In our Institute class this evening we are studying Joseph Smith – Matthew from the Pearl of Great Price. This is the chapter that foretells many of the events of the last days. Of course, this is Joseph Smith’s inspired version or re-translation of Matthew chapter 24. The prophet made more corrections to Matthew 24 …
I’ve decided to come out and be up front about it. I am a Mormon activist. Yes, I confess, my desire is to change your way of thinking to be more in line with mine. Of course, I believe that what I espouse is truth and will be for your good. Therefore, I have no …
In between family reunions last Saturday and this Saturday, Carol and I visited several of our favorite bookstores in Utah. I know. What a crazy thing to do on a vacation. We also go to the main Church Distribution Center since the California stores are small. In the past, I have liked to visit Sam …
The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “The contention in heaven was-Jesus said there would be certain souls that would not be saved; and the devil said he could save them all, and laid his plans before the grand council, who gave their vote in favor of Jesus Christ. So the devil rose up in rebellion against …
Blogging will be light for the next week or two while Carol and I enjoy not one, but two family reunions in Utah this Saturday and next. We went and saw Les Miserables last night at Tuacahn in St. George. What a treat. Outdoor theater with a great sound system where every seat has a …
In Institute class last night we studied Abraham chapter three. If you are not familiar with the Pearl of Great Price, this is the chapter that contains one of the most glorious and powerful doctrines of the LDS faith about our premortal or pre-earth life. Somebody correct me if they know otherwise, but I believe …
I love the story that President Packer related in General Conference in Oct of 1974 about a man who was contemplating joining the LDS church until he learned of the requirement of tithing. The local presiding authority of the church in that area met with the man and told him about a few other requirements …
One of the best things I like about my church is that we don’t hide from the difficult issues. In fact, in my opinion, the LDS Church excels at helping individuals change. That’s what the gospel is all about. Of course, the Savior is the source of healing, but our church is doing so much …
“Patriotism should be sought for and will be found in right living, not in high sounding phrases or words. True patriotism is part of the solemn obligation that belongs both to the nation and to the individual and to the home. “Our nation’s reputation should be guarded as sacredly as our family’s good name. That …
Although not a General Authority, Daniel K. Judd currently serves as the First Counselor in the General Sunday School Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was the chair of the Department of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University. Brother Judd has a Master’s degree in family science and a Ph.D. …
Yesterday, in some wards in our stake here in California, a letter from the First Presidency was read. In the letter, it was requested that we do all that we can to support the proposed constitutional amendment on preserving traditional marriage here in California. In particular, we were asked to donate of our means and …
I come from a typical post-WWII California family. My parents were married in 1946 and had seven children within ten years. We were not LDS at first. Although we had our quarrels and disagreements, I grew up with happy memories of a loving family with four older sisters and one brother, my other brother having …
In keeping with the instruction from Brother Brigham in yesterday’s post, I add today the words of Heber C. Kimball, also from remarks made at the funeral of President Jedediah M. Grant, who died of pneumonia at the young age of forty, while faithfully serving in the First Presidency with Brigham and Heber. Again, the …
And now, a few words of instruction from Brother Brigham on the subject of the evil spirits in the world around us. The occasion was the funeral of President Jedediah M. Grant on December 4, 1856. The Source is the Journal of Discourses, vol 4, pp. 129-134. “…when I die…I do not wish any of …
In our Institute class last night we began to study the Book of Abraham. The instructor covered the origins of the book in short order. None of the students had any questions about the papyri or the mummies or the translation process or the discovery of the fragments. Neither did I as I have written …
What advice would you give to a new bishop? I suppose it would depend on the makeup of the ward, wouldn’t it? A singles ward is vastly different from a family ward. I serve as the ward clerk of our local stake young adult ward. We do not have concerns about staffing the Primary or …
I have been impressed with the work Bryce Haymond is doing over at TempleStudy.com. I am particularly pleased with the sacred and reverent manner in which he treats the subject matter. His essays on the temple are thought-provoking and illuminating. I would not have thought that one could find enough material to fill an ongoing …
In the LDS church we often think of a spiritual experience as a dream or a vision or a distinct impression to take some action or a warning to avoid some course of action. These are the kinds of experiences that many church leaders have shared over the years as evidence of God’s interest in …
While serving as a missionary in Central America in 1976, we taught the people how important it was to receive personal revelation. If there was anything we brought up in every discussion, it was the need for the individuals we were teaching to have private personal experiences with the spirit of the Lord in prayer. …
I was asked by a BYU public relations research student on behalf of the More Good Foundation to explain why I blog on LDS topics. I have been thinking about the answers I provided and thought they might be helpful for others to share them here. I want to encourage members of the church to …
I am fascinated with the spirit world. I never tire of learning more about it. Although I have been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints all my life, I have barely scratched the surface of understanding what the Lord has revealed on this subject already. In reading the Pearl of …
This is version two of this essay. In the first version I severely denounced and criticized those who believed the Adam-God theory. I cited several modern prophets who were very clear in their denunciation of a belief in the theory. I stated that Brigham Young was either misquoted or misunderstood. I especially relished listening to …
In our last Institute class we learned about the reality of Satan and the evil spirits in the world around us. That was Moses chapters four and five. In tonight’s class we covered Moses chapter six in which we learned about the priesthood, the prophet Enoch and the Plan of Salvation. In this essay, I …
You can find all kinds of people on the Internet blogging and commenting about the church these days. There are those who write so far above me that I have no clue what they are writing about or why they feel the topic is important. At the other end of the spectrum are the terrible …
I address this subject as a courtesy to Barbara, a visitor to my blog who asked me to do so. Thank you Barbara, for the suggestion. I had forgotten that this is a problem for some people. Critics claim that Joseph Smith borrowed heavily from Freemasonry for the ceremony of the temple endowment. I’m not …
I started my blog about eight months ago in late September 2007. That was before Elder Ballard asked us in December 2007 to participate more in the new media. For the first few months I got just a few visitors a day. That’s OK, I wasn’t promoting my blog yet. They were just finding me …
Anybody who has researched The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to even a small degree has encountered this promise from the Book of Mormon as found in Moroni 10:4: “And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, …
I grew up in the days of Bruce R. McConkie. When it came time for Elder McConkie to speak in General Conference, I sat up a little taller and paid close attention. I was never disappointed. That man had a gift for speaking that was beyond this world. I don’t know how anybody could listen …
In our Institute class this evening, we continued with chapter four of the Book of Moses. We were supposed to get into chapter five but the discussion got heavy on just the first six verses of chapter four. In fact, the questions were flying even before we got into the scriptures. Our instructor introduced the …
Back in the day when we had missionary farewells, I prepared and delivered my farewell talk with lots of fasting and prayer. I wanted it to be special for everyone in attendance, especially my own family. As I was giving the talk, I could tell it wasn’t going well but couldn’t figure out why. I …
When I was a young lad of seventeen, I attended BYU Idaho. No, I’m not from Idaho or even Utah. I was born and raised in California, where I still live. If you have been to Rexburg, Idaho in the dead of winter, you might wonder why anybody would want to leave the Golden State …
I just spent a very enjoyable afternoon listening to the podcasts of John Dehlin from a couple of years ago when he interviewed Grant Palmer, the author of An Insider’s View of Mormon Origins and The Incomparable Jesus. For those who don’t know, John Dehlin was the Executive Director of Sunstone Magazine. His brother is …
When I was a little boy, I had a hard time in school. Not because I wasn’t smart, but because I was bored. I would finish my work before most everyone else and then start cutting up in class. I was good at getting the other kids in trouble but eventually I got caught. After …
There is probably no question that is as common to man as that of who God is. You would think that after thousands of years, more people would have it right. So many books, essays and websites have been dedicated to the idea of God that one could spend a lifetime reading and still not …
Carol and I started to attend a Summer Institute class on the Pearl of Great Price this last week. If you haven’t attended an Institute class recently and there is one in your area, I highly recommend it. A roomful of single college age students discussing the gospel is very different from even the best …
I have a mother in heaven. By that I mean my earthly mother, who died a few years ago, and now resides in the spirit world, awaiting my father and the resurrection. As I write this on Mother’s day, I think of her, how much I love and appreciate her, and how much she influenced …
I am sometimes shocked when I read about things that some Mormons believe or practice. For example, can you be a Mormon and a Pagan or a Wiccan? Do some Mormons believe in nature worship, reincarnation, channeling, goddesses, astrology or divination? If they do, then they do not understand Mormon doctrine on these subjects. Is …
A long time ago, in a place that now seems so far away, I sat and suffered alone in silence. My family was out of town on vacation. I had stayed behind due to work commitments. I was worn out from helping others with their problems all week. For some reason, I was struggling to …
How often do we think about the spirit world? If you are a typical adult, you lead a very busy life. Our families, our jobs or our educational pursuits take up the majority of our time. In fact, most of us are hard pressed to find time to read the scriptures, pray, visit others or …
For some reason, one of my recent posts here on Latter-day Commentary attracted comments from several anonymous readers. The subject was Rules, religion and society. In one of the comments, the writer declared that God was an anarchist and suggested that I get myself a proper education on the subject. The other comment was from …
So many people have written about this subject that yet another post hardly seems necessary. I have written about the Book of Mormon at least five times previously, but have not addressed the issue that seems to bother some about the changes to The Book of Mormon. I can understand if this is not an …
Some people hate rules. I love them. I like to know what the boundaries are. You may ask yourself, “Who has the right to set rules or boundaries in my life?” Of course, you really can’t have a discussion about rules without reaching to the ultimate source of rules. For me, that source of boundaries …
Once again Elder Ballard has issued the challenge to members of the LDS Church to be active participants and not just silent observers of the public debate that is focused on the church. Previously the spotlight was on the church because of Mitt Romney‘s presidential campaign. That spotlight has now turned to the FLDS church …
I imagine the majority of people who search for information on the church go to Google and type in “Mormons” or “Mormonism.” A Google Search on “Mormonism” today brings up the Wikipedia entry before it brings up the official website of the Church. The Church has a paid entry under “Mormons” so a search there …
You may be familiar with the hilarious 5 Kinds of Mormons from Robert Kirby, illustrated by Pat Bagley. But not as many people remember the next essay in their 1995 classic, Sunday of the Living Dead. It is, of course, the 5 Kinds of non-Mormons. Kirby mentions it in his essay in Dialogue, Confessions of …
If you have been a member of the LDS church for any length of time then you probably recall the PR issues the church struggled with due to President Benson’s decline in health toward the end of his life. Unfortunately, that decline occurred shortly after he became the senior apostle and therefore, the prophet of …
My mother was a Presbyterian and a pretty darn good one. In fact, I’m sure she was one of the best, meaning that she knew the doctrine better than most. That’s probably because she came from a long line of Presbyterians, many of whom were ordained ministers. Mother was an educator. She loved the Bible. …
In case you don’t recognize the title of this post, it is part of President Hinckley’s answer to a reporter’s question that appeared in the August 4 1997 issue of Time magazine. The reporter referenced the King Follett discourse. The answer supplied and the manner in which it was delivered caused the reporter to draw …
My focus over the last dozen posts has been in answering, even if only for myself, some of the more common objections to LDS doctrine or practices. One that you can find frequently in lists made by critics of the Church is the validity of The Book of Abraham as found in The Pearl of …
I have been reading Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling by Richard L. Bushman. I can tell that it is going to take a while to get through it. I love to read and so far I love both the content and the style of the book. The story is, of course familiar and as yet …
From the Mormon.org page on The Book of Mormon, we read, “By the power of God, Joseph Smith translated this book from an ancient record written on gold plates. In September 1827, Joseph received the record, which was written on thin plates of gold. Joseph translated the book into English by the inspiration of God …
Seer stone in a hat – Book of Mormon translation Read More »
In a recent news release, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that it will seek National Historic Landmark designation for the Church’s holdings at the Mountain Meadows site. The intention of the action is to support efforts of descendants groups to memorialize the victims who were killed at Mountain Meadows more than …
I have long been torn between two approaches to dealing with critics of our faith. I’m not sure if it is a good idea to answer their allegations or to simply ignore them. I guess it depends on how much their charges bother us. The official response of the Church seems to have changed over …
How do you respond to the criticism that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can’t be Christian because the LDS Church at one time taught and practiced polygamy? I suspect a simple presentation of the facts followed by a few official statements of the Church should suffice. Before I do that, …
In a recent post here at Latter-day Commentary, I addressed the question, “Are Mormons Christian?” On that Easter Sunday an anonymous reader responded with several reasons why he felt that we are not Christian. I have addressed most of them already and now turn my attention to a difficult accusation that involves families, weddings and …
In point four from my anonymous objector, the issue of authority was raised as a reason why he feels that Mormons aren’t Christian. He wrote that Mormons believe “…[other churches] don’t have the authority to act in His name.” I previously wrote about the importance of authority to act in the name of Christ, but …
Objection three out of six raised by anonymous is that Mormons can’t be Christian because we believe that Christ visited America as a resurrected being. That argument is weak. If anything, it proves that we are greater followers of Christ because we have an additional witness of His gospel. Perhaps his objection really was that …
In responding to my recent post, “Are Mormons Christian?” an anonymous commenter objected to my claim that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are Christians because he said that we believe Jesus and the devil are “literal” brothers. Elder Ballard requested that we become more involved with the dialog on the …
In my Easter post, I addressed the oft-asked question, “Are Mormons Christian?” I shared my witness of Jesus Christ and included a video clip from an apostle that summarized the answer. An anonymous reader left a comment disagreeing with my declaration that Mormons are indeed Christians. He kindly shared a list of six points with …
I guess I should not be surprised by now. I have heard it and read it so many times that I still wonder how it is that some people don’t know. Of course Mormons are Christians. We are the Church of Jesus Christ. It has been asked and answered many times in many ways and …
Across from the Los Angeles temple is the Seagull Bookstore. I usually don’t stop in because we have been buying most of our LDS books from Deseret Book online. Today, I dropped by to see some of the latest releases firsthand. There’s just something about holding a book in your hand and reading the back …
For some reason, I landed on the forums at MormonApologetics.org the other day. Oh, I remember. I got there from FAIR, which I occasionally visit just to see what’s new. There are two major LDS forums which I like to visit: The LDS.net forums, part of the MoreGood Foundation and MormonApologetics. The latter is the …
Back in January I mentioned that Carol and I started reading Elder Lund’s new book, Hearing the Voice of the Lord. This is one that we chose to read out loud together at the end of each day. We discuss what we read so we are only halfway through the book even though we have …
I know very little about Darwin and Evolution. I didn’t pay attention when that was taught in school. I wasn’t interested in it then and I’m not sure that I am now. But I am curious to find out why I’ve been hearing and reading more and more about it lately. What’s the big deal? …
Mosiah 3:19 has long been my favorite scripture. I was pleased to learn many years ago that it was also one of the favorite scriptures of Elder Neal A. Maxwell. I think I have maybe half of Elder Maxwell’s nearly thirty books in my library. Elder Maxwell wrote so much about discipleship. He also was …
One of the most popular stories on Yahoo News this morning was “Real Death Star Could Strike Earth.” Somehow, we remember in the back of our minds that something like this is prophesied to happen in the last days just before the Savior returns to the earth. I suppose that is why stories like these …
Larry Richman and I are good friends. We must be. He keeps sending me personal emails giving me clues into what the web team of the church is doing these days. I think he must have told Joel Dehlin, the CIO of the church about me because he also sends me his emails. They are …
I have been meaning to comment on the new church website on the Savior. In a word, I am impressed. No, that word seems too common and almost worldly. From a web design point of view, I am impressed by the style, the content, the layout, the colors and the functionality. They are first class. …
I read a lot of blogs. Since I am a computer guy, a lot of them are technical. I know, boring stuff, but it pays the bills and I enjoy it. Many of them are political or news-related as I like to keep up with what’s going on in the world. They can be infuriating. …
Today’s gospel study is D&C 133:26-34 which has to do with the return of the lost Ten Tribes in the Last Days. I have always wondered from where they will return. Where exactly are the ‘North Countries’ on this earth? After much study I have come to the conclusion that the Ten Tribes are no …
From my gospel study this morning on Matthew 24:29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of …
Last week in some parts of North America we experienced another total eclipse of the moon. When the earth passes between the sun and the moon, the moon is darkened, but not completely. The brilliant white appearance of the moon is replaced with a distinctly red color caused by reflected light from the earth. This …
According to the National Council of Churches, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not the fastest growing church in the United States. The National Council of Churches produces the Yearbook of Canadian and American Churches. For 2008, it lists the Jehovah’s Witnesses as the fastest growing at 2.25%, while the LDS Church …
I recently read an article in Newsweek about how others view LDS funerals. I was a little surprised at their surprise of how things usually go in our funerals. Are our funerals so very different? And from an essay found in the LDS Newsroom commenting about funerals after the funeral of President Hinckley, “What is …
I don’t think all the press attention that has come to the church in the last year because of Mitt Romney will go away but I am fairly certain we have just entered a lull. The attention seemed to come to a high point with two recent articles in the Washington Post and the Wall …
I attended the Worldwide Leadership Training Broadcast this morning. It was well worth my time. I’m glad I was there. I’ve attended every one of them since 2003 and this was one of the best. After Elder Holland’s introduction, President Packer read and expounded upon “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” It was wonderful …
The Washington Post had a mostly favorable article about President Monson the other day. Actually, compared to some that I have read lately, it was very well done. Jacqueline L. Salmon, the staff writer assigned to the story, did her research and interviewed some of the usual non-Mormon experts like Richard N. Ostling (Mormon America …
Mitt Romney gave one of his greatest speeches today at CPAC – The Conservative Political Action Conference. In that speech he announced that he is suspending his campaign for the candidacy of the President of the United States. Some pundits and commentators lamented, “Why is it that now he comes alive, just to announce he …
I have received emails and Google hits on my website from people looking for commentary on the rumor that President Monson was prophesied to be the Prophet when the Savior comes. I don’t understand why people are so fascinated with this rumor and have written about LDS rumors before. It doesn’t matter if we know …
Old news already and no surprise to anyone that Thomas S. Monson was named the President and Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this morning. We will miss President Hinckley but look forward to the direction we will receive from President Monson for many years to come. As the video reports, …
I have discovered that people like to read about controversial stuff. If you take a look at the popular posts on my blog as shown in the widget on the sidebar you will see that most of them have to do with things like Mormon Feminism, Religion in Politics, Boy Scouts, Gays and the LDS …
I’ve been looking all week for a way to pay tribute to President Hinckley. I thought perhaps I would gather all the links to everyone else’s tributes but that quickly became too large a list. I thought a link to the first article on the Deseret News from Sunday night with the thousands of comments …
A new image from the far side of Mercury was released by NASA today. It was taken by the Messenger probe that flew by last week before it begins an orbit of Mercury in a few years. It has been sending back a wealth of data about the planet that was not previously known. This …
In October 2001, just after the destruction of the world trade centers and the tragedy of the loss of all the lives of those who perished there, President Hinckley said this in his opening address of General Conference: “The era in which we live is the fulness of times spoken of in the scriptures, when …
Growing up in the church I often heard members say that they did not understand Isaiah. I’m not sure if they were just repeating what they had heard others say or if they really felt this way. In fact, I recall a gospel doctrine instructor who started a lesson on Isaiah by expressing that same …
If I could only get through those Isaiah chapters! Read More »
I guess it all depends on what you mean by Zionist. If you define Zionism as an international political movement that supports a homeland for the Jewish People in the Land of Israel, then you will have to ask each individual member their opinion. The church does not take sides. Personally, I’m all for the …
There are occasions when I feel especially appreciative of the unique perspectives of life that come from being a Mormon. Let’s face it, we see life differently than most people of the world. We have the advantage of an understanding of the purpose of life that is very different. There are times when we can …
Thanks to John Hesch of KZION Radio who just added my Latter-day Commentary blog to the Planet LDS aggregator. I’m looking forward to more comments and feedback. That’s why I write – to connect with other bloggers and blog readers interested in similar topics. I hope I have something unique and worthwhile that will cause …
I’m amazed at the interest and response of so many to the YouTube video (beware of the immature, rude and profane comments) about the TU24 asteroid due to pass by the earth in a few days (Jan 29 2008). The best response is from Phil Plait, the author of the Bad Astronomy blog. Phil has …
Elder Talmage wrote, “Miracles cannot be in contravention of natural law, but are wroght through the operation of laws not universally or commonly recognized.” (Jesus the Christ, p. 148) In other words, what we commonly describe as a miracle such as the healing of the sick, the restoring the sight of the blind or even …
I reviewed again the contents of the book “Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith” this morning. This is the text for our course of study this year and next in our Priesthood quorums and in Relief Society meetings. It is a wonderful thing that the church has prepared and made this book available …
I’m sure this point has been made many times and is obvious to any serious student of the Book of Mormon. The Liahona that Lehi found in the desert worked ‘according to the faith and diligence and heed’ which the family gave it. Countless seminary, institute, gospel doctrine and primary teachers have made the point …
Jeff Lindsay’s post in Mormanity yesterday brought up an issue from a former presidential election that was oft repeated at the time. It was refreshing to read it again. It has to do with character. Isn’t that ultimately why we vote from who we do in the presidential election? I think I have made it …
I’m going nuts with this embedded video thing. It adds so much to my blog. Anthony Larson made a 27-minute video some twenty years ago called Joshua’s Long Day. It is a telling and intrepretation of the events surrounding the day that Joshua commanded the earth to stand still in Old Testament times. Did it …
I received an email from a PR firm for the new movie Article VI that came out today. I normally ignore blatantly commercial stuff like this but after reviewing the trailer I just had to respond. I am impressed. If the movie is anything like the trailer you are going to come away with a …
Anthony Larson has made a series of videos promoting his books and placed them on YouTube. I decided to embed a couple of them here as my first attempt at embedding video. It is not a difficult thing to do. Just highlight and copy the code to the right of the video and then paste …
In my scripture study today I jumped from the Book or Mormon to section 84 in the Doctrine and Covenants, specifically to the last verses 114 to 120. In verse 114 the Lord refers to the desolation of abomination. Is that a typo, a reversal in the mind of the prophet Joseph of the familiar …
In yesterday’s post I mentioned briefly one of the verses (v10) in 1 Nephi chapter 14 that has always intrigued me regarding the great and abominable church. That phrase has been the subject of much study and debate over the years by many a student of the scriptures. I am certain it has been well …
As we read through the Book of Mormon again this year, I am enjoying my visits to Nephi’s chapters on his vision of the future of America. It brings back memories of reading them with my family when I was little, then reading them in Seminary, on my mission, in Institute classes, teaching Seminary and …
In what surely will be a politically divisive post, I would like to comment on my recent readings in the Book of Mormon. In particular I would like to focus on Nephi’s vision of the destiny of America. Nephi makes it very clear that the hand of God was involved in the discovery and the …