General Conference was earlier this month. Among the many inspired messages shared by the Prophets and Apostles were some that directly and indirectly criticized the worldly philosophies of nationalism and statism as well as the spirit of contention these ideas are based upon. The remarks of Apostles Jeffrey R. Holland and Dale G. Renlund especially presented nationalism as being in direct opposition to the doctrines of Jesus Christ.
Category: Book of Mormon
Rejoice That God Is With Us Now And Forever
It being Christmas I wanted to share something short but beautiful. My favorite Christmas hymn is Veni, Veni Emmanuel, or in English, O’ Come, O’ Come, Emmanuel. The song is both a prayer that accurately captures the hopes, if not the actual words, of those who looked forward to the Messiah’s first coming and those of us now who anticipate His Second Coming. But it also testifies to us that we need not wait for Christ to come again to experience the power and peace He promises to bring because God is with us even now in Presence, Person, and Spirit. He is our Emmanuel, our ever present God if we but open our eyes, minds, ears, and hearts to Him.
The Hope, Dreams, and Realities of Christmas
Christmas Day is a day replete with meanings. The birth of the child Jesus was also the birth of Christ the Savior and the Nativity cannot be separated from the Crucifixion or the Resurrection in its meaning and purpose. And because it is so connected to the Atonement it is also connected to all the hopes, dreams, and fears that lurk in the minds of men and which they act out in their lives for good and ill. The Nativity is therefore rich and deep in meaning for all people a sit holds the promise of all the light, joy, healing, and eternal exaltation that Christs promises to all the world, not only those who follow Him. It is the promise of life immortal to all and life eternal for all. And that is always worth celebrating.
The Complexity of Existence and the Reality of God
The prophet Alma taught that “all things denote that there is a God.” The very complexity of the Universe, of the possible Multiverse, and the narrow, impossible odds against such existing complexity and the random development of any life at all, much less the complex and intelligent life of Earth, suggests that all of it did not simply spring out of the ether as part of a continuous cascade of impossibilities. The most logical and reasonable conclusion that can be reached once one begins to take into account all that we have learned about existence (and considers all which we have no idea or understanding of) is that this all is no accident. There is a Designer who has guided and created this Universe upon the exact principles necessary for which existence to flourish and life to develop. Today’s article is an introduction to the scientific evidence which leads to the most logical conclusion of how everything came to be how it is – that it was designed this way by a Creator, a God.
The Power of Giving Thanks
Originally I had planned to do a deep dive on the history of American Thanksgiving as a nationalist holiday that perpetuates the myths those in power want because those myth justify their positions of power and exercise of control over the populace. And maybe I will next year. This year though I have decided to do otherwise due to a request put out by the Prophet last week for the members to spend the next week expressing our gratitude to God for His blessings in our lives and to focus on building our relationship with God and Christ.
So instead of digging into Thanksgiving I decided to explore the three things the Prophet has asked us to do and to talk about how each of them individually and together can transform our lives and the world around us. Seemingly simple practices like giving thanks, regular prayer, and building a close relationship with Christ can not only change our lives but they can transform the world. Here I explore each of these in a little more depth to try and tease out some of the richness of these concepts, why they are important, what makes them so powerful, and how we can apply them into our lives to make ourselves better people and the world a better place.
The Great Fiction of the State
With all the evils perpetuated upon society by those in power, because of the constant robbery, harassment, and violence everyone is constantly subjected to and under threat of, it seems like it wouldn’t be hard to rally people against the evils of the State. Yet, for many there is no organization for which they would more kill and die for, no idea for which they would sacrifice more, even their children, than the government, for the State. As a result the natural question we must ask ourselves is why; why do so many give so much to and do so much for that which does them so much harm and which lives off of the masses as one great parasite draining away the vital wealth and liberty of the people until it becomes so bloated and fat and society so enfeebled that everything collapses into chaos under the weight of its failures. Here I seek to answer this question and, drawing upon as diverse thinkers as Frédéric Bastiat, Robert Houghwout Jackson, and King Benjamin, I believe I have come upon three essential insights that help explain why people engage in such pious veneration of and develop such powerful loyalty to the State. After exploring these ideas of why people believe so ardently in the Great Fiction of the State, I present the solutions to the lies of the Sate and the most effective way we can help to transform the world, liberating humanity from the yoke of the State and securing greater liberty and prosperity for ourselves and our posterity for all time.
What Do You Do When An Apostle Is Wrong?
This is a topic that I think is important to address, yet it is one that we are often afraid to address. Perhaps this is because we feel like that by pointing out or acknowledging where the Brethren are in error that we are questioning the Lord Himself or like we might damage another’s faith. Yet we all know it happens. Apostles are often wrong when citing scriptures and when citing history. And refusing to address the issue creates a very unhealthy aura of infallibility around the Brethren that not only forces more weight upon their shoulders than they already carry but it also creates a very weak and sandy foundation upon which to build our own testimonies. This article is dedicated towards answering this important question in a way that will help the believer maintain and build faith in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Restored Church of Jesus Christ, and His appointed leaders while also acknowledging and understanding their own fallibility, their ability to commit error, and how their doing so should impact our own understanding of the scriptures.
An Apostle Explains The End of the World
This is quite possibly one of my favorite things I’ve ever read. Herein is reproduced a letter written by one of the church’s most influential thinkers and theologians, Apostle Parley P. Pratt. The letter was sent by Elder Pratt to Queen Victoria, the Queen of England, during his first mission to Great Britain. In it, Elder Pratt does something that I absolutely adore. Instead of fawning over Victoria or her court, hoping to make some favorable impression for himself or the church as you would imagine many people then and now would, Elder Pratt, while being courteous and humble, goes for the jugular of the Empire itself. Using the scriptures he lays out the coming judgments of God against the kingdoms of the world, the events of the Last Days before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, the revolutionary the establishment of the Kingdom of God through the Restoration, and calls upon the leaders of the state to repent of their wickedness, denounce their greed and power, and to lead their nation in mass repentance before they are overthrown by the power of God. For this alone it is worth reading. Throw in his clear explanation of many of the signs of the Last Days and it is without a doubt that all who read it will profit from it.
What Caused The Great Disaster of 3 Nephi 8?
In 3 Nephi 8, the Prophet-Historian Mormon records that a tremendous cataclysm destroyed a multitude of cities, slew untold numbers of people, and shook the Nephite and Lamanite civilizations to their cores, bringing them to their knees in every describable way. This event consisted of horrific storms that destroyed entire cities, mass fires that burned other cities to the ground, massive earthquakes that tore apart yet other cities, and three days of darkness that covered the land in a literal, palpable darkness that could be felt and which prevented the kindling of any fire and which blocked out the Sun itself. In short, the Nephites and Lamanites got a practice run with the Apocalypse. But what caused it? What actual physical processes did the Lord use to bring about this Great Disaster? Here I attempt to provide an answer to this question that details all the major events and addresses what caused them. Finally, I comment on some important spiritual truths that we can learn from the history of these events.