For the next few years, I am yet a captive of Babylon. So much of my time and energy is given in serving others each day. Sometimes, it is a challenge to not resent it, especially when I must deal with those who are accusatory or abusive. But it never fails, when I pause and say, “Why, Lord?” He responds, “so you will understand what it is like to be falsely accused and abused.” Translation: some folks resent IT people for not preventing their IT problems.
Oh Lord, can a man and a woman who love each other and have demonstrated a lifetime of human love together and who believe in the life hereafter be together in the eternities even though one is a faithful member of the LDS church and one has resigned their long-time membership in the LDS Church and does not recognize or acknowledge the claims of authority of the President of the LDS Church to bind or seal on earth and have it recognized in heaven, or that authority can be delegated to others?
What a distasteful subject. I agree. You can skip this post if it bothers you. But for those who are looking for help, I offer the following thoughts: Yes, there are still good people out there who are bothered by porn and want to do something about it. They are, or somebody they love is …
Through artificial means, mankind has devised ways around that core structure to bring children into the world. Two men or two women can now become parents without going through the same method set forth by God. However, this defeats the purpose of the divine plan, which is to unite a man and a woman in the procreative process. That unity is much more than physical, it binds the couple together at a much deeper spiritual level.
I accepted a covenant the Lord offered in September of 2017. I rejoiced on that day and continue to marvel that we have been offered this covenant opportunity. Even the people of Joseph’s day were not offered and therefore did not receive this covenant. In fact, they were condemned and rejected by the Lord because they treated lightly the Book of Mormon, which God always intended to offer as a covenant to His people.
I received an email from a reader (thank you Cecil) and decided to share some of the response here on my blog. I don’t pretend to be anybody important, just someone who wrote an LDS-themed blog for a few years and ended up resigning my membership in the LDS Church. I did so because I wanted …
With all thy getting, get wisdom, especially when it comes to marriage where each spouse has different religious beliefs
Why did Jesus seek solitude when we went to pray? Can benefit by seeking the mountain top>
One of the disadvantages of putting so much of one’s energy into a worldly career is the drain on both time and energy to focus on the true purpose of life – finding ways to bless one’s fellow man. Being at the epitome or last days of this worldly career seems to have sapped from …
This is unusual for me to post two days in a row. But, when I asked what I could do to bless my fellowman, this is the answer that came – write. For you it may be different. I asked the Lord what would be a good use of my time this Sabbath day. The …
On September 13 2014, I submitted a letter of resignation from the LDS Church to my local leader. I had thought long and hard about my decision and confirmed it in prayer several times. What I did not do was to tell my wife in advance of my action, but I think she saw it …
First of all, YOU determine your mission in life. Nobody else can do it for you. YOU decide what you want to do with your life. YOU decide what it is that God would like you to do with your life. If you feel God would like you to be a faithful member of The …
As my mother got older, she would retire each night earlier and earlier. She was not one to take naps, but strove valiantly to use every precious moment of her life in keeping active and doing good. An avid lifetime genealogist, she maintained a tremendous correspondence with thousands of people up until the day she …
Anybody who tells you life is rosy after one spouse leaves the church is either blind or lying. I knew things would be difficult in our marriage after I resigned, but I didn’t know just how difficult it could be. I thought things were under control until I wanted to talk about using some tithing …
I continue to ponder the dialog in one of the last High Priest Group meetings I attended. The lesson was on marriage. The discussion focused on the temple sealing ordinance. I was a little concerned by the comments I was hearing from the brethren in the group about how grateful they were to have been …
Last week, I dedicated an altar in my home and prayed according to the true order of prayer as I have been taught in the temple. It was an amazing experience that opened up a whole new world for me. My only disappointment was that it was not shared with my wife, or at least …
I believe that sexual relations should be expressed privately in marriage, between a husband and wife. I therefore believe that all public displays of sexual activity are inappropriate. I believe that pornography is harmful and destructive to the souls of those who create it and those who consume it. It is not needed for sexual education.
One of the most important duties we have in this life is to learn how to interpret the impressions of the Holy Ghost. This gift needs to be exercised and developed until we can go before the Lord with confidence and ask in faith for what we want. Sometimes it takes years to fully master.
I have never equated perfection as meaning without flaw or error, rather as having flaws and errors removed. The resurrection is a free gift to all. We will all live again with immortal bodies. But the quality of our life in the hereafter depends entirely upon us and our efforts to be worthy and prepared for the greatest of all the gifts of God – eternal life.
In this essay I demonstrate that the main character in Portnoy’s Complaint was really clueless about women and especially about mariage. He only wanted one thing – sex – and had no real consideration for the women in his life, probably because of the upbringing in his Jewish culture.
If you have read a few of my past essays, you may have noted that one of my favorite subjects is revelation, and specifically personal revelation. It is only within the last few years since I started blogging that I have come to realize revelation is a controversial subject even among members of the church. …
It is easy to think that God doesn’t love us or isn’t interested in our mundane lives. But if we stop and take the time to think about it, God is very involved in what we do each day. We just have to look for ways that mean something special to us.
In the priesthood session of the April 2003 General Conference, President Hinckley delivered a landmark address on the subject of loyalty. In his remarks he said, “Each of us has to face the truth of the matter—either the church is true, or it is a fraud. There is no middle ground. It is the Church …
The outrage of the gay community over Obama’s choice of Rick Warren to pray at the inauguration illustrates that this issue of same-sex marriage is not going away. Apparently the radical gays hate conservative Christians like Rick Warren almost as much as they hate the Mormons who helped pass Proposition 8 in California last month. …
A surreal feeling came over me as I watched the live helicopter shots. Facing east, the beautiful angel Moroni was lit by golden spotlights in the night sky. Beyond that the US and California flags fluttered lightly in the warm California breeze, also lit, always flying. How many times I have walked past that flagpole …
From the September 2008 First Presidency message, we read what President Eyring has to say about unity: “The Spirit puts the testimony of truth in our hearts, which unifies those who share that testimony. The Spirit of God never generates contention (see 3 Nephi 11:29). This Spirit never generates the feelings of distinction between people …
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 …
Carol and I just finished a small marriage group series on ‘Love and Respect‘ from Dr. Emerson Eggerichs which has enriched our life immensely. I endorse it wholeheartedly. It was one of the most eye-opening experiences for each of us to come to an understanding of the pink-vs-blue way that we each experience life. To …
