community united

2023-04-12

The mayor's first call is to Latter-day Saint church headquarters.…

The pandemic changed many churches. But did it change church attendance?

2023-04-06

A new Pew Research Center survey explores how Americans’ worship…

Freedom isn’t free: What a year of war in Ukraine has taught the world

2023-02-23

The struggles that have occupied the world since the concept…

Cooking my way through ‘The Essential Mormon Cookbook’

2023-02-12

Becoming something of a Latter-day Saint Julie Powell suited me,…

How the oddest couple of American politics saved religious liberty

2022-12-27

In terms of ideology, Orrin Hatch and Ted Kennedy couldn’t…

Do Gen Z’s views on religion put the future of religious freedom at risk?

2022-12-08

The latest Religious Freedom Index from Becket reveals that Gen…

The religion cases to watch in the Supreme Court’s new term

2022-10-05

How many religion-related cases will the Supreme Court end up…

Why the ‘BYU for Orthodox Jews’ is asking the Supreme Court for help

2022-09-04

Yeshiva University argues that religious freedom law protects it from…

Don’t believe the headlines. Few people suffer trauma from religion in childhood

2022-08-02

People who regularly attended religious services as children are more…

Do American Christians complain too much?

2022-07-14

A new report from Lifeway Research notes that many Americans…

8 Church History Insights to Learn From the Latest Volume of the Joseph Smith Papers

2022-06-23

‘Documents, Vol. 13’ provides information about a kidnapping, letters to…

Minerva Teichert: A pioneer in painting

2022-06-23

Teichert believed she had a divine commission to paint the…

Stopping Porn Means Ending Sexual Exploitation

2022-06-21

From Congressional briefings, to corporate offices and even on the…

What This Soap Opera, the Supreme Court and a New COVID-19 Vaccine Have in Common

2022-06-21

The latest developments involving faith-based objections to the COVID-19 vaccines…

Latter-day Saint folk tales to tell around the campfire

2022-06-20

Austin and Alta Fife’s ‘Saints of Sage and Saddle’ collects…

BYU cracks the top 10 — in law school graduates passing the bar exam

2022-06-20

For generations of would-be attorneys, passing a state bar exam…

How one Latter-day Saint mother worked her way through medical school with 9 kids

2022-06-16

Following graduation, Sarah Merrill is starting 7-year neurosurgery residency at…

Meet the tech titan who started Mormonr to answer the ‘hard questions’

2022-06-15

Utah tech mogul Josh Coates has the technological chops and…

Does corporate America hold the keys to religious inclusion?

2022-05-30

Making workplaces religiously diverse and inclusive boosts the bottom line;…

Latter-day Saints and the many other religions helping Ukrainian refugees

2022-05-10

Volunteers are providing food, clothing and assistance to Ukrainian refugees…

Are school prayer rules about to change?

2022-04-25

During oral arguments Monday, the Supreme Court wrestled with what…

Easter, Ramadan and Passover overlap this year. Here’s why that matters

2022-04-13

The rare alignment of major Christian, Muslim and Jewish holidays…

How to fix a broken world, according to this rabbi

2022-03-01

The world is falling apart. But we have the tools…

See what is happening as the Salt Lake Temple renovation enters its third year

2022-02-03

The latest monthly update features a video describing the operation…

Why Religious Freedom Will Be in the Spotlight at the 2022 Olympics

2022-01-10

Hours after securing a spot at next month’s Winter Olympics,…

What David Archuleta wants you to understand about his faith journey

2021-12-02

It’s been six months since the former “American Idol” star and popular…

Opinion: The untold stories of Latter-day Saint ‘reconversion’

2021-11-01

We’re inundated with loss-of-faith narratives, but what about the ones…

What COVID-19 revealed about America’s approach to religious freedom

2021-10-20

Cases involving COVID-19 gathering restrictions and religious groups showed why…

Opinion: BYU issued a ‘Statement on Belonging.’ Will it succeed?

2021-09-19

Belonging based on truth seeks to transcend walls by ascending…

Opinion: Elder Holland is right, BYU’s heritage of faith is its strength

2021-09-01

BYU’s godly mission means fidelity to commandments and orthodoxy. It…

Opinion: Finding truth in a world of fiction

2021-08-01

If there is a definite, right way to understand the…

The New Culture War Battleground is You

2021-07-27

The shifting definition of identity is changing American society and…

If this flag could talk

2021-07-25

Banner carried by fabled Mormon Battalion being flown by the…

How religious is your county? This new tool holds the answer

2021-07-13

PRRI’s Census of American Religion offers a county-by-county look at…

IRS reverses decision denying Christian group tax-exempt status

2021-07-08

Utah Sen. Mike Lee and Utah Rep. Burgess Owens expressed…

Opinion: The trouble with claiming 1 in 5 Latter-day Saints is nonheterosexual

2021-06-30

One college professor got excited about some new statistics about…

Why BYU, other church schools rejected tens of millions in COVID-19 relief

2021-05-16

Four Latter-day Saint-owned colleges and universities now have turned down…

Can we replace cancel culture with ‘accountability culture’?

2021-04-06

While cancellation is a swift and relentless blacklisting, accountability allows…

The stamp President Nelson is putting on Latter-day Saint language

2021-04-05

Each prophet-president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day…

Utah’s refreshing message after Lee and Romney vote their separate ways

2021-02-17

Party leadership in Utah has responded in a unique, refreshing…

Granddaughter credits ‘guardian angel’ grandpa for saving family

2021-01-03

Kylee Keele-Blackburn felt her grandfather’s spirit throughout the party, but…

Study finds religious freedom is an area of unity in a divided America

2020-11-19

While the country is polarized on many levels, Becket’s second…

What it means to enlist and what we are enlisting to do

2020-09-29

As the general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ…

At 25, The Family proclamation looks prophetic in addressing a 2020 society

2020-09-27

The carefully written document outlining the church’s doctrines and principles…

For Ruth Bader Ginsburg, oneness never was meant to be sameness

2020-09-20

It is Ginsburg’s friendship, not her court opinions, that the…

Gen Z’s looking for religion. You’d be surprised where they find it

2020-09-14

With religious services taking place online, this might seem like…

Opinion: Pandemic shaming won’t work. Try civility, instead

2020-07-26

Of all the pandemic-fighting tools at the country’s disposal, civility…

Tad Callister: The Founding Fathers — heroes or villains?

2020-07-16

“Today, it is common to criticize the founders of America.…

Newly renamed Red Cliffs Temple honors St. George landmark

2020-07-14

The temple was announced with a generic name, Washington County…

Pioneer Day celebration canceled in Salt Lake City

2020-04-28

All of the annual Days of ’47 Pioneer Day celebrations…

Opinion: Criticism of the church’s COVID-19 aid was premature

2020-04-15

We believe that it’s important to hold institutions to account.…

First Presidency: All church meetings temporarily canceled worldwide

2020-03-12

All meetings and activities of The Church of Jesus Christ…

Deseret News Op Ed: Romney and the paradox of political courage

2020-02-06

The fallout after Sen. Mitt Romney’s vote on Wednesday to…

Coronavirus outbreak prompts church to remove missionaries from Hong Kong

2020-02-04

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is transferring…

A Supreme Court justice, an apostle and the power of faith and reason

2020-01-23

The modern and increasingly secular world continues to attempt to…

Some churches move toward armed security during services

2020-01-06

A shooting at a Texas church in which two armed…

Church responds to allegations made by former employee in IRS complaint

2019-12-17

David A. Nielsen, a former employee for the investment arm…

What a conservative New York Times columnist had to say to BYU students

2019-10-28

A changed, emotionally vulnerable David Brooks, the popular conservative New…

Latter-day Saint Appointed as National Security Advisor to the President

2019-09-18

Robert C. O’Brien, the administration’s top hostage negotiator and a…

When the Word of Wisdom Becomes Trendy: The Rise of Boozeless Bars

2019-08-01

In a culture that celebrates alcohol, an oxymoron of a…

Fire crews put out large blaze at Latter-day Saint meetinghouse in Utah

2019-07-15

Firefighters were called out at 2:45 a.m. to 3625 Doverhill…

Christian family details crackdown on church in China

2019-07-09

The Sunday service this week at an unassuming church in…

How the Hobby Lobby ruling helped and hurt religious freedom

2019-06-26

Just over 25 years ago, Congress nearly unanimously passed new…

6 Latter-day Saint missionaries held at gunpoint in Utah, police say

2019-06-23

"The individual that they were meeting with brandished a firearm…

How social media fuels attacks on sacred spaces

2019-05-23

Houses of worship have always been a perennial target for…

President Russell M. Nelson’s Pacific Tour: Where will he visit?

2019-05-14

President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ…

President Russell M. Nelson speaks at Golden Spike anniversary extolling the virtues of ‘oneness’

2019-05-12

President Nelson called the transcontinental railroad "a gargantuan accomplishment" that…

How the U.S and other governments are failing people of faith around the world

2019-05-01

Religious freedom is deteriorating around the world and efforts to…

BYU Named No. 1 Best Value College by Forbes

2019-04-30

If you’re looking for the best bang for your buck…

Rabbi says gun ‘miraculously jammed’ in California attack

2019-04-29

In the minutes after the gunman fled the scene of…

Church hopes to complete Tooele Valley Temple during Salt Lake Temple construction

2019-04-22

The Temple Department's executive director, Elder Larry Y. Wilson, told…

Religious freedom on death row: How a new lawsuit affects a growing debate

2019-04-09

A new lawsuit could resolve growing conflict over the religious…

How Trump’s executive order on campus free speech affects religious students

2019-03-25

President Donald Trump didn't reference religion in his new executive…

Once sanctuaries, houses of worship struggle with security

2019-03-21

A rabbi who packs a gun. A church installing security…

New rules about how Boy Scouts can recruit Latter-day Saints issued by church

2019-03-18

Beginning June 1, community-based Boy Scout packs and troops may…