Since 2013 there has been a tremendous increase of knowledge among the Covenant Christians. From a series of 10 talks, The Holy Order, The Holy Order, Part 2, The Mission of Elijah Reconsidered, The First Three Words, Our Divine Parents, In Defense of Jesus Christ, The Religion of the Fathers, to The Perfect Mousetrap, and the Glossary of Gospel Terms, [to name only a few] knowledge has been poured out on our people. At present we may well be the most knowledgable group of Christians on earth. Knowledge is one thing, wisdom is another.

Recent events have demonstrated how little wisdom we have acquired during this same time. It is as if the outpouring of knowledge has left no measurable increase in our wisdom. We are imbalanced, and cannot advance as a group if we neglect the need for developing wisdom.

A talk given in 2019, Love Others as Yourself provided insight that could (and should) have benefitted us. Others, including Self Awareness, and Hearts Aligned with God, could have helped also. The recent podcast Satya: Truthfulness was another recent opportunity to increase wisdom among ourselves. But as a group we seem far more interested in acquiring knowledge than in applying wisdom.

The imbalance between knowledge and wisdom will impair the development of a community if it is not cured. Wisdom requires the community to engage, acquire missing skills, practice patience and gain experience. It cannot be obtained by avoiding, blaming, accusing, and hiding from responsibilities imposed on us.

The latest news regarding the second edition scriptures project: The leather second edition scriptures were completed just before Christmas 2025 in the Netherlands.

The books are now packed and prepared for shipment to the United States, and the container holding these volumes have been loaded onboard a ship in the port of Copenhagen. They are scheduled to depart from the Netherlands on January 21, 2026. We anticipate their arrival at a West Coast port around February 20th. Once customs clearance is completed and they are en route to our warehouse, there will be another announcement. The objective is to ship the books to all recipients as soon as they arrive in Meridian, Idaho.

As a reminder, the print-on-demand scriptures are undergoing a redesign to align with the second edition leather scriptures. As for these print-on-demand scriptures, they will include the following features: these scriptures are two-color to allow the earlier KJV/LDS chapters and verses to appear in smaller red ink and Restoration chapters and paragraphs to appear in black ink. This makes the new scriptures more easily accessible for anyone’s use. However, due to both the increase in wholesale prices and adding a second color to the text it will result in a higher print-on-demand price per book compared to the previous black-and-white books. At the present time, people are finalizing the proofing process and plan to release these updated books when simultaneously with shipping the leather scriptures to all orders.

Lastly, people are working on updating scriptures.info to let the content there correspond with the second edition scriptures. These updates are anticipated to be released in conjunction with the second edition leather and print-on-demand scripture updates.

I’ve had a number of comments that can be summarized this way: You used to encourage us to use kind words, avoid conflict, prioritize patience, and use mild, conciliatory words. Why did you suddenly change in your last talk and recent website posts to now encourage blunt and offensive confrontations?

There was a change, and it is because our communications with one another are dishonest, manipulative, evasive, passive-aggressive, and offensive to God. We have maintained or adopted a form of communication that has prevented us from actually giving each other an honest, authentic, or direct understanding. We have become weak, lost our way, and adopted a façade of superficial kindness so devoid of substance that we are liars and deceivers, concealing ourselves from one another. It needed to be corrected before we were hopelessly lost and unable to return.

The ideal would be for us to have the courtesy, respect, and care that predominated our earlier interactions, combined with candor, honesty and forthrightness necessary for people to actually communicate in a healthy way. Bad habits and our incompetence make that a daunting challenge. The Perfect Mousetrap was a required talk for us to begin the process of facing that challenge.

Below are two excerpts from my journal, Volume 16:

November 17, 2025: I have come to know a God who requires sacrifice. Who requires that I leave behind friends and family, and to lay on the altar every plan and convenience, to become a stranger in a strange land. He demands and commands and uses me to accomplish His will. He is the only true God, and expects me to be content to be His servant. And it pleases me to follow His commands, although in this life at times I am, like Paul, most miserable.

December 15, 2025: I trust the Lord. I would pass through the valley of the shadow of death with Him. I believe Him to be trustworthy and true. It does not matter what He requires of me, His ways are true and His purposes can always be trusted.

Today those are being made public, for whatever use people choose to make of them. They have made me reflect and consider the following:

In a recent discussion about “covenants” as part of the Hebrew translation, the most formal term in Hebrew means “cut”– or looking at it in context it requires the shedding of blood. That is why the Lord was ‘the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.’ His role in shedding His blood was known before the creation began, and appears in use by mortals as early as Enoch in Genesis: “And behold, Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh, and his soul rejoiced, saying, The Righteous is lifted up and the Lamb is slain from the foundation of the world.” RE Gen. 4:19. (see also RE Rev. 4:8.) I reflect on how difficult it was for the Lord to accomplish His role. He has explained it to us in T&C 4:5: “how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not. For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all that they might not suffer, if they would repent. But if they would not repent, they must suffer even as I, which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, to suffer both body and spirit, and would that I might not drink the bitter cup and shrink. Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.”

Our inconveniences, sacrifices and challenges are nothing in comparison with what the Lord undertook to obey His Father. There is some slight similitude in our reluctance, our self-will, and our hesitation and the Lord’s own confessions. But, He explained that: “I set my face like a flint” (RE Isa. 18:1) and would not be deterred from drinking the bitter cup given to Him.

How often do I hesitate, count the costs, wish it were otherwise, and regret the pathway He requires me to walk! How unlike Him I have been. Too weak, too proud, too self-willed to even be called a servant. And how poorly have I served, when the results are measured by the vanity, foolishness and pride of these people! He blesses us all, and yet He asks us to be precisely like Him, and nothing else. For salvation consists in the glory, authority, majesty, power, and dominion which Jehovah possesses, and in nothing else, and no being can possess it but Himself or one like Him. (T&C 110:Lecture 7:9.) I am not that, nor are the people anything like that. I fear that we are all lifted up in the pride of our hearts above all nations and above all the people of the whole earth, and filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, because we will not confess our failings but cover ourselves in the cloak of piety. I have been instrumental in making them prideful. I have given them reason to think themselves blessed.

I am nothing and have accomplished nothing… far worse, I have helped make them prideful and therefore I fear I am of no value to them as a messenger. May the Lord bear with us, be patient with us, and give us yet time to reconcile ourselves to His will.

People do not yet realize The Perfect Mousetrap is the most important talk I’ve given to the Covenant Christian community. It will look different a few months from now. Over the last couple of weeks there has been feedback that I’ve answered in private or in emails, and I’m going to put some of the criticism in this post and summarize my responses:

Criticism: That talk is not inspired.
Response: I do not believe that to be true. It was inspired. It is up to the listener/reader to determine what source inspired the talk.

Criticism: This was just Denver defending his wife and daughters.
Response: Clearly the talk states the complete opposite of this, and so that criticism cannot possibly be true.

Criticism: The talk leaves out the important word “nice” and therefore misses the mark.
Response: Do a word search of the scriptures and you will discover that the word “nice” is not in any scripture.

Criticism: There is nothing wrong with a couple having disagreements, arguments, or fights. The problem comes when either side refuses to fight fairly. To have a fair fight, it requires that there are rules about how to go about it, and both sides need to respect those rules. It is nearly impossible to reach an agreement on a matter when one of the participants is continually cheating.
Name calling, accusations, blaming, belittling, harsh language, raising of voices, lying, misrepresentation, exaggeration, bringing in past unrelated issues, logical fallacies, deceptive rhetoric laced with hyperbole, false labeling, and many other devices can be used to cheat in what should be a reasonable discussion about differences of opinion.
When a group or individual decides to withdraw from the conversation, I find that it is usually for one of three reasons: 1. The withdrawing side recognizes that the other side is cheating and refuses to discuss the matter in good faith. 2. The withdrawing side recognizes that the discussion has become unproductive because one or both sides are just talking past each other without any willingness to recognize valid points brought up by the other side or any willingness to concede ground towards a resolution. When the same arguments come up over and over again, it is a symptom that one or both sides are not listening to each other or feel that they are not being heard. 3. The exchange has become abusive. I felt like you were saying that only physical violence hurts and words do not hurt. That may be true for some, but I don’t think it is true for many. Sensitive souls find yelling, swearing, name-calling, bitter language, and other forms of communication abusive and hurtful. It is not uncommon for whoever is the biggest bully in an argument to declare victory simply because the other side can no longer take the abuse.
So I think it is important to not interpret not wanting to continue a discussion over a disagreement as the other side just being unwilling to do so. I think it is more often the case that people don’t want to continue because they are being treated poorly and unfairly by the process.
The “how” is much more important than the “what” in dispute resolution. I am not privy to the debates that have been going on with the women’s conferences and online discussions, but one thing has been clear to me from all of the women who have confided in me why they are frustrated with what has happened. The common thread is that many feel they are trying their best to have reasonable discussions, but that they are not being met with the same respect from their counterparts on the argument. They feel like they are being bullied into submission, and that they are not being allowed to explain their cause, and that rules are being set up to unfairly favor one side. I am not at all astonished that most of the women no longer want to continue the discussion – many of them have expressed great sadness at being treated poorly and unfairly.
I think there is a reason why “jarring” is often paired next to “contention”. I believe you have correctly noted that discussing differences and working toward resolution is not contention. I think the jarring and contention come into play when either side cheats and tries to win the argument by using strong language or other unfair tactics mentioned above. Could this not be a more effective mouse trap against the movement? You invite us to work through difficult problems, but without ground rules of how to do so fairly, I worry we are just going to invite jarring and contention to tear us apart.
So this brings me to my second concern and what I see as another “mouse trap” from the adversary.
I think it is a well-known tactic of the adversary to infiltrate groups and movements with those who have aligned themselves with him. Without a reasonable process and fair fights, all the adversary has to do to destroy the Christian Covenant movement is to infiltrate with people who use unfair tactics to win every discussion. They can simply refuse to budge from what is an actual wrong and/or false position, and they will be able to win the argument by wearing down their opponent’s patience. They can lie, use sophistry, cheat, abuse, and bully their way to win all arguments to push the adversary’s agenda. The adversary can derail us if we don’t recognize his tactics in debate, where he chooses to win the argument through forceful intimidation rather than logic, reasonableness, and persuasion. I fear that if you tell everyone they need to just come and engage in heated discussions about difficult topics without any rules about how to do so with fairness, kindness, politeness, and with mutual respect, you are handing the victory to the adversary. It won’t be a fair fight.
Response: Good points. I am concerned that in our present circumstances, if there is any way to modify, excuse, or avoid the obligation to engage in a discussion instead of assuming the obligation to reason together, the “escape” will be chosen. There is far too much emotional immaturity at present, and there needs to be more resilience. Of course, not everyone will act the role of the responsible, mature, and reasoned negotiator. But we are too early in the group dynamics to go there right now. I’d like to salvage as many people as possible. But I accept the reality that not everyone can endure what must be endured in the rough-and-tumble of building a peaceful society, at least not under the present circumstances. Maybe if we are visited with terrible economic conditions, social upheaval, and violence we will be able to act more respectfully and cohesively as a body. But I’m hoping we can accomplish it with just encouragement to rise above our petty differences and let our people become beloved neighbors. We’re a long way from that.
Ultimately, not everyone will be able to live in peace with everyone else, at least not from my vantage point at present. But the Lord has a way of shaping people independent of how we view them, and that may well change the picture dramatically in time.

Criticism: The use of Moroni and Parhoran is completely missing the context we face. Our people include people who are nothing like Moroni making terrible and insulting/threatening accusations and we can’t use that example of scripture with people like that.
Response: It doesn’t matter what our people and their challenges are like. The pattern still applies and should be followed. Get the person you are dealing with to state their assumptions and needs. Many, if not most, problems arise from vastly different sets of assumptions underlying the two sides. People are generally not irrational. They just see the problem from very different viewpoints. Once the assumptions and needs are understood, then clarity comes from clarifying (where needed) the assumptions and addressing the needs. If two sides are proceeding from two different ‘realities’, then the discussion can go nowhere. But if they can agree on a single set of facts, then a meaningful conversation can proceed.

Criticism: Earlier talks mention that the Heavenly Mother hates the froward (argumentative) soul, and the Answer to Prayer for Covenant teaches us to measure our words before giving voice to them, and consider the hearts of others. This talk contradicts that.
Response: No, it focuses on the dire circumstances we face because we are not honest and forthright with one another. Instead of working to overcome differences, we are quick, in fact eager, to relegate someone we aren’t communicating with to being ‘pruned’ away because we can’t relate to and communicate with them. We are assuming God’s role when we start ‘pruning’ people away. Our tiny group should be precious to one another rather than being easily discarded because of disagreements.

Observation: Perhaps because the majority of the current body of believers come from an LDS background it will be impossible for these people to adapt. They have a framework that relies on people in authority to govern, regulate, and resolve issues. When those guardrails are removed, everyone must deal with one another directly and individually. We are very poor at that. Maybe the current generation emerging from the LDS mindset cannot accomplish the needed maturity and emotional resilience to become of one mind and one heart. Perhaps we will need 40 years for that generation to pass away before the youth can finish the trek. Assuming the individual responsibility to handle conflict responsibly and charitably may be beyond our current group’s capacity, there will hopefully be another subsequent generation that rises to meet the challenge.

The transcript from The Perfect Mousetrap talk is now up as a downloadable paper, and linked here: The Perfect Mousetrap transcript

I will be speaking on Friday at 5:00pm MST in an on-line live video broadcast. The link to the talk is provided below for anyone interested in tuning in to listen to the talk: The Perfect Mousetrap I anticipate the talk will be approximately an hour long.

There is a cliche’ that goes: ‘If you build a better mousetrap the world will beat a path to your door.’ If someone could build a perfect mousetrap it would capture every mouse and make it impossible for any to escape. It’s an interesting thought exercise to consider if we take the role of the “mouse” how a perfect mousetrap might be devised…

Our neighbor died unexpectedly this morning. She was young enough that we all expected her to live for decades still. She was still working, and her two kids were just stepping into their adult lives. There are no words I can conjure to help her grieving husband, our dear friend and long standing neighbor. I included a reference to him in one of the vignettes at the start of a chapter in The Second Comforter: Conversing with the Lord through the Veil. Condolences are just not enough. Her death is so clear and substantial a loss that we are all left speechless.

This was a loss. An incalculable loss. It shouts with clarity that life is uncertain and death stalks us all. But not every loss is understood in the moment. Sometimes a great loss comes disguised as a victory.

Some terribly tragic moments and lost opportunities come and pass by while we fail to recognize what we witnessed. King Pyrrhus failed to recognize his victories against Rome were leading to his inevitable defeat. I think there are many pyrrhic victories that we foolish celebrate because we do not realize the price we have paid to achieve our short-sighted outcome.

In T&C Section 159 the first proverb says: “The things of God really are of deep import. Only time, experience, and careful, ponderous and solemn thoughts can find them out, provided, of course, there is a real desire to know the things of God accompanied by obedience to His commandments. If you don’t desire them, you won’t ask and won’t receive. And if you do desire them, you will ask and you will obey. It is self-regulated, in that sense. Everyone decides for themselves just how much of an advantage in the world to come they are willing to acquire here.”

Time… not haste. Experience… sometimes very sad experience. Careful, ponderous and solemn thoughts… never hurried, brusque, impatient, and accomplished with clamoring insistence. For the most part, it is necessary for sad experience to be the teacher and hindsight to carefully, ponder and soberly assess the contrast between what is and what might have been.

I have nothing to offer but condolences. But condolences are not enough…

I was asked to put this post up, and the Conference organizers provided the information below:

This upcoming conference intends to follow up with the vote of November 2024 women’s conference, in which the women determined to reconvene in about a year’s time to consider The Provisional Guidelines for Women’s Councils document. (The document, voting transcripts, and recordings from that conference can be found here: https://www.womenofpeace.info/)

At another level, this conference is a response to the rebukes in the God’s Covenant People talk. It is an opportunity for the women to individually work toward repentance. They are invited to reflect on the God’s Covenant People talk and any changes they feel convicted to make. We hope that women will come with their own offering to the Lord — their own broken hearts and contrite spirits. 

We also hope that as we fast and subsequently break bread together, we can be unified in fellowshipping with one another and setting our differences aside to connect as Covenant Christian sisters. 

Here is the link to the conference website:

https://covenantchristianwomen.com

Both in person and virtual attendance will be available. Remote votes will be accepted.

Please sign up on the website as soon as possible, clarifying whether you will attend online or in person, so that we can have a head count. 

The video of the talk I recorded for this weekend’s Philippine Conference is now available at this link: Early Christianity and Christianity’s Stumbling Blocks

I want to thank all those who were involved in the conference and congratulate those who were baptized following the conference’s conclusion. It marks a great step forward for the people in that area.

When Oliver Cowdery failed to translate the Book of Mormon, the Lord told him why he failed: “Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you when you took no thought save it was to ask me. But behold, I say unto you that you must study it out in your mind, then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right, I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.” T&C 1:JSH 13:26. That explanation for his failure has informed everything I have done when inquiring of the Lord. I do not go with an inquiry asking for the Lord to just fill in a blank. Instead I carefully, and sometimes painstakingly study a matter until I believe I have reached the right decision before making any inquiry expecting the Lord to answer. Some inquiries have required years of study. Sometimes it has taken months. It is rare indeed when the inquiry has been made with only a few days of pondering and reflecting.

It is more often than not I learn that my conclusion is incorrect, or incomplete, and the answer serves to correct and inform me. It is less often the case that I have reached a conclusion the Lord approves.

There is a statement from the Lord in the Answer to Prayer for Covenant I’ve been asked to explain many times by people wondering how this is to be accomplished. People want to learn the “Lord’s part” about a dispute. The full statement is this: “Study to learn how to respect your brothers and sisters and to come together by precept, reason, and persuasion, rather than sharply disputing and wrongly condemning each other, causing anger. Take care how you invoke my name. Mankind has been controlled by the adversary through anger and jealousy, which has led to bloodshed and the misery of many souls. Even strong disagreements should not provoke anger, nor to invoke my name in vain as if I had part in your every dispute. Pray together in humility and together meekly present your dispute to me, and if you are contrite before me, I will tell you my part.” T&C 157:54.

Here is how I understand the process required for anyone to learn the Lord’s part in a dispute:
First: “Study to learn how to respect your brothers and sisters and to come together by precept, reason, and persuasion,” This is more than learning you disagree with someone. The admonition to “study to learn” is a challenge. The challenge then requires the people who disagree to respectfully “come together” –a step that requires active participation and direct involvement. It is not accomplished by silence or refusing to participate. The words “come together” have built within them the challenge to meet and talk directly with differing sides.

But coming together is not where the preliminary assignment ends. When people come together they are then to use “precept, reason and persuasion” in a mutual, respectful presentation of their different sides. Each one owes the other some explanation for their viewpoint. The explanation requires precept (providing some scripture, moral, or ethical foundation for their idea), reason (expounding why they believe the precept requires their conclusion) and persuasion (presenting their explanation using practical, common sense and supporting thought to appeal to the other party).

Along the way, the parties are warned about the wrongs to be avoided: “sharply disputing and wrongly condemning each other, causing anger.” Parties must NOT sharply dispute; wrongly condemn each other, or insult the other party if they expect to learn the Lord’s part. Meaning that the exchange should give each side enough space to talk freely, and let the stream of conversation happen without animosity.

Then we are also warned to “take care how you invoke [the Lord’s] name” because nothing is perhaps more effective in ending an open discussion than asserting the Lord is on one person’s side. If you “know” that you are right because you got an answer to prayer, how can you possibly decide to be open to persuasion, reason and another unconsidered precept? Invoking the Lord’s name terminates the process. And the process is provided in order to let us successfully come together. This is so important a caution that it is then followed with these words: “Mankind has been controlled by the adversary through anger and jealousy, which has led to bloodshed and the misery of many souls. Even strong disagreements should not provoke anger, nor to invoke my name in vain as if I had part in your every dispute.” The Lord is actually distancing Himself from our vain, petty disagreements. He is warning us to not automatically include His part to vindicate ourselves and our uninformed opinions about serious matters. He even cautions us about the final outcome of these failures to come together in the past: Anger. Jealousy. Bloodshed. Misery. That path is to be avoided, and He has instructed us how to avoid it. Provided we will listen and apply His process.

If the process has been followed, and both sides understand each other, then each will know what precept justifies their view, and what precept justifies the other side’s preferred answer. Both sides will know how their view and the opposing view is supported by reasoning. Both sides will understand how persuasive their position is, or what weaknesses have been identified by the other viewpoint. And both sides will likewise understand fully the strength and weaknesses of the other side.

When you understand the other side’s precepts, reasoning and have listened to their persuasion, it is likely that both parties are finally ready to come together in humility. The Lord’s direction then assumes the parties have been humbled enough to recognize they may be wrong and the other side may be right. In that circumstance the parties are finally ready for the Lord to act. This is what the Lord promises after the groundwork has been fully prepared: “Pray together in humility and together meekly present your dispute to me, and if you are contrite before me, I will tell you my part.”

I haven’t yet heard of anyone qualifying to receive the Lord’s part. Quite the contrary, whenever I’ve been asked it has been by someone wanting to win an argument and hoping to provoke the Lord into taking their side. I doubt anyone will ever qualify to learn the Lord’s part so long as they behave as Oliver Cowdery and “take no thought” about what the Lord actually expects of us.

When a single generation of mankind filled the earth with violence, God took notice: “But the earth was corrupt before God and it was filled with violence. And God looked upon it, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh has come before me; for the earth is filled with violence, and behold, I will destroy all flesh from off the earth.” OC Gen. 5:12. There is a difference between the corruption and the violence. Violence was a result of the corruption. Mankind had lost their way, drifted into confusion, were unable to distinguish between right and wrong, so much so that they disagreed and became angry with one another over what was right and wrong.

Enoch, looking down from on high recorded: “he heard a loud voice saying, Woe, woe unto the inhabitants of the earth. And he beheld Satan, and he had a great chain in his hand, and he veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness; and he looked up and laughed, and his angels rejoiced.” OC Gen. 4:15. The “chain” that Satan employed to cover the whole face of the earth with darkness was made of lies.

There is a growing fog of darkness impairing the ability of even religious people to distinguish between right and wrong, truth and error, and principles to value and those to discard. This is to be expected. It was foretold by Christ:

“Now learn a parable of the fig tree. When its branches are yet tender and it begins to put forth leaves, you know that summer is near at hand. So likewise, my elect, when they shall see all these things, they shall know that he is near, even at the doors. But of that day and hour no one knows — no, not the angels of God in Heaven, but my Father only.
But as it was in the days of Noah, so it shall be also at the coming of the Son of Man, for it shall be with them as it was in the days which were before the flood. For until the day that Noah entered into the ark, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” NC Matt. 11:10-11.

The violence of today is another sign along the downward trek into corruption that will mirror the days of Noah. It will eventually become more widespread. So much so that there will be a single place, alone and apart from the anger and corruption that leads to violence: “And it shall come to pass among the wicked that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor must needs flee unto Zion for safety, and there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven, and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another.” T&C 31:15. Of course that prophecy makes the commandment given recently in the Lord’s Answer to Prayer for Covenant all the more ominous and cautionary: “Study to learn how to respect your brothers and sisters and to come together by precept, reason, and persuasion, rather than sharply disputing and wrongly condemning each other, causing anger. Take care how you invoke my name. Mankind has been controlled by the adversary through anger and jealousy, which has led to bloodshed and the misery of many souls. Even strong disagreements should not provoke anger, nor to invoke my name in vain as if I had part in your every dispute.” T&C 157:54.

Anger, disagreements, pride, fear, jealousy and condemnation of one another will not be part of Zion. The exact opposite is required. Otherwise any gathering would look like just another failed attempt by mankind to produce utopia. One possible way to understand T&C 31’s prophecy is that the only way to calm people down, sober them up from their pride, jealousy and bickering, it will be required to flee from violence. They will have a choice: take up the sword or die, on the one hand, or flee to Zion on the other hand. These will be the only options. After all, we can learn by precept (which hardly happens) or from sad experience. The virtue of sad experience is that it does truly inform us by the lesson we endure.

I gave a talk in Caldwell, Idaho today at a conference. The transcript of the talk is now downloadable on this website as the latest entry on the downloads site.

Organizers for an upcoming conference have asked me to post their notice, which follows below:

Hello everyone!

We’re putting together a thoughtful discussion for the upcoming Women’s Session at the “Rejoice 2025” General Conference—and we’d love your input.

If you’ve ever been part of a women’s council—whether you helped organize one, participated on the council, chose not to, or were the person it was called for—we’d be so grateful if you’d take a few minutes to fill out this form.

The goal isn’t to focus on specific councils or decisions, but to learn from the past so future councils can be approached with more clarity, compassion, and care. We want to hear what worked, what felt hard, and what we can all do better going forward. 

Your responses will stay completely confidential and will only be seen by the organizers of the upcoming session. The insights we gather will be shared in a general way—no names, no specific details—just meaningful lessons that can help guide future conversations.

** Please note, there are 4 sections of questions:
Section 1 is just the introduction
Section 2 is for those who have organized a council
Section 3 is for those who have participated on a council
Section 4 is for those who have been asked to participate, but felt to decline
Section 5 is for those who have been the subject of a council

You do NOT need to answer all the questions, just the ones that pertain to the way you’ve participated in a council. So feel free to skip to the section that applies to you and then submit the form. No questions are “required” and each section is 10 questions or less. 

Here’s the link to share your experience:
 Fill Out Form

Thank you so much for being part of this. Your voice really matters.

PS. If you need to contact us with additional questions, you can email us at:
[email protected]

The opportunity to order any of the new scriptures will end on July 26th, nine days from now. Because the only copies that will be produced are those ordered in advance, once the ordering ends there will be no opportunity to later purchase a copy.

Ordering can be done through this link: https://scriptures.shop/special-order/2nd-edition/