By Common Consent
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By Common Consent (or BCC) was started in 2004 by a group of Mormons to provide a thoughtful, enjoyable, and reasonable place to post and discuss Mormon topics. Over time, we have added new contributors who share this vision. We seek truth, reason, and honesty with our perspectives on faith.
By Common Consent
15h ago
Recently, members of this blog have been accused of “drifting away from commitment to the Church.” It is an interesting accusation. Not because there is an implication of lack of faith or lack of righteousness (those accusations have been thrown at us (and occasionally at more politically conservative blogs) for decades). But because it leads ..read more
By Common Consent
15h ago
We knew then that no matter what we had written, no matter how passionate we had argued for a faithful Mormonism on the left, we had lost and would always lose in a church that was never ours in the first place ..read more
By Common Consent
2d ago
In 1855, the Church Historian rewrote the minutes of Joseph Smith’s address delivered more than a decade earlier at an April 28, 1842 meeting of the Relief Society. You can see the original minutes taken by Eliza R. Snow below, set against the revision (on the right). Several things are going on here, including a ..read more
By Common Consent
3d ago
I think about this nearly every day: why won't the church teach and apply the most basic instructional design methodologies in its curriculum and training ..read more
By Common Consent
5d ago
This last Sunday in Elder’s Quorum, I led a discussion on Alma the Younger. There are several men in our quorum who, like Alma the Elder, have children who are no longer involved with the church. Inevitably, the conversation drifted towards them. One father rather candidly stated that he was confident that two of his ..read more
By Common Consent
6d ago
On January 24, the Trump Administration announced that it was halting its funding of refugee resettlement services. It even refused to pay millions of dollars in reimbursements for services provided prior to its announcement that it would cut funding. Who were the direct recipients of this resettlement funding? The majority of the ten organizations are ..read more
By Common Consent
1w ago
While Mormonism has a fairly sparse liturgical calendar, Chicago, it turns out, is a very Catholic city. And I teach at a Jesuit university. Most years I’m reminded of the beginning of Lent the day before it begins, as my family celebrates Chicago’s Polish-derived version of Fat Tuesday, Pączki Day. Even if my mind doesn’t connect ..read more
By Common Consent
1w ago
One of my not-so-guilty pleasures is admiring red carpet looks. This year, as I began my vicarious stroll down the red carpet, I wondered: How many of these ensembles are garment-friendly? How does that compare for men vs women ..read more
By Common Consent
2w ago
I’m taking a quick break from immigration blogging to hit something that is in my professional area of expertise: government revenue. (Why talk about that on a Mormon-themed blog? I promise it’ll make sense within a couple paragraphs!) Possibly as soon as tomorrow, Donald Trump is going to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Canada ..read more
By Common Consent
3w ago
About a month ago, I wrote about a lawsuit that several Quaker meetings filed against ICE and the Trump administration. Quick recap: since 1993, the various agencies dedicated to enforcing immigration laws have had policy guidance limiting enforcement actions in or near sensitive areas, including places of worship. In 2021, the Secretary of Homeland Security ..read more