December 29, 2019

True and Living (D&C 1:30)

True and Living (D&C 1:30) In Doctrine and Covenants 1:30 the Lord says through Joseph Smith And also those to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually

December 21, 2019

The material God of the Latter-day Saints and the birth of Christ

This week most of the Christian world will celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Much of Christianity recognizes the physicality and mortality of Christ. However, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands apart from traditional Christianity in proclaiming that Christ’s mortality and then immortality through resurrection was progression in God’s plan. It was not a brief interlude to commune with His creatures on earth so that He could get back to His timeless immateriality.

December 14, 2019

Are we boring believers to death?

In a recent Neal A Maxwell institute podcast, Terryl Givens said, Well, you know, we’re suffering waves of defection, and there are lots of reasons for that and lots of remedies that have been suggested, but I think it’s unavoidable to acknowledge that one of the main reasons we’re losing people is that we’re boring them to death. I think the job of a Sunday School teacher is to excite the people, it’s not just to reiterate the old formulas.

December 8, 2019

Can God be satisfied?

Do we believe that we can feel satisfied? Or do we all wonder as did the Apostles of old in saying, ‘From whence can a man satisfy these men … here in the wilderness?1 In Proverbs 13:25 we are told, ‘The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want.’ We often struggle to find satisfaction when so many immediate needs pull us into envy and might appropriately classify us as having the belly of the wicked.

November 29, 2019

Truth becomes more but has always been so

Two posts ago, I talked about truth progressing where I put forth the idea that truth changes in time. I want to take a little more time on this topic and make sure it is clear truth exists and that it is not relative. However, it is relational with us in time, and we must all work together to progress into greater truth. When I hear President Nelson say that “We’re witnesses to a process of restoration” 1, I think I hear progress into greater truth.

November 23, 2019

Is there a science to answered prayers?

A few months ago, my sister-in-law and I were discussing the implications of healing blessings and what it means when the blessing is not answered as pronounced. We have been struggling with the health of one of our family members for the last few years. The last 9-months have been especially grueling. So the discussion was not some esoteric theological pondering but a deep desire to understanding how prayer works so that we can be satisfied with the path we are on.

November 16, 2019

Is truth similar to intelligence in that it can act for itself and change? (D&C 93:30)

Under a timeless model of God, many LDS quote Doctrine and Covenants 93:24 as a statement of truth never changing as it is ‘knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come.’ There are 24 conference references to this verse alone. Many of the references to this verse emphasize truths as never-ending facts that are timeless1. Below are two examples from general conference that highlight how verse 24 is referenced.

November 9, 2019

The instability of metaphors between science and religion

More than once in the last year, I have encountered a space-time explanation from friends when we are discussing the topic of God and timelessness. In almost every instance, there is a phrase, something like, “Time is just another dimension. God can just step outside of it. Like in the book Flatland.” Often, they leverage time as a human construct that does not relate to God because one of our leaders talks about timelessness1 and Einstein taught us about space-time.

November 3, 2019

Is the atonement more than a balancing of a contract?

In our Come Follow Me New Testament Reading for the last week of October, there is a section on Philemon 1:17-21. In these verses, Paul offers to cover Onesimus’ debts that might be owed to Philemon. In one section of this Come Follow Me topic, there are a series of questions that are asked to prod a conversation. You can see the questions in the screenshot below. I was visiting relatives while on a work trip, and one of their children was guiding the conversation.

October 26, 2019

What is the agency of Man (D&C 93:30-32)?

In Doctrine and Covenants 93:30-32 we read, All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence. Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man; because that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto them, and they receive not the light. And every man whose spirit receiveth not the light is under condemnation.

October 19, 2019

My booklist (if anyone cares)

I have quoted many books on this blog over the last ten months. I thought it would be good to keep a better record of the books that I have read and cited on this blog. Besides the list, I provide more detail on a few of my number ones.1 Going forward, I will keep a link to the current book list on the homepage. The Number Ones At the end of this post, I have an alphabetized list of the books I have read and cited.

October 10, 2019

What did Elder Bruce R. McConkie think about omniscience?

I have been listening to conference addresses by Apostles and Prophets starting with the April 1971 conference, which is provided on the church’s website or on the Gospel Library app. I have made it to October 19801, and I found Bruce R. McConkie’s, ‘The Lord God of the Restoration message. This general conference message came a few months after the famous, or maybe infamous, The Seven Deadly Heresies talk at BYU in June.