Flying Saucers and Edible Religion — The Book of Ezekiel opens with one of the weirder moments of the Old Testament (an impressive accomplishment, given the competition). The prophet is swept up in a whirlwind and a massive cloud of fire, out of which emerge four alien creatures, which have “the likeness of a man.” Except…

Homosexuality in a Heterosexual Heaven — If you want to understand my church’s opposition to same-sex marriage, you need to start with a clear picture of how Latter-day Saints think about sexual orientation itself. “Same-sex attraction,” in the Mormon view, is a temporary, mortal experience — a trial to be endured or, in its previous iteration…

In memoriam: Gil Fairholm, 1932–2021 — My grandfather worked with wood. The musty oak smell of his old Virginia home lingers in my memory like a ghost. Open the rickety side door, and a puff of sawdust greets you as you pass by the woodshop and up the creaky steps toward the kitchen. The old shop…

Finding out God. And finding out that I’m gay. — I first felt God in the textures of my childhood, nestled somewhere in the tough tweed upholstery of pale blue chapel pews, in the scratchy burlap lining the halls, and in the soft family room rug where we knelt in prayer every night. …