"Efficiency" isn't that important to God
As a software engineer, it's my job to find the optimal way to do things. I'm constantly looking for the most efficient method to sort a list, store stuff in a database, and speed up a program. And once my brain is set to "optimization mode," it's hard to turn it off.
For example, recently, as I waited for a Temple session to start, I found myself mentally inventing ways...
You're not ready for Zion if you won't even clean the building
On June 5, 1976, Idaho's Teton Dam broke, sending a massive wall of water fifteen feet high over the valley below. The 80 million gallons of water that rushed over Sugar City and Rexburg carried away houses, demolished businesses, and covered the whole community in a thick layer of rancid muck. Pres. Henry B. Eyring, then president of Ricks College (now BYU-I) noticed that some individuals went to work and...
I have faith, but I don't feel it
I've been less frequent in my blogging this past year. A large part of this has been a shift in my spare time to launching the Conference Talk Podcast (if you haven't given it a listen yet, check it out)! Meg, One of my co-hosts ran yesterday's episode. She discussed Elder Hugo Montoya's talk "The Eternal Principle of Love." In that talk, Elder Montoya says "Jesus walked with...
Flimsy Philosophies
We have observed a new religion seeping into the membership of the Church over the past decade. This religion is a deconstructed imitation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It copies the culture, vocabulary, and standard works of the Gospel, but waters down (and sometimes rejects outright) the foundational truths of the Gospel. If the Gospel is the healthy cows of Pharaoh's dream, then this alternate religion is the sickly...
What's up with Jesus's hands?
We have three kids ages 6 and under. Time out as a couple is rare and fleeting. Movie theaters are virtually out of the question. But when the first two episodes of The Chosen hit the box office last month, my wife and I made sure to go. I loved it. Watching those episodes was a wonderful experience.
Until I ruined it.
Spoilers ahead, you've been warned.
When God redirects us
The converts of Ammon never cease to amaze me. These remarkable converts who "never did fall away" exemplified quiet yet determined discipleship. When the Lamanite armies came to exterminate them, they did the unexpected.
The work that is prayer
Like everyone else, my heart is broken watching Ukrainians stand alone against an evil dictatorship. Political leaders are debating about how involved we will be collectively, but God-fearing believers already want to be involved personally. But we individuals can't send military aircraft or fight alongside the Ukrainian soldiers. What can we do? We can follow our Prophet's example and pray.
If you think that sounds like a cop-out answer,...
Letting God Prevail over Politics
An online forum asked Church members if the Church endorsed Republicans or Democrats. One member's highly-voted answer essentially said:
The Church stays out of politics. But when you look at our faith's teachings about family values, sexual morality, drugs, and self-reliance, it's no surprise that, in my experience, most Church members are Republicans like me.
Another highly voted answer showed a different perspective. Something like:
The Church...
Trials that harden, trials that soften
2020 wasn't the dumpster fire everyone makes it out to be, but it has been a roller coaster year. COVID, lockdowns and their religious liberty concerns, and the most contentious election of my lifetime.
Thankfully, my ward has been less affected than many. Very few members got sick and no one died. Most members were able to work remotely. Our state eased restrictions earlier than others, allowing...
Dumpster fire? No, 2020 was a great year!
All through the year, our news feeds have been inundated with messages like:
- "Kobe Bryant, Alex Trebek, Sean Connery, and RGB? This year can't get any worse."
- "First COVID and now murder hornets? Lord, just take me now."
- "This is crazy. I can't imagine bringing kids into this world."
- "2020 is a dumpster fire of a year. Wake me up with 2020 is over."
Amid such gloom, Pres....
#GiveThanks and #AskNothing
On Friday, the Prophet invited us to "turn social media into your own personal gratitude journal. Post every day about what you are grateful for… flood social media with a wave of gratitude that reaches the four corners of the earth."
That invitation couldn’t have come at a better time, and I’m grateful to accept it. However, I was also prompted to add a little something extra to my search...
Nourish, dig, and prune
Jacob 5, if you are not familiar, is a long allegory about the house of Israel. Zenos, the author, compares the house of Israel to an old, decaying olive tree and describes all the efforts of the master gardener to save the tree and its fruit. It's one of those chapters that tend to get only touched on lightly. There just doesn't seem to be much there. Israel is like...
Faith to the last second
I am indebted to a wonderful sister in my ward for her testimony today. From the pulpit, she read these words of Nephi, describing his family's efforts to start settling once they landed in the New World:
And it came to pass that we did begin to till the earth, and we began to plant seeds; yea, we did put all our seeds into the earth, which we had...
Modern-day vain repetitions
NOTE: This post is a bit different than most my posts. It's kind of a two-in-one. The first section talks about a study tip I have found useful in gleaning meaning from the scriptures. The second part is how I applied that tip recently and how it helped me change the way I pray. Enjoy!
Signs and Spiritual Eclipses
Tomorrow, many of us in the United States are going to be privileged to get a few extra minutes of afternoon shade. The moon is going to pass above us in such a way that its path will cast a shadow in a large swath of the country and temporarily bathe the land in darkness. It's going to be pretty neat. Coincidentally, I have reached the point in my personal...
