My neighbor and friend Bruce is fond of saying “a sacrifice isn’t a sacrifice unless it’s a sacrifice”. The point is that unless it hurts it is hard to call something a real sacrifice. I think there is some merit to this idea. This post is about what constitutes sacrifice in our lives today. (more…)

Most of us are concerned about just making enough money to pay our bills. By contrast, there are some people in this world that are really, really rich. I have seen stats in the past that show that almost 40% of all wealth in the US is in the hands of the top 1% of wealthy people. So here is my question to you: What would you do if you were rich? I don’t mean kinda rich, I mean 8-to-9-figures rich. How would you (as a righteous citizen of Zion) handle or distribute your fabulous wealth? What could you do with that resource to actually make the world a better place? (more…)

When I was a young man, I served as counselor to a wise district president in the Church. He tried to teach me. One of the things I remember wondering about was this advice he gave: “When you meet someone, treat them as if they were in serious trouble, and you will be right more than half the time.” (Henry B. Eyring, “In the Strength of the Lord,” Ensign, May 2004, 16)

This quote from Elder Eyring pierced me when I heard it a year ago. I find it profound. I am disturbed by how true it is. People have trouble in this world, and sometimes they have lots of it. (more…)

Dave’s recent post on Satan got me thinking again about the subject of the Devil. Understanding how the Devil fits in the model of the eternities is a difficult thing to do. We really don’t know much about him. Our doctrine makes it pretty clear that there is an actual being that is the devil, but we don’t know much more than that. Is Satan a role that some spirit plays on every planet? If so, how does one “qualify” for that position? What is the source of any power the devil has? Can the devil actually prompt us with a Quiet, Creepy Whisper in opposition to the still small voice? While the scriptures make his tactics pretty clear (I have dubbed them the Devil’s GPA and have posted on that twice now) they leave us largely in the dark about real nitty gritty details about this fallen angel and his cohorts. I have more questions than answers on this subject so I’ll focus on just one question in this post: Can Lucifer repent? (more…)

A favorite gripe in the Bloggernacle and in the Church in general is the fact that lots of other Christians refuse to acknowledge Mormons as fellow Christians. (See Ben’s most recent post on the overall subject over at M*) This snub gets us Mormons in a tizzy. And that, of course, is half of the fun for those who don’t want to let us in “the club”. But not being in the club doesn’t bother me. I really don’t give a hoot who calls me Christian in this world. And when I think about it I can’t figure out why any of us should. (more…)

Ok, so after I called the world out on the subject of personal revelation, Crystal called me out on details. She wisely noted:

For someone like me, who has almost an inability to pray, do you have any suggestions for where to start? It’s good to say that we all should be having this, but the hows are helpful to those of us who struggle.

That is a good point. It is one thing to tell everyone to start listening to what God has to say but another thing to explain how to do that. I’ll try my best in this post. But I recognize that there is a high likelihood that you know more about this subject than I do so please correct or amend or add to my attempt here. (more…)

I am finally finishing Terryl Givens’ excellent book titled By the Hand of Mormon. In the penultimate chapter Givens focuses on the concept of dialogic prayer – personal two-way communication with God. He postulates that the reality of dialogic prayer as displayed over and over among the regular people in the Book of Mormon may be the real revolutionary doctrinal contribution of the Book of Mormon to the world. I think he is right. The prophets of the Book of Mormon seem to consistently expect us to talk to God and hear what he has to say back. In not-so-subtle ways they tell us that if we are not hearing back from God we are among the wicked. Think about what Nephi says to Laman and Lemuel when they have trouble understanding the vision their father had: “Have ye inquired of the Lord?” Laman and Lemuel gave the all too modern answer: “The Lord maketh not such things known unto us.” (1 Nep. 15:8-9) Nephi paints a world where the norm is to have a question, to inquire of the Lord, and to get a clear and specific answer. In his world the normal and righteous citizens consistently describe how “the spirit said unto me” or “the voice of the Lord came unto me”. I believe the Book of Mormon gives us that message because that is the view of the world those prophets and God expect us to keep as the saints in the last days. (more…)

Warning: Navel gazing to follow…

In my life I have discovered that the words “I’m sorry” are among the most useful in my vocabulary. I am the type that needs utilize this phrase often. The good news for those of you who have needed it from me is that I mean it when I say it. (more…)

Brigham Young appears to be a favorite punching bag in the church and especially on the Bloggernacle. I read and interesting post over at Unofficial Manifesto asking “Is Brother Brigham our black eye?” Apparently many in the church feel he is on several counts, but none more so than on the now infamous doctrine he taught about Adam. (more…)

There have been a couple of interesting discussions going on recently about what we can know or not spiritually and the hypothetical possibility we could be deceived about our faith. I like this topic. And since today is my birthday, I think we should talk about it. (You must obey the birthday boy after all). (more…)

We covered lesson 15 in Gospel doctrine yesterday. Once again my friend and neighbor Bruce did an excellent job. (I’m trying to butter him up to get him to start posting here.) The most important nugget I got from his lesson is that the injunction Moroni gives us to “deny not the gifts of God” is not so much him imploring us to avoid denying their existence as it is a plea for us not to decline the gifts God wants to give us. If this reading is correct (and I think it is), then the saying might be more appropriately read “decline not the gifts of God”. (more…)