Author: Steve Reed

I’m a sucker for OOPARTs; (that’s short for “out of place artifacts”) archaeological artifacts that shouldn’t exist in a certain part of the world but do anyway. Most are frauds but there are a few that the jury seems to be still out on. The decalogue stone is one of these strange artifacts and I got to track it down and visit it.

This is an excerpt taken from the Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt in which his call to the apostleship was recorded. The charge given by Oliver Cowdery to Pratt and the twelve is nothing short of amazing and has always impressed me.

In one of my personal favorite talks on the Constitution by Ezra Taft Benson, the simple principles of truth regarding man’s freedom in these last days are outlined.

There are several similarities between the the parable of the sower, Nephi’s vision of the tree of life and the LDS doctrine of the degrees of glory, I’d like to point out a few.

This is an amazing video of the inner workings of a cell. The complexity is astounding and the people who put the video together really did a great job of showing these processes in action.

These four words—“Receive the Holy Ghost”—are not a passive pronouncement; rather, they constitute a priesthood injunction—an authoritative admonition to act and not simply to be acted upon.

A powerful excerpt from a Martin Luther King speech that is very inspiring and definitely worth sharing.

This video is a total must see to get you in the spirit of the Christmas season. Every now and then true goodness just spills out into the open and it is amazing the effect that it has.

Have you ever wondered what “charity” really is and what it means? Have you ever wondered how you can ‘get it’ and why it is so important?

To most living today the word ‘holocaust’ is not a very pleasant word. But like many words today that make up our vernacular, this word has very ancient origins that take us far beyond World War 2.

I’ve been thinking about how we refer to the sacrament as an ordinance that “renews” our baptismal covenants, but is that all there is to it or is there more? Of course there is more! The more I learn about any gospel topic or doctrine, the more I find incredible depth and richness.

There is something unique about our bodies that can give us insight into the workings of the atonement with incredible implications.

One particular verse in the Book of Mormon should be taken note of by those who believe its divine origins and those who do not.

The following quotes are from Brigham Young’s discourses originally but I got them from the Teachings of Brigham Young church manual. He makes some very profound statements on his attitudes concerning finding and accepting truth.

What is salvation? What does it mean to be ‘saved’? I think if you asked a thousand people, then you would get probably a thousand different answers. Is it really that complicated, or is it really simple? Where do we go to find the answers?

At some point in life we all may have struggled with becoming distracted while we pray; our minds wander off to other topics or we don’t feel like a connection is being made. Several years ago my Institute of Religion teacher shared something with me that changed how I viewed prayer forever.

In her 2010 FAIR Conference presentation “The Two Trees”, Valerie Hudson discusses the relationship and differences between men and women in the gospel with insights into the two trees in the Garden of Eden.

What is belief and what is faith? Where does hope enter the picture? Where does knowledge stand in relation to these principles and how does it all work together?

Although no single comprehensive description of the Book of Mormon plates has been preserved, the Prophet Joseph Smith and several people closely associated with him made various statements that include partial descriptions of the plates. When we consider all the sources together, quite a detailed picture emerges of the physical characteristics of the ancient Nephite record.

The Book of Mormon is said to be another testament of Jesus Christ. To most, the words of the book are the testament, but have you ever thought of the physical parallels?

The pride cycle is something known to Latter-day Saints through the study of the Book of Mormon. It usually consists of prosperity followed by pride, then destruction and humility in a course that seems to continually repeat itself. But are there exceptions and is this seemingly circular pattern always met with the same results?