We talk about eternal families a lot. The church certainly places this concept as an important doctrine. But…should we really be concerned about not being an eternal family? (more…)

I don’t get up to bear my testimony unless I’m promted to by the Spirit. My heart starts pounding, and I know I have to get up.

Generally, I’ve already been thinking about my testimony and things I might want to say. Then my heart starts pounding and I know, oh boy, I have to do it.

There have been times when my heart’s started pounding and I had no clue what I should say, though. First time it happened, I went up and winged it. But this Sunday I was totally not ready for it and it was all rather…well, brutal.
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Matt’s post reminded me of my closest encounter with a general authority. It must have been ten years ago, when I was a single BYU student living with my parents, that Richard C. Edley, first counselor in the presiding bishopric, visited our stake for a stake conference. Bishop Edgley is some sort of cousin of my dad’s so my dad had his people (himself) get in touch with Bishop Edgley’s people and invited him and his wife to our house for dinner after the meeting and he accepted. (more…)

“It will be a shield and protection to you” (more…)

This weekend we had dinner at the apartment of a good friend of mine who is single and lives in Manhattan. As we were discussing said apartment (perfect location in the West Village, but very small one-bedroom) and her roommate situation (regularly subleases her living room) she revealed to us her technique for introducing these roommates to the Gospel…she doesn’t. Well, not for a while at least.

She lives with each roommate for only a few months (exactly as she’d prefer it), by the end of which anyone will come to the conclusion that she is kind, generous, thoughtful, hard-working, intelligent, etc., etc., etc. In other words, she’s completely normal. Once that’s clear she’ll likely feel comfortable enough to have a conversation about the Gospel, part of which usually contains the phrase, “You’re Mormon? But you’re so normal!”

A recent New York Times op-ed by Timothy Egan has suggested that we, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ought to be held accountable for our ugly polygamist past. He feels that when people like Mitt Romney say things like “My faith is the faith of my fathers - I will be true to them and to my beliefs,” they should be held to answer for a legacy of child brides, abuse, and debauchery.

With all due respect Mr. Egan… bite me. (more…)

According to the 4th article of faith and other scriptures baptism is for the remission of sins.
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This deal of the state coming into a community and taking all the children captive because they are “at risk” scares the “H” out of me! (more…)

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As I was leaving work today I had a conversation with a friend about the luxury it is to have laundry in the basement of our building. Of course it would be nice to have a machine in our apartment but alas, we live in Brooklyn and therefore cannot afford the space it would require. But it sure is better than the laundromat. (more…)

A recent article in The Christian Post reports that the Unchurched Prefer Cathedrals Over Contemporary Church Buildings. The article reports:

In a study conducted by LifeWay Research for Cornerstone Knowledge Network, the unchurched preferred more traditional looking buildings by a nearly 2-to-1 ratio over any other option. Given 100 “preference points” to allocate among four photos of church exteriors, the unchurched used an average of 47.7 points on the most traditional and Gothic options.

The other three options were given only 18.5 to 15.9 points. (more…)

The Lord did not people the earth with a vibrant orchestra of personalities only to value the piccolos of the world. Every instrument is precious and adds to the complex beauty of the symphony.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

This was exactly what we needed to hear this conference.
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Well, not me, but the woman on the final episode of The Moment of Truth tonight. I know, trash tv, but this isn’t about my viewing habits. Stay focussed people.

Yesterday’s New York Times and this morning’s Washington Post (and I’m sure countless other newspapers) reported the death of Dith Pran, the Cambodian photojournalist who was the subject of the 1984 movie “The Killing Fields”.  (more…)