Flunking Sainthood
How many Mormons are actually in church every week in the US?
By Jana Riess — February 16, 2024
(RNS) — Cellphone data reveals the number is lower than people self-report (but Mormons do better than most).
Revisiting those old Mormon movies from 50 years ago — with live commentary!
By Jana Riess — February 9, 2024
(RNS) — From 'Saturday's Warrior' to 'Cipher in the Snow,' there's a treasure trove of more than 100 vintage LDS Church movies for your viewing pleasure.
Those sexy Mormon swingers
By Jana Riess — February 2, 2024
(RNS) — Here’s the reality that will never feature in a 'reality' TV series: Most Mormons are deeply, predictably, embarrassingly boring when it comes to their sex lives.
A Mormon faith beyond the performance checklist
By Jana Riess — January 26, 2024
(RNS) — 'When we really stop and reflect, we realize that in our religious performance, we're nurturing the very part of ourselves that the gospel instructs us not to feed,' says meditation teacher and LDS author Thomas McConkie.
I’m the collateral damage of Mormon racism and homophobia
By Jana Riess — January 19, 2024
(RNS) — 'Everyone knew before I did that the church was white on purpose,' writes guest columnist Carlene Fraser. 'The Saints they were 'perfecting' didn’t look like me. Think like me.'
Dealing with racism in the Book of Mormon
By Jana Riess — January 12, 2024
(RNS) — The Book of Mormon could teach us some hard truths about racism if we're brave enough to listen, say co-authors Fatimah Salleh and Margaret Olsen Hemming.
Juicing up your Book of Mormon reading this year (Part 1, with Grant Hardy)
By Jana Riess — January 4, 2024
(RNS) — Hardy’s ‘The Annotated Book of Mormon’ promises to enrich Latter-day Saints’ yearlong study of the scripture.
The top 10 Mormon news stories of 2023
By Jana Riess — December 30, 2023
(RNS) — There's a mix of good news (more missionaries!) and bad news (more sexual and financial scandals).
Study: Utah is no longer a majority-Mormon state
By Jana Riess — December 28, 2023
(RNS) — With more nonmembers moving into the state and smaller Mormon birthrates, Utah is no longer a majority-Mormon state.
I volunteered with ‘Light the World’ Giving Machines for Christmas. Here’s what I saw.
By Jana Riess — December 22, 2023
(RNS) — A church that has been criticized for its vast wealth is trying to do more for charity.
New Mormon apostle is a bridge builder, and a Brit
By Jana Riess — December 11, 2023
(RNS) — The LDS Church didn't wait until April's General Conference to fill the vacancy, appointing British convert and longtime Church leader Patrick Kearon as its newest apostle.
What the Camino shows us about travel and mortality
By Jana Riess — December 4, 2023
(RNS) — Travel teaches us how fragile life is and what a holy gift every day can be. (Also, it shows us we can be fear-based idiots.)
A fire at a historic Chevy Chase ward raises the question: What is Mormon community now?
By Jana Riess — November 22, 2023
(RNS) — Latter-day Saints used to be geniuses at creating community. We need that again now more than ever.
Mormonism and the soft prosperity gospel
By Jana Riess — November 17, 2023
(RNS) — The LDS Church doesn't teach that God wants you to be rich. But it does promote a 'Plan of Happiness' that emphasizes your very own personal flourishing.
Remembering LDS apostle M. Russell Ballard
By Jana Riess — November 13, 2023
(RNS) — M. Russell Ballard, a longtime apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died at 95.
Jana Riess
Flunking Sainthood
Senior columnist Jana Riess is the author of many books, including "The Prayer Wheel" (Random House/Convergent, 2018) and "The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church" (Oxford University Press, 2019). She has a PhD in American religious history from Columbia University.
