Mormon Bloggers

It’s interesting to notice how easy it is to misunderstand/misinterpret history. Historical “facts” arise from different sources, and it is the historian’s job to sift the documentary evidence and see what kind of balance comes out in the end. And the balance doesn’t necessarily come from the volume of the documentation. Popular lies get reported [...]  Read More →

I had an interesting conversation with a friend recently. She is a convert to the church and she has had some remarkable experiences which have taught her that God loves her, and that He has intervened in her life. She will tell you that she knows that Jesus suffered for her sins and by His atoning sacrifice she has already been greatly blessed. And yet sometimes she feels weak and inadequate. Sometimes she feels unworthy of His love. She feels, sometimes, that she is not worth rescuing. As I listened to her, I thought of my own experience. I joined the church with my parents when I was about nine, so I effectively grew up in the church. I have never doubted that God lives. I have never questioned that Savior suffered and died for me. I have repeatedly felt the witness of the Holy Ghost testifying of the truthfulness of the plan of salvation as it has been taught to me and as I have taught it to others. And yet when it came time for me to call upon the atonement in a very real... Read the rest of this entry »

About a thousand other people and I enjoyed an evening with Richard Bushman last night. He spoke about Joseph and Emma for about 40 minutes and then entertained questions from the audience for another 40 minutes. While his insights on Joseph and Emma were interesting, I found the questions more fascinating, because they reflected a lot of the issues I blog about. For those who don’t know, Richard Bushman is the author of Rough Stone Rolling, the 2005 biography of Joseph Smith that has become the definitive account of the prophet’s life as told from the viewpoint of a faithful historian. I took advantage of the opportunity to have him autograph my copy and was not the only one in the audience who waited in line to do so. Open and honest discussion It was wonderful to see so many people interested in learning more about this great man and the beginnings of the Mormon Church. Every time he finished answering a question a dozen more hands shot up. We could have been there for several more... Read the rest of this entry »

William Shakespeare was arguably the most influential writer in all of English literature. One of his plays, Hamlet, seems to have become so influential that it has profoundly affected the course of Western literature and culture even after 400 years. From Hamlet, I have chosen three themes that Shakespeare developed so beautifully: 1) The impossibility of certainty, 2) The complexity of action and 3) The mystery of life and death. These ideas are further advanced in Tom Stoppard’s existentialist work, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Through absurdity, we are lead to believe that 1) The world is incomprehensible, 2) We are insignificant and incapable of making meaningful choices and 3) We are but players on a stage. The very purpose of life In effect, Stoppard’s ideas are the same as Shakespeare’s, illustrated with an equal amount of wit, but in a much more bleak and sarcastic style. I dispute these ideas and in contrast, it is my contention that 1) We can choose what we believe... Read the rest of this entry »

So said Nephi to the spirit during his vision of the Tree of Life (and more; see 1 Nephi 11). I’ve never been asked anything in a vision, but I certainly could regularly say, “I do not know the meaning of all things.” And I must confess, I’m a little leery of those who seem to (know the meaning of all things, I mean). I appreciate the humility inherent in Nephi’s statement. I mean, here he’s having a vision, conversing with “the spirit of the Lord”, and it’s not just a run of the mill vision, but it’s about to be one of those broadly scoped visions of epic proportions. It’s pretty easy to imagine that Nephi post-vision was more confident in what he knew than pre-vision, anyway. I think about times that I have behaved as if I knew more than I did. I suspect there were times on my mission that I was that way. And I don’t mean saying “I know” when I really believed, but I mean falsely believing I had a greater grasp of scripture and culture and language... Read the rest of this entry »

After reviewing one of my previous essays, a thoughtful reader asked my opinion about the idea of perfection and if the requirements for salvation had changed.  He said, “Open just about any page of the book of Leviticus and you’ll see laws that were of life and death importance to the early church, but not today. In contrast, there is no mention of baptism or confirmation in the Old Testament as a requirement for salvation, yet today, they are taught as essential.” He also asked about the need for the Word of Wisdom, temple ordinances, plural marriage and the second anointing. He concluded, “If God is eternal, and heaven doesn’t change, shouldn’t the requirements to get into heaven be the same, no matter when you were born or what culture you lived in?” Although his email was private, great questions like these deserve a response that can be shared in my blog so others who might be interested can benefit from the dialog. Perfection means completed The savior... Read the rest of this entry »

All my life in the church I have heard the promises of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  These are held out as motivating ideas that are intended to help us resist the pull and attraction of worldly pleasures.  In this short essay, I would like to consider just one of those promises and the power for good that it should have in our lives. Of course, the attraction of promises pre-supposes that you are the kind of person that is motivated by the “moving-toward” model.  If you’re not familiar with the idea, it comes from the book Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins.  He states, “All human behavior revolves around the urge to gain pleasure or avoid pain.” Tony’s shorthand for this is “pain or gain.”  Which one drives you?  Of course the concept is not original with Tony but he made it a focus of his seminars and books.  The idea has been around forever and stated in different ways by various thinkers.  The process is not absolute.  We move toward some things and away from... Read the rest of this entry »

This past week I had a very interesting conversation with another one of the missionaries here in the Missionary Training Center learning French.  We finished talking about and reviewing the Subjunctive tense in the French language and we started talking about some of the other religions that the missionary would encounter in France, where he is currently serving.  There was quite an extensive list of religions he could encounter during his stay in France, but one that we spent quite a bit of time discussing was those that are atheists and their claim that there is no God. We ended up talking about this one a bit because it is sometimes difficult to help those who don’t believe there is a God have faith enough to seek Him out to find out for themselves if He is really there.  Of course, during my mission, I have talked with many different types of people with varying beliefs, and I have loved learning why people believe what they do and what it means to them.  Atheists... Read the rest of this entry »

As corny and somewhat doctrinally incorrect the play Saturday’s Warrior is, the main song is truly inspiring: Who are these children coming down, coming down,Like gentle rain through darkened skies,With glory trailing from their feet as they goAnd endless promise in their eyes?Who are these young ones growing tall, growing strong,Like silver trees against the storm,Who will not bend with the wind or the change,But stand to fight the world alone?These are the few, the warriors saved for Saturday,To come the last day of the world.These are they on Saturday.These are the strong, the warriors rising in their mightTo win the battle raging in the hearts of men on Saturday.Strangers from a realm of light who have forgotten allThe memory of their former life, the purpose of their call.And so they must learn why they’re here and who they really are.They must learn why they’re here and who they are!These are the few, the warriors saved for Saturday,To come the last day of the world.These... Read the rest of this entry »

There is a great deal of information to be learned from just the first three verses of the Book of Mormon from the record of Nephi. In verse 1, look for all the things we learn about Nephi. 1Nephi 1:1 I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days. First, we learn that he had “goodly” parents, or was taught correct principles. This is an important piece of information for us to know. Having a foundation of truth to build upon is essential for anyone to come to a sure knowledge. Next, we learn that he had seen many afflictions in his life. Trials or tests are part of the learning process we go through in this life to prove us. The test of obedience and... Read the rest of this entry »

For several months now our daughter, Isabelle has been sleeping (or at least beginning the night) in her own room, in the bed that she has aptly named the “big girl bed.”  As she is quite the extrovert, Isabelle often finds it difficult to go to sleep, as it is really the only time during the day that she has to be alone, a state that is difficult for her to deal with.  Hence it is not uncommon that, after a long day when she is a little over tired, she ends up crying for a little while to put herself to sleep.  Not uncommon, but also never easy to deal with.  There are a great many things I’d rather face (a severe beating among them) than having to turn my back on my child when she is sobbing and calling out for me, but sometimes it has to be done, in order that she will be able to grow.  The alternative is Lucie or I having to share a bed with her until she leaves for college, which is hardly a pleasant thought. That said, there is a difference that a... Read the rest of this entry »

The endowment that we receive in the Lord’s temples today is not the complete endowment that the Savior intends us to have.  The ordinances introduce us but the endowment is not complete until we have come into the heavenly presence and have been instructed in the things of eternity. You may ask, “If there is more to the endowment than what I have been taught in the temple, then why hasn’t someone explained it to me?”  A careful reading of scripture revealed in these last days contains all we need to know to fully understand that there is more, much more to it. The redemptive mission of the Savior In his role as our Redeemer, a primary mission of the Savior is to baptize us with the Holy Ghost and with fire.  He did not complete that mission with his disciples in Jerusalem while he was among them, explaining that he had to go away first in order for them to receive this sacred gift. He also said that his apostles would do greater works than he did. In other words, they would... Read the rest of this entry »