Showing Posts From
Scripture
Busting Myths about the Family Proclamation
Thirty years ago, in a meeting most of the world ignored, fourteen Apostles and a Prophet of God presented a proclamation. That proclamation would become one of the most quoted, debated, and misunderstood documents in modern religious history. When President Gordon B. Hinckley read "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" on Sept 23, 1995, few could have predicted the intense controversy and cultural battles that would hit us during the next 30 years, nor that this uncontroversial nine-paragraph statement would become the great divider of the Church. Yet the apostles who crafted it knew exactly what they were doing. And three decades later, their prophetic foresight has been vindicated. As the Church has made its stand, Satan has responded from both without and within the Church. One tactic he utilizes within the Church is to spread myths and misconceptions about the Proclamation itself, hoping to undermine its authority and the confidence of members in its teachings. Let's separate the truth from the myths.
Do We Proclaim the Proclamation?
I’ve always been an odd duck. Most kids played soccer during recess; I preferred reading and discussing theology. As a young adult, I discovered FAIR (a leading organization for Latter-day Saint scholarship and apologetics). Now, my annual pilgrimage to Utah for their conference is a highlight of my year. But Latter-day Saint apologetics is a niche hobby-- one my friends have always found uninteresting... until now. Over the past two weeks, many have reached out, saying they watched the FAIR presentations and want to attend next year’s conference. What sparked this newfound curiosity? The old adage: “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.”
You sure you want to say that?
A few years ago, I saw a Twitter post asking how a Latter-day Saint might respond to a situation involving family and same-sex marriage. It was a great question, so I reposted it with my brief thoughts about the tricky balance of love and faith and how I might respond, and then I happily went to bed. I had no idea what was about to happen.
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 supported by social and political elites. Soon, the movement grew in volume and popularity until it became inescapably loud. Those who dared to speak against it were labeled and attacked, accused of denying the natural rights of individuals who were "born that way." Eventually, some well-intentioned individuals, dissatisfied with injustices in society, began to support their agenda as well.
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 stays out of politics. But when you look at our faith's teachings about the freedom to choose, equality, and generous welfare programs, it's no surprise that in my experience, most Church members are Democrats like me.These two members obviously had very different experiences with politics and the Gospel. But they both highlight critical principles about the intersection of faith and politics that we need to learn and apply if our country and our Church membership are to remain intact.
#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 for gratitude. Let me explain why President Nelson’s address hit me so hard.
Why the best part of the Book of Mormon is so short
"The crowning event recorded in the Book of Mormon is the personal ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ among the Nephites soon after His resurrection." This marvelous event was followed by 300 years of idyllic peace. Of those righteous Nephites, the Lord proclaims that none were lost. The closest thing they had to a fight was a disagreement about what to name the Church. Every time I read through those beautiful chapters in Third Nephi, I don't want to leave because I know what comes next:
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.
What REALLY gets the prophets in trouble?
It's no secret that the world rejects the prophets. I mean, after all, a prophet's job is to share the uncomfortable truth about what we're doing wrong and call us to repent, right? Not exactly a comfortable message. But looking in the Book of Mormon, time and time again, you see that the threats and the condemnation and the calls to repentance are usually not the main reason people get angry at the Lord's prophets.
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 easier said than done, of course. Most of us find it really difficult to dig in and "delight" in the Book of Mormon like we ought to. Why is that? I asked my Sunday School class this question recently. They're 16 and 17 years old, so you know they are world-class experts on all the reasons to not do something. They identified 10 obstacles they face when trying to dig deep in the Book of Mormon. Just like the defensive plays in the Super Bowl going on right now, these "blockers" can really get in the way of our scripture study:
Putting a price on the priceless
Those who know me know I really like economics. It's a fascinating subject, and even humorous at times. There's a classic economics joke that goes something like this:Two economists walked past a Porsche showroom. One of them pointed at a shiny car in the window and said, "I want that." "Obviously not," the other replied.OK, OK, so while economists may be smart, comedians they are not. But it's one of my favorite jokes because of what it teaches: when it comes to economics, what you say you want is not important-- it's your spending that tells us what you really want. If the first economist in the joke really wanted the Porsche bad enough, he would scrimp and save for years or subject himself to an insane car loan so he could buy it. The fact that he is not planning to buy it means that he obviously does not value the Porsche to the amount that the showroom is asking.
Hello, my name is Moroni
This all started a few weeks ago when our primary president came to me with an interesting request. She wanted the kids to meet a very special visitor: the great Nephite prophet, Moroni. So I found myself this morning standing in front of a bunch of kids, wearing a white nightgown, holding a homemade aluminum foil leaf of the Gold Plates, and telling them "my story."
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 can often get into our way. My thoughts and feelings kept flowing and that tangent became this whole post which I'm calling "The Three Degrees of Scripture Study."
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!
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.