Mormon Bloggers

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 »

Looking back over Nephi’s life, through his record, we discover that he deliberately “hits the mountain tops”. This means he outlines wonderfully a pattern, or path, that must be followed to gain “power in the priesthood”. Here is an “abridgment” of that path as I have observed so far. His father taught him and testified of God. (1 Nephi 1:1) He had a desire to know the “mysteries of Godliness” for himself. (1 Nephi 2: 16) He “cried” unto the Lord which resulted in the Lord visiting him and he believed. (1 Nephi 2:16) He entered into the same covenant as Abraham did. (1 Nephi 2, 1 Nephi 3:15) He testified of this truth to others in the spirit of prophecy. (1 Nephi 2:17) He cried unto the Lord on behalf of others or ministered in the office of a priest. (1 Nephi 2:18) He learned the blessings that are given by obedience to the covenant he entered into, namely: Land inheritance (1 Nephi 2:20), prosperity in the form of posterity (1 Nephi 2:20), and priesthood power... Read the rest of this entry »

I have been so involved in studying and learning great things in the Book of Mormon that I have neglected to write down what I have learned. I need to repent, so today I, once again, will proceed to share some of the cool things I have learned. Just to get you up to speed… in first Nephi we can learn all kinds of deep doctrinal things that perhaps are not seen unless a serious study of the book, with the help of the spirit, takes place. In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord pronounced a condemnation upon the Church for taking The Book of Mormon too lightly. Doctrine and Covenants 84: 54 And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received— 55 Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation. 56 And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all. 57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the... Read the rest of this entry »

How grateful I am for the record we are given in the Old Testament of the dealings of the Lord regarding the Children of Israel. Perhaps for the first time ever, in all my studies of the Book of Mormon, I finally believe I have come to more fully understand the historical background and current issues that the Prophet Lehi and his family faced by living when they did in Jerusalem. This understanding comes, in part, because of the accounts given by Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. These men, contemporaries of Lehi, were prophets of the Lord who delivered messages of repentance to a wicked and prideful people. These people, the covenant or chosen people of the Lord, had received authority to administer in the ordinances of the Temple, but had lost the “power” through disobedience, wickedness and the worship of false Gods or abominations. They had come to rely more upon the arm of flesh, than upon the Lord himself. (Again, my attention is called to Elder Boyd K Packer and his voice... Read the rest of this entry »

I love the Book of Mormon. This year in my Institute class we are studying the Book of Mormon. Even though we have just started the class I can already see the blessing the Book of Mormon is in my life. I am so glad that I have had the opportunity to study the Doctrine and Covenants in depth last year. It is a magnificent book of scripture that allows for a perfect transition into the study of the Book of Mormon. My last posts were in regard to Section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants wherein I discussed the New and Everlasting Covenant and the possibility of receiving ones calling and election sure, which also involves the bestowal of the sealing power to the recipient. This process is one of progression from a prophet, to a priest, to a king. It requires one to pass a test given by the Lord as a trial of faith, such as the test given to Abraham to sacrifice his son, or Joseph Smith to practice polygamy. When one receives the power to seal, they speak as if the Lord were speaking... Read the rest of this entry »

Disclaimer: While I do not typically use this blog to discuss political issues or to fight the culture wars, I have made exceptions on a few occasions to weigh in on issues I felt strongly about. I ask for your understanding as I do so again. This is a post I have agonized over, and, in the end, have felt to express my devotion to my Savior by expressing my love for His children, especially for the downtrodden, reviled, and misunderstood among them. I do not mean to be overbearing or preachy, but I believe very strongly in the importance of the principles I discuss here. In writing this, I have tried to soften my words, to find balance between the absolute truths of the gospel and the very real heartaches of those I love who struggle to find answers in the church I have come to love. Perhaps my greatest realization has been that I do not have all the answers. Many of my feelings are only partially-formed and even more partially-expressed. I pray for your patience as I share with... Read the rest of this entry »

“What is the source of such moral and spiritual power, and how do we obtain it? The source is God. Our access to that power is through our covenants with Him. A covenant is an agreement between God and man, an accord whose terms are set by God . In these divine agreements, God binds Himself to sustain, sanctify, and exalt us in return for our commitment to serve Him and keep His commandments. We enter into covenants by priesthood ordinances, sacred rituals that God has ordained for us to manifest our commitment. Our foundational covenant, for example, the one in which we first pledge our willingness to take upon us the name of Christ, is confirmed by the ordinance of baptism. It is done individually, by name. By this ordinance, we become part of the covenant people of the Lord and heirs of the celestial kingdom of God. Other sacred ordinances are performed in temples built for that very purpose. If we are faithful to the covenants made there, we become inheritors not only of the celestial... Read the rest of this entry »