Mormon Bloggers

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 »

I’ve been reading the arguments on MormonThink.com off and on for several years now.  I have a lot of respect for the individuals behind the site, even though most of them choose to be anonymous.  I am confident that I have been visited by several of the contributors there or at least by those who read their site and others like it such as Ex Mormon and Post Mormon. I am by no means a scholar or intellectual.  I think I’m pretty smart and that I’m pretty good with logic.  After all, I have made a living for thirty years demystifying computers for others.  But I know there are a lot of people out there who are smarter than I am and who have the academic credentials to prove it.  I like to think that I’m just a regular, average, typical Latter-day Saint. I like smart, thinking people and especially people who present logical conclusions well, either in writing or verbally.  Critical thinking is a skill that I am constantly striving to improve.  I confess that I am impressed... Read the rest of this entry »

A few years ago I went home to Meridian for the funeral of my friend, Brad Morse. He was my same age and, outside my family, I’d probably spent more time playing tennis with him than anyone (which is saying something). He’d been murdered in cold blood by a shot to the head from a stranger who stole his car. I remember his father speaking at the funeral about the claims of many that it was “his time” and that God had “called him back,” and basically crediting his son’s demise to God. The father pushed back and said it wasn’t “his time” and that the murder was wrong. My bias is that I agree with him. I think a lot of people believe in a God of the Gaps (AGOG, I’ll call him). In ages past and in some cultures today, AGOG gets the credit for everything not yet explained. Bad harvest? Must’ve offended AGOG. You got pregnant? AGOG smiled on you. You won in war? AGOG must be on your side. There’s a wondrous... Read the rest of this entry »

I am so excited for the new Gospel Principles manual! I have always felt strongly about focusing on the basic principles of the gospel. Elder Nelson expressed the same in the January Ensign: “All Church members will benefit by a return to the basics. A careful study of core doctrines . . . will help members strengthen their understanding of the fundamental teachings of the gospel.” As time goes by, we often forget the simple aspects of the gospel and tend to only study deeper doctrine. But our understanding of deeper doctrine will increase when we understand the foundational principles upon which the deeper doctrine is built. To bake a cake, every little ingredient is important in producing the delicious dessert. So it is with developing knowledge and a testimony: every little principle is important in producing a strong understanding of the gospel. Some members may fear there will be some redundancy. Elder Nelson said, “Of course there will! Isn’t it wonderful... Read the rest of this entry »

Last week I exhorted you to read your scriptures. But having scripture study is not always easy to do. You can do it personally and as a family by putting in the effort and finding what works for your situation. Here are some ideas I put together to help you incorporate this spiritually vital habit into your daily life (click on the title to read the article): How to Have Personal Scripture Study How to Make Time for Personal Scripture Study How to Have Scripture Study with Your Spouse How to Have Family Scripture Study Other relevant articles with more scripture study ideas: How to Teach the Bible to Toddlers How to Make Bible Trivia Games How to Easily Memorize Bible Verses Sharing Time: How do you like to study the scriptures?  Read More →

I try to define knowledge.  Read More →

I love General Conference. It seems to me that many of the talks this past conference centered on gaining a personal knowledge of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. In fact, Elder Robert D. Hales gave a beautiful description of the process in his talk titled just that. The following is a brief excerpt from that talk…. Look for the action words he uses to help us understand the pattern of progressing from believing, which is a light that all are born with, to knowing. “Seeking to Know God, Our Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ” “Brothers and sisters, you may already know, deep in your soul, that God lives. You may not know all about Him yet and do not understand all His ways, but the light of belief is within you, waiting to be awakened and intensified by the Spirit of God and the Light of Christ, which you are born with. So come. Believe the testimonies of the prophets. Learn of God and Christ. The pattern to do so is clearly taught... Read the rest of this entry »

Often when we discuss controversial topics and deep doctrine, all we reap are vastly differing opinions and interpretations, criticisms of others’ ideas, and overall confusion. Such discussions do nothing to aid our testimonies of the gospel, only bringing out doubts and questions. I strongly believe in focusing on the basics of the gospel. Without a very firm foundation in “the first principles and ordinances of the gospel” (Article of Faith 4), we cannot have a strong testimony of higher doctrine. We must first start with the ABC blocks of the gospel and build “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little” (2 Nephi 28:30) for deeper understandings. Just like babies, we must start with milk before we get meat (See 1 Corinthians 3:2, D&C 19:22). Timothy further clarified, “For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason... Read the rest of this entry »

Pondering the gospel is like holding up a diamond to a bright light.  Every time you examine it from a new angle, you get to experience a new sparkle.   So, this morning I got to thinking about Truth.  Truth ought to be one of the most valuable and most-sought-after principles in existence (the only two other principles which, in my opinion, stand on par are Charity–the pure love of Christ, and Agency, and the only one which exceeds them all is the principle of Atonement).  Why Truth?  Our understanding or interpretation of it colors every single aspect of our lives, and our take on it colors every single choice we make.  And that’s a sobering thought because we can control choice, but we can’t control consequence.  So, it stands to reason that the clearer the view of Truth we have, the better the odds of a happy and successful life:  Truth leads to Choice leads to Consequence.   From the Doctrine & Covenants Section 93: 24 And atruth is bknowledge of... Read the rest of this entry »