Mormon Bloggers

I trudged on the treadmill, gritting my teeth, fighting tears. The workout wasn’t pushing me to my limits. Life was. I could almost feel physical sensations of my soul being stretched. I reached up not only to God within my heart; I reflected on the faith of those who have gone before, a faith that strengthens my own. Sometimes I will look at the photos of noble ancestors on my wall in times like this. But on this night, there were no faces in mind, just the whole of all the pioneer stories wrapped together. In remembering them, I felt could keep moving, keep walking, keep keeping the faith. I have realized as I reflect on the lives and sacrifices of the Mormon pioneers that the specifics of our journeys don’t really matter — not because the details of our personal pain and triumphs are insignificant, but simply because we all have our trails to blaze, we all have our trials to face. Our stories may differ, but the principles that can help us all are the same. I so often... Read the rest of this entry »

Jooj bore her testimony in church yesterday. It was a total surprise. And completely unencouraged. For the record, I hate it when kids bear their testimonies in Sacrament Meeting. I know, you probably love it, but I don’t. It stirs up all sorts of anger and irritation and issues in me. All of which, I’m going to tell you ’bout, right now! I don’t think the kids know what they are saying.It sounds brainwashy.It sounds manipulative.I don’t think it is cute.If your mom or dad has to tell you what to say, it is not a testimony.I don’t like the sound of breathing in the microphone.I believe it to often be more about a desire to receive public praise from adults and family members than about a sincere desire to state the love of God and the knowledge of His true church. ~J and I have talked at length about how I hate this. She has told me that, in her family, when the kids decide they want to say their testimonies they start practicing at home. They... Read the rest of this entry »

I received this email from a friend, Kenneth, and am grateful he did so. I’ve seen this email before and have seen it attributed to Albert Einstein, which is not true. In all seriousness, it doesn’t matter if this conversation even took place? It is an argument with a solid and complete premise. So read this and consider it as a parable which teaches a very valuable lesson. Read on and tell me if you don’t agree: In a College classroom with a professor teaching a philosophy lesson – “Let me explain the problem science has with religion.” The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand. “You’re a Christian, aren’t you, son?” “Yes sir,” the student replies. “So you believe in God?” “Absolutely. “ “Is God good?” “Sure! God’s good.” “Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?” “Yes.” “Are... Read the rest of this entry »

I am privileged today to share a very special story about a woman who found the Gospel and stood strong in the face of the immense adversity which came her way. I am very inspired by Jessica Rodriguez and am grateful to her for granting me permission to share this wonderful conversion story. Sister Rodriguez dated this account April 6, 2009 I am led to begin to bear my testimony by sharing that I was raised in the Catholic Church, was married in the church and converted into non-denominational Christianity in 1975.　 　 In 1993 I was introduced to evangelism through an outreach ministry in downtown Sacramento, California. We walked the streets sharing the good news of the gospel in predominantly areas highly populated with homelessness and persons challenged with addictions and substance abuse. My personal experience with ministry stretched into many areas that included prayer ministry, teaching ministry and so much more. 　 I continued with outreach ministry until the year 2002... Read the rest of this entry »

SALT LAKE CITY 26 February 2010 : An apostle for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints addressed students at the annual Mormonism 101 series convened at Harvard Law School. From the Ames courtroom on the Cambridge, Massachusetts campus, Elder Dallin H. Oaks, of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, discussed the tenets of his Mormon faith seeking to “illuminate several premises and ways of thinking that are at the root of some misunderstandings about our doctrine and practice.” 26 February 2010 The following is a transcript of a talk given by Elder Dallin H. Oaks, member of the Quorum of the Twelve apostles, at Harvard Law School on 26 February 2010. I welcome this opportunity to speak in what our hosts have called “Mormonism 101.” In his fine lecture last year Judge Thomas Griffith said he was giving “an introduction to the Mormon faith.” I intend to do the same, speaking from my special responsibility as an apostle called to speak as a witness of the gospel plan and... Read the rest of this entry »

In reflecting how many would come and go in the kingdom of God, Joseph would often say, “Brethren I have not apostatized yet, and don’t feel like doing so.” He called on the Lord, night and day, so that he could remain steadfast in his calling as the prophet of the restoration and accomplish the purposes for which he’d been born. The thing about Joseph Smith, Jr. that continually amazes me to this day, is a basic character trait that is invaluable and yet found in so few people. For two years of my life, six days a week, 12 to 15 hours a day I studied the life, times and teachings of the prophet, Joseph Smith. I studied his life, from birth to death. I studied the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon Church. I studied the history of the day: political, historical, socio-economic, arts and literature, religious, social . . . all of it. I carefully plotted each event of the prophet’s life and looked at the history surrounding him... Read the rest of this entry »

My son Luca (Elder Martinengo) will come home in 3 days from his mission in Massachusetts. A little more than a week ago, he asked a member of the Church over there to call me, in order to ask me to contact a person interested in the Church, who was ready to be baptized, but who had some concerns to be resolved. (Elder Martinengo did not call me personally because Mormon missionaries are not supposed to talk to their parents while in their missions – unless it is Christmas or it is mothers’ day ))). The previous Sunday, Elder Martinengo had taken several people interested in the Church to a special conference with Elder Ballard. One of them, Monica (from Brazil) , was particularly thrilled while listening to Elder Ballard. It looks like Elder Martinengo, after the end of the conference, decided to take Monica to meet Elder Ballard for a few moments. Many tears were shed by Monica during that conference, but she still had a problem. She had received her testimony of the truthfulness... Read the rest of this entry »

It may surprise you to know that I am an avid follower of celebrity gossip. I mean, I am so classy and busy and perfect–how do I find the time to read Us Weekly, um, weekly? But I do. It is all about priorities, people. And how you spend your time. The problem with celebrities (aside from the fact that most of them have absolutely no scandals, and so how I am supposed to be interested in them without scandals) is that many of them are so ridiculous. You know the ones I am talking about. The ones that weigh thirty pounds and don’t actually have jobs. Or the ones who wear metal claw gloves. Or the ones with eight children. Those ones. The ridiculous ones. The ones who think that they are owed things by the cosmos.I see this attitude becoming more and more prevalent within society at large, especially among the youth (it IS Quincenera time here in the EP, you know) and it horrifies me. Because feeling entitled gets you nowhere. I was contemplating this attitude early... Read the rest of this entry »

So I have to admit, for the longest time I have been trying to figure out the apparent paradox that exists between the view of the LDS Church and everyone else on the issue of salvation, namely the means to obtain it. I’m not about to say that I have pinned the thing down yet, [...] AKPC_IDS += "105947,";Popularity: unranked [?] Read More →

“And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat [...] AKPC_IDS += "105948,";Popularity: unranked [?] Read More →

My name is Keith Brown. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was baptized on 10 March 1998 in Reykjavik Iceland while serving on active duty in the United States Navy. I was stationed at Naval Air Station (NAS) Keflavik Iceland at the time. On 30 April 2008 I became an active member of one of the most exciting and unique social networks that I have come across in a long time. That social network is LDS.Net. Since joining the network in April 2008, I have become one of the network’s moderators. You can find my page on LDS.Net by going to Keith L. Brown’s LDS.Net page. LDS.Net is special in the fact that anyone, regardless of faith or religious background, is invited to join for free and take an active part in the many discussions that are going on at any given time. Unlike some other websites or social networks about Mormons and Mormonism, on LDS.Net a person is able to ask honest and sincere questions about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day... Read the rest of this entry »

I have been thinking hard about what to right my next series of blog entries, and I thought that it would be good to open it up to you. The point if this post is to determine the topics for a few, probably more, articles. So, give me your ideas, with the only stipulation being [...] AKPC_IDS += "105949,";Popularity: unranked [?] Read More →