Joseph Smith once wrote that we believe in the Bible (and any other scripture, I’d imagine) as far as it is translated correctly. For years, I have enjoyed the Isaiah Institute Translation of Isaiah which was created by Avraham Gileadi….

Joseph Smith’s use of a seer stone was described in a trial, it was said that when he used the stone, “all intervening obstacles were removed, and that he possessed one of the attributes of Deity, an All-Seeing-Eye.”  (Purple account, Joseph…

I’ve noticed that pop culture has influenced us at church where we feel more inclined to walk on eggshells, afraid to offend others. True, we value kindness, but I think we err in thinking that it means that we must…

In the vision of the tree of life that Lehi and Nephi witnessed, a “great and spacious building,” prominently juxtaposed the righteous seeking to find their way to the tree of life. The tree had a path and an iron…

In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we find an account of Jesus being tempted by the devil while fasting in the wilderness. The scene parallels, in at least two significant ways, Nephi’s vision of the tree of life….

This was the best comment on the church’s new video The Christ Child which I highly recommend. The characters are speaking Aramaic, the inn situation is more historically accurate and the wise men show up at the right time! The…

I listened to this podcast several weeks ago because, like most people, I felt like I would get distracted often. Nir Eyal, the author of Indistractable explains that distraction starts from within. When we feel like indulging in a distraction…

Recently I listened to the Stages of Faith presentation again but this time with my wife and daughters and it was a wonderful experience. I wanted my wife and kids to hear these ideas to see how we can help…

This past week, I turned 40 years old; wow, that’s how long the Israelites wandered in the desert. The number 40 is tied to the themes of “probation, trial, and chastisement.” [1] Hopefully I am on the other side of the…

The priesthood is a big topic and much has been said and written about it throughout time. It seems to me that there are a lot of misunderstandings out there about what the priesthood is. I think there is some…

This is a thought I had today as we were discussing the topic of temptation in church. I was thinking again along the lines of another recent post about the source of ideas. Intelligence alone cannot progress without ideas. Ideas…

This story is from September 2015 As I went to announce to my kids that it was bedtime I noticed that two out of the three were fast asleep on the couch. I was tired too and decided to just…

Some recent quotes and ideas that I found interesting. Everything will be okay in the end. If everything’s not okay, it’s not the end. -via Jeremiah NTJ and Bookslinger, jrganymede.com The discomfort one feels from the scornful mocking coming from…

I just completed and published a 6×9″ 94-page hardcover version of the Lectures on Faith which I think is the nicest-looking edition ever made! While you can always access this version for free at LecturesOnFaith.com, this version was created especially…

There are a lot of changes happening in the Church today, and for some, it is refreshing, but for others, it is concerning. I have heard some explain that various groups that have criticized the Church are happy with some…

As part of our ongoing experimentation with the Come Follow Me initiative as it pertains to home study as a family, I had a nugget of inspiration that bore some good fruit. We had been trying to fit in a…

As I was pondering some scriptures today, the Spirit taught me something that caused a significant paradigm shift in my mind. Two verses of scripture that are very meaningful to me revealed a blindspot in my perceptions of myself, others,…

The Church recently released an updated/clarified version of the temple recommend interview questions. And for the first time that I can remember, the President of the Church read them out loud over the pulpit in General Conference. It used to…

Not every speaker is represented here. There was probably a ton more that I could have included but these were some of the highlights that were particularly meaningful to me personally. I’ll include some commentary here and there at the…

Recently I wrote a post about how God prunes our lives when they bear fruit. Pruning involves damaging the plant, traumatizing it, and triggering a healing response. The intent is to improve the plant in the long run so it…