There is something simultaneously admirable and insufficient about Karen Kilby’s recent essay in Plough Quarterly, “It’s Not All Good, Man.” Published in the spring 2026 issue, the piece wrestles honestly with a reality that many theologians have preferred to aestheticize, rationalize, or deny: the Christian church in the Western world is shrinking, and that decline…
Author: Dennis Robbins
Mormon Theology: Thus Saith The Lord–Until Further Notice
God’s Changing Mind? Continuing Revelation and the LDS Doctrine That Rewrites Itself Introduction: The Announcement That Asks a Deeper Question On March 18, 2026, the Deseret News published a story with a headline that most Latter-day Saints would receive as welcome news: women would now be permitted to serve as Sunday School presidents in LDS…
The Sermon in the Hat: Joseph Smith’s Magical Oratory and the Making of the Book of Mormon
A New Textual Analysis of the Book of Mormon An Examination of Dr. John Knight Lundwall’s Groundbreaking Research March 17, 2026 | Mormonish Podcast, Episode E308 Introduction: The Keystone Under the Microscope There is a passage that every reader of the Book of Mormon encounters within the first few seconds of opening the text. It…
The Con That Became a Continent: Joseph Smith and the Making of American Scripture
The Fabrication Question A Comprehensive Examination of Non-LDS Theories on the Origins of the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price Introduction: The Problem of Provenance Few questions in the history of American religion are more freighted with consequence than this: where did Joseph Smith get his material? The question is not merely…
Riding 50 Years of the Wave: The Technological Autobiography of Dennis Robbins
There is a particular kind of professional — rare, but recognizable — who doesn’t merely survive technological disruption. He sees it coming, steps onto it like a wave, and rides it into the next era. Dennis Robbins is that professional. His career, now spanning five decades, reads less like a résumé and more like a…
Rediscovering Sandra Tanner: A Voice That Changed Mormon Studies Forever
If you follow LDS apologetics or the broader conversation surrounding Mormon truth claims, the name Sandra Tanner needs no introduction. But for a new generation of seekers — active Latter-day Saints, those who have left the faith, and curious onlookers alike — her story and her legacy deserve a fresh telling. That is precisely what…
Ghosts of Babel: Why the Book of Mormon Jaredites Almost Certainly Never Existed
The Convenient Civilization: Why the Jaredites Fit Joseph Smith’s World, Not 2200 BC’s Introduction: A Battlefield with No Bodies Imagine a battlefield so vast, so saturated with carnage, that nearly two million people are said to have been slain by the sword—and yet not one archaeologist has ever identified a single bone, weapon, or site…
It’s All in the Family: Nepotism and the Mormon Hierarchy
Nepotism, Family Networks, and the Question of Divine Calling in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints A Theological and Historical Analysis Introduction: The Family at the Top of the Kingdom Imagine attending a large corporate shareholder meeting, only to discover that nearly every seat at the executive table is occupied by a member…
The Good Samaritan Question: Does the LDS Church Really Love Its Neighbors?
Going Global While Growing Distant: The LDS Church’s Shifting Charitable Focus Introduction: The Question Jesus Asked First A lawyer once asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” It was a reasonable question, and Jesus answered it with a story about a man who crossed racial, religious, and social barriers to help a stranger left bleeding…
Before The World Was: A Biblical Examination of the LDS Doctrine of Premortal Existence
Image: An AI-generated image imagines the LDS theology of premortal existence, where spirits before birth were in the presence of God, where they developed character, exercised agency, and prepared for mortality. A Theological Essay from a Traditional Christian Perspective Introduction: A Different Starting Point When Elder Ronald M. Barcellos addressed BYU–Hawaii students in February 2026,…









