Mormon Bloggers

Mormons Believe: We are all children of God   ~by Michelle I’ll never forget when I first discovered that my (then) very young song son knew the Primary song, “I am a Child of God.” He could barely talk, but he could sing this song. This is the first song in the Children’s Songbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (It’s also in our book of hymns.) I think there is a reason that it comes first in the songbook — because it is a foundational truth in our faith. There is probably nothing that matters to me more than having my children understand that they are children of a loving Heavenly Father. And I know how much this simple truth helps me in my life. I was just talking to my sister yesterday about how when I know and feel God’s love for and awareness of me, it makes all the difference. I can face my challenges with more faith and strength and patience. I can make choices with more deliberateness and focus. I can teach my... Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve enjoyed this quote from a book I’ve recommended, Gethsemane, by Andrew C. Skinner. It gives some indication of the vastness of our cosmos: “Astronomers tell us that our solar system is located in a spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, a flat, disc-shaped cluster of stars approximately 100,000 light years across at its widest point. A light year is the distance light travels in one year. Moving at the speed of 186,000 miles per second, a beam of light traverses 5.7 trillion miles in 365 days! The size of our galaxy in miles is a staggering 5.7 trillion times 100,000, and it is estimated to contain 200 billion stars, 50 percent of which (100 billion) possess solar systems like our own. The next closest galaxy is Andromeda, a galaxy much like our own Milky Way, that is approximately 2.2 million light years away from us. Further more, our best telescopes can probe outward into space to a distance of approximately 5 billion light years and view about 500 million galaxies,... Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve read my share of anti-Mormon commentary in news articles wherein the LDS Church is featured. Frequently in the comment castigating the Church will be the mention that LDS women are “oppressed” in some way–because they’re not ordained to the Priesthood, because they aren’t to be found in the upper echelons of Church leadership, etc., etc., etc. After reading yet another such comment, I was pondering the very real misunderstanding of hierarchy in our Church, and it occurred to me that this is due to a difference in paradigms, between “Church and State,” if you will. In the world, a business (or government) will have a president, vice-president, and all their underlings, and power will flow from the top, in a downward direction. Think of this as a sort of “pyramid of power,” with the President at the pinnacle, and the worker bee drones, at the base of the pyramid. If a person were to look at the printed charts showing the... Read the rest of this entry »

photo by Steve Goodwin Instead of posting all the responses I got, I decided to write a follow-up discussion answering some of the questions people asked. When reading the comments, I was extremely disappointed in the immaturity others displayed. There are appropriate and inappropriate ways to voice our opinions. Only a couple people shared their views with maturity. My favorite comment labeled my blog a “bigoted hate site.” Tell me if that doesn’t shout hypocrisy! We should all be respectful of other beliefs. I know most people disagree with me and that is fine. I do not expect them to convert to my way of thinking; I simply want them to understand my point of view. And I am willing to hear yours too if you do so respectfully. Thank you. Older or infertile couplesWe are all supposed to strive for marriage, yet for some it does not happen until later in life when childbearing years are far behind. Other couples may be infertile and not able to adopt. These situations... Read the rest of this entry »

photo by Matt Cook It is known news that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) contributed much to stop gay marriage from becoming legal in California. However, most people do not understand fully why we are against it. I will address common questions concerning Mormons and their opposition to gay marriage. Are Mormons against gay people?No. As the expression goes, we “hate the sin, not the sinner.” That creed applies to any person struggling with sin, not just gay people. What we disapprove of is the homosexual lifestyle. There are members of our Church who are homosexual yet as worthy as heterosexual members because they do not participate in that lifestyle. Elder Holland said, “Let me make it clear that attractions alone, troublesome as they may be, do not make one unworthy. The First Presidency has stated, ‘There is a distinction between immoral thoughts and feelings and participating in either immoral heterosexual or any homosexual... Read the rest of this entry »

Moral (or free) agency is the gift we have been given by a loving Heavenly Father.  We have the right to choose good or evil. The earliest record we have of its evidence is a suggestion from scripture that we were faced with a choice in the premortal realms before we came to inhabit this earth as mortals.  In the Church over the years we have heard “two plans” were presented for our consideration.  Here’s an example from 1943: President Harold B. Lee I read in the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants that the Lord speaks of a time when the hour shall soon come, but is not yet, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and when the devil would have power over his own dominion (see D&C 1:35). I have wondered what that meant, for the devil to have power over his own dominion. I read in the writings of Moses that there came a time in the Council in Heaven when “two plans” were proposed, and the children... Read the rest of this entry »

“More Than Just a Manger” A Testimony of Christmas ~by Heather L. A few years ago I realized something very important – that the story of Jesus Christ’s birth is about more than a manger – oh, so much more! The angels’ singing wasn’t just about a baby being born. They sang because they knew God’s promises were beginning to be fulfilled with that special birth. To understand their joy fully, we need to remember the rest of the story…. The story of Jesus Christ’s birth began before he was born, even before Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden. It began in a meeting in heaven, called by our Heavenly Father for all of His spirit children. You and I were there as He explained His plan for all of us. We would each have the opportunity to come to earth, to have a physical body. During our time on earth, we would learn, and grow, and make choices. That agency, the freedom to choose, was one of Heavenly Father’s precious gifts to us. We would need to learn... Read the rest of this entry »

I couldn’t help noticing the results of yet another poll the other day.  The polling, one would think, would end with the end of campaigning for this election cycle, but not so. . . the sampling of human opinion seems perpetual and neverending.  President Boyd K. Packer In the ongoing ”great debate of 2010,” this poll asked Utahns how many believed gay and lesbian people could change their sexual orientation.  President Boyd K. Packer, consistent with “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” issued in 1995 by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve, asserts: “Fifteen years ago, with the world in turmoil, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles issued ‘The Family: A Proclamation to the World,’ the fifth proclamation in the history of the Church. It is a guide that members of the Church would do well to read and to follow. “It states in part: ‘We, the First... Read the rest of this entry »

Pre-mortal Life with God Our existence did not begin with our birth, nor will it end with our death. Before we were born on this earth, we lived with God (Jeremiah 1:5; Abraham 3:22-25). God is called our “heavenly Father” because He is literally the “Father of [our] Spirits” (Hebrews 12:9; Numbers 16:22; Numbers 27:16). As his spirit children, we are truly “children of God” (Romans 8:16). During the pre-existence, we “receive[d] [our] first lessons in the world of spirits” and prepared for life on this earth (D&C 138:56). In a primordial council in heaven, God prepared and presented a plan whereby we would leave his presence and come to earth to receive a physical body and be tried and tested (Abraham 3:25). If we were faithful during mortality, we would return to heavenly Father’s presence and receive the gift of eternal life (John 17:3). Unfortunately, not all of God’s children accepted His plan. In fact, one-third of the hosts of heaven including Lucifer (or... Read the rest of this entry »

“Good morning, brethren.  Our lesson today is about sin.  Since all of you know all there is to know about sin, I’ve chosen a different topic.  Instead, we’re going to talk about repentance, since none of you knows anything about that.” As you might expect, nervous laughter circulated among the brethren of our high priest group.  The lesson was indeed Chapter 19, Repentance, but what came next was a surprise. “Since the scriptures clearly teach that we are conceived in sin and there’s nothing we can do about that, what do we do with this thing we call sin in our lives?” You should know I am routinely amazed at what passes for doctrine in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  There were some mild stammers and stutters in the room, no one wanting to be the first to speak.  It could have been nothing more than a device to get our attention.  Quickly and invariably the eyes started turning to me for... Read the rest of this entry »

So, it is time to write about it again. I actually read my previous Faith posts — some of which may be difficult to discern, because they don’t come right out and say, “this is about Faith!” Well, now, this one does declare that. This is part of my philosophical education, I guess. I need [...]  Read More →

Just so you know; here’s the disclaimer up front:  I am a heterosexual monogamous male living in the last days who is not without sin.  When I found my eternal companion, Patsy Hewlett, our union began simply as one male and one female who were deeply in love with each other from the moment we went on our first date.  Neither of us was perfect yet, but she’s always been pretty darn close to perfection as far as I’ve been able to discern.   From those two imperfect beings have come many – thirteen children and thirty-five grandchildren.  We have been added upon in ways we never imagined when we first met. . . And, I’m a Mormon. I suppose there are others types of “love” in these last days because I’ve been told there is an acronym to describe everything else under the broad heading of “love,” and it has been in widespread use since the 1990s:  LGBT is an initialism... Read the rest of this entry »