Category Archives: Uncategorized

Sorry for the depressing title, I’ll explain shortly! I’ve been studying the Book of Mormon by chapter, backwards. I know, probably a silly approach. I didn’t set out to read the book backwards, I just studied Moroni 10 and found myself going back from there. Anyway, that’s not my point. Moroni 7 is a sermonContinue reading “All Things Must Fail”

It’s been nothing but crickets around here. For fair reason. The last six months have been wild and I have put other things before writing. Starting back in January, we took in a French foreign-exchange student who needed a host family. Only a couple weeks after that I got a call from my CES superiorsContinue reading “The Whirlwind: An Update from Oregon”

There’s been a lot of chatter since the recent announcement that children of LGBT parents could be blessed and baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, especially given that the previous policy barring their baptisms until they turn 18 was just formalized in 2015. Deseret News has a nice opinion piece aboutContinue reading “On Church LGBT Policies”

Hello to anyone still lurking around this cobwebbed corner of the Internet. Three months since my last post! I often repeat the refrain, “Everyone makes time for the things that matter most.” So I will not make excuses, only say that for the past few months I have had more important things to do. YetContinue reading “A Voice From the Dust”

I try now and then to recommend some of the good books I run into. I just finished this biography of Martin Luther by Eric Metaxas. Having spent so much time studying the restoration of the Gospel and the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, it wasn’t until reading this bookContinue reading “Good Reads: Martin Luther, The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World”

I was recently reading 1 Nephi 17 with my children. We were reading about all the things Nephi did in order to build the ship for him and his family to travel to the promised land (find ore, make bellows and fire, make tools, build the ship). My six year old son Jonah asked rationally,Continue reading “On Doing Our Part: Lessons From a Six-Year-Old”

President Nelson stirring things up again! I love it. But I realize not everyone enjoys change as much as I do. We talked about the announcement in my seminary classes and I was surprised by the amount of annoyance, skepticism, and denial demonstrated by some. One class started counting syllables, comparing how “hard” it wasContinue reading “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: On the Name of the Church”

I’m back! At least for now. It’s been a summer full of travel and fun. And I’ve been working on some projects for work that have soaked up most of my study and writing time. but I’m trying to get back in the saddle, at least for now. I have a nagging impression that IContinue reading “Our Advocate”

  Following my mission, with all the decisions about education and career and family, I felt a consistent, deep need for heaven’s help. I turned to the temple often as a place of inspiration. At one point in my college career I lived just a couple blocks from the Logan temple. I could walk there inContinue reading “On Temple Worship”

With the passing of President Monson, I’ve been discussing with friends the ins and outs and pros and cons of prophetic succession in the Church. Specifically the fact that tradition says the senior apostle becomes the president of the Church, but that’s not required by doctrine. Interesting stuff. I don’t have a bunch I want toContinue reading “Prophetic Succession”