And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent. John 17:3
I don’t know how to break through. There is a wall, or perhaps a gulf between us. Words seem to mean different things to you than they do to me. Scripture seems to be the same. Anything I share seems to be ignored or misunderstood at best, or offensive at worst. I try to keep …
I've written previously about "keys," and, while my understanding of that topic is still evolving, I found an interesting tidbit in the Restoration Edition of the scriptures about the "Keys of the Kingdom" that either muddies the water, or adds more light. I suppose which of those depends on the seeker's connection with the Holy …
Merry Christmas! If you think this greeting is a little late, check your calendar--today is Christmas day. At least, in Russia it is. Because Eastern Orthodox Christianity relies on the Julian calendar, rather than the Gregorian, Christmas falls on January 7th. This gives those who don't follow any particular institutional religion yet another option for …
Continue reading An Alternative for Christ’s Birthday. Also, are You Really a Child of God?
Throughout my childhood and young adult years, I heard plenty of lessons about apostasy, most of those centered around the "great" apostasy that occurred from the death of Jesus' apostles until Joseph Smith's first vision. Those lessons usually defined an apostasy as having no revelations from God or true priesthood, and how awful that would …
I don't pretend to have many readers, however, I do know of at least a few non-Mormons who have read a post or two. Most of what I have written has been from an LDS Mormon perspective, however, the Gospel of Jesus Christ goes far beyond that. I don't believe that salvation is in any …
I grew up in the LDS Church. I loved growing up in the LDS Church. I served a mission because I love the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I wanted to share it with others. I love the Book of Mormon. It contains example after example of people coming to know their Savior personally. If …
Continue reading If you leave the Church, Please don’t leave the Gospel, too.
Additional Scripture There is a strong Mormon tradition of accepting additional scripture, and looking forward to receiving additional scripture in the future. The Book of Mormon speaks several times of additional scripture that will come forth. Just one example are these verses, where Mormon explains that he is not including the greater things that Jesus …
Continue reading Additional Scripture: The Testimony of St. John
When I was a young missionary in Russia, I remember observing the people I taught, especially the youth, and wondering whether I would have had the courage to completely change my life and accept truth from God, despite severe consequences. I figured that I would never know the answer to that question, because I was …
Continue reading Learning and Accepting Truth: My “Conversion”
When it comes to the topic of prophets, we have many traditions which distort the truth contained in scripture. We tend to think that the way things are done today, or the way we think things should be done, is correct, and that we are somehow smarter or more righteous than the people we read …
A living prophet is one of the claims of the LDS Church that sets it completely apart from most other churches. The gospel was restored by a man now revered by millions of people as a prophet, and the conventional view is that this model has continued ever since. If anything, the living prophet doctrine …
If you listen to general conference, or pay attention to the curriculum in Sunday School or Relief Society and Priesthood, you may get the impression that the priesthood has been restored, as in, past tense, it is done, we have it now. At least, that is the impression that I had. I figured that everything …
Continue reading Priesthood, Part VII: The Restoration is not Complete
What about Keys? In the modern LDS Church, it seems that no discussion about Priesthood is complete without at least mentioning Keys. It doesn't matter what level of the Church, people are always concerned about who hold what keys, and how we all must pay attention to those who hold the most keys. Since this …
If you have read my previous posts in this series on priesthood, then you may be getting the impression that priesthood may not be what we think it is. You may also see that the way the term "priesthood" is used in the Church is not supported by scripture, and is mostly a product of …
Continue reading Priesthood, Part V: It’s Not a Position or Office*
Everything done in the LDS Church is organized under the Church's priesthood authority. If you are called to teach a class, you must first be set apart by a priesthood leader. If you want to conduct an ordinance, such as baptism or blessing the sacrament, you must be authorized by a priesthood leader. Even if …
Continue reading Priesthood, Part IV: It’s not for Churches, it’s for People
When I was a missionary close to twenty years ago (wow, that makes me feel old), I was taught, and subsequently preached, that if anyone prayed to the Lord about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and received an answer confirming that it is of God, then that answer triggers a domino effect of …
This post is not about Santa Claus. It is not about Christmas trees, commercialism, or lusting after the latest and greatest gadget. This is about how we often can (and do) make an idol out of something wonderful and true, like the birth of Christ. Say what? How can Worshiping Christ be Worshiping an Idol? …
Included in the Acts of the Apostles is an account of a man named Simon, who used sorcery to convince the people of his community, Samaria, that he was a "great one." The people believed him, and all proclaimed that Simon had the power of God. All of these people, including Simon himself, were later …
After reading this post, some might think "OK, so what?" I fear that some may not read to the bottom to get to my "so what" explanation, so I'm going to put it right here at the beginning. The reason this post is important is that there are a number of organizations and people in …
I have lived a fairly typical Mormon life. I come from a large family. While I grew up on the east coast, my family's roots are in Utah. For most of my childhood, my father was either a bishop or a stake president (I incorrectly assumed when I was 10 or so that he would …
Continue reading Priesthood, Part I: To Have Authority, Be a Servant
At least, not in the way most understand it. The common understanding in the LDS church is that "priesthood" is something that is received through the church, which gives the recipient the power of God, if he is worthy of it, and operates under his assigned position within the hierarchy of the church. In the …
Seeking Life Eternal 