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Nov 6, 2024 | 
l8r.it | Dan Ellsworth
During political election seasons, it is common to hear framing of political choices in terms of increases and decreases in freedom. From gun control to abortion to climate regulations to immigration, political messaging is designed to evoke fear of loss of freedom. For the Christian, freedom has a dimension that is much more deep and consequential.
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May 8, 2024 | 
publicsquaremag.org | Dan Ellsworth
In the shocking criminal trial of Chad Daybell, Latter-day Saints were left asking what happened here. How did a church member go so far off the rails? What are the things that lead people out of the mainstream of the Church and into apostate ideologies and horrifying criminal behavior? To answer these questions in the story of Chad Daybell, we first need to understand that Chad Daybell was not alone in his journey into madness.
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May 8, 2024 | 
l8r.it | Dan Ellsworth
In the shocking criminal trial of Chad Daybell, Latter-day Saints were left asking what happened here. How did a church member go so far off the rails? What are the things that lead people out of the mainstream of the Church and into apostate ideologies and horrifying criminal behavior? To answer these questions in the story of Chad Daybell, we first need to understand that Chad Daybell was not alone in his journey into madness.
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Apr 12, 2024 | 
publicsquaremag.org | Dan Ellsworth |Jeff Bennion
In many controversies surrounding church teachings and policy, we are encouraged to spend more time in empathetic listening. This phrase empathetic listening has two components, the first being empathy—an attempt to relate to something another person is feeling—and the second being listening: actively seeking and receiving new information from another person.
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Feb 19, 2024 | 
publicsquaremag.org | Dan Ellsworth
An informed confidence looks like irrationality to people who don’t possess it. Sometimes, that assessment of irrationality is accurate because confidence really can be the product of delusional thinking. But history is replete with examples of people whose convictions were deemed to be irrational until they were manifest in real events, turning upside-down the conventional wisdom of what is rational. Years ago, when I was in college, I had a summer job in California.
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Feb 19, 2024 | 
l8r.it | Dan Ellsworth
An informed confidence looks like irrationality to people who don’t possess it. Sometimes, that assessment of irrationality is accurate because confidence really can be the product of delusional thinking. But history is replete with examples of people whose convictions were deemed to be irrational until they were manifest in real events, turning upside-down the conventional wisdom of what is rational. Years ago, when I was in college, I had a summer job in California.
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Feb 11, 2024 | 
nauvooneighbor.org | Dan Ellsworth
When in 2013 Elder Uchtdorf encouraged us to doubt our doubts before we doubt our faith, that was a call to self-awareness. If I’m doubting a gospel principle or a narrative of our sacred history, then what do I personally bring to that equation? Let’s explore things that all of us bring: assumptions, worldview, epistemology, and bias. What assumptions do I hold, that affect my openness to gospel principles and our narratives of sacred history?
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Jan 8, 2024 | 
publicsquaremag.org | Dan Ellsworth
Latter-day Saints have in the Book of Mormon an interesting description of a sociological phenomenon: the two civilizations described in that text come to their demise in a similar way—by first fragmenting and then coalescing into exactly two rival movements that are consumed with determination to destroy each other. That process of coalescing happens among people with different loyalties and allegiances: family, tribe, clan, heritage, and more.
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Jan 8, 2024 | 
l8r.it | Dan Ellsworth
Latter-day Saints have in the Book of Mormon an interesting description of a sociological phenomenon: the two civilizations described in that text come to their demise in a similar way—by first fragmenting and then coalescing into exactly two rival movements that are consumed with determination to destroy each other. That process of coalescing happens among people with different loyalties and allegiances: family, tribe, clan, heritage, and more.
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Dec 8, 2023 | 
publicsquaremag.org | Dan Ellsworth
A year ago, popular Catholic YouTube channel Pints with Aquinas showcased one of the most important lessons in religious epistemology, and they showcased it on accident, the hard way. The host, Matt Fradd, moderated a debate between Jeff Cassman and Peter Dimond on the question of sedevacantism—the idea that at some point in Catholic history, the seat (sede) of St. Peter became empty (vacante) as the office of pope became occupied by people who do not legitimately hold that title.
