Mormon Bloggers

“Not My Will be Done, But Thine, be Done”         New Testament Lesson #25 Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46   … Continue reading »  Read More →

New Testament Lesson #24                      “This is Life Eternal”                                     John 16-17 Study outline: John 16:1-15: Jesus prepares his Apostles for the … Continue reading »  Read More →

Introduction One of the main criticism against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that concerning the evangelical perspective of Mormonism being a Gospel of Works. In that, evangelical Christians constantly accuse Latter-day Saints of not relying fully on the efficacy of the Cross and the Grace offered unto all humanity who comes [...]  Read More →

“They Straightway Left Their Nets” – Historical Context Gospel Doctrine Class – New Testament, Lesson #6 Luke 4:14-32; 5; 6:12-16; Matthew 10 The purpose of this week’s study is to help individuals understand that the Apostles were called to be special witnesses of Jesus Christ. Because Apostles are divinely called of Christ, we are blessed [...]  Read More →

    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 →

The father looks up wistfully from his reading; another argument and another angry outburst of frustration. It had been only a couple of years yesterday when his youngest son announced that he and his young family had left The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And when his son came to visit with his [...]  Read More →

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 →

Last Saturday was a great day. We visited family, hung out with old friends, and generally had a great time all day. Even the sunset was beautiful. Then came bedtime. Oh. My. Kids. There were more blood-curdling screams than at the Nightmare on 13th haunted house. And why were they screaming? Heaven only knows. At bedtime, needs change constantly so as to provide a constant barrage of excuses to keep Mom and Dad’s attention. And if one request can’t be supplied, all Hades breaks loose, and before we know it, one side of the house is filled with weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth (or gums, in Squeakers case), and the other with adults trying to drown out the sound with pillows over their ears. Beyond timeouts and lecturing, what’s a parent to do? After numerous door-smashing tantrums, heated lectures, and threats of lost privileges, the wailing only got worse. Jenni and I were both on the verge of an all-out breakdown. The idea of letting the kids wail themselves... Read the rest of this entry »

The other day, I happened to post on Mormon Apologetics Discussion Board a brief and quick topic on the parallelism that exists between some of those on the Liberal side of politic’s and those who are critic’s of the Mormon faith. In full context, here is the original posting. Recently, I started listening to AM [...]  Read More →

Many years ago, a missionary son asked, “How is it that women can officiate in temple ordinances, inasmuch as they do not have the priesthood? By what authority do they do those things?” That’s an excellent question, and this one does have an answer! The handout (see attached – click to enlarge, download it or print it to read the small print, or ask me for a pdf version) from today’s lesson outlines the priesthood holders (men only) who hold priesthood keys in the hierarchical structure of the organization (those on the right side of the handout).  I have written for years about this topic. The presiding keys of authority within the Church are very specific, and are held only by those who preside at the various levels of the Church. The President of the High Priesthood, the President of the Church, holds all the priesthood keys (see D&C 132:7). There is only one man on the earth at a time who holds all the keys of the priesthood. In actuality, however, he receives... Read the rest of this entry »

This summer, I’ve been re-reading John Adams, the brilliant biography by Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough.  This time, I’ve found refuge and relief from the current idiocy coming out of Washington.  I commend the book to all of you who may be having similar thoughts about current events.  It will do wonders to calm your troubled hearts in the tumult of opinions and the war of words. If it weren’t so true, the attached cartoon would be funnier.  There was no attempt to spell out every contingency that would arise in America when the writers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States laid it all out in writing.  Such was never their intent.  Instead, they relied upon the moral purity of the people who would come after them.  Yes, moral purity.  Thomas Jefferson, holding the pen that wrote the Declaration of Independence, later wrote:  “Experience hath shewn,... Read the rest of this entry »

In the 2009 October General Conference, Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve gave a talk titled “Moral Discipline.” In this talk he made a fascinating statement that has stayed with me in the intervening months: “The societies in which many of us live have for more than a generation failed to foster moral discipline. They have taught that truth is relative and that everyone decides for himself or herself what is right. Concepts such as sin and wrong have been condemned as “value judgments.” As the Lord describes it, “Every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god” (D&C 1:16). As a consequence, self-discipline has eroded and societies are left to try to maintain order and civility by compulsion. The lack of internal control by individuals breeds external control by governments. One columnist observed that “gentlemanly behavior [for example, once] protected women from coarse behavior. Today, we expect... Read the rest of this entry »