We talk about being Christ-like all the time. Our hymns repeat the refrain and our children sing about how they are “trying to be like Jesus.” But what does that mean? What was Jesus like as a person? And how could we hope to emulate Him? The question may seem impossible to answer and we may feel despondent under the weight of it. We can know Jesus Christ and we can fulfill His commandment to become like Him. This lost LDS Classic explores what character is, what Christ’s character is, and how we can manifest His character in our thoughts, words, and deeds today. This is how we can possibly, happily, joyfully be like Christ!
Tag: Jesus Christ
Why Don’t More People Fully Live The Gospel?
If there is one thing Christians are good at it is ignoring Christ. No, I don’t mean we pretend that the Bible doesn’t exist or that Jesus didn’t say this or that thing. Rather, we do everything to explain away what Jesus said, to tell ourselves and others that despite what it sounds like, Jesus didn’t really mean what He said. That way, other than giving some faint lip service to some vaguely humanistic and definitively idolatrous concept of “being nice” we can still get away with doing whatever it is we want to do. But in doing so we lose not only the power of Christianity but the heart of it as well – we lose Jesus. I see it and experience it all the time. It is the very problem that I have dedicated my life to resisting and changing, the very purpose for which this site was created. This article is about why we ignore Jesus and what we can do to change this inclination so that we can more truly follow Him.
How Can You Be A Good Christian? Part 2
We all know that Christ and His Apostles taught us to love our enemies, to pray for those who use and abuse us, and to serve those who persecute us. These are the basic fundamentals of a Christian life. But often the how and why have eluded us. This article looks at the Sermon on the Mount as the Manual for How to Be a Christian and explores exactly what Christ meant, why it matters how we live, and how we are supposed to live as His disciples. This is how you be a good Christian.
How Can You Be A Good Christian? Part 1
What does it mean to be a Christian? We talk a lot about how to become a Christian, but how to be a good Christian often gets lost in the debate. This article and its sequel are designed exactly to address the question of what it means to be a Christian by looking at what Christ and His Apostles taught about who we are, what our relationships to God and each other are, and how we are supposed to treat everyone in our life. This article is about what it means to be a good Christian and how being one transforms not only you but the entirely world around you.
What Is A Christian’s Duty To The Government?
What did Jesus Christ teach about the duty that Christians owe to the governments of the nations they live in? What did the Apostles teach about what the duty of a Christian is to the governments of the nations that Christians live in? What do Christ and His Apostles teach about the relationship between Christians and the governments of the world? What did Christ and His Apostles teach about the government of God and the Christian’s loyalty to it? IN this article I use the New testament to answer all these questions and explain exactly what the Bible teaches about the relationship of the true disciple of Jesus Christ and the governments of the world.
The Place of Politics in the Church
This Lost LDS Classic looks at the role of partisan politics (loyalty to political parties) and nationalism play in the role of Latter-day Saint culture and religious practice. The political divisions in the church are both bothersome and poisonous. The Body of Christ, the Kingdom of God, should not be divided by the political ideologies of the world. The more we allow ourselves to be defined by our politics – as “liberal” Mormons, “conservative” Mormons, etc. – the more we weaken ourselves, disrupt our Christian unity, and weaken our ability to establish Zion and do the work that God has given us. Nationalism and political partisanship have no place in the Kingdom of God and the sooner we drive them from our hearts and minds the more we become Saints of the Most High God and true Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
The Patient Faith of the Three Wise Men
There is much to learn from the Christmas story. In this article I explore the identities of the shepherds and the Wise Men – who they were, where they were form, what made them different and special, why they were chosen, what their experiences were, and what we can learn from them. These two groups are powerful examples of the different ways people gain testimonies of Christ and what it means to be a witness of Christ in the world. There stories and their examples have a great deal to teach us about what it means to be Christians in the world today.
What Mormon Teaches Us About War And Loving Our Enemies
Whenever I point out that Captain Moroni’s example doesn’t justify modern Saints going to war because he lived the Law of Moses and we live the Law of Christ and that modern revelation commands us to renounce war completely the response is inevitable. I always get some version of, “What about Mormon and his son, Moroni? They were baptized Christians who fought in wars. If they can do it, why can’t we?” By looking at what the scriptures, I answer this question and show why Mormon and Moroni do not justify us joining modern day wars.
The Important But Forgotten Part of Easter
Holy Saturday is the day which most of traditional Christianity spends in a kind of solemn mourning in commemoration of the death of the Savior and in anticipation of His glorious Resurrection. Often overlooked is that while Christ’s body may have been laid low in the Arimathean’s tomb, His spirit was active and engaged in one of the most essential but overlooked aspect of the Atonement of Jesus Christ – the initiation of the redemption of the dead. This Holy Saturday I want to remember and celebrate Chist great postmortal ministry when He began the work of saving all people who have ever or would ever live, ensuring all would have the oppurtunity to have the eternal blessings of His Gospel and to be transformed by the power of its ordinances, so that all people could stand before God and be judged fairly and redeemed completely. This article explores His work in the Spirit World, what we know about the work that happens there, and how this can empower us to live live our faith in this life and in the next.
Nonviolence in Early Christianity, Part 2
This is the second part in a series tracing the teaching of what we today call nonviolence in ancient Christianity after the end of the biblical era. I pick up where I left off in Part 1, in the mid-Second Century AD/CE and go all the way through the Third Century AD/CE. In the process I cover such topics as tribalism, nationalism, abortion, violence, the role of government, a Christian’s place in government, whether a Christian can hold political office or not, the military – both from the perspective of a soldier who converts to Christianity and a Christian who is thinking about joining the military, justice, political idolatry, the Second Amendment, gun ownership, natural rights, the universal nature of the Church and Christianity, and the hypocrisy of the world’s ideologies. The teaching of these ancient Christians carrying forth the ideals of Christ confront, counter, and dismantle the cunning craftiness of the world’s doctrines through the application of the truths of the Gospel.