Mormon Bloggers

One of the most endearing and hope-giving invitations extended by the Savior is recorded in Matthew 11:28-30. 28 ¶Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. It seems amazing that the Creator of the Universe, who made worlds without number, who has all power and all ability would describe Himself as meek and lowly of heart. He expresses that same idea again in Mark 9:12 “…it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought.” Christ created worlds without number before He was born. He could have manifested Himself in a way that would leave no doubt in anyone’s mind He was God. Yet He chose to come to earth as a poor carpenter’s son, insignificant by both birth and social class. He chose to appeal to our decency and sense... Read the rest of this entry »

Matthew 25 is a New Testament chapter with IMPACT! It includes the parable of the 10 virgins, the parable of the talents and the analogy of the sheep and the goats. No wonder we hear about these verses in lessons all the time. Each is a huge idea in itself. Matthew 25 requires re-reading a couple of times. As in, on top of the mountain, yoga-style contemplation and meditation, with Mo Tab playing in the background if the angels don’t show up to sing. It’s like one of those chapters that sums life up in a nutshell – a staggeringly deep nutshell. I can imagine several introspective blog posts begging to be launched from these verses. This is also where one of the most often quoted verses is found: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (Matthew 25:40) We get lots of charity lessons in Relief Society and Sunday School based on this verse. But the verse I find more thought provoking and the one that gives me... Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes I think of mortality as the grand delusion. What we human beings describe as being “on top” in regards to success, is what Christ puts on the bottom. Making it to the “top” (World’s puffed up version) Trying to fit in with the world… Adopting Christ’s view of success… I was reflecting this morning how often the scriptures and church leadership try to set the record straight on what matters, from the Sermon on the Mount to warnings in LDS Worldwide General Conference. Some examples: Elder Uchtdorf’s most awesome talk in General Priesthood session (Oct 2010) about the failed doctrine of “Thank God I am more special than you”. Or the intriguing definition of the Greek work Makarios and how “blessed” is quite different in the Lord’s eyes when compared to the world’s view. This morning I came across it again in Matthew 23:5-7,12 5 But all their works they do for... Read the rest of this entry »

This week I: Watched too much Monk; Felt my granddaughter, who should arrive sometime in the next 6 weeks, hiccup inside her mama; Unsuccessfully tried to scare granddaughter inside her mama to get rid of hiccups; Wished my grandchildren (and their parents) who live in Arizona, didn’t live in Arizona, but here; Started working out, again; Found out something nice about somebody that “bugs” me and swallowed a bitter mouthful of pride; Read a great talk on pride by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf; Amused myself by yelling, “Kill the Christians!” (not too loudly) at the Big Mountain Jam (basketball tournament) when my daughter played against Valley Christian High; Was disturbed along with my friend *Tenille when she received an invitation to a lingerie shower for her soon-to-be step-mother; Laughed with my friend *Tenille when we analyzed the lingerie shower; Wondered if the shower was funny just because thinking about your parents in lingerie is always funny... Read the rest of this entry »

I loved this Jewish story I found on a website that explains the interesting history of the word “blessed” and its Greek translation “makarios”. The old Rabbi said, “In olden days there were men who saw the face of God.”“Why don’t they any more?” a young student asked.“Because, nowadays no one stoops so low,” he replied. When Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5, he introduced new concepts that transcend the Law of Moses. No longer was “eye for an eye” or “tooth for a tooth” the excuse for indignation, the justification for reaction. Instead, the higher law and more enlightened understanding teaches “turn the other cheek”. If the Beatitudes could be summed up in a few words, it would be “Do away with pride, temper your reactions, and play nice.” Going through some of the opening verses of Matthew 5, I noticed a repeating pattern of blessings pronounced... Read the rest of this entry »

Understanding our Need for Humility Of all the Christian virtues, humility is most essential as it makes all other virtues possible.  In order to develop humility, a man must believe whole-heartedly that he personally needs God.  Until then (and absent a shattering change in circumstances), the delusion of self-sufficiency is not easily overcome.  Ever quick to declare “[b]y the strength of my hand … I have done these things” (2 Nephi 20:13), man rarely thanks God for such well-formed hands or a life laden with talents and blessings. Life’s challenges – obtaining our daily bread, problems with health, family, or finances – will remind us, if we are spiritually perceptive, of our constant need for divine assistance.  In fact, God intends that this life to be a time for testing (Abraham 3:25), allowing “opposition in all things” (2 Nephi 2:11).  This “opposition” includes enticement from our common adversary, the devil, who tempts us to commit sin by violating God’s... Read the rest of this entry »

Let us not focus on the Book of Mormon, modern day Prophets and Apostles, or even the necessary ordinances of the gospel. The foundation we must build upon is that of Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith stated this: The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that [...]  Read More →

One of the greatest blessings of membership in the LDS Church is the gift of the Holy Ghost.  Of course we are not the only people in the world with whom the Lord works through his spirit.  But we are the only people who have claim upon the Holy Ghost as a constant companion.  That is a very unique and special claim. When asked by a President of the United States, “How is your religion different from all the other religions of the day?” The Prophet Joseph Smith answered, “We are different from all other religions in the mode of baptism (immersion) and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands (by those who have authority).” God inspires all In section 130 of the Doctrine and Covenants we read, “A man may receive the Holy Ghost, and it may descend upon him and not tarry with him.” All honest seekers of the truth can feel the influence of the Holy Ghost, leading them to Jesus Christ and His gospel.  People everywhere can be inspired by the Holy Ghost. However, the... Read the rest of this entry »

    God Is Your Loving Heavenly Father God is your Father in Heaven. He knows you personally and loves you more than you can comprehend. He wants you to be happy in this life and in eternity. To accomplish this purpose, Heavenly Father provided a plan called the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ [...]  Read More →

In various work environments have established safety policies and procedures. In my former place of employment, an employee had to be cognizant of his/her surrounding areas. If something went wrong, there are specific Lock Out Tag and Try procedures that must be performed in order to safely work on the machine, remove any fiberboard that [...]  Read More →

Why is it that we can never seem to prepare ourselves for difficult events that happen in our lives?  Even when we strive to be more on guard from what we faced before, I think that we are still taken aback when we have to face something newly difficult.  I have faced something like this the past week that I hoped never to have to deal with, and I won’t go into too many details but I find myself asking questions such as “If I had been more prepared spiritually and relying more on God, would things have happened like this?” or “If I had made different choices, would this thing not have happened to me?”  I’m thinking that these probably aren’t the best questions to ask myself, especially since they highly focus on what has already come and gone—things that I cannot change no matter how much I stew over them and wish that things had turned out differently. I have always thought that I faced some difficulties in my life that would prepare me for most things... Read the rest of this entry »

Particular doctrines, specific beliefs, and sacred rites of passages of most religions set forth, in what James Talmage refers to as, “formulated creeds” (Talmage, 1976). One of the very first of these creeds ever to have established did not come out of the First Century of the Common Era but came out of the third [...]  Read More →