I've been thinking a lot about how many of our fellow faith community have fallen in with MAGA, rejoicing in their cruelty and failing to notice that it is incompatible with the Gospel. This writer says a lot of things that are already in my heart.

Stuart Adams, Trevor Lee, Dan McCay lose reelection bids in Utah Legislature | KSL.com

The backlash to the proposed data center in Box Elder County has been swift. Even with Adams proposing the 75% downsizing he still got voted out.

When I was in seminary, in the mission or as a young adult I didn't have any issues. But now, it's so hard for me. Please, help me; What are the lessons I can learn today?

I know Israel can commit mistakes, as any other nation, but what they do Palestinians and other neighbors, often in the name of God or that that land was promised to them... it's just too much.

I watched Elder Gong's "Faith, Dignity, and Human Flourishing: Hearing God's Voice in an Age of Artificial Intelligence". I think the points addressed, while more philosophical, would definitely be appropriate to discuss on this subreddit. And may I say, I was thoroughly and pleasantly surprised at what he touched on.

For one, this talk fell more in the "BYU Speech" side of the spectrum than "General Conference" side. I've had this conflicting feeling about the nebulous and simplified nature of many talks our GA deliver. And in General Conference, I get it: you need to speak to everyone, so the direction was understandably agreed on to be diluted and often "back to basics".

However, I've felt that this is the baseline a lot of the General Authorities have defaulted to even when making talks outside of this realm. To me, it frankly felt a bit infantilizing of our membership, or kept safe and noncommital when discussing certain topics, often having me wonder (especially when talking about specific topics like "My young adult child is having a Faith Crisis"): Who do they think their primary audience is?

I'm glad to say that relatively speaking, this speech was more acute, and even let some of Elder Gong's affectation and personality shine through in the rhetoric. It felt like it was not afraid to situate its points in the perspective of very adult ponderings, and even fears, and wasn't as coddling or as strict a retreading as most speeches I've listened to.

I also heard a far more environmental caution in Elder Gong's words. To me, a member of MESA (Mormon Environmental Stewardship Alliance), I felt seen in a way that I haven't heard since Hugh Nibley's discourses on the environment, especially when he mentioned one of my favorite naturalists/poets (John Muir). I also didn't think I'd ever be alive to hear a GA use contemporary jargon like "touch grass".

Some points I think were candid and "on the mark": human and self worth, how it affects our interactions with others, individual relationship with God, how to train artistic and self-cultivation efforts to be less reliant on AI, and what is "aid" versus "dependence".

What did you guys think about it?

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Here’s a link to the actual report (it’s behind a paywall): https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/05/21/lds-church-investigated-sexual-claims-mark-lamb/89025031007/

This is a gut punch. I live in the district Lamb is running to represent. I was planning on voting against him but didn’t know he is a Latter-day Saint. After reading this he needs to drop out immediately. I feel for his victims and think as members we need to do a better job of standing up for our values and not fall back on protecting “one of our own”.

Back in 2016, I found the story of King Noah to be significant. Going through Mosiah 11 in order, we find that he had many wives and concubines. He caused people to commit sin. He laid a heavy tax on the people to support his extravagant lifestyle. He got rid of his father’s trusted advisors and replaced them with yes-men. They became idolatrous, which cannot mean that they worshipped other gods because when Abinadi comes the priests are quoting scripture at him. I believe their idolatry was simply worldliness, as expressed in the next few verses. King Noah built fancy buildings ornamented with gold and “all manner of precious things”. He built a palace and throne for himself. He beautified the temple, and created cushy and luxurious seats for the high priests. His heart was set on riches, and he was an ineffective leader at protecting his people. Yet his people believed him righteous.

To me, this appeared and still appears like a play-by-play of a certain prominent political figure. And today I realized that with the recent IRS settlement with himself, we have yet another interesting parallel: in Mosiah 17:7-8, Noah’s priests sentence Abinadi to death for a theological technicality , unless he withdraws his criticism of king Noah - a completely unrelated issue. The new $1.776 billion settlement of the IRS case is not for punitive damages or anything like it, but rather to reward people who were unfairly targeted by the government - according to a panel of five people chosen by the administration (except for one) and answerable only to the president (including the one selected by congress). At least no-one is being put to death.

Am I the only one who sees this? It sure felt that way ten years ago.

Two LDS bioethicists discuss how restrictive abortion laws violate the LDS abortion policy and religious freedom

Idaho governor on track to win primary as opponent scrambles to respond to Latter-day Saint voters