Popsicle sticks and the Atonement of Jesus Christ
Thirty minutes had passed and most of the missionaries were back in the chapel. But not my companion. Forty minutes and a few more stragglers came in. But not my companion. Fifty minutes and the APs started us singing hymns and bearing testimonies to pass the time, but my mission president and my companion were still absent. I started getting nervous. Finally, after a full hour had passed, my companion...
Nephi's "burning love"
It's amazing how much we can learn from a story the second time it's told. Details and viewpoints you missed entirely the first go-round tend to come out in subsequent tellings (like Joseph Smith's First Vision). You may not have caught it, but this month in Come, Follow Me, we're reading one such re-telling that teaches us some important truths about love– what it is and what it isn't....
What if I don't want to be resurrected?
I've recently been impressed to study the teachings and biography of the First Presidency. My respect, love, and feelings for these men grow deeper with every chapter. It has been a powerful, revelatory experience. I also learned more about doctrine and Church history. For example, Pres. Nelson's biography relates how Pres. Nelson's grandfather received a visitation from his late father from beyond the veil and recorded the interview.
Thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin
Today's post has been eating away at me for a while. Several scriptures, thoughts, and connections have been speaking to me recently. But I don't have a nice way to wind it all up. So, like it or not, I'm just gonna throw it at you, stream of consciousness, and hope you get the gist.
The secrets of Godliness
I've heard some members who were born in the Gospel wish that they had been born outside the Church and then converted later in life. These members look back and say, "I wish I could have actually had fun in my youth– sow my wild oats, carefree, without worrying. Get married, hear the Gospel, join the Church, and then live all the rules after I've really enjoyed life." In the...
A prison built with our own hands
The battle was fierce, but also short and decisive– despite a huge loss of men and a painful personal wound, Captain Moroni's had thrown "one of the greatest of the armies of the Lamanites" into complete disarray. But Moroni "did not delight in bloodshed;" when he saw that his enemies were beaten, he offered them terms of surrender. The Lamanite army accepted his terms and the prisoners were marched to...
Hello, my name is Corianton
This past week in Come, Follow Me, we read Alma's words to his son Corianton. Also this past week, my wife and I started watching a new superhero show: DC's Stargirl. We're only a few episodes in, so the jury's still out. But one episode felt especially applicable to this week's studies.
In this particular episode, we meet Yolanda: a successful, vibrant, outgoing young woman. She's part of a supportive,...
Hello, my name is Gideon
This past week in Come Follow Me, covering Mosiah 29 through Alma 4, we read about the death of one of my favorite Book of Mormon heroes. No, not Alma the Elder. No, not King Mosiah. No, definitely not Nehor. I'm talking about the penitent patriot, Gideon. He doesn't get quite the same name recognition as other heroes, but I still think he's really cool.
Don't try to follow all the Lord's counsel at once
There are many things in our day to day, secular lives that we "ought" to do. Like putting the junk mail in the recycling bin instead of the trash can. Or opting for the salad over the meat lover's pizza. But we often don't do what we know we should. Why? Because we're lazy?
Maybe. But I think it's mostly because we see these "suggestions" as optional– like "extra credit"...
Rejoice in the trials of the wayward
Sometimes the scriptures are funny. Here's one example: Alma the Younger. He and his gang of "bishop's kids" were always causing all sorts of shenanigans and making their parents' jobs much harder. They were getting into some pretty serious transgressions: preaching false doctrines, encouraging pride, leading many away from the Church, and pretending they're not home when their ministering brothers came by.
Personal Conversion, Personal Savior
Every man for himself!
In this Church, we take seriously God's command to watch out for each other "both temporally and spiritually." We contribute fast offerings. We clean yards. We home and visit teach, ahem, minister to each other. We know that it is our duty to be our brother's keeper and that we must work together as wards, stakes, quorums, classes, and families to assist in the...
The Immediate Atonement
The Atonement of Christ is the center of our faith. But it's also the principle of our faith that is probably hardest to understand. Not just because it's infinite beyond the scope of our mortal minds, but because the whole notion that Christ could pay for sins He didn't commit just kind of blows our minds. I don't know anyone who has claimed to look at the calculus of the...
Even among the Lamanites
It was 18 BC. Nephi, the prophet, had recently returned from his mission to the land of the North, only to find that the Gadianton robbers had taken control of the government. The Nephites were in a very spiritually low place, to say the least. Nephi miraculously announced the murder of the chief judge, but it had little to no effect on the hearts of the people (signs never...
I'm a son of Levi (and you are, too)
This past week I read the following verse in 3 Nephi 24, where Christ quotes Malachi 3. Lots of good stuff in Malachi. No wonder Christ was instructed to quote it to the Nephites. But one verse, in particular, caught my eye the other day. Speaking of the coming of the coming of Christ's messenger to the Lord's Temple (presumably Elijah to the Kirtland Temple), Malachi says:
...
When repentance doesn't fix everything
Almost all my recent posts have dealt with the war chapters in Alma. The Nephites, led under Moroni, fought the Lamanites and learned lots of lessons along the way. So many years of terrible war, including 2 civil wars within the Nephites themselves. Eventually, Moroni and his armies won the day and the Nephites finally had peace. But sadly, the break was short; it was only a few years after...
Easier to maintain than to fix
When I was a teenager, my household chore was the burdensome task of cleaning the "tile area" of the house. This included the entire kitchen, the dishes, the bar area, the dining room, the table, and setting/clearing meals. The rule was that my chores were to be completed to perfection every morning before I left for seminary and school. My mother would inspect them in the morning when she woke...
Finding the Atonement in a war chapter
I know most readers usually breeze through the war chapters, but there is a lot we can learn from them. For example, just the other day I found some really powerful lessons on the Atonement in Alma 44– the second chapter of Moroni's battle with Zerahemnah and the Lamanites. First, let's recap what's going on:
