I had a blast today updating my list of LDS group blogs. I confess that although I have visited and read all of these blogs in the past, I have been sporadic in following them lately. That’s not because they aren’t good reading. It’s just that I haven’t had the time. Who does? I know some people spend numerous hours each day reading and contributing to these LDS group blogs.
I had a blast laughing and being shocked by the wonderful banter that goes back and forth in these forums. And I learned more than a few things that I didn’t know before. It happens every time I go reading on the Bloggernacle. There are some great articles written and shared every day on these blogs, some profound, some historically significant, some touching and some sad.
LDS Group blogs are fun
But for the most part, these blogs are just plain fun. I don’t know how else to explain it. You can waste a whole day being entertained and adding to the conversation. But I’ve got to wonder how these people produce anything for their employers and contribute as much as they do. I just can’t do it and not feel guilty. Maybe they are self employed or independently wealthy.
Unlike the solo LDS bloggers list that I updated last week, the top LDS group blogs did not change much in position. I added over a dozen good ones that a felt were worth the visit. Of course this list reflects my own personal preferences and may include a few that are not strictly LDS. But for the most part it’s a good cross section of the Bloggernacle as it stands today.
Standard disclaimers
I have included a few disclaimers on the list, but here they are again: 1. These rankings are based on current Alexa rankings 2. This is not a comprehensive list. It is an arbitrary list of some of my favorites 3. List does not include LDS solo blogs 4. Some blogs may not be strictly LDS 5. A group blog has two or more contributors 6. All 9’s indicates that I recently added it
I know that Alexa is an imperfect measuring stick. I have had that conversation with others several times. If you know of a better way to rank the popularity of LDS blogs then let me know. I am open to adding your LDS group blog to this list as long as you have an Alexa ranking. The same goes for the solo LDS blogger. Just leave a comment or send an email.
Which ones do you recommend?
I used to participate in the dialog on several of the top group blogs years ago. I doubt that anyone would remember me as I probably didn’t contribute anything profound. But if you’re a solo LDS blogger like me and want to get exposure for your blog, I highly recommend that you join the dialogs on at least a few of the top group blogs. I always add readers every time I do.
So just out of curiosity, here are a few questions for you denizens of the Bloggernacle: 1. How many of these blogs do you read regularly? 2. On how many do you regularly contribute? 3. Which ones are your favorites and why? 4. Have you ever been banned from one of these blogs? 5. Do you feel that you are contributing something positive to the dialog there?
Great list, thanks for putting that together. Not to nit-pick but Normal Mormon Husbands is a solo blog; only one person writes it. 🙂
I was so frickin’ excited to see Modern Molly Mormon on the list. And 13 is my lucky number too! Thanks for listing us! I currently only contribute to Modern Molly Mormon (and contribute is a loose term since I run it more than actually contribute LOL) I used to contribute to Normal Mormons as well, but stopped when my plate got a little too heavy.Another good one I love is http://family-home-evening.blogspot.com/
Jared: Good catch! That’s not nitpicking at all. It’s helping me with quality control and is very much apreciated. The lists have been updated accordingly.Jia: You guys work hard on your blog. It’s good to see that the readership is growing. Keep it up and thanks for the link to the FHE blog. I’m checking it out. It looks like it would rank #31 on the group blogs. I’m adding it.
Brother Malone, how often do you look into LDSAnarchy? I just looked in there for a second time…and find myself both blown away and slightly confused. What do you make of the writings on there? Just wondering.I think I will keep the things he talks about in my heart, but before I go on believing anything I’ll check with Heavenly Father first 😀
Hi Tony,Well, I’ve got to tell you that I don’t look at LDS Anarchy that often – maybe once a month or so. I visited there much more often last year when my fellow blogger Anthony Larson was posting his essays there before he got his own blog. Now I don’t go there quite so often. There are a couple of reasons why:There is a definite “end of the world is coming right around the corner” slant to the articles posted there. I am convinced that yes, we are living in the last days, but that the coming of the Savior is not for a long time yet. One of the prophecies is that the gospel must be preached in all the world and that just hasn’t happened yet and won’t be completed for quite some time.Second, they are proponents of the hollow earth theory and I just don’t go in for that. It’s bad enough that they are big time into Planet X (I confess that I am somewhat interested in the ideas of Planet X), but this hollow earth stuff is just too far out there for me. I’ve read about it and have just concluded that it is not good science and worse theory.In addition, many of the visitors there are into predicting dates of earthquakes in selected places and forecasting other catastrophic world events. That’s nuts. Nobody can put dates on these things. Yes, I believe that we are going to be in for some very terrible cataclysmic events, but until we see the “one grand sign” of the coming of the Son of Man, we just can’t say when stuff will happen. That’s all guesswork.Finally, although I do believe that when the catastrophes of the last days come upon us that the world will be in chaos, meaning that there will be anarchy and a dissolution of government, I am not so sure that the way anarchy is presented in the writings there is anything more than fear mongering. Yes, we need to be prepared but there is just too much of a sense of “it’s time to flee to the mountains” in there.I hope this is making sense. I have no intention of offending the writers over there. I think they understand that they are not your typical LDS blog, nor do they try to be. However, they are well known in the LDS blogging world as they comment on a lot of other blogs so they have a large number of visitors and a good number who leave comments.When I do visit or read an essay in Google reader and go read the comments, I have enjoyed some of the dialog that is commentary on scripture and doctrine. But some of the commentary tends to be speculative in nature. No, a lot of it is speculative, but that’s the beauty of an open forum that they promote there. It doesn’t matter how far out your ideas are, you can comment and not be deleted.I suppose you could say that LDS Anarchy is not the site for those looking for the orthodox or the typical LDS viewpoint on life. It’s interesting stuff, but I’m not so sure that they are all that interested in making sure that what they talk about can be tied back to the doctrines of the restoration as revealed to the prophets of this dispensation.And that’s my two cents worth.
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