"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...

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.

A new Title of Liberty

It was a time of social and political upheaval. Some of the population claimed they were born with a certain characteristic that the rest of society either ignored or even disparaged. These individuals chose to let this particular characteristic define their identities and soon insisted that the rest of society acknowledge and even celebrate them for this identity.

Although it started at the fringes, this radical movement was propped up...

Sorry Lord, could you repeat that?

This past week in Come, Follow Me, we read "the crowning event recorded in the Book of Mormon," the "personal ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ among the Nephites soon after His resurrection." After 600 years, the Nephites finally were privileged to stand in the presence of their Lord and Savior. You would think that Christ would be met with joyful, anticipated celebration. But that's not what happened at all....

10 blockers to scripture study

In a previous post, I talked about our responsibility to learn to truly "treasure" the word of God like the Nephites did– specifically, that we need to do better at prioritizing our study of the Book of Mormon. We need to "level up" our study so that we're not just reading the words on the page like a novel, but truly study and dig deep.

This is all...

The Three Degrees of Scripture Study

The other day as I read in Mormon, I saw some really interesting wording that I thought would make a good blog post. But as I started writing about it, I realized that the only way to see the neat connection I saw was if you read the selection without regard to the verse markings. So I went on a tangent in my original post about how the verse markings...

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"...

The restoration was messy (and that's OK)

Years ago, I heard a Bishop say: "Brothers and sisters, the restoration was messy." I didn't think much about his wording at the time. But over the few years following (including my mission), I encountered a lot of people wanting to "educate" me about early Church history. Joseph Smith was the most common target, of course. They cited all sorts of stories about him that seemingly "proved" he was a...

Asking questions when we already know the answer

I read the Book of Enos again the other night and realized something: Enos's wrestle with God in the woods doesn't seem to have told him anything he didn't already know. Let me explain.

I could really use a sign right about now

There's a gloom in my house right now. A family friend in our ward passed away this past week after a short but vigorous battle with cancer. He leaves behind an amazing family with kids ages Primary through missionary. Our heart breaks for his wonderful family and will miss the cheery smile and spirit he always brought into the room. He was the kind of guy that always made...

The whisper that shakes the earth

Nephi and Lehi were an amazingly powerful missionary brother duo. The preached "with such great power and authority" that they not only converted thousands of Lamanites but also a lot of hardened Nephite defectors. But this success also came with a lot of hardship. Like that one time they were tossed into prison and were about to be killed. But the Lord is always there for His missionaries. He shrouded...

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...

Many revelations daily

When is the last time you received revelation?

The other night in my studies, I came across this verse:

And in the seventy and ninth year there began to be much strife. But it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi, and many of their brethren who knew concerning the true points of doctrine, having many revelations daily, therefore they did preach unto the people, insomuch that they...

Lessons on revelation from the five Nephite runners

Who were the Nephite runners?

Remember that time the Nephite chief judge was murdered? No, I'm not talking about the murder of chief judge Pahoran. Or his brother Pacumeni. Or Cezoram. Or Cezoram's son. Or Lachoneus. I'm talking about Seezoram.

Just men and women are just men and women

WARNING: SCRIPTURES TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT AHEAD. Do not attempt at home.

One of the obstacles missionaries run into when teaching the Gospel is the fact that the general population is largely unfamiliar with the old "King's English." Since most of all our Standard Works are written in the English of the King James Bible, this becomes a problem when trying to teach the Gospel as missionaries. Investigators often...

Not to trifle with the words

Shortly before his death, the righteous prophet/king Benjamin gathered together all his people to give them the instructions he had received from God. As I read through the account of this Nephite General Conference, I was impressed by the similarities to our own General Conference.

Pre-revelatory Interviews

Alma is about to mysteriously disappear off the face of the earth, leaving the struggling Nephite Christian Church in the hands of his son Helaman. Before he transfers ownership of the scriptural records to Helaman, he holds a bit of an interview with him, grilling him a bit about his beliefs