Chosen by God

I had a thought that never occurred to me before while reading Doctrine and Covenants 138, as obvious as this thought is. I believe it’s correct that some of the ancient prophets, Adam down to Joseph Smith and beyond, have resurrected bodies and are in heaven teaching. For some reason I’d only ever thought about

Agency and Mistakes: Was Brigham Young Wrong?

Let’s start with an assumption. What if Brigham Young incorrectly instituted the practice of the priesthood ban for black people? We always think in this way that God can do anything, however He wants to. Why didn’t He fix the priesthood ban for blacks issue immediately after Brigham Young if it was in fact a

Infant baptisms, Salvation, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ

One of the great fallacies of Christian belief is what happens to people who die without being baptized, especially those who never, in mortal life, had an opportunity to be baptized. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is sometimes accused of diminishing God through the beliefs He has revealed to us. For example,

What do we believe in?

My Aunt Lindsey often asks the question, “What do you know?” I usually respond, “Not much.” What do we really know? Anything? While reading Mosiah chapter 26, I came across an interesting commentary from Hugh Nibley, one of my favorite scholars. The commentary was on Mosiah 26:15 which reads: “Blessed art thou, Alma, and blessed

Talk – How can I show faith in Jesus Christ more in my daily life?

I recently shared Beth’s amazing talk given on the natural man being an enemy to God. That can be read by clicking HERE. The following week I was asked to give a talk on the topic, “how can I show faith in Jesus Christ more in my daily life?” I thought I’d share that as

Inheritance and Lehi’s Blessing

I have always been confused by the blessings of Lehi to his posterity in the 4th chapter of 2 Nephi in the Book of Mormon.  For one, there is the obvious blessing that is missing: Nephi’s.  For another, there seem to be mixed messages.  Laman and Lemuel have a blessing, but it may be removed? 

Beth’s Talk on Mosiah 3:19 (January)

This is a talk, exactly as written, by Beth, that she gave in church in January. She rehearsed the talk verbally to me multiple times before I heard it in church. Of course, through hearing it I knew it was a great talk, but it wasn’t until proofreading and preparing to post this that I

We are Scripture

As I read the historical background of Section 136 of the Doctrine and Covenants, I’m struck by the realization of how much the pioneers of the 1840s parallel the children of Israel leaving Egypt. The pioneers were leaving persecution, and in many ways bondage, just as the children of Israel. The pioneers had a humble

A Dream About Prophets

I had a dream last night.  In it I was going down a stream.  I had the feeling of leaving civilization for the wilderness.  I came to a cliff.  I climbed to the top and on the precipice there was a small and shabby tent erected.  I went inside and there was an old prophet. 

The Trinity

I’m not going to cite a bunch of scriptures supporting my point.  In my experience that does nothing because individual scriptures can be interpreted in a million different ways.  Any scripture I give that seems clear as day to me to show God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost as three distinct personages