What if I don't want to be resurrected?
I've recently been impressed to study the teachings and biography of the First Presidency. My respect, love, and feelings for these men grow deeper with every chapter. It has been a powerful, revelatory experience. I also learned more about doctrine and Church history. For example, Pres. Nelson's biography relates how Pres. Nelson's grandfather received a visitation from his late father from beyond the veil and recorded the interview.
Heaven and Hevel
My first son kid was born during a very busy time in our lives. I was working full-time, going to college full-time, and serving as a counselor in a branch presidency. It was a rough time of early mornings and late nights. Sometimes, I didn't see my baby boy awake for several days at a time. For his first birthday, my wife created a video of the moments she had...
Flimsy Philosophies
We have observed a new religion seeping into the membership of the Church over the past decade. This religion is a deconstructed imitation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It copies the culture, vocabulary, and standard works of the Gospel, but waters down (and sometimes rejects outright) the foundational truths of the Gospel. If the Gospel is the healthy cows of Pharaoh's dream, then this alternate religion is the sickly...
What's up with Jesus's hands?
We have three kids ages 6 and under. Time out as a couple is rare and fleeting. Movie theaters are virtually out of the question. But when the first two episodes of The Chosen hit the box office last month, my wife and I made sure to go. I loved it. Watching those episodes was a wonderful experience.
Until I ruined it.
Spoilers ahead, you've been warned.
The last calling we receive
Three weeks ago, my wife and I got a phone call. Hope, my 57-year-old mother-in-law, had run out of options for chemotherapy and was starting in-home hospice. Doctors estimated she had some weeks left. Hope wanted to hug her grandchildren again while she could, so we loaded the kids in the car and started the 8-hour journey to North Carolina.
2 hours away from my in-laws' house, we received another...
The gift of our calling
It was five years, almost to the day, but if you saw a picture of that Bishop from the start of his term, you'd be forgiven for thinking 15 or 20 years had passed. The marital disputes, the midnight runs to the chapel to forestall eviction, and the last-second interviews had taken their toll on both his hairline and his beltline. "Busy as a man can be," indeed. But...
Missionary work: getting in "the zone"
I pointed out in my previous post that the Lord and His servants have made it clear that when it comes to encouraging member missionary work, we need go beyond gimmicks and corporate management tactics. The Gospel of Jesus Christ doesn't need salesmen. Motivating members to occasionally perform missionary actions is not enough. God wants us to become missionaries in our hearts. We don't need a new program– we...
Every member a... salesman?
What is the number one complaint among full-time missionaries? Zealous missionaries everywhere are disappointed that members are not inviting their non-member friends to hear the message of the Gospel.
They are frustrated with good reason– members generally are not doing our part to live our covenant to "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places." Investigators, less-actives, and even the random people...
Hello, my name is Corianton
This past week in Come, Follow Me, we read Alma's words to his son Corianton. Also this past week, my wife and I started watching a new superhero show: DC's Stargirl. We're only a few episodes in, so the jury's still out. But one episode felt especially applicable to this week's studies.
In this particular episode, we meet Yolanda: a successful, vibrant, outgoing young woman. She's part of a supportive,...
Remember who the real enemy is
Last week in Come Follow Me, we read the first part of Alma's mission to the apostates in Ammonihah. It's there that we got to meet the wicked lawyer, Zeezrom. The crafty Zeezrom tries every trick in the book to misrepresent Gospel teachings and trip up Alma's junior companion, Amulek. He even tried to bribe Amulek with (according to my math) about a month and a half's worth of a...
Fun movie. Serious spiritual lessons.
On Friday night, my wife and I were able to get out of the house and go on a date. And despite being really tired, we didn't just grab a bite to eat and come home to crash this time. It was a real date. Dinner and a movie. It was wonderful. When my wife and I got home, it was pretty late, and we were back to feeling tired....
These are our days
I wrote about the prophet-missionary Nephi in my last two posts about unwearyingness and personal revelation. This week I want to continue to take his awesome story and highlight another important lesson for our lives. Having just returned from his mission to find his people incredibly wicked, he was understandably upset. Kneeling on his garden tower, he poured out his anguish to God:
Marvel, and Marvel Not
2 weeks ago, I intentionally took a word in the Book of Mormon out of context to illustrate an important principle. This week, I wanted to address a word that has multiple meanings: Marvel.
Usually, when I think of the word "marvel," I first think of Captain America, Agents of SHIELD, and the Avengers. But, this is not that kind of blog (although I think a Marvel edition of...
It had an end
Today is Mother's Day. But instead of talking about the stripling warriors, Abish, or Sariah today, I want to talk about a few words I found in Helaman 1.
This year, my wife, my sweetheart, and the mother of my son is spending Mother's Day out of the country on a dream trip across Europe with her sister and some extended family members. She is having a great time,...
