Not As White As You Think

The Striking Diversity of L.A.’s Mormons

To the outside world, Mormons can seem pretty homogenous. You may picture young missionaries in white shirts and ties riding their bicycles. Or you might imagine a large white family with a professional father, a stay-at-home mother, and a half-dozen young children. The Mormon Church (officially the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or LDS Church) is working hard to counter this image of stereotypical whiteness and conformity. Certainly, it is a woefully inaccurate portrait of the church, as anyone familiar with any of our Los Angeles congregations will …

Clash of Mormons

Two Arizona Races Serve as Leading Indicators of Republican Immigration Policy

How will the growing political influence of the LDS Church shape the Republican Party and the nation’s immigration debate? I believe the church’s global agenda may prove a counterbalance to …

Not Foreigners, Followers

Will Mormons Save the GOP from Xenophobia?

Two growing forces in conservative politics are on a collision course: xenophobic nationalism and Mormonism.

The Tea Party movement, with its rejection of Chamber of Commerce-type Republican elites, rose-tinted view of …